Friday Finals: La Crosse, Great Falls sweep series
Central Division Semi-Finals, Game 2: La Crosse 5 @ Wisconsin 1 (La Crosse wins series, 2-0) - Will Graves had a standout game with 25 saves, and La Crosse beat Wisconsin 5-1. The win by La Crosse clinched the best of three series at 2-0. La Crosse was led by Mick Nisbet, who registered one goal. Nisbet scored 3:12 into the third period to make the score 2-1 La Crosse. Ben Henderson picked up the assist. La Crosse additionally got points from Ben Johnson, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Reid Brown also scored for La Crosse. In addition, La Crosse received assists from Noah Hallbeck, who had two and Alexander Rickoff, Jared Bromberg, Sam Wenner, Daniel Toycen, Taylor Trapp, and Matt Wolter, who each chipped in one. Wisconsin was led by Thomas Hanson, who scored the team's only goal. Hanson scored 18:14 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Wisconsin. Austin Lewis assisted on the tally. Max McConnell made 29 saves for Wisconsin on 34 shots.
Central Division Semi-Finals, Game 1: Rochester 1 @ North Iowa 10 (North Iowa leads best of 3 series, 1-0) - Austin Jackson netted a hat trick to lead North Iowa over Rochester, 10-1. Jackson's first goal came 7:18 into the first period. He then added goals at 14:13 into the second and at 8:13 into the third. After the loss made the series score 1-0 in the best of three series, Rochester faces elimination next time out. North Iowa additionally got points from Kohei Sato, who also registered one goal and two assists, Quinn Fuchs, who also tallied two goals and one assist, and Sean Mallonee, who also racked up one goal and two assists. Others who scored for North Iowa included Joe Burgmeier, Tommy Stang, and David Min, who scored one goal each. More assists for North Iowa came via Ryan Durant, who had three, Eric Piatt, Tom Lindgren, Adam Orn, Shane Bernhardson, Jack Stang, and David Johnson, who each chipped in one, and Owen Larson, Connor Bump, and Brett Gravelle, who contributed two each. David Johnson made 22 saves for North Iowa on 23 shots.
East Division Semi-Finals, Game 1: West Michigan 4 @ Toledo 1 (West Michigan leads best of 3 series, 1-0) - A stellar performance between the pipes by Samuel Woznicki helped West Michigan defeat Toledo, 4-1. After the loss made the series score 1-0 in the best of three series, Toledo faces elimination next time out. West Michigan was led by Devin Farkas, who racked up one goal and one assist. Farkas scored 14:47 into the first period to make the score 2-0 West Michigan. Justin Bloomfield picked up the assist. Others who scored for West Michigan included Brett Siewertsen, Dakota Ulmer, and Brendon Block, who scored one goal each. In addition, West Michigan received assists from Davis Hudson, who had one. Woznicki rejected 35 shots on goal for West Michigan. Glen Bates made 35 saves for Toledo on 39 shots.
East Division Semi-Finals, Game 1: Metro Jets 10 @ Wooster Oilers 5 (Metro leads best of 3 series, 1-0) - Devin Kelly, Pearce Vance and Chase Sereno each recorded four-point games to lead the Metro Jets past the Wooster Oilers 10-5 in Game 1 of the NA3HL’s East Division semifinals. Kelly had three goals plus an assist, Vance two goals and two assists and Sereno a goal plus three assists. Wooster actually scored the first goal of the game, but David Chavis and Kevin Shand scored late in the first period to put the Jets up 2-1 at the first intermission. Kelly then scored his first two goals 19 seconds apart midway through the second period before Sereno and Jacob Rutkoske scored 20 seconds apart four minutes later. Kelly completed his hat trick at 16:14. Vance notched his two goals in the third period and Graham Day added the 10th before Wooster tallied the final goal at 14:59. Distelrath compiled three assists for the Jets, while captain Matt Dempsey, Mathias Tellstrom and Robby Flannery all picked up a pair of helpers in the win. Limburg stopped 19 shots for the Jets, while Ben Luitgaarden made 23 saves for Wooster. Tyler Houmard scored twice for the Oilers.
Frontier Division Semi-Finals, Game 2: Great Falls 2 @ Bozeman 1 (Great Falls wins series, 2-0) – Josh Larson scored twice to lead the Great Falls Americans to a 2-1 road win in Bozeman on Friday, which clinched the Semi-Final series for the Americans as they now move onto the Frontier Division Finals. Larson scored both his goals five minutes apart from one another in the 1st period as Tanner Congdon and Ricards Bernhards picked up assists on both goals. In the 3rd period, the Icedogs closed to within one goal on a strike from Casey Gobel, but that would be all Americans goalie Jake Stephan would allow, making 24 saves in the win. Stephen Frank made 22 saves in the loss for Bozeman.
Frontier Division Semi-Finals, Game 2: Yellowstone 6 @ Gillette 4 (Best of 3 series tied, 1-1) - Nick Greene scored two goals in the third period, and had a hat trick overall, to lift the Yellowstone Quake to a 6-4 victory over the Gillette Wild on Friday night. The win evened the series between the two teams and will push the series to a third and final game in Yellowstone.
Midwest Division Semi-Finals, Game 1: Cincinnati 0 @ St. Louis 4 (St. Louis leads best of 3 series, 1-0) - St. Louis had a three-goal lead after two periods and cruised the rest of the way en route to a 4-0 win over Cincinnati. After the loss made the series score 1-0 in the best of three series, Cincinnati faces elimination next time out. St. Louis was sparked by Alex Werdmuller, who finished with one goal. Werdmuller scored 8:27 into the first period to make the score 1-0 St. Louis. Daniel Dunaway picked up the assist. St. Louis also got points from Dunaway, who also had one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. St. Louis also had goals scored by Teddy Cardinale and Alex Klaesner, who each put in one. Other players who recorded assists for St. Louis were Dominic Caito, CJ Nitchen, Cameron McAtee, Joe Nolan, Ezekiel Estrada, and Hayden Smer, who contributed one each. Jacob Weatherly rejected 17 shots on goal for St. Louis. Tyler Geloneck recorded 35 saves for Cincinnati.
South Division Semi-Finals, Game 1: Sugar Land 3 @ Point Mallard 2 (Sugar Land leads best of 3 series, 1-0) - Point Mallard tried its best to erase a two-goal deficit, but Sugar Land would not be denied the victory and hung on to win, 3-2. Sugar Land took a 3-1 lead during the second period, only to have Point Mallard storm back on a Jake Champaign goal 8:41 into the third period to pull to one goal down. After the loss made the series score 1-0 in the best of three series, Point Mallard faces elimination next time out. Matt Cozzan had two goals to lead Sugar Land to victory. Cozzan scored at 7:14 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Sugar Land and again while 10:59 into the second to make the score 2-1 Sugar Land. Sugar Land also got a goal from Michael Crowley as well. In addition, Sugar Land received assists from Luca Valenza, who had two and Trevor Wolf, RC Randall, Alex Norwinski, and Keegan Chesnick, who contributed one each. Point Mallard also had goals scored by Josh Hamilton and Justin Dunn, who each put in one. More assists for Point Mallard came via Jake Cox, Nicholas Strom, and Matt Darnell, who each chipped in one. Sugar Land's Kevin Mackey stopped 59 shots out of the 61 that he faced. Cooper Seedott rejected 11 shots on goal for Point Mallard.
West Division Semi-Finals, Game 1: Alexandria 1 @ Granite City 3 (Granite City leads best of 3 series, 1-0) - Granite City relied on the sparkling performance of Mac Berglove in net to grab a 3-1 win against Alexandria. After the loss made the series score 1-0 in the best of three series, Alexandria faces elimination next time out. Granite City was led by Andrej Jamnicky, who had one goal. Jamnicky scored 16:38 into the second period to make the score 2-0 Granite City. Granite City also had goals scored by Adam Marty and Tommy Hall, who each put in one. Other players who recorded assists for Granite City were Tanner Skaja, Chase Di Bari, and Matt Flom, who contributed one each. Alexandria was led by Logan Nelson, who scored the team's only goal. Nelson scored 4:51 into the third period to make the score 2-1 Granite City. Tyler Frischmon assisted on the tally. Berglove recorded 27 saves for Granite City. Alexandria's Derrick LaCombe stopped 26 shots out of the 29 that he faced.
West Division Semi-Finals, Game 1: Breezy Point 3 @ Twin City 4 (Twin City leads best of 3 series, 1-0) - Breezy Point tried to dig itself out of a two-goal hole, but Twin City held on for a 4-3 victory. Twin City made the score 4-2 on a goal by Jay Paul at 16:22 in the third period, and Breezy Point got as close as 4-3 when Ryan Mezera scored 18:10 into the third period. After the loss made the series score 1-0 in the best of three series, Breezy Point faces elimination next time out. Paul had a great game for Twin City, netting two goals. Others who scored for Twin City included Tyler Nystrom and Bennett Witta, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Twin City were Fritz Belisle, Nicholas Campbell, Alex Egle, Joe Costello, Yannick Zehnder, and Luc Kreuser, who contributed one each. Billy Nichol also scored for Breezy Point. More assists for Breezy Point came via Josh Laven, who had two and Andrew Heckaman, Tyler Larwood, Reise Kieffer, and Austin Langworthy, who each chipped in one. Nathan Siclovan made 29 saves for Twin City on 32 shots. Wes Paupore recorded 32 saves for Breezy Point.
