Binghamton, Yellowstone, Metro and Granite City move to Semi-Finals
Brady Dahl had four points in the round-robin to lead Granite City to the Semi-Finals.
#1 Metro Jets 5 vs. #4 St. Louis Jr. Blues 3 – The Metro Jets advanced to Saturday’s Silver Cup Semi-Finals thanks to a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Jr. Blues in both team’s round-robin finale. Metro finished with a 2-1 record, while St. Louis finished with a 1-2 record. The Jr. Blues were the ones to jump ahead in the 1st period thanks to a goal from Ryan Edgar. Metro seized control in the 2nd period with three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead, which included goals from Connor Inger, Louis Boudon and Jason Recchia. The Jr. Blues gained some momentum back late in the 2nd period with a goal from Nick Balestra with just :02 seconds remaining. St. Louis tied the game at 3-3 early in the 3rd period with a goal from Brandon Bornkamp. In the final minute of regulation, the Jets found the game winner as a shot from the point was tipped home by Hayden Winch with just :44 seconds remaining in the 3rd period. The Jets added a late empty-net goal from Inger, his second of the game to secure the 5-3 win and spot in the Semi-Finals. Jets goalie Andrew Kormos made 21 saves in the win, while Jr. Blues goalie Sawyer Schmidt made 48 saves in the loss. Boxscore
#8 Granite City Lumberjacks 6 vs. #5 Atlanta Capitals 2 – A three-goal 2nd period propelled the Granite City Lumberjacks to a 6-2 win in their final round-robin game on Friday, sending the Lumberjacks to the Silver Cup Semi-Finals on Saturday with a 2-1 record. Atlanta finished with a 1-2 record and was eliminated. The Capitals were the first to jump on the board with a goal from Michael Klintworth less than two minutes into the game. The Lumberjacks stormed back with four straight goals, including two later in the 1st period from Andrej Jamnicky and Brady Dahl. The 2nd period opened with two quick goals from the Lumberjacks to take a 4-1 lead as Ryan Smith and Keenen Lund found the back of the net. Atlanta made it 4-2 later in the period with a goal from Anton Minaev, but the Lumberjacks responded with a goal from Matthew Moran to make the score 5-2 at the end of two periods. Brade Altena added a 3rd period goal to make the final 6-2. Mac Berglove made 16 saves in the win, while Nolan Bivolcic made 35 saves in the loss. Boxscore
#2 Binghamton Junior Senators 3 vs. #3 Yellowstone Quake 2 – The Binghamton Junior Senators came from behind to edge the Yellowstone Quake, 3-2 and claim the top spot in Pool B with a 2-0-1 record and seven points. Yellowstone suffered their first lost of the round-robin and finished 2nd in the pool with 6 points. Things looked good for the Quake early on as Jesse Lawman scored in the 1st period to give his club a 1-0 lead. Early in the 2nd period, the Quake extended the lead to 2-0 with an unassisted goal from Ian Doner. Just over a minute later, the Junior Senators finally broke through with the third goal of the tournament for Ryan Reifler. In the 3rd period Dominik Bogdziul and Ryan Flanagan scored just over a minute apart, in what would stand as the difference makers in the win. Sens goalie Sal Lauretta made 25 saves in the win, while Quake goalie Brady Anderson made 34 saves in the loss. Boxscore
#6 North Iowa Bulls 8 vs. #7 Long Beach Sharks 4 – Conor Clemons had a hat-trick as the North Iowa Bulls won their second game of the round-robin with a convincing 8-4 win over the Long Beach Sharks. However, the overtime win and subsequent 2 points from the night before proved to be the Bulls undoing as they failed to advance out of the round-robin with 5 points. Long Beach finished the event 0-3. The Bulls scored four, 1st period goals, which included two from Clemons and other from Owen Larson and Mitch Dolter. Clemons and Dolter scored again in the 2nd period and Brendan Studioso and Nick Klishko added 3rd period tallies. For the Sharks, Carmine Taffo scored in the 1st period, Gunther Stange added a 2nd period goal and Oskar Lindberg and Phil Garcia scored in the 3rd period. Drew Scites made 23 saves in the win, while Kyle Van Wagner took the loss, making 33 saves. Boxscore
