Friday Finals: Great Falls streak reaches 16 straight

February 23, 2019

Great Falls 3 @ Bozeman 1 - Payton McSharry's double led the way as the Americans flexed their muscle with a 3-1 win over the Icedogs in Bozeman on Friday, extending their winning streak to 16 straight games. Brandon Peterson scored as well for Great Falls as they eclipsed Duncan McGarrah's lone goal for Bozeman. Drew Scites picked up the 35-save win, outmatching Mikael Levokari's 41 stops in the Icedogs cage.

 

Long Beach 2 @ Skylands 4 - Josh Sears stopped 39 pucks to backstop the Kings to a 4-2 win over the Sharks on Friday. Zach Burkhart, Dylan Saccone, Zakaray Sparks and Justin Hiler fueled the Skylands' attack, as Eric Immel and Dino Mukovoz lit the lamp for Long Beach. Sharks goaltender Darren Nathan turned aside 55 pucks in the loss. 

 

Texas 4 @ Atlanta 5 (SO) - Texas exploded for four goals in the final frame to force extra time, but Christopher Linde and Ayrton Cornic netted in the shootout as the Capitals escaped with a 5-4 win over the Brahmas. Keith Gustin, Nicholas Sleeper, Cole Thomas Johnson and Joey Lajcaj scored in regulation to push Atlanta to a 4-0 advantage, before Andrue Trelstad struck twice and John Ogeka and Stuart Pearson found twine in Texas' comeback. Quinn Yeager stopped 16 shots to earn the win, outdueling Thomas Held's 25 stops in the Brahmas' cage. 

 

New Ulm 9 @ Evansville 1 - A five-goal third period helped the Steel pull away en route to a 9-1 over the Thunderbolts on the road. Corey Stormer, Jacob Halvorson and Sam Ayd netted twice apiece as Baylor Hudson, Hunter Johnson and Jarrett Cammarata each scored once. Deric Richison scored the lone Evansville strike in front of 46 saves from Stephen Friedland, as the Thunderbolts forced Steel goalie James Royce into eight saves. 

 

North Iowa 1 @ Rochester 4 - The Grizzlies rode a pair of Vladislav Sorokin goals to a 2-0 lead and never looked back, ultimately topping the Bulls 4-1 on Friday. Erik Evans and Lucas Newman rounded out the Rochester offense, while Peter Verstegen scored for North Iowa. Nick Bucklin stonewalled 40 pucks for the Grizzlies, while Dysen Skinner stopped 23 for the Bulls. 

 

Breezy Point 1 @ Alexandria 5 - Cooper Hoheisel struck first for the North Stars, but the Blizzard potted five in a row to take a 5-1 win at home on Friday. Zach Curry, Riley Scanlon, Dylan Mattson, Ike Taraszewski and Connor Busse each scored in front of a 25-save effort from Kyle Hayden. Lane Fox impressed for Breezy Point with 37 saves. 

 

Cape Cod 2 @ New England 4 - The Stars jumped out to a 3-0 advantage to boost themselves to a 4-2 win over the Islanders on Friday. Goals from Zachary Burnham, Eric Steeves, Ryan Caisse and Trevor Arsenault fueled the win, as Derek D'Arcy and Tanner Little provided a late Cape Cod comeback bid. Matthew Marini took a 25-save win while Maxim Clouser stopped 40. 

 

Granite City 5 @ Wisconsin 1 - Bailey Sommers scored twice, David Mulligan made 15 saves and the Lumberjacks coasted to a 5-1 win over the Whalers on the road. Montana Streit, Hunter Schwehr and Brad Amundson also scored for Granite City. Jeff Bishop posted the single Wisconsin goal in front of 38 saves by Caleb Sauer. 

 

Coulee Region 8 @ Milwaukee 3 - The Chill train rolled on as Matt Janke struck twice and Michael Janke turned aside 18 shots to propel them to an 8-3 victory over the Power. Also scoring for Coulee Region were Brandon Ratzloff, Marco Escobar, Brock Zukowski, Toon De Schepper, Brady Lindauer and Marcus Tilmon. Logan Geisness, Maris Graudins and Chuck Bay found twine for Milwaukee, who received 16 saves from Aaron Dickstein. 

 

Missoula 3 @ Helena 4 (OT) - The Bruins held a 3-1 advantage early in the third period thanks to two Christian Ward goals in a three-minute span, but two late strikes from the Bighorns forced overtime where Darren Donovan played hero to push Helena to a 4-3 comeback win over Missoula. Nicholas Pedersen put the Bighorns ahead early before Misha Akatnov and Ward potted three straight. Ricards Groskops and Ian Zaleski then mounted Helena's comeback, setting the stage for Donovan's overtime tally. Alexander Rogers stopped 29 in the win, while Evan Williams turned aside 28 for Missoula. 

 

Yellowstone 1 @ Gillette 6 - Coleman Varty posted a hat-trick, Gage Thompson scored twice and Aaron LaChance stopped 19 of 20 to help the Wild to a 6-1 win over the Quake. Ethan Becker also scored for Gillette, while Dylan Rumpke posted Yellowstone's goal. Michael Allman faced down 54 pucks in the Quake cage.