Sunday Wrap-Up: Drillers bring home two wins in return
St. Louis forward Joey Solimando had a goal and an assist in a 7-2 win on Sunday.
Louisiana 4 @ TX RoadRunners 0 – The Drillers took home the rubber match of their three-game series in Texas as goalie Chris Branch stopped all 45 shots in his NA3HL debut in a 4-0 shutout win. The Driller jumped ahead 1-0 with a 1st period goal from Timothy Miller. The Drillers would then put the game out of reach in the 2nd period as Mark Kurliandchyk scored twice and Mark Phillips added another. Roadrunners goalie Jaxon Taylor made 37 saves in the loss.
St. Louis 7 @ Wausau 2 – The Jr. Blues cruised to their second win of the weekend as seven different players scored on their way to a 7-2 win. It was all Jr. Blues from the start as they took a 3-0 lead in the 1st period with goals from Jackson Henningsgard, Derek Cagle, and Mike Ivory. The lead swelled to 7-0 as St. Louis added four more goals in the 2nd period as Riley Howse, Matt McGowan, Jack Dapron, and Joey Solimando all scored. The RiverWolves got both of their goals in the 3rd period as Caden Phelps and Pavel Bakhtin found the back of the net. Jr. Blues goalie Owen Carlson made 23 saves in the win, while Caleb Sauer took the loss with 27 saves.
Oklahoma City 4 @ Atlanta 1 – The Blazered earned a weekend split with the Capitals thanks to a 4-1 win on Sunday. The win kept the Blazers within two points of the 1st place Texas Brahmas. The Capitals opened the scoring with their lone goal of the game, which came on the power play from Nicholas Cyprian. The Blazers took control of the game in the 2nd period with three goals from Artem Shura, Samuel Miller, and Michael Onda to take a 3-1 lead. Patrick Wyers added a power play goal late in the 3rd period to make it a 4-1 final. Jacob Ahl made 27 saves in the win, while Greg Smith made 45 saves in the loss.
TX Brahmas 2 @ El Paso 1 (SO) – It took 10 rounds and 20 combined shooters, but the Texas Brahmas outlasted the El Paso Rhinos on Sunday, taking home a 2-1 shootout win. The Rhinos scored their lone regulation goal in the 1st period as Colton Chipman found the back of the net for the third time this season. The Brahmas managed to tie the game midway through the 3rd period as RJ Muckensturm scored on the power play. Muckensturm would again be a factor in the shootout, netting the game-winner as the 10th Brahmas shooter. Brahmas goalie Dolan Gilbert made 22 saves in the win, while Rustam Kulizade made 28 saves in the shootout loss.
North Iowa 5 @ Alexandria 3 – Carter Newpower and Carson Jones each had a goal and an assist to pace the Bulls past the Blizzard on Sunday, 5-3. The Bulls took an early 1-0 lead thnks to a 1st period goal from Jones. The Blizzard stormed back early in the 2nd period with three goals in just over two minutes as Kaden Peterson, Nikolai Rajala, and Sean Kenny all scored to give the Blizzard a 3-1 lead. The lead was short-lived however, as the Bulls scored four straight goals to end the game, which included three goals in the 2nd period from Newpower, Brayden Uttech, and Shota Kaneko, and a 3rd period tally from Cal Nauss. Bulls goalie Evan Babekuhl made 21 saves in the win, while Joey Greilich made 31 saves in the loss.
