Friday Finals: Alexandria win part of offensive explosion on Friday
Austin forward Coby Nostrant had two goals and an assist in a 7-2 win over Mid Cities.
Milwaukee 3 @ Alexandria 8 – Joe Gronholz scored twice to lead the Blizzard to a convincing 8-3 win over the Power. Milwaukee led 1-0 on a goal from Mason Ausmus. The Blizzard responded with goals from Cole Klingbeil and Ryan Hadland to take a 2-1 lead. The Power tied the game early in the 2nd period on another goal from Ausmus, but the Blizzard put the game out of reach with four straight goals in the 2nd period to take a 6-2 lead as Gronholz, Ethan Moerke, Michael Debrito, and Alex Heidenreich scored. In the 3rd period, Michael Dalaly scored for the Power, while Gronholz and Erick Sanborn scored for the Blizzard. Joey Greilich made 28 saves in the win, while Anthony Maiorca made 40 saves in the loss.
Austin 7 @ Mid Cities 2 – Austin goalie Brandon Shantz made 38 saves to lead his club to a 7-2 win on Friday over the Stars. The two teams were deadlocked at 2-2 before the Ice Bats exploded for the final five goals. Lucas Helland scored the opening two goals for Austin, while Easton Walters and Colton Sebastian scored for Mid Cities. The Ice Bats then rattled off five straight goals, including two from Coby Nostrant and others from Xavier Juarez, Brody Beahan, and Jerame Kennedy to win 7-2. Quillon Bowman made 40 saves in the loss.
El Paso 11 @ Atlanta 1 – The Rhinos got goals from nine different players, including two goals apiece from Dylan Thompson and Caden Butler in a dominant 11-1 win over Atlanta. The Rhinos opened up a 5-0 lead halfway through the game with goals from Butler, Noah Easterson, Wesley Rees, Jaxon Penner, and Matthew Barners. The Capitals broke the shutout late in the 2nd period with their lone goal from Caleb Miller. The Rhinos added six more goals in the 3rd period, including two from Thompson, another from Butler and others from Payne Pent, Reno Parker, and Kaiden Hafele. Camden Pendleton made 27 saves in the win, while Brendan Smith and Paul Jarvis shared the loss.
Peoria 7 @ New Ulm 3 – The Mustangs got two goals apiece from Jaycob Bland and Ethan Chesney in a convincing 7-3 win over the Steel. Bland and Chesney both scored in the 1st period to put Peoria ahead, 2-0. The Steel then rattled off three straight goals from Conner Souza, Matt Zaruba, and Bauer Barry to take a 3-2 lead. However, the Mustangs would then score five straight to win the game, which included two more goals from Bland and Chesney and others from Hubert Guzy, Jackson Gram, and Christopher Kondiles. TJ DeMeulenaere picked up the win in goal, while Zach Foster took the loss.
St. Louis 0 @ Wausau 6 – Mitch Miscevich stopped all 23 shots that came his way for his first NA3HL shutout as the Cyclones blanked the Jr. Blues, 6-0. After a scoreless 1st period, the Cyclones scored three goals in the 2nd period from Nolan Gifford, Gage Vierzba, and Hayden Shoemake. Wausau would add three more goals in the 3rd period as Cullen Moehring, Zac Maupin, and Pavel Bakhtin scored. Jr. Blues goalie Brendan Cobb made 35 saves in the loss.
Mason City 6 @ Willmar 1 – Carter Newpower scored twice as the Toros built an early lead and never looked back in a 6-1 road win in Willmar. Mason City led 4-0 after two periods, which included goals from Newpower, Jack Campion, Cal Levis, and Luke Robertson. In the 3rd period, Newpower scored again to make it 5-0. The WarHawks netted their lone goal midway through the 3rd period as Anthony Foster scored. Rex Staudacher would add the sixth goal for the Toros. Erik Chaffe made 47 saves in the win, while Will Kunka and Will Pinney shared the loss for the WarHawks.
Minnesota 1 @ Granite City 9 – Kullan Daikawa had a hat-trick to lead Granite City to a 9-1 win over the Loons. It was all Lumberjacks from the drop of the puck as they led 2-0 after the 1st period on goals from Daikawa and Zak Kennett. Daikawa added two more goals in the 2nd period and Tal Halliday and Bjorn Jorgenson also scored to make it 6-0. AJ Schemenauer, Cory Warner, and Nick Mountain all scored in the 3rd period to make it a 9-0 game. Kyle Couture would score the lone Loons goal, which came on the power play midway through the 3rd period. Lumberjacks goalie Quentin Sigurdson made 10 saves in the win, while Matthew Ryynanen made 57 saves in the loss.
Rochester 3 @ Oregon 1 – The Grizzlies moved their record to a perfect 8-0 on the season as they got 37 saves from goalie Lucas Henderson in a 3-1 road win in Oregon. The Grizzlies jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st period thanks to a goal from Kade Shea. The lead increased to 2-0 in the 2nd period as TJ Norris scored on the power play. Oregon cut the lead down to 2-1 with a 3rd period goal from Gunnar Schiffmann, but a late goal from Jake Laurila for the Grizzlies secured the 3-1 win. Ian Hedican made 47 saves in the loss.
Badlands 1 @ Helena 9 – The Bighorns improved their season record to a perfect 9-0 as Liam Bland scored twice in a 9-1 win over the visiting Sabres. Helena led 2-0 after one period on goals from Bland and Samuel Feamster. The game was put out of reach in the 2nd period as Helena scored five more times with goals from Harlan Wojtusik, Tyler Bloom, Tylor Greene, Corbin Skinner, and Gavyn Galloway. Badlands netted their lone goal early in the 3rd period from Brady Ridnour to make it 7-1, but more goals in the 3rd period from Bland and Adam Harvey secured the 9-1 win. Anthony Adleman made 13 saves in the win, while Maxim Currie took the loss with 38 saves.
Great Falls 7 @ Sheridan 2 – Tae Evans scored two goals and added two assists as the Americans handled the Hawks in a 7-2 win in Sheridan. The Americans opened up a 3-0 lead thanks to two goals from Evans and another from Jay Alford. Sheridan got on the board in the 2nd period with a goal from Teejay Torgrimson. The American put the game out of reach with four straight goals from Tyler Sunagel, Jackson Henningsgard, Hunter Maschke, and Henry Fusco to make it 7-1. Makhai Sparks had the other goal for Sheridan. Wil Simpson made 36 saves in the win. Bo Buckley took the loss with 20 saves.
Gillette 12 @ Yellowstone 3 – Sky Solig, Declan Young, and Tucker Lien all recorded hat-tricks and Saizha Norwegian had six assists to lead the Wild to a 12-3 win over the Quake. The Wild led 7-0 after two periods as Solig, Young, and Lien all scored twice and Zack Slinger also added a goal. In the 3rd period, the Quake scored three times on two goals from Gustov Ostman and another from Keegan Ferguson, but more Wild goals from Young, Lien, Solig, Will Blake and Alex Duchemin completed the 12-goal outburst. Jack Orchard made 19 saves in the win, while Luc Haggitt and Brandon Lakusta shared the loss.
