Saturday Scores: Bighorns, Wild stay undefeated with sweeps
Gillette forward Carson Kuche had six points in a two-game sweep of the Bozeman Icedogs.
Helena 7 @ Butte 1 - Tylor Green's two goals led the way as the Bighorns topped the Cobras 7-1 to stay perfect through 11 games this season. Liam Bland, Tyler Alldrege, Eric Gibboney, Gavyn Galloway and Andrew Deskin also scored for Helena, easily eclipsing Nick Bradshaw's lone goal for Butte. Anthony Adleman's 17 saves proved enough for the win between the Bighorns pipes, but Butte's Nikolai Wallery and Braylon Rogers did all they could, combining for 58 saves on the night.
Bozeman 1 @ Gillette 7 - As Helena held serve in its tilt with Butte, so too did the Wild in a 7-1 win over the Icedogs at home to move to a perfect 13-0-0 record through the young season and keep the undefeated battle with Helena going strong atop the Frontier Division. Carson Kuche and Sky Solig each scored twice, with Isaac Young, Caleb Sanborn and Nate Fanning rounding out the Gillette goalscoring. Luke Busher grabbed the lone Bozeman goal in front of a stout 55 saves from Collin Soderholm, but Gillette's Jack Orchard stopped the other 28 shots to pick up the win.
Rochester 4 @ Milwaukee 2 - Four different skaters lit the lamp as the Grizzlies topped the Power 4-2 on Saturday. Adam Johnson, Logan Schwartzhoff, Kyle Bauer and Kade Shea tallied for Rochester, while Max Erstad and Easton Nick put Milwaukee on the board. Zach Wiese stopped 18 pucks in the win, while Spencer Northway turned aside 31 for Milwaukee.
Long Beach 3 @ Bay State 1 - Jack Fitzpatrick scored twice and Greyson Skirpan stopped 32 of 33 shots as the Sharks knocked off the Bobcats 3-1 on the road. Jake Weikel also scored for Long Beach, while Tima Basarab struck for Bay State. Bobcats netminder Ben Di Fiore finished with 26 saves in his team's loss.
New Jersey 0 @ Northeast 7 - Nolan Murphy's two goals and Mason Joseph's 24-save shutout highlighted a stellar Generals showing as they rolled past the visiting Titans 7-0. Northeast also received goals from Samuel Lamphear, Tyler Ramm, Braeden Kennedy, Caiden Hess and Matthew Nuzzolilo in the rout. New Jersey goaltenders Donavan Alfama and Logan Hensley combined for 49 saves on the night.
TX Brahmas 9 @ Oklahoma City 4 - Buoyed by two-goal efforts from Eric Vrkoc and Benjamin Mondou, the Brahmas cruised past the Ice Hawks 9-4 for a big road win in the South Division. Michael Kramer, Mason Mara, Jeremiah Snyder, Gion Coray and Aleksandr Gamzatov also found twine for Texas, while Noah Henslee, Jakob Holley, Robby Rabroker and Patrick Wyers put Oklahoma City on the board. Dolan Gilbert's 25 saves earned him the win between the pipes, while OKC's Blake Sprow turned aside 19 pucks for his team.
New Ulm 2 @ Alexandria 4 - After the two teams traded goals through the better part of 50 minutes, Justin Wasvick and Matt McIntyre potted a pair of goals to help the Blizzard pull away towards a 4-2 win over the Steel on Saturday. Michael Debrito and Zachary DeMarce also scored for Alexandria, eclipsing New Ulm goals from Gus Cantwell and Colby Nickel. Joey Greilich stopped 23 of 25 saves for the win, while Zach Foster faced a busy night with 58 saves on 61 shots in New Ulm's loss.
Peoria 6 @ Wausau 4 - Down by three after one period, the Mustangs rattled off five straight goals, including two-goal performances by Ethan Chesney and Jackson Gram, as they topped the Cyclones 6-4 with an impressive comeback. Christopher Kondiles and Connor Henderson also tallied for Peoria, while Zac Maupin (2), Luke Anderson and Gage Vierzba fueled Wausau's offense. Peoria goaltenders TJ DeMeulenaere and Joe Ambroffi combined for 17 saves in the win, while Zach Dosan of Wausau stopped 38 pucks in the loss.
Willmar 4 @ Granite City 7 - Sean Davidson and Tory Lund each scored twice as the Lumberjacks took a 7-4 win over the Warhawks in a back-and-forth tilt on Saturday night. After Willmar's Elbridge DeKraai and Granite City's Cory Warner traded goals in the first period, Lund grabbed his two goals to outpace a lone Jeremiah Konkel tally for Willmar in period two, cementing a 3-2 'Jacks lead through 40 minutes. Matthew DeLany put Granite City up by a pair early in the third, but Ben Leudtke and Anthony Foster posted back-to-back strikes to level the scores midway through the final frame. Davidson came to the rescue for Granite City, though, with a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes, with Nicholas Richert finding twine as well to bring the lead to three goals as the final horn sounded. Quentin Sigurdson earned the win between the pipes with 30 saves for Granite City, while Willmar's Will Kunka stopped 39 at the other end of the rink.
Minnesota 1 @ Mason City 10 - Jack Campion and Cullen Hogan each scored a double to highlight a rampant offensive showing for the Toros on Saturday as they thumped the Loons 10-1. Anton Egle, Blake Polifka, Sota Isogai, Dillon Schmidt, Shota Kaneko and Zach Giblin rounded out the Toros' attack, while Tye Kusilek put Minnesota on the board. Owen Carlson stopped 13 saves in the win, but Minnesota's Matthew Ryynanen was far more busy with 63 saves in his team's defeat.
St. Louis 1 @ Oregon 5 - A scoreless first 20 gave way to a barrage from the Tradesmen as they cruised to a 5-1 win over the visiting Jr. Blues. Tyler Steuck, Carter Watters, Abe Laggis, Jake Fountain and Henry Slager provided the late onslaught of goals, as John Dapron posted the lone goal for St. Louis. Aidan Wright was nearly perfect between the pipes for Oregon with 29 saves on 30 shots, while St. Louis' Brendan Cobb finished with 47 saves on 52 shots.
Sheridan 2 @ Yellowstone 4 - Cole Eastman stopped 46 shots and Gabe Coppo scored twice in the third period to break a tie game and carry the Quake past the Hawks 4-2 on Saturday. Joey Epplin and Keegan Ferguson had Yellowstone cruising early in this one, before Makhai Sparks and McCaffrey Billings evened things up for Sheridan. But between Eastman's stellar play in net and Coppo's late-game heroics, the Quake came out on top despite a strong 42-save showing from Sheridan's Bo Buckley in net.
