Saturday Scores: WarHawks rolling into playoffs

Saturday Box Scores

Willmar 4 @ Alexandria 2: The Willmar WarHawks improved their win streak to eight games after doubling up Alexandria in goals Saturday night on the road. Ethan Moerke scored the lone goal in the 1st period to hand the Blizzard the lead. Nickita Moiseev and Anthony Foster each buried one for Willmar while Wyatt Johnson buried for the Blizzard to even the scores through 40 minutes of play. In the 3rd, Blake Keller gave Willmar their first lead 1:44 into the period. Anthony Foster sealed the win with an empty netter with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. Will Kunka grabbed the win making 33 saves. Joey Greilich kept out 42 of 45 shots in the loss. 

Butte 6 @ Sheridan 2: Nick Bradshaw secured a hat trick en route to Butte’s win and series sweep over the Hawks. Bradshaw added a pair and Fabian Vik also scored to give the Cobras a 3-0 lead through 20 minutes. Sheridan fought back and cut the deficit to one as Garrett Schueber and Parker Norling both found the back of the net in the 2nd. Seconds after Norling’s goal, Bradshaw secured the natural hat trick with his 42nd of the season. In the final frame, David Hanny and Robby Arver each lit the lamp to extend the lead. Braylon Rogers was solid between the pipes for Butte, keeping out 34 shots in the win. Thomas Kursicak completed the night making 50 saves

Milwaukee 4 @ St. Louis 3: A huge first period for Milwaukee was enough to beat St. Louis by a score of 4-3. Max Erstad, Cam Dahl, Riley Planey and Patrick Toomey all scored in the first 13:21 of action for the Power and they were able to hold off the Jr. Blues onslaught at the end. Jacob Heuerman potted a pair of goals while Russell Hess also got his first of the year. Kaden Grant got the win as he made 32 saves. Espen Reager and Ethan Jourden combined for 28 saves. 

Norwich 2 @ Long Beach 3: Ryo Yamamoto’s penalty shot goal midway through the third period was the difference as the Sharks outlasted the Sea Captains 3-2. Jack Fitzpatrick put Long Beach ahead early with his 10th of the season. Trevor Souza would tie the game late in the period with his fifth of the year. After 17 minutes of scoreless play in the middle frame, Tim Hayden put Norwich ahead for the first time but the lead wouldn’t even last two minutes as Matt Carson brought the Sharks even again. Yamamoto picked up his 11th goal of the season on the penalty shot. Ryo Murakami picked up the win in between the pipes with 26 saves. Brendan Pellerito made 35 shots in the loss for Norwich. 

Danbury 6 @ Bay State 0: Nick Rogers had two goals as Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks took care of the Bay State Bobcats by a score of 6-0. Daniel Khatib, Seth Beagle, Oleg Egorov and Dylan Walker all lit the lamp for the Jr. Hat Tricks in the victory. 

Louisiana 4 @ TX RoadRunners 1: Brandon Keeney was nearly perfect in the crease for Louisiana, stopping all but one of 37 shots in the Drillers’ Saturday night victory over Texas. After a scoreless opening period, Thomas Mougin broke the deadlock in the 2nd to give Louisiana the first lead. Tyler Walker, Mougin, and Michael Harrel all netted goals in the 3rd to add insurance and seal the win. The RoadRunners’ lone goal came in the 3rd period as Derek Boutin buried his 15th of the season. Hunter Hein made 46 saves in the net for Texas. 

Mid Cities 4 @ Oklahoma City 11: Robby Rabroker found the back of the net three times and dished three assists to record an impressive six-point performance in Oklahoma City’s convincing victory over the Jr. Stars. Gavin Spears, Samuel Lamphear, and Jakob Holley each tickled the twine in the 1st period to give the Ice Hawks a lead. Kayd Peterson narrowed the deficit with a goal for Mid Cities late in the period. Rabroker, Garrett Conner, and Noah Henslee added 2nd period goals for the Ice Hawks while Dante Petrini and Dakota Sullivan buried 2nd period goals for the visitors. In the final frame, Oklahoma City buried five goals as Rabroker and Aaron Best each potted a pair and Lugas Helland added another. Mid Cities’ last goal was scored late in regulation coming from William Wood. Andrew Owens kept out 15 of 19 for the Ice Hawks while Quillon Bowman stopped 29 of 40 for Mid Cities. 

El Paso 3 @ TX Brahmas 5: Forward Michael Imala potted a pair of goals to help lift the Brahmas past El Paso on home ice. Caden Butler opened the scoring first with a goal for Mid Cities and Riley Hunt Bahn added another in the opening period. Keegan McArthur helped keep it a one-goal game after burying his 7th of the season for the Brahmas. In the 2nd period, Andrew Kungle and Imala each scored for Texas while Connor Thompson buried for the Rhinos to keep the game tied through two periods. In the final frame, Imala scored the decisive goal 4:35 in and Blake Rothstein added an insurance goal late. Brandon Shantz secured the win between the pipes, making 35 saves. Camdeen Pendleton took the loss, keeping out 39 of 44 shots faced. 

Rochester 4 @ Wausau 2: The Grizzlies moved up their win streak to twelve straight after taking down Wausau in consecutive nights. Kyle Brown and Layten Liffrig provided a quick lead for Rochester, each scoring goals in the opening period. Zac Maupin kept the deficit at one as he scored a powerplay goal for the Cyclones. In the middle period, Liffrig and Luke Anderson traded goals to keep Rochester on top heading into the final period. Lincoln Bielenberg-Howarth found the empty netter to seal the victory 19:42 into the period. Nikola Goich kept out eight shots in the victory while Ryan Burke stopped 34 of 37 in the loss. 

Atlanta 6 @ Austin 2: William Marshall and Anthony O’Neal each scored a pair of goals to lift the Capitals past Austin. Marshall scored a pair and O’Neal added his first in the opening period to give Atlanta a convincing lead early. Kaleb Miller and O’Neal both scored in the 2nd period to extend the lead. Mario Mendez helped get the Ice Bats on the board late in the 2nd with his 3rd goal of the year. Aidan Bepko scored for Atlanta and Brody Beahan scored for Austin in the 3rd to provide a final score of 6-2. Hudgel Selk made 23 saves in net for the Capitals while Sebastian Skarzenski was dealt the loss, keeping out 44 shots. 

New Ulm 1 @ Mason City 10: The Toros exploded for 10 goals in their emphatic win over the Steel, securing the series sweep. Blake Ulve gave Mason City the lead with the lone goal in the 1st period. Matt Kochanowski, Nik Howell, Derek Humphrey, Jordan Newpower, and Carter Newpower all tickled twine in the middle frame to extend the lead. Carter Newpower, Blake Ulve, Rex Staudacher, and Luke Robertson tacked on four more goals for Mason City in the 3rd. New Ulm’s lone goal came midway through the 2nd period as Zachary Maret scored his 7th of the season on the power play. Erik Chaffe was nearly perfect in net for the Toros, keeping out 18 of 19 shots that came at him. Zach Foster was dealt the loss, making 36 saves. 

Granite City 6 @ Minnesota 1: Six different skaters found the back of the net for the Lumberjacks as they took down the Loons after their win streak was snapped Friday. Andrew Butler, Zak Kennett, and Joe Greniuk all scored in the 1st period for Granite City. After a scoreless middle period Coby Weber, Tucker Skime, and Nick Mountain helped extend the lead with more goals. Minnesota’s Jack Dalton scored his first of the season to help get the Loons on the board and break up the shutout. Xander Roberts made 18 stops for the Lumberjacks while Matthew Ryynanen kept out 81 of 87 shots in the loss. 

Northeast 4 @ New Jersey 0: Netminder Mason Joseph kept out all 19 shots that came at him to secure the shutout and help push Northeast past the Titans. The Generals grabbed the lead early as Zach Sinople, Nolan Zotter, and Eddie Mulligan each added goals in the 1st period. After a scoreless 2nd period, Nolan Murphy added another insurance goal for the visitors 16:19 into the final frame. Donovan Alfama kept out 36 shots in the loss. 

Peoria 2 @ Oregon 1 (OT): Forward Jared Wisely buried his 12th of the season 37 seconds into overtime to give Peoria the win over the Tradesmen. After a scoreless opening period, Oregon broke the deadlock as Sam VanderHoeven buried his 40th of the season. Jaycob Bland brought the game to overtime for the Mustangs, scoring with just three seconds remaining in regulation. Nahuel Veyan was nearly perfect in Peoria’s crease, keeping out all but one of 41 shots faced. Austin Bartell made 27 saves in the overtime loss. 

Gillette 3 @ Badlands 2 (SO): Isaac Young and Logan Dudinsky each buried in the opening two rounds of the shootout to hand Gillette the victory over the Sabres. The Sabres had a 2-1 lead heading into the 2nd period as Seth Stock and Zach Vockler scored for Badlands and Zack Slinger buried one for the Wild. Isaac Young evened the score midway through the 2nd period on the power play, a score that eventually brought the contest to an overtime and shootout. Jake Turek took the win, making 19 stops while Maxim Currie did all he could in Badlands’ crease, keeping out 54 in the shootout loss. 

Helena 3 @ Bozeman 1: Eric Buccholz was nearly perfect in net for the Bighorns, holding Bozeman to just one goal on 25 shots faced in the victory. Bozeman grabbed the first lead as Ian Bowman scored his 28th of the season early in the 1st. The lead didn’t last long as Tyler Bloom would tie it just over a minute later. In the 2nd period, Corbin Skinner and Tylor Greene both added goals to provide the lead and insurance, both goals coming on the power play. Cameron Milewski had a quality goaltending performance for the Icedogs, keeping out 52 shots in the loss. 

Yellowstone 1 @ Great Falls 9: Forward Thomas Gazich buried four goals and dished two helpers for the Americans in their dominant win over the Quake. Five other skaters found the back of the net for Great Falls, Jackson Henningsgard most notably scoring once and dishing four assists in the winning effort. JJ Martin, Silas Hughes, and Jace Thompson were the other goal scorers. Yellowstone’s lone goal came midway through the 2nd period as Bryce Whittier scored his first goal of the season. Will Simpson kept out 24 shots in the win. Edvin Falkenstrom and Cole Eastman both spent time in net for the Quake, Falkenstrom being dealt the loss with 56 saves on 61 shots.