Friday Finals: Champs open with shutout
Dmitri Kuleshov led the Minnesota Loons to a 7-1 win on Opening Night.
Rochester 7 @ St. Louis 0: The Rochester Grizzlies reminded that they are back and ready for another season, taking down St. Louis 7-0 on the road. The Grizzlies got their offense going quickly as Per Waage and Erik Hernborn each buried a goal before the 15 minute mark in the 1st period. Austin Meers and Hernborn doubled up Rochester’s lead in the 2nd period. In the final frame, Lucas Sawicky potted a pair of goals and Connor Stoffel tallied another to widen the gap. Netminder Lucas Henderson claimed the shutout, making 24 saves in the win. Mason Brooks took the loss while making 30 stops on 37 shots.
New Ulm 1 @ Minnesota 7: The Minnesota Loons have gotten themselves off to a good start this season with a convincing 7-1 win over the New Ulm Steel. There was plenty of early action in the 1st period from both teams as Dmitri Kuleshov and Derrand Wilcox each buried goals for the Loons and Gus Cantwell scored for the Steel, their only goal of the night. The Loons kept up the pace in the 2nd period with another goal from Kuleshov and two more added by Mason Wharton and Tyrone Fevry. Fevry and Blake Keller would tally on more goals to extend the lead in the 3rd period. Nolan Lacosse had a busy night in net, making 50 saves in the loss. Keaton French kept out 29 shots for the Loons.
Milwaukee 1 @ Peoria 5: The Peoria Mustangs opened up the 2022-23 season by saluting the home crowd as they took down the Milwaukee Power by a final score of 5-1. The competitive play in the first period did not reflect the final score, as both teams tallied 11 shots and Milwaukee scored the first goal, giving the visitors a 1-0 through 20 minutes. From then on the Mustangs set off on a mission, outshooting the Power 24-2 in the second period and taking the lead thanks to a pair of goals by Ethan Chesney. Their offensive surge continued in the 3rd period as Jaycob Bland, Sean Patrick Merck, and Tristan Trudel each buried their first goals of the season for Peoria. Goaltender Connor Carroll saw a lot of action in his debut in a Milwaukee Sweater, making 41 saves in the loss. Joseph Ambroffi stopped all but one of 21 shots faced in the loss.
Northeast 6 @ New Jersey 0: The Northeast Generals are the first team to two wins in the NA3HL as they took down the Titans in dominating fashion in their first of two games this opening weekend. Forward Michael Locke opened the scoring on the powerplay in the 1st period. Northeast’s second goal wouldn’t come until early in the 2nd from Dalton Wille, with Mason Frary following him shortly after with another tuck. Braeden Kennedy, Frary, and Gabe Vijuk would all add goals to extend the lead in the final period. Jake Ogaglia finished the night making 33 saves for the Titans while Northeast netminder Ian Kangas stopped all 23 shots for the first shutout of the season.
Bozeman 0 @ Gillette 8: Some familiar faces on the Gillette Wild helped contribute to their 8-0 win over the Bozeman Icedogs to open the season. Ryan Hipsag and Sky Solig got the offense rolling quickly for the Wild with two 1st period goals. Alec Waller and Saizha Norwegian doubled the lead in the 2nd, Norwegian eventually scoring a hat trick later in the game. Jace Johnson and Isaac Young were the other goalscorers for the Wild. Jake Turek made 28 saves en route to his 3rd career NA3HL shutout. Cam Milewski made an impressive 78 saves in the loss.
Helena 8 @ Badlands 3: A flurry of offense early in the 3rd period helped Helena pull away from the Sabres and take the first game of two in this weekend battle. The score was knotted at one goal a piece through one period as Brady Ridnour and Gavyn Lund scored for their clubs. The teams traded goals back and forth in the 2nd period, with Andrew Deskin scoring a pair for the victors, Camden Cunningham adding another, while Ridnour and Dawson buried goals for the Sabres. Gavyn Lund, Tyler Bloom, TJ Norris, and Dylan Cunningham all scored for Helena in their dominant 3rd period to lead them to victory. Jesse Schindel stopped 22 shots in the win while Zach Broxterman made 41 saves for the Sabres.
Sheridan 4 @ Yellowstone 2: Despite a late 3rd period surge of opportunities for the Quake, the Sheridan Hawks held on to win 4-2 and grab their first victory of the season. The score remained level through 20 minutes with Wyatt O'Donoghue scoring for Yellowstone and Wyatt Nobles scoring for the Hawks. Sheridan grabbed the lead in the 2nd thanks to a pair of goals from Ryan McKenna. Ryan Hiles brought the lead within one before intermission, scoring with just 17 seconds left on the clock. Makhai Sparks would provide the dagger 15:17 into the final period coming from Parker Norling, his 3rd assist of the night. Patric Loeffler made 22 stops in the win while Edvin Falkenstrom kept out 33 in the loss.
