Saturday Scores: Toros begin season with sweep
Brady Ridnour had two goals in a 4-2 win on Saturday night, helping the Sabres complete a sweep of Yellowstone.
Mason City 5 @ Minnesota 3 - Three straight goals from the Mason City Toros helped them secure a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Loons. Cullen Hogan notched a pair of goals to lead the Toros while Colin Hedland picked up a goal and an assist as well for Mason City. Hayden Seigel netted the eventual game winner and Ethan Peterson also visited the red light district for the Toros. Garrett Burroughs, Jamison St. Clair and Dmitri Kuleshov all got on the scoresheet for Minnesota. Connor Graham stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced to pick up the win in goal. Axel Rosenlund stopped 19 shots in a losing effort.
Austin 5 @ TX RoadRunners 1 - The Austin Ice Bats picked up their first win of the season as Bryson Frazee stopped 67 shots as they took down the Texas RoadRunners 5-1. Sebastian Hall and Maddox Hoff each had a goal and an assist to lead the Austin offense. Caden Peterson, Luke Bradley and Al Evanyk also tickled the twine for the Ice Bats. Eitan Geralnik registered the only goal for Texas in the loss. Alex Opalacz and Jimmy Packee combined to make 21 stops.
Bozeman 1 @ Helena 3 - The Helena Bighorns improved to 4-0 on the young season with a 3-1 win over the Bozeman Icedogs. Logan Powers and Gavyn Lund scored just over a minute apart to give Helena a two goal lead. Chris Porciuncola struck on the power play for Bozeman to bring his team within one. The game remained 2-1 until late in the second period when Braden Cunningham scored his second goal of the season to make it a 3-1 game. That would be the final as Gabe Swanson finished with 28 saves for the Bighorns. Cam Milewski was a star in his own right, stopping 68 of 71 shots on goal for Bozeman.
Yellowstone 2 @ Badlands 4 - Brady Ridnour scored twice as the Badlands Sabres doubled up the Yellowstone Quake by a score of 4-2. Zach Vockler grabbed a goal and an assist while Hunter Walla also got on the scoreboard for the Sabres. Teagan Scheurer and Wyatt O’Donoghue put the puck in the back of the net for the Quake. Brady Devries picked up the win in the blue paint with 27 saves. John Hughes was dealt the loss, he made 32 saves for Yellowstone.
Butte 5 @ Sheridan 4 (OT) - Trailing 4-2 with just under two minutes remaining, the Butte Cobras pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks of the year as they came back to win 5-4 over the Sheridan Hawks in overtime. Luke Schleusner’s second goal of the game capped off a furious rally to give Butte the win. Schleusner scored with 1:24 left in the third period to bring his team within one. Cade Wessman scored with 37 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and force the extra period. Nick Bradshaw also scored twice in the win. Josh Humphreys netted two goals and two assists for the Hawks to lead the way. Sam Kleiman-Lee and Tie Schumacher also scored for Sheridan. Braylon Rogeers stopped 65 shots to earn the victory in net. Thomas Mellenthin stopped 43 shots in the loss for the Hawks.
Milwaukee 5 @ St. Louis 6 (OT): Despite surrendering a three goal lead with five minutes remaining in regulation, the St. Louis Jr. Blues were able to recoup and take down the Power in overtime thanks to Ryan Callahan. The Jr. Blues offense got rolling early in the 1st period, with Aidan Besedic and Tyler Williams each scoring within four minutes after puck drop. Milwaukee battled back to tie it later in the period, both goals coming from forward Bryce Garber. Connor Westbrock picked up a goal before intermission to send St. Louis to the locker room with a 3-2 lead. Offense quieted down in the middle frame as no teams found the back of the net, but Carson Pishkur and Ken Henning would score consecutive goals in the 3rd period to provide that three goal cushion. Milwaukee’s Owen Drake and Max Erstad had other plans in mind, Drake scoring first and Erstad adding a pair of goals to bring the game to overtime. In net, Ian Zeumer picked up the win making 28 saves. Connor Carroll and Adam Prokop each spent time in net for the Power, Prokop taking the loss with 27 stops.
Oregon 3 @ Peoria 0: The Tradesmen bounced back in their weekend series against Peoria, shutting them out 3-0 thanks to a fantastic 33 save performance from netminder AJ Adleman. The score remained deadlocked at zero until the middle frame, when Josh Christofferson found the back of the net 7:40 into the period. Dillon Schmidt doubled up the lead minutes later with a goal. In the 3rd, Carter Watters sealed the deal 13 minutes in on the powerplay. Cam Pendleton had a respectable night in net, keeping out all but three of 42 shots faced in the loss.
Long Beach 2 @ Northeast 5: The Northeast Generals remained undefeated in the 2022-23 campaign, taking down the Sharks 5-2 in the first of their two game series. A key returner to the roster, Matthew Nuzzolilo, gave the Generals a lead just 11 seconds into the contest. Nuzzolilo would score another early in the 2nd to double up the lead with Michael Locke following him up shortly after. Logan Plante and Jeremy Henk kept the Sharks in it with late goals in the period. In the 3rd, the Generals retook the momentum and scored two more coming from Caiden Hess and Braeden Kennedy. Northeast goaltender Luke Fundator made 33 saves in the victory while Colten McIntyre made 45 saves in the loss.
Atlanta 10 @ Mid Cities 2: The Atlanta Capitals powered past Mid Cities in their second game of the regular season, putting up five goals in the first period and continuing their dominance for the remaining 40 minutes. Marcus Glenn, Nick Mumford, Austyn Micale, John Ronson, and Ethan Koval all scored goals in the first period for Atlanta. Anthony O’Neill, Harrison Flaacke, Brett Philips, and Joe McLaughlin added to the lead in the 2nd period. O’Neill picked up another in the 3rd and Mid Cities’ scoring came from Timothy Pickrell and Ilnur Madiarov. Damian Vandanacker made 23 saves in the win while Aaron Palos took the loss making 18 stops.
Wausau 2 @ Rochester 4: The Grizzlies completed the weekend sweep over Wausau, improving to 4-0 on the season. Luke Sawicky and Erik Hernborn gave Rochester a two goal lead through 20 minutes with goals. After a scoreless middle frame, Chase Chapman and Dylan Chapman tied the game with scores for the Cyclones. Sawicky added another 16:29 into the 3rd to retake the Grizzlies lead and Dawson McLaughlin sealed it late with an empty netter. It was a quiet night in net for Lucas Henderson, who faced just 14 shots and kept out 12 in the win. Ryan Burke was dealt the loss while making 24 saves.
New Ulm 2 @ Granite City 7: The Lumberjacks gave their fans a lot to be excited about, opening their season with a 7-2 victory at home against the New Ulm Steel. Kyle Mortenson scored the opening goal for Granite City in the 1st period, a score that would hold until Jacob McPartland and Coby Weber improved the lead to 3-0 in the middle period. Mortenson would go on to score a natural hat trick while Jacob Slater and Hayden Johnson helped further the gap with more goals. New Ulm’s goals came from Landon Aanenson and Jack Laser. Xander Roberts finished the night with 16 saves for the Lumberjacks. Dixon Ehlers took the loss in net for the Steel, making 32 saves on 37 shots in the process.
