Friday Finals: Granite City wins clash in Gillette
New Ulm goalie Nolan Lacosse made 56 saves in a 5-2 win over Mason City on Friday.
Granite City 6 @ Gillette 2: Granite City extended their win streak to four games now by defeating the Gillette Wild by a score of 6-2. The Lumberjacks controlled almost the entire game as they had a 5-0 lead after 40 minutes of play with goals coming from Brett Robinson, Dominic Thomas (PP), Coby Weber, Jacob Slater (PP), and Reed Hanus. In the third period Gillette was able to get on the board by scoring two goals coming from Alec Waller and Connor Wendell (PP), while Granite City added to their commanding lead and secured the victory with their 6th goal of the night scored by Dayne Deanovich. Xander Roberts stood tall between the pipes stopping 37 of 39 shots, while Cole Wheaton and Dominc Hite shared the net for Gillete as Wheaton turned away 32 of 37 shots and Hite stopped 10 of 11 shots.
Mason City 2 @ New Ulm 5: The New Ulm Steel trailed after the first to battle back in the second and third period for a 5-2 win over the Mason City Toros. In the first period, Hayden Siegel (1:37) scored then followed up by Marcus Fritel (4:33) for a 2-0 Mason City lead. Later in the period, Landen Schwantes (8:55) got the Steel on the score sheet to end the period, 2-1. In the second, the Steel went to work with Conner Souza (2:35) and Gus Cantwell (13:06) scoring to take the lead 3-2. The Steel kept on the offensive side of the puck with Macrae Gordon (9:09) and then Harrison Albrecht (12:34) to take a 5-2 win. Nolan Lacosse turned away 56 of the 58 shots.
Northeast 4 @ Norwich 0: The Northeast Generals stayed undefeated after a 4-0 shutout over the Norwich Sea Captains. Cadiden Hess (2:30) got the Generals on the board in the first period with the help of Michael Locke for a 1-0 lead. In the second, Matthew Nuzzolilo (2:18) netted his 9th goal of the year and Tommy Lubin for a 2-0 score. Nick Recupero (8:29) added to the Generals lead with Braeden Kennedy getting called for the assist and a 3-0 lead. In the third period, Nolan Zotter (1:01) scored the final goal of the game with Cody Lambert’s help for a 4-0 final. Luke Fundator posted a 26 shot shutout in the contest.
Atlanta 2 @ Louisiana 3 (OT): The Louisianna Drillers took an overtime win against the Atlanta Capitals, 3-2. The Drillers got on the board in the first period with Jack Lambert (8:11) with Cheeno Gryska and Lukas Dany called on the assists. In the second period, Tyler Walker (3:49) added to the Drillers lead with Jack Lambert on the assist for a 2-0 lead. Later in the period, Anthony O’Neal (13:02) scored to get the Capitals on the lead, 2-1. In the third period, Robbie Aranos (7:54) evened the game for the Capitals to force overtime, 2-2. In the extra frame, Daniel Crutcher (0:59) scored to get the full two points for the Drillers, 3-2.
Rochester 1 @ Peoria 4: The Peoria Mustangs took a 4-1 win over the Rochester Grizzlies. In the first period Christopher Kondiles (8:07) scored to get the Mustangs on the board. Late in the period, Benjamin Tschida (19:04) evened the game 1-1. After a scoreless second frame, the Mustangs took back the lead with Jaycob Bland (0:45), 2-1. Peoria added to their lead seconds later with Zachary Lacasse (0:57) to get ahead 3-1. Near the midway mark, Tristan Trudel (9:47) netted his fourth of the year. The Mustangs held the Grizzlies off the scoresheet to take a 4-1 win.
TX Brahmas 6 @ Mid Cities 0: The Texas Brahmas shutout the Mid Cities Jr. Stars in a 6-0 final. In the first period, Keegan McArthur (15:26) with Wyatt Withham and Trent Barker on the assists. In the second period the Brahmas added four unanswered goals. Colin Stow (4:31), Trent Barker (11:13), Cameron Colberg (14:20) and George Keeley (14:28) took a 5-0 score. In the third period, Adam Goldstein (12:26) scored for the final score 6-0. Brendan Forden stopped all 25 shots he faced in the win.
Wausau 1 @ Milwaukee 2 (OT): The Milwaukee Power grabbed the first win of the weekend series in a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over the Wausau Cyclones. The Power potted home the first goal of the game at 7:44 in the first period as that goal belonged to Bryce Garber. That lead did not last long as Wausau was able to tie the game up at 8:34 of the first period, scored by Ricky Nelson. That was all for regulation as this hard fought battle needed extra time to decide a winner. Bryce Garber became the Overtime hero notching his second goal of the game at 3:17 of extra time, lifting the Power to their third victory of the season. Spencer Norway was the winning goaltender between the pipes for the power stopping 27 of 28 shots, while Ryan Burke for the Cyclones was defeated after making 38 saves on 40 shots.
Willmar 6 @ Minnesota 4: A hat trick performance and four point night from Tyler Misialek helped secure the first win of the 2022-23 campaign for the Wilmar WarHawks as they defeated the Minnesota Loons by a score of 6-4. The WarHawks lead the first period by a score of 2-1 with both goals coming from Tyler Misalek and the lone goal from the Loons came from Blake Keller. In the second period it was a back and forth contest as it was deadlocked at three after 40 minutes as the Loons scored two goals coming from Evan Fritze and a power-play goal from Dimitri Kuleshov, while Ethan Dennis picked up a power-play goal for the WarHawks. In the third period the WarHawks were able to take control and come out with the victory as Jordan Fields and Michael Sweetland picked up the go ahead goals and Tyler Misialek put away his third goal of the night with an empty net resulting in a hat-trick, while the Loons scored a late goal to make it a 6-4 final. Payton Mancuso was the winning netminder for Wilmar turning away 23 of 27 shots, and Keaton French allowed five goals on 28 shots for the Loons.
Helena 5 @ Great Falls 0: The Helena Bighorns extended their undefeated record now to 7-0 after defeating the Great Falls Americans by a score of 5-0. The Bighorns lead after 40 minutes by a score of 2-0 with their goals coming from Derek Rassell and Andrew Deskin. In the third period Helena extended their lead and secured the 5-0 victory with goals coming from Lyndon Orr, Harlan Wojtusik, and Camden Cunningham. Gabe Swanson captured his 3rd shutout of the season making 17 saves on 17 shots, while Nik Romahs turned away 38 on 42 shots and Jake Regan stopped 8 on 9 shots in the loss for Great Falls.
Butte 2 @ Bozeman 6: The Bozeman Icedogs picked up their second win of the season after defeating the Butte Cobras by a score of 6-2. After 40 minutes of play Bozeman got out to a commanding 3-0 lead with goals coming from Kolt Gutzman, Kole Morris, and Camden Lewis.In the third period Bozeman surged their way to victory by having a 3 goal period with goals coming from Dominik Hauer, Chris Porciuncula, and Kole Morris, while Tamer Billman and Nick Bradshaw scored the lone goals for the Cobras. Despite winning by a commanding margin Sean Smer stopped 41 out of 43 shots stealing the victory for Bozeman, and Braylon Rogers turned away 25 out of 31 shots in the loss for Butte.
