Friday Finals: Toros clinch playoff spot with shutout
Anthony ONeal had two goals, including the overtime-winner on a penalty shot, in a 4-3 win on Friday. He leads the NA3HL with 43 goals.
Rochester 0 @ Mason City 3 – Mason City goalie Connor Graham stopped all 28 shots that came his way for this first shutout of the season as the Toros clinched a playoff spot in the West thanks to a 3-0 win over the Grizzlies. After a scoreless 1st period, the Toros pulled ahead 2-0 the 2nd period with goals from Hayden Siegel and Zachary Laurila. Colten Gerken would add a goal in the 3rd period to complete the 3-0 win. Tate Cothern made 28 saves in the loss.
Milwaukee 3 @ Peoria 1 – Milwaukee goalie Adam Prokop made 30 saves to lead the Power to a 3-1 win in Peoria on Friday. The Power were first to score as DJ Gooley scored in the 1st period. In the 3rd period, the Power increased the lead to 3-0 as Matthew Ebersole and Blake Keller found the back of the net. Peoria’s lone goal game later in the 3rd period on the power play from Ethan Peterson. Mustangs goalie Cam Pendleton made 20 saves in the loss.
Bay State 3 @ New Jersey 4 – The Titans erased a 3-1 deficit, as they scored the final three goals of the game to beat the Bobcats, 4-3. The game was tied at 1-1 after the 1st period with Noah Wilk scoring for Bay State and George Hinds answering for New Jersey. The Bobcats then went ahead 3-1 in the 2nd period with goals from Jonah Bird and Jason Melanson. New Jersey stormed back with three straight goals to take home the 4-3 in as William Fliss, Nico Vaccaro, and Payton Forbes all scored. Daniel Antal made 32 saves in the win, while AJ Cooper made 31 saves in the loss.
Louisiana 3 @ Atlanta 4 (OT) – Anthony O’Neal had two goals, including the overtime-winner as the Capitals came from behind to beat the Drillers, 4-3. Louisiana led 3-2 through two periods thanks to goals from Al Evanyk, Daniel Crutcher, and Aron Lundgren. Isaac Fuller and O’Neal scored for the Caps. In the 3rd period, the Caps tied the game on goal from Nick Mumford. O’Neal’s overtime winner came on a penalty shot. Damian Vandanacker made 38 saves in the win, while John Moriarty made 46 saves in the loss.
Long Beach 2 @ Northeast 7 – Phil Feinberg had a hat-trick and an assist the lead the Generals to a 7-2 win over the Sharks. Dalton Wille opened the scoring for the Generals in the 1st period. The Sharks tied the game early in the 2nd period on a goal from Logan Plante. The Generals then pulled away with the next five goals, including two from Feinberg and others from Mason Frary ad Nolan Zotter. Brandon Hughes scored late for the Sharks, which was answered by the third goal from Feinberg. Luke Fundator made 24 saves in the win.
New Mexico 0 @ TX Brahmas 5 – Brendan Forden stopped all 22 shots that came his way for his second shutout of the season as the Brahmas won their fifth straight game in a 5-0 win over the visiting Ice Wolves. Benjamin Mondou opened the scoring in the 1st period. The Brahmas then blew the game open in the 2nd period with three goals from Aaron Best, Michael Imala, and Wyatt Witham. Imala would then add his second goal of the game in the 3rd period to complete the scoring. Pierson Haislet made 27 saves in the loss.
Willmar 2 @ Granite City 7 – Coby Weber scored twice and the Lumberjacks scored five times in the 3rd period as they beat Willmar, 7-2. The game was tied at 2-2 after two periods with Weber and Hayden Johnson scoring for the Lumberjacks, while Michael Sweetland and Nik Johnson scored for Willmar. In the 3rd period, Granite City blew the game wide open with five more goals, including another from Weber and others from Luke Delzer, Zak Kennett, Easton Portner, and Tanner Brouwer. Ryan Lehet made 25 saves in the win, while Michael D’Orazio made 40 saves in the loss.
Alexandria 10 @ Wausau 2 – The Blizzard got two goals and two assists from both Michael DeBrito and Hayden DeMars in a 10-2 win in Wausau. The Blizzard opened up a 3-0 lead in the 1st period with a goal from Justin Kingery and two from DeBrito. Wausau made it 3-1 early in the 2nd period as Ricky Nelson scored, but then the Blizzard would rattle off six straight goals to put the game away, which included one from DeMars and others from Joe Gronholz, Ryan Hadland, Cole Klingbeil, Jameson O’Flynn, and Justin Wasvick. Late in the 3rd period, Kalob Paquin scored for Wausau and DeMars added his second for Alexandria. Blizzard goalie Konrad Kausch made 20 saves in the win.
TX RoadRunners 4 @ Austin 0 – Hunter Hein had to make just 9 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the RoadRunners beat Austin, 4-0. Texas took a 2-0 lead in the 1st period thanks to goals from Porter Wolk and Tristen Elmhurst. Derek Boutin would add a 2nd period goal and Grant Hanifen scored in the 3rd period. Ice Bats goalie Bryson Frazee made 55 saves in the loss.
Great Falls 2 @ Gillette 8: The Gillette Wild topped the Great Falls Americans in an 8-2 contest. Gillette opened up the fist period with 4 unanswered goals with Saizah Norwegian, Isaac Young, Jace Johnson and Sky Solige for a 4-0 lead. Great Falls answered with a late goal from Ben Cremers to end the period, 4-1. In the second the Wild added another goal from Solig for a 5-1 score. The third period started with three goals in a row from the Wild with Connor Wendell, Saizah Norwegian, and Dale Rodriguez for a 8-1 score. The Americans added a late goal from Jace Thompson for a final score of 8-2. Netminder Jake Turek got the win in net after stopping 18 shots.
Yellowstone 1 @ Helena 2: The Helena Bighorns edged the Yellowstone Quake in a 2-1 final. Owen Ramsay got on the board for the Bighorns late in the first period for a 1-0 score. In the third, Yellowstone evened the game 1-1 with a power-play goal from Ryan Hiles. Late in the game, Lydon Orr scored the game winner for a 2-1 final. Keaton French got the win between the pipes after stopping 17 of 18 shots.
Bozeman 5 @ Sheridan 3: The Bozeman Icedogs topped the Sheridan Hawks in a 5-3 contest. The Icedogs took a 2-0 lead in the first with Spencer Wilkinson and Chris Porciuncula scoring. In the second the Hawks evened the game 2-2 with goals from Makahi Sparks and Teejay Torgrimson. The Icedogs answered back with a goal from Braden Koliha, but Sheridan did as well with Ryan McKenna to keep the game 3-3. In the third, Bozeman scored twice to take the win with Bodie Shepardson scoring twice for a 5-3 final. Sean Smer took the win in net after turning away 31 shots.
Badlands 5 @ Butte 7: The Butte Cobras edged past the Badlands Sabres in a high scoring affair, 7-5. In the first period it was back-to-back as the Cobras scored with Carter Large and then the Sabres evened the game 1-1 with Mason Witt. Later in the opening frame, Patrick Crooks took the lead back for Butte, 2-1. In the second period, Nick Bradshaw and Luke Schleusner both scored for a 4-1 Cobras lead. The Sabres got back on the board with Keenan Howard making the score 4-2. Late in the middle frame, Carson Streich made the score 5-2 to end the period. In the third the Sabres went on the offensive side of the puck scoring 3 unanswered goals with AJ Petrotto twice and Dylan Woolsenhulme to even the game 5-5. The Cobras kept on the attack to score two more to take the win with Schleusner and Tyler Tosch for a 7-5 win. Caleb Cross got the win in net after stopping 21 of the 26 shots he faced.
