Saturday Scores: Bighorns take over Frontier lead with sweep
Bodie Shepardson had five goals to help Bozeman pick up a weekend sweep of Great Falls.
Badlands 0 @ Helena 3 – The Bighorns won their 16th straight game and moved into 1st place in the Frontier Division with a 3-0 shutout and sweep of the Badlands Sabres. Bighorns goalie Keaton French made 15 saves in the shutout, which was his fourth of the season. Helena scored once in each period as Tyler Bloom scored in the 1st period, Braden Cunningham scored in the 2nd period and Camden Cunningham added a 3rd period goal. Sabres goalie Zach Brozterman made 66 saves in the loss.
Great Falls 3 @ Bozeman 6 – Bodie Shepardson had another big game, recording a hat-trick in a 6-3 win over the Americans. Shepardson scored once in each of the three periods and Braden Koliha, Owen House, and Dominik Hauer also scored in the Icedogs win. Great Falls got goals from Noah Osiowy, Aaron Leaf, and Ben Cremers in the losing effort. Axel Rosenlund made 30 saves in the win, while Jake Regan made 47 saves in the loss.
New Jersey 2 @ Long Beach 5 – The Sharks moved back into the 4th and final playoff spot in the East with a 5-2 win over the Titans. Zac Kretzschmer and Christopher Keller each scored twice in the win. The Sharks jumped out to a 3-0 lead with goals from Nate Mastrony, Kretzschmer, and Keller. New Jersey tried to mount a comeback with goals from George Hinds and Aidan Gallagher, but the second goals for both Keller and Kretzschmer secured the 5-2 win. Sharks goalie Colten McIntyre made 36 saves in the win.
Norwich 1 @ Northeast 6 – The Gens quest for the top spot in the NA3HL continued with a convincing 6-1 win over the visiting Sea Captains. Nolan Zotter scored twice in the win and D’Mar McCoy made 38 saves in the win. Norwich jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 1st period goal from Jack Kinahan. It was all Generals after that as Zotter tied the game later in the 1st period. Northeast then scored four more goals in the 2nd period from Michael Locke, Matthew Nuzzolilo, Phil Feinberg, and McCarthy Reed. Zotter would add his second goal of the game in the 3rd period to complete the 6-1 win.
TX Brahmas 7 @ Austin 0 – George Vierzba had a hat-trick and an assist and Aaron Best scored two goals and had an assist in a 7-0 win over Austin. Texas jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st period with goals from Vierzba, George Keeley, and Michael Imala. Vierzba completed hat-trick in the 2nd period with two more goals to make it 5-0. Best then scored twice in the 3rd period to complete the 7-0 win.
Rochester 6 @ Wausau 2 – The Grizzlies stayed in 1st place in the Central thanks to a 6-2 win in Wausau, which completed a weekend sweep. Six different players scored in the win for the Grizzlies and Chris Brown made 24 saves. The teams were tied at 1-1 after one period with Per Waage scoring for Rochester and Gabe Randel answering for Wausau. Rochester blew the game open in the 2nd period with four goals from Logan Kroyman, Adler Johnston, Luke Morrisette, and Maxwell Clark. Erik Henrborn added a third period goal and Antonio Gomez had the other goal for Wausau.
Minnesota 3 @ Willmar 4 – The WarHawks gave their playoff hopes a shot in the arm thanks to a 4-3 win over the Loons, as Luke McCarthy and Braydon Buckingham each scored twice in the win. The Loons jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Landon Thiessen and Josiah Lambers. McCarthy responded for Willmar to make it 2-1. Minnesota went back up by two with a goal from Evan Fritze. The WarHawks then rattled off the final three goals as Buckingham scored twice and McCarthy also netted his second of the game. Zachary Ortolano made 17 saves in the win, while Matthew Ryynanen made 44 saves in the loss.
Granite City 3 @ Alexandria 4 (OT) – The Blizzard completed the weekend sweep of the Lumberjacks thanks to a 4-3 overtime win on Saturday. All of Alexandria’s scoring in regulation came in the 2nd period with goals from Justin Wasvick, Sean Kenny, and Jameson O’Flynn, while Coby Weber and Zak Kennett scored for Granite City. Late in the 3rd period, the Lumberjacks tied the game on a goal from Hayden Johnson. The game-winner came late in overtime on a goal from Hayden DeMars. Konrad Kausch made 38 saves in the win, while Ryan Lehet made 27 saves in the loss.
TX RoadRunners 3 @ New Mexico 4 – Ethan Secord scored two goals to lead the Ice Wolves to their second win of the weekend over the RoadRunners. Texas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period with goals from JT Brugaletta and Tyler Love. New Mexico responded with four straight goals, including two from Secord and others from Jo Kawagishi and Fletcher Burnett. Matvey Ivanov had the other goal in the RoadRunners loss. New Mexico goalie Pierson Haslet made 27 saves in the win. Hunter Hein made 32 saves in the loss.
Peoria 1 @ Oregon 5 – The Tradesmen kept their Central title hopes alive with a 5-1 win over Peoria. Five different players scored for Oregon and Tyler Fromolz made 37 saves in the win. Oregon jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Max McNeil and Max Rotsaert. Peoria answered back with their lone goal of the game from Tristan Trudel in the 2nd period. Oregon then rattled off three straight goals from Dayne Deanovich, Dillon Schmidt, and Matthew Shaw to pick up the 5-1 win. Cam Pendleton made 33 saves in the loss.
St. Louis 3 @ Milwaukee 6 – Blake Keller had a hat-trick and an assist to lead the Power to a 6-3 win over St. Louis. Milwaukee jumped out to a 6-0 lead through two periods, which included three goals from Keller and others from Odin Klebba, Michael Dalaly, and Connor O’Neal. All three goals from the Jr. Blues came in the 3rd period, including two from Matthew Mahoney and one from Jacob Heuerman. Gavin Wohlmacher made 23 saves in the win, while Mason Brooks made 58 saves in the loss.
Sheridan 7 @ Butte 4 – The Hawks earned a series split with the Cobras as three goals from Ryler Schelle and two from Makhai Sparks led Sheridan to a 7-4 win. After an opening goal from Butte’s Patrick Crooks, Sheridan rattled off six of the next seven goals as Schelle had a hat-trick and Dalton Thomas, and Sparks also scored. Butte tried to stay close with goals from Luke Schleusner, Nick Bradshaw, and Carter Large, but another goal from Sparks in the 3rd period secured the win. Jack Wood made 64 saves in the win.
