Friday Finals: Drillers Clinch South Title
The road to the Fraser Cup in the South goes through Louisiana. While Connor Dvorak (bottom) and the Cyclones have won eight in a row
Northeast 3 @ Maine 2 - Northeast defeated Maine 3-2. The Nordiques broke the ice 4:44 into the opening frame. Cannon Gough was credited with his ninth goal of the year putting Maine up 1-0. The Generals then struck back 7:40 into the first period as Samuel Gusty potted his 16th goal of the season. Northeast quickly took the lead just 12 seconds later. This time it was Ruslan Tuchyn scoring his sixth goal of the year. The game went to the first intermission with Northeast leading 2-1. Maine tied the game at two under five minutes into the second period. Jett Kozman grabbed the goal, his second, at 4:38. Northeast had the answer again as Gusty scored his second of the game to put his side back on top. That goal proved as the game winner following a scoreless third frame. Jascha Grossenbacher stopped 44 of the 46 shots he faces for the Generals in their 3-2 victory. Riley Burnett made 34 saves for the Nordiques. Northeast improves to 55 points with the win and still sits second in the East Division. Maine remains with 35 points and sits fifth in the East.
New Jersey 4 @ Norwich 3 (OT) - New Jersey overcame a massive shot deficit and knocked off Norwich 4-3 in overtime. The Titans opened the scoring as William Fliss scored his seventh goal of the season at 12:22 in the first. He was answered by Norwich’s Mason Paye as the game went to the first intermission tied at one. The game did not remain knotted long as it took just 43 seconds into the middle period for Chase Leivian to find his sixth of the season for the Sea Captains. The game entered the third with Norwich leading 2-1. Again, the lead did not last long. This time it was the Titans re-tying the game as Hayden Stack scored 30 ticks into the final 20 minutes. New Jersey then captured the lead back less than four minutes later. Adrian Marek’s eighth goal gave his team the advantage. Norwich scored to tie the game and force overtime with under five minutes remaining in the game. Andrew Hill grabbed the tally. Mateo Ruffolo played the hero for the Titans in the extra frame with his 12th of the season. Manny Pantow stopped 34 of 37 shots faced in the win for Jersey while Presley Patrin made 12 saves for the Sea Captains. The Titans improve to 32 points yet still sits sixth in the East Division. Norwich stay at 49 points and in fourth place but have already clinched a playoff spot.
West Bend 10 @ Peoria 1 - West Bend smashed Peoria 10-1. The Power also outshot the Mustangs 55-23 in the game. Kelly Coldwater started the scoring barrage just 42 seconds into the game. However, Peoria grabbed a tying goal just under five minutes later. The goal was Skyler Tompkins’ 14th. West Bend then rattled off nine consecutive tallies. Odin Klebba and Jace Fitzgerald both scored inside five minutes to play in the first. The Power led 3-1 after 20 minutes. Klebba added his second of the evening midway through the second period before Michael Maillette potted his 12th of the year. West Bend now led 5-1 after two periods. The Power scored five goals in the final frame. Mike Sobaski opened the third period’s scoring with his 16th goal before Fitzgerald registered his 12th of the year and second of the game. Quinn O’Connor, Evan Eisch and Jozef Silhar all got on the scoresheet to bring the game to its 10-1 final. Adam Prokop made 22 saves on 23 attempts in the win for West Bend while Charlie Maquet stopped 45 shots for Peoria. The Power improves to 66 points on the year and sit in second place in the Central Division. West Bend has two games in hand while sitting one point back of first place Wausau. Peoria remains in last place with 20 points.
Rochester 2 @ Wausau 5 - Wausau took an early 3-0 lead and held on to defeat Rochester 5-2. The Cyclones got on the board just 2:21 into the opening frame as Jake Garrow scored his 28th goal of the season. Micah Saxon and Connor Dvorak were next with their 14th and 22nd goals to push that lead to 3-0. Rochester grabbed a late goal from Tyler Steuck, his 18th, to cut back into the Wausau lead. After a scoreless second period and first 10 minutes of the third period, the Cyclones struck again. Dvorak potted his second of the game to put Wausau up 4-2. Aiden Emerich and Eiji Hofmann traded tallies, their 16th and ninth respectively, to close out the scoring. Tanner Bonjernoor made 28 saves in the win for the Cyclones. Joey Bertram stopped nine of the 12 shots he saw before he was pulled. Andrew Dubin made 20 saves in relief for Rochester. Wausau remains in first place in the Central Division with 67 points. However, the Cyclones have played two more games than second place West Bend who sits just one point behind. Rochester sits third in the Central with 61 points.
Alexandria 6 @ Mason City 2 - Alexandria rode a four-goal third period to a 6-2 victory over Mason City. The Toros did strike first, though, as Kellen Kantaris scored his 15th goal of the season with 2:10 left in the opening frame. The Blizzard struck back in the second period. Mason Buchanan tied the game midway through the second period before Markus Olson scored his 20th. The Blizzard took a 2-1 lead into eh final frame. Eli Fletcher kept the party going for Alexandria with his 29th goal. However, Mason City grabbed that goal right back. Kantaris scored his second of the game just 12 seconds after Fletcher’s tally. It did not take long for Flether to grab his second of the game and milestone 30th of the campaign to make it 4-2 Blizzard. The goals kept coming for Alexandria with Olson netting his second of the evening before Flether ended the scoring, completing his hat trick. Kyle Abrahamson stopped 28 shots in the win for the Blizzard while Drew Blake made 33 saves for Mason City. Alexandria improves to 54 points in 2024-25 and sits second in the West Division. Mason City remains at 40 points and last in the West.
Minnesota W 7 @ Willmar 1 - The Minnesota Wilderness claimed a decisive victory over the Willmar WarHawks on Friday evening. The Wilderness opened the scoring midway through the first period with a power play goal from Rory Kronick. The WarHawks’ Aiden Callaghan netted a goal just 14 seconds later briefly tying the game before Kaden Rocheleau closed out the period by restoring Minnesota’s lead. In the second period, Tyler Starich found the back of the net bringing the score to 3-1 Wilderness. Minnesota took control in the third period with Jake Hodd-Chlebeck, Starich, Mark DeNoye, and Caden Postal all finding the back of the net. Minnesota’s goaltender Jay Svaren saved 43 out of 44 shots, while Wilmars’ Kai Girard made 33 saves on 44 shots.
Louisiana 6 @ Texas R 2 - Louisiana used a strong third period to bury Texas in their 6-2 victory. The Drillers dominated the shot category from the opening draw. That onslaught eventually caught up with the RoadRunners and became too much. Louisiana opened the scoring 11:06 into the first period. Jonathon Brendt scored his 13th to make it 1-0 Drillers. He was swiftly answered under 90 seconds later by Texas’ Lucas Dyer and his 10th goal. Jake Bergstrom was next to find the back of the net. His 24th goal of the season gave Louisiana the lead with 2:38 remaining in the period. The RoadRunners again quickly answered as Charles Blake scored to tie the game at two just 26 seconds later. The game entered the first intermission knotted at two apiece. The lone goal of the middle frame belonged to Louisiana’s Cameron McEwan. It was his 13th of the year, and it went down as the technical game winner. The Drillers added a trio of goals in the third period to put the game away. Huner Merric and Cameron Grande scored their third goals while Mac Workman grabbed his 21st to close the book on the game. Cole Schmidt stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced in the Drillers win. Jimmy Packee made 38 saves for Texas. Louisiana sits atop the South Division at 37-1-3-1 (78 points) while Texas ranks fifth with 34 points.
Minnesota M 1 @ Granite City 9 - The Granite City Lumberjacks dominated the Minnesota Moose with a win Friday night. Granite City set the tone early, netting four goals in the first period from Mason Ray, Caleb Anderson, and two from Easton Portner. Minnesota got their first of the night in the second period with a power-play goal from Will Biggar, but the Lumberjacks responded with goals from TJ Lepisto and Carter Oothoudt to extend their lead. Granite City continued to control the game in the third with goals from Seth Terhell, Patty Dunaiski, and Portner completing his hat trick to seal their 9-1 win.
Tulsa 4 @ Atlanta 5 (OT) - The Atlanta Capitals secured a thrilling overtime win against the Tulsa Jr. Oilers. Tulsa opened the scoring with a power-play goal from Sam Williamson, but Atlanta quickly answered as Brad Camp evened things up. The back-and-forth action continued in the second, with Cooper Smolin putting Tulsa ahead briefly. Atlanta reclaimed the lead with Landon Thiessen and Tristan Ward finding the back of the net, and Nick Macri adding an empty-net goal. In the third period, Tulsa made a comeback with a goal from Henry Pinkerman and Evan Scholl capitalizing on a power play to force overtime. Macri buried a power-play goal in overtime to secure the Capitals' hard-fought victory.
Yellowstone 1 @ Bozeman 7 - The Bozeman Ice Dogs secured a commanding 7-1 win over the Yellowstone Quake at home on Friday evening. Bozeman wasted no time in the first period, with Spencer Wilkinson striking twice and Devin Bruns adding another goal. Dan Upton kept the momentum going in the second, extending the Ice Dogs' lead to 4-0 at the end of the period. In the third, Bruns netted his second goal of the night, Reid Wilkinson capitalized on the power play, and Matthew Stamp found the back of the net. Yellowstone managed to get a late goal from Logan Nichols, but it was too late, with Bozeman’s dominant performance sealing their victory.
Helena 4 @ Sheridan 3 - The Helena Bighorns edged out the Sheridan Hawks in a tightly contested battle Friday night. The Bighorns struck first with a goal from Daniel Shelden. Ernest Allen extended Helena’s lead late in the second period, but Sheridan responded with a shorthanded goal by Vincent Leaf just before the period’s conclusion. The third period saw a lot of action with Sheridan’s Austin Tyler and Marcus Fritel scoring early to take the lead. However, Helena quickly answered back with goals from Trey Pareja and Finn Theriault to regain control. Sheridan managed to close the gap with a power-play goal from Vincent Leaf, but Helena held on for the win. Helena’s goaltender Branson Appelman saved 28 out of the 31 shots he faced, while Sheridan’s netminder John Simon made 39 saves on 43 shots.
