Saturday Scores: Wilderness Score Critical OT Win
Northeast 2 @ Maine 1 - Northeast outlasted Maine in a tight-checking, 2-1 game. The Generals struck first with under a minute to play in the first period. Briggs Beam’s third of the season made it 1-0 Northeast. Maine tied the game midway through the second period as Foster Marsh scored his first goal of the year. Easton Sankey answered five minutes later to put the Generals back ahead. That was the game-winning goal as goaltenders Nathan McFall and Gabe Pomerleau shut the game down. McFall stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced for Northeast in the win while Pomerleau made 28 saves for the Nordiques. The Generals improve to 57 points and sit second in the East Division. Maine has 35 points and resides in fifth place in the East.
Alexandria 4 @ Mason City 3 (OT) - Alexandria took down Mason City 4-3 in overtime. The Blizzard opened the scoring 16:10 into the game as Ethan Boughton scored his third goal of the season. Mason City then responded three minutes later. Andrew Catalano got the goal, his fourth, as the teams went to the first intermission knotted at one. Alexandria retook the lead early in the middle frame thanks to Markus Olson’s 22nd goal of the season. Dominic Despenas grabbed the next tally for the Toros to re-tie the game yet again before Jackson Miller’s late goal gave Alexandira a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes. The Toros were able to tie the game for a third time. This time it came with under two minutes to play off the stick of Grant Harder. The Blizzard found the overtime winner roughly halfway through the extra frame. Reece Hubmer played the hero with his ninth of the year. Jayden Serene made 29 saves for Alexandria in the win while Sawyer Torkelson stopped 35 shots for Mason City. The Blizzard improves to 56 points and sits in second place in the West Division. Mason City now has 41 points but still sit last in the West.
El Paso 1 @ New Mexico 8 - New Mexico pounded El Paso, outshooting the Rhinos 42-16 in their 8-1 win. The Ice Wolves grabbed a pair of quick goals in the opening frame. Ethan Coleman and Calahan Butler both grabbed their seventh tallies of the year as New Mexico led 2-0 after 20 minutes. The onslaught continued in the middle frame. Edward Gregorin scored at 6:24 to make it 3-0 Ice Wolves before the team scored a trio of goals in under three minutes to double their lead. Carson Gotelaere potted his 18th of the year, Coleman his second of the game and Jake Wenner his 19th on the season. Suddenly, New Mexico led 6-0. The final two goals for the Ice Wolves were Wenner’s second of the game and Braeden Whitesell’s 10th of the campaign. El Paso spoiled Conner Roff’s shutout bid with 11:51 to play in the third as Joseph Gutierrez potted his 10th goal of the year. Nathan Graybill and Dylan Newton split goaltending duties for the Rhinos, combining to stop 34 shots. Roff made 15 saves on 16 shots in the win for New Mexico. The Ice Wolves continue to chase the Drillers with 76 points and sit second place in the South Division. El Paso ranks sixth in the South with 28 points.
Wisconsin 4 @ St. Louis 2 - Wisconsin’s four-goal third period propelled the Woodsmen over St. Louis. The Jr. Blues struck first following a scoreless first period. Mason Andrew found the back of the net 44 seconds into the middle frame. The tally was his 20th goal of the season. The game went to the third period with St. Louis leading 1-0. The Jr. Blues doubled their lead three minutes into the third period. Michael Soell found his seventh of the season to put St. Louis up 2-0. The Woodsmen finally found the back of the net at 9:09 of the final frame. Then, Justin Funk’s eighth goal of the season opened the floodgates. Funk’s tally slashed the St. Louis lead to 2-1. Johnny Thrasher scored next just 89 seconds later before Maxim Lazo gave the Woodsmen the lead with his 19th 17 seconds after Thrasher. Vincent Greene delivered the back-breaking goal with 2:18 to play to put Wisconsin up 4-2. Steven Kelley stopped 56 shots in the win for the Woodsmen while Alexander Rivolta made 41 saves in for the Jr. Blues. Wisconsin improves to 51 points and sits fourth in the Central Division. St. Louis remains with 35 points and slots in fifth in the Central.
Binghamton 6 @ Long Beach 1 - Binghamton registers 67 shots in a 6-1 thrashing of Long Beach. The Buzz began their onslaught early. Brody Bess scored his 16th goal of the year to get the scoring started. Jason DiMatteo and Carson Curry both added goals in the opening period as well. It was DiMatteo’s 29th and Curry’s 20th of the year. Curry then struck again 14 minutes into the middle frame. It was his second of the game and gave the Buzz a 4-0 lead. Long Beach finally found the back of the net late in the second as Robert Johnson IV potted his fourth. Binghamton scored twice in the third period through Keegan Elliott and Griffin Gagnon to push the score to its 6-1 final. Matthew Ketcham stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced in the win while Kameron Ragon made 61 saves for the Sharks. The Buzz continue to lead to East Division with 71 points while Long Beach remains in last place with 23 points.
West Bend 5 @ Peoria 1 - West Bend rode a four-goal third period to victory over Peoria. Both goaltenders kept the game scoreless until Michael Maillette gave the Power the lead with one second to play in the middle frame. West Bend struck again four minutes into the third period. Evan Eisch got the goal to push his team’s lead to 2-0. Wyatt Duke scored for Peoria to temporarily cut the Power lead back to one before West Bend added three more goals. Jozef Silhar potted a pair along with Andrew Browe finding his 23rd of the year. Adam Prokop only had to stop 12 shots in the win for the Power while Albert Ancinec made 37 saves for the Mustangs. Wes Bend continues to lead to Central Division with 70 points while Peoria dwells in the cellar with 20 points.
Norwich 1 @ New Jersey 3 - New Jersey weathers a 51-shot barrage from Norwich in a 3-1 victory. The Sea Captains struck first with their only goal of the night 14:45 into the opening period. Kolin Krizan’s 10th go of the year gave Norwich the lead. That was answered quickly by William Fliss’ eighth of the year as the teams were tied at one apiece after one. New Jersey took the lead midway through the second period. Vladimir Zakharov potted his 22nd of the year which ended as the game-winning goal. Ryan Starman added an insurance tally with 40 seconds to play in the second period before the goaltenders kept the third scoreless. Lucas Vellequette stopped four of five shots he faced in the first period before Peter Alfano took over and stopped 15 shots in the final two frames for Norwich. Nicolas Gould made 50 saves in 51 tries in the win for the Titans. New Jersey remains in sixth place in the East Division but improves to 34 points. Norwich remains in fourth place in the East with 49 points. The Sea Captains are tied on points and games played with New Hampshire.
Minnesota M 3 @ Minnesota W 4 (OT) - The Minnesota Wilderness secured a thrilling overtime victory against the Minnesota Moose in a hard-fought matchup. The Wilderness struck first in the opening period with Simon Davidson finding the back of the net. They extended their lead early in the second period, as Tyler Starich added another goal. The Moose answered back in the second, with Luke Steffen scoring. However, the Wilderness regained momentum when Stratton Maas found the net again, making it a 3-1 lead heading into the third. The Moose mounted a comeback in the final frame. Owen Meyer scored to bring them within one, and later in the period, Reid Watson netted the equalizer to force overtime. In the extra period, Mark DeNoyer played the hero for the Wilderness, scoring the game-winner and securing the 4-3 victory. A physical game saw multiple penalties, particularly in the second and third periods, but the Wilderness held strong to claim the win.
Louisiana 3 @ Texas R 4 - The Texas Roadrunners pulled off a comeback win over the Louisiana Drillers in a tightly contested matchup. Louisiana struck first, with Skylar Bawcom opening the scoring early. Texas answered back when Wyatt Mineheine found the net to even things up, but Louisiana wasn’t done yet. Isaac Erickson put them back on top, and Bawcom netted his second of the game to give Louisiana a two-goal cushion. Texas started chipping away in the second period, as Lucas Dyer buried one to cut the deficit. Louisiana responded quickly, with Cayson Ash-Hendricks finding the back of the net to make it 3-2 heading into the final frame. JT Brugaletta netted the game winner in the third sealing the Roadrunners’ 4-3 victory.
Willmar 0 @ Granite City 4 - The Granite City Lumberjacks dominated the Willmar WarHawks with a shutout victory Saturday night. In the first period, Patty Dunaiski opened the scoring on a power play, giving the Lumberjacks the early lead. Dunaiski struck again in the second period, and Parker Comstock followed by capitalizing on a powerplay, extending their lead to 3-0. In the third, Dominic Thomas found the back of the net, ensuring Granite City’s commanding victory. The WarHawks goaltender Josh Mack saved 26 out of the 30 shots he faced, while the Lumberjacks’ Trent Peterson saved all 23 shots.
Tulsa 0 @ Atlanta 10 - The Atlanta Capitals claimed a decisive victory over the Tulsa Jr. Oilers at home Saturday evening. The Capitals wasted no time finding the back of the net in the first period. Brett Phillips opened the scoring, followed by Riley Morton, Delton Hoffman, and Karlis Vancans, giving the Capitals a commanding lead early on. In the second period, Brett Phillips netted his second goal of the night, further and shortly after, Riley Morton capitalized on a power play, making it a 6-0 game. The third period saw Tristan Ward strike twice, including a power-play goal. Nick Macri joined in on the scoring before Brett Phillips completed his impressive night with another power-play goal, earning himself a hat trick. Tulsa’s goaltender David Gifford saved 28 out of the 38 shots he faced, while Atlanta’s netminder Jackson Black saved all 38 shots faced.
Yellowstone 1 @ Bozeman 11 - The Bozeman Icedogs dominated in an overwhelming 11-1 victory against the Yellowstone Quake. In the first period, Devin Bruns kicked off the scoring. Tyler Klingbeil followed up with a power-play goal before adding another later in the period, giving the Icedogs an early lead. Spencer Wilkinson struck shorthanded before scoring again moments later in the second period. Lex Steckelberg added back-to-back goals, Dax Schutte capitalized on a power play, and Devin Bruns netted his second goal of the night. Yellowstone managed to break through with Jake Ricci finding the back of the net for the Quake’s only goal of the night. The Icedogs continued to dominate in the third period, with Preston Wight and Dom Cerio each adding goals to secure the Ice Dogs decisive 11- victory. Yellowstone’s goaltender Preston Wight made 46 saves out of 57 shots, while Bozeman’s goaltender Jack Ryan saved 17 out of the 18 shots he faced.
Helena 1 @ Sheridan 2 - The Sheridan Hawks defeated the Helena Bighorns in a tight 2-1 battle. Jeff Slivon kicked off the scoring in the first period, giving Sheridan an early lead. The Hawks extended their lead in the second with Vlad Zubriichuk capitalizing on a power play. Helena attempted to make a comeback in the third, with Cai Robinson finding the net on the powerplay, but the Bighorns couldn’t complete the comeback as Sheridan held on for the win.
