Sabres Upset Bighorns in Game 1
Jackson Roethler finished the night with 42 saves in the win
Helena 4 @ Badlands 5 (Badlands leads series 1-0): Jackson Roethler finished with 42 saves as the Badlands Sabres hung on to defeat the Helena Bighorns 5-4 in Game 1 of the Frontier Division semifinals. Ryan Jordan put Badlands up first but the lead was short lived as Jeffrey Hershberger tied the game just before the intermission. Two goals in 17 seconds put the Sabres up by two as Jordan scored his second of the night and Ethan Seanor also got on the board. Caden Fenstein brought the Bighorns back within one with his first of the postseason just five minutes later. Gaven Marx would score for Badlands to go back up by two but it was countered by a nifty goal from Finn Theriault to make it a one goal game heading into the third. Ryan Salo put home an insurance goal with just over four minutes left in regulation and it would prove to be crucial as Austin Uecker scored with just over a minute left to make it a one goal game again. Roethler would make a handful of saves in the final 60 seconds and the Sabres grabbed a Game 1 win on home ice. Tyler Miller finished the evening with 26 stops for Helena as the series will shift back to Montana and top seed in the playoffs will look to avoid being eliminated.
