Friday Finals: Power Start Season With Win
by Shiyun Chen, Alexander Crowe, and Sean DeCoursey
Cover Photo Credit: Elyja Parker
Carloina 1 @ Texas R 10 - The Carolina Rage were unable to keep up in their inaugural game against the undefeated Texas Roadrunners who entered this game 3-0 after last weekend’s games. A dominant offensive performance from the Roadrunners first line and a shutdown defensive performance allowed them to run away with this game early. The Roadrunners wasted no time, with the first line of Joseph Izzo, Wyatt Mineheine, and Lucas Dyer connecting for four goals in the 1st period. Some help from Alex McMillan gave the Roadrunners a 5-0 lead heading into the 2nd period. A quick power play goal from William Heskett gave the Roadrunners a 6-0 lead at the beginning of the 2nd period. Demitrios Camen would light the lamp for the first goal in Carolina Rage history which would be the last goal scored by either side for the frame. Despite the slight glimpse of a comeback for Carolina, the Roadrunners would barrel through the 3rd period with two goals from Joseph Izzo, one from Wyatt Mineheine and another from Lucas Dyer. The stars of the show can be found from none other than the Roadrunners first forward unit in Joseph Izzo, Wyatt Mineheine and Lucas Dyer. Izzo grabbed a hat trick and three assists, Mineheine with two goals and four assists, and Dyer would light the lamp three times to get a hat trick of his own with another two assists. It was lights out when these three were on the ice, which is no surprise considering their clear possession of the top three point scorers in the NA3HL thus far.
Austin 9 @ Tulsa 1 - The Tulsa Oilers opened their season with a 9-1 loss at home against the Austin Ice Bats who were 1-1 coming out of last weekend’s games. This contest was the first of the three these teams will play for the weekend. It was all Ice Bats from the drop of the puck. A quick powerplay goal from Arys Perardi off of a juicy rebound would open the scoring, and a grimy goal from Matthieu Leblanc would extend the Ice Bats lead to 2-0. The Oilers struggle to break out and control the puck in the neutral zone would carry into the 2nd period as the Ice Bats continued to lay on the offense. An unassisted Jake Bamback goal would make it 3-0 in favor of the Ice Bats. Oilers forward Chase Boswell would clean up a rebound to cut the lead, but that would be the last tally of the night for Tulsa. A nice backhand shot from Ethan Salter extended the lead, a break away from Jared Breunig continued that trend, and Jax Edgerton would cap off the scoring for the 2nd period on an unassisted goal. Liam Cardona, Guhnar Hillman and Luke Fowler gave the Ice Bats some more insurance in the 3rd period. Ice Bats goaltender Collin Rosenau was reliable as ever, stopping 25 pucks against an Oilers offense that found more success as the game went on. Ice Bats forward Liam Cardona was a familiar name on the scoresheet with his one goal and three assists for the evening, but there were many contributors to the Ice Bats offense. With nine different goal scorers and ten different players recording points, the Austin Ice Bats showed a truly cohesive offensive game as they walked into the Oilers house and left victorious.
Minnesota W 2 @ Mason City 1 (OT) - The Mason City Toros hosted the Minnesota Wilderness for both teams’ first game of the season. The first period was a quiet one, with an interference call on Toros' Defenseman Caleb Kallemyn with a little over eight minutes left in the period. The Wilderness didn’t manage to convert on the power play, and the first period ended 0-0. The second period was also a quiet one. Toros Forward Blaze Bauer received a hooking call with almost four minutes remaining in the period. The second period ended scoreless. The third period began with action from both teams. Toros Forward Jason Williams scored two minutes into the period, giving Mason City the first advantage of the game. The Wilderness, however, was quick to tie up the game with Forward Brant Tiedeman netting his first goal almost four minutes after the Toros' goal. The third period concluded 1-1, with the game heading into overtime. With five minutes on the clock, it was Wilderness Defenseman Job Carpenter who netted the overtime winner with two and a half minutes left on the clock. His goal was assisted by Forward Levi Flatley and Ethan Jacobson. Minnesota won their first game of the season 2-1, with Goaltender Jay Svaren making 46 stops. Mason City’s Sawyer Torkelson made 28 stops in net.
Willmar 2 @ Minnesota M 5 - It was a night of first-game excitement for both the Minnesota Moose and Willmar Warhawks that only ended in smiles for Minnesota in its home-opener, who took down its fellow west division foe by a final score of 5-2. The Moose were propelled to the win thanks to forward Charlie Marchand, who posted two goals en route to the season-opening victory. Despite allowing the first two goals of the game, the Warhawks ended the opening frame with a 19-11 shots-on-goal advantage. Minnesota goaltender Easton Lemke kept pace with the Warhawk attack, keeping his team even despite the Willmar edge in play. Minnesota thanked its goaltender in a big way, dominating play which saw the score extend to 4-2 after 40 minutes. The Moose defense held strong in the waning minutes and sealed the 5-2 victory with an empty-net tally by forward Zach Vitlip with 46 seconds remaining. Willmar’s only tallies came in the first period courtesy of forwards Kaden Jackson and Gabe Adams. Lemke finished off his first NA3HL win stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced.
New Mexico 5 @ West Texas 6 - A four-goal second-period explosion fueled a miraculous comeback for the West Texas Wranglers, who spoiled fellow south division foe New Mexico Ice Wolves season-opener in a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory. Forward Cutter Daniel was the hero for West Texas, beating New Mexico goaltender Joshua Middleton in overtime to seal the win. New Mexico got off to a soaring start thanks to five first-period penalties by West Texas. Goals from forwards Breckin Ross, Zachary Polkes and Jacob Wenner gave New Mexico a 3-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes. After another tally by Polkes put New Mexico up 4-0, West Texas got its discipline in check and began its goal-scoring eruption. Four goals in the final 15 minutes of the second period by defenseman Austin Gray and forwards Broc Chick, Chase Matthews and William Andegren got West Texas all square heading into the third period. Andegren tucked a power play goal past Middleton early in the final frame to miraculously give the Wranglers their first lead of the night. New Mexico forward Alvaro Ramazzini’s goal finally stopped the bleeding for his squad just under seven minutes later to even the score and send the game to overtime. Daniel sent the fans home happy with just over a minute left in overtime to seal the comeback win for the Wranglers. Middleton turned away 35 of the 41 shots he saw, while his counterpart in West Texas goaltender Garret Lant stopped 40 of his 45 save opportunities.
Rochester 3 @ Wisconsin 6 - The Wisconsin Woodsmen got the best of fellow central division member Rochester Grizzlies in a mutual season-opening, penalty-filled contest in Tomah, Wisconsin, Friday night, getting offense from six different sources en route to a 6-3 win. The Woodsmen offense was led by forward Josh Kauppinen, who tallied a goal and three assists in a four-point effort. The first period saw little offense, but had no shortage of action. The teams combined for seven penalties, including coincidental roughing penalties from Rochester’s Baylor Stebbins and Wisconsin’s Tyler Osborne. Rochester forward Mason Decker and Wisconsin’s Cole Schrieber tallied the only goals of the period. Wisconsin pulled away in the second period thanks to forwards Micah Sieben and Ty Paulios, who both beat Rochester goaltender Tate Metcalf to take a 3-1 advantage into the third period. The goals from Sieben and Paulios were both assisted by Kauppinen. The penalty-riddled third period didn’t cool the offense, as the teams combined for five goals. Forward Brett Ludvigsen got Rochester within a goal early in the final period, but three unanswered goal from Wisconsin’s Kauppinen, forward Ozbej Muzan and Brandon Slasor put the game out of reach. Forward Tanner Lozano potted a consolation goal late for Rochester, but the damage was too much for the Grizzlies to overcome. Metcalf blocked 24 of the 30 shots he faced, while Woodsmen goaltender Lleyton Jaschke made 36 saves on 39 shots.
Peoria 1 @ West Bend 4 - The West Bend Power got in the win column in their season opener with a 4-1 decision over the Peoria Mustangs. Andrew Burny and Cole Craft scored just 27 seconds apart in the opening period to put the Power up by two heading into the first intermission. Ian Ingles brought the Mustangs within one with his first goal of the season. Andrew Sysko restored the Power’s two goal advantage with his first of the campaign. Jace Fitzgerald added insurance in the third period with his first of the year as well. Ben Glaesman was the winner in the blue paint with 18 saves. Jakub Stary took the loss despite making 41 saves.
Badlands 2 @ Great Falls 0 - The Great Falls Americans hosted the Badlands Sabres for their first matchup of the season, as well as both teams’ third game of the season. Great Falls was coming off a two-loss streak the previous weekend, while the Sabres were coming off a two-win streak. Sabres Forward Wyatt Pink opened up the scoring in the first at 6:46, and the period concluded 1-0 with a lead for the Sabres. By the end of the second period, the score remained 1-0. Great Falls accumulated three penalties during the second, and the Sabres accumulated two. However, neither team was able to convert the power plays into goals. In the third period, Sabres Forward Patrick Gosselin extended their lead to 2-0 with a goal at 15:23. Despite the Americans attempting to mount a comeback by pulling Ryder late in the third, they were unable to mount a comeback. The Sabres’ Goaltender Jackson Roethler achieved a shutout, saving all 37 shots on goal. Great Falls’ Kaden Ryder made 26 stops in net.
Sheridan 6 @ Gillette 3 - The Gillette Wild hosted the Sheridan Hawks for the Wild’s first game of the season, and the Hawks’ third. The Hawks were coming off a two-loss streak from the previous weekend. The Hawks were determined to redeem themselves from last weekend’s performance, with Forward Elijah Farris scoring an unassisted goal at 5:47 followed by Forward Vincent Leaf three minutes afterwards. The first period ended with a 2-0 lead for the Hawks. In the second period, Sheridan Hawks’ Leaf netted his second goal of the night on a power play at 11:23. In the second half of the period, the Wild tied up the score, with Forward Joshua Sauro starting the comeback with a goal at 7:28. Defenseman Brayden Waters converted on the power play and scored with three minutes remaining in the period. Defenseman Caden Graham tied up the score with a goal at 1:27. At the start of the third period, the score was 3-3, and both teams were eager to pull ahead with a lead. Sheridan’s Defenseman Sean Harris gave the Hawks a lead with a goal two minutes into the period. Towards the end of the third, Hawks Forward Jeff Slivon scored at 1:27 on an empty net to extend the lead to 5-3. Twenty seconds later, Hawks Forward Logan Sidlauskas proceeded to extend the lead to 6-3 on an unassisted goal. The Wild’s goaltender, Wylen Cambensy, had 34 saves. The Hawks started with Olivier Caballero in net and ended the game with TJ Wonnacott.
Yellowstone 1 @ Bozeman 2 - The Bozeman Icedogs improved to 3-0 on the young season as they took down the Yellowstone Quake by a score of 2-1. After a scoreless first 20 minutes, the Icedogs got on the board first as Lex Steckelberg netted his fourth goal of the season. However, just over two minutes later the Quake responded with a goal off the stick of London Jett. The game would remain tied midway through the final frame until Hayes Masopust put home the unassisted tally that would stand as the game winner. Jack Ryan was the star of the night as he earned the win in goal and stopped 31 shots in the process. Damen Baxter was the tough luck loser as he padded aside 34 of 36 shots.
Louisiana 12 Pelham 0 - The defending Fraser Cup champions picked up right where they left off as they took down the Pelham Prowlers 12-0 in their season opener. Five different players found the back of the net twice while two more players also got on the scoresheet. Brayden Pelcl, Emerson Laroche, and Dylan Crossley all had two goals and a helper. Isaac Erickson and Anthony Riviello also potted a pair of goals for the Drillers. Carter Gnau and Dayton Ruppel each picked up a goal and an assist in the win. 17 players registered at least one point for the Drillers. Cole Schmidt earned the shutout, stopping all 11 shots he faced.
