Friday Finals: Granite City and Wausau pick up wins

Front image: Nate Porath

Mason City 0 @ Granite City 8 - The Granite City Lumberjacks blew out the Mason City Toros Friday night with a dominant 8–0 victory at home. Granite City was in complete control from the opening puck drop, resulting in a lopsided contest. Jackson Engberg got the Lumberjacks on the board early, giving Granite City a 1–0 lead. Prentiss Maier followed later in the period with a goal of his own to make it 2–0. On the following shift, Coltin Wassengeso added another, pushing the lead to 3–0 by the end of the first period. In the second, Ty Smith continued to build on the Lumberjacks’ dominance, finding the back of the net early in the frame. Emmett Reiter followed with a power-play goal a few minutes later, stretching the lead to 5–0. Later in the period, Teagen Dodge added another power-play tally, giving Granite City a six-goal advantage heading into the third. The Lumberjacks put the finishing touches on the night in the third with a pair of goals to make it an 8–0 final. Maier scored the first of the period for his second goal of the night, before Riley Berg capped things off with another power-play goal. In net, Zach Price turned aside all 26 shots he faced to earn the shutout, further highlighting the one-sided nature of the matchup. Mason City dropped its 13th loss of the season and will look to bounce back in its next outing. Granite City, meanwhile, picked up its 21st win of the year, continuing to showcase its dominance this season.

Wausau 4 @ Wisconsin 1 - The Wausau Cyclones went on the road to take on the Wisconsin Woodsmen. In the opening period the Cyclones would get on the board first with a goal from Maksim Salienko, Brady Knutsen and Frank Goodman getting the assist. Just 3 minutes later the Cyclones would extend their lead with a goal from Eiji Hofmann, Lucas Mankoff getting an assist, and Frank Goodman picking up his second assist of the game. In the second period the Woodsmen would get on the board with a power play goal from Maxim Lazo, Brandon Slasor and Nolan Mix picking up the assist. In the final period the Cyclones would answer back with a goal from Elijah Von Gunten, Brady Knutsen getting his second assist of the game. To finish the game the Cyclones would score on an empty net foal from Brandon Piwko, Eiji Hofmann with an assist, and Brady Knutsen picking up his third assist of the game. The Wausau Cyclones pick up a win on the road over the Wisconsin Woodsmen 4-1.