Friday Night Means Business as First Two Teams Lock In Playoff Berths

Photo Credits: Elyja Parker, Alex Cole, Gary Marshall

Atlanta 2 @ Pelham 5 - The Pelham Prowlers earned a home victory Friday night over the Atlanta Capitals by a score of 5–2. After trading blows through the first two periods, the Prowlers took control in the third to pull away for the win. Tristin Scheufelle got Atlanta on the board first, scoring off the assist from Gavin Koehler to give the Capitals a 1–0 lead. Late in the first period, Pelham answered back as Marlon Derksen found the back of the net with help from Dylan Ray to tie the game. In the second, Matthew Hunter gave the Prowlers their first lead of the night with a power-play goal, set up by Derksen, making it 2–1. Atlanta responded late in the period, tying the game at 2–2 on a power-play tally from Jaylen Fluhr, with Scheufelle picking up the assist. Pelham took firm control in the third period. Ethan McKnight struck early to regain the lead, finishing a play from Bryce Croyle. Jacob Harrison then extended the advantage with a power-play goal off the feed from Owen McDougal, pushing the score to 4–2. Matthew Hunter capped off the night with a short-handed empty-net goal, assisted by James Mazzei. In goal, Devin Diller made 42 saves in a strong effort for Atlanta, while Garrett Ambrose stopped 19 shots to secure the win for the Prowlers. With the victory, Pelham earned its 10th win of the season, while Atlanta suffered its 28th loss as they look to turn things around. 

Carolina 2 @ Louisiana 12 - In a commanding display at Planet Ice Rink, the Louisiana Drillers defeated the Carolina Rage with a decisive 12-2 victory, officially clinching their spot in the 2026 Fraser Cup Playoffs. The Drillers opened the scoring at 16:22 of the first period with Logan Woods netting a power-play goal, assisted by Jack Slotka and Carter Gnau. Brody Haas then lit the lamp twice in quick succession, first at 12:16 and again at 12:04, with assists from Isaac Erickson and Carter Tymchak, before Dayton Ruppel added another at 11:12, assisted by Emerson Laroche and Brayden Pelcl, closing the first period at 4-0. In the second period, Skyler Tompkins and Zachary Marsell extended the Drillers' lead with goals at 6:31 and 3:50, respectively. Carolina's Reece Beckwith and James Parnell managed to claw back with goals at 17:54 and 16:40. However, Draydin Johnson's goal at 2:21, assisted by Gordon Guerrero and Carter Gnau, kept the Drillers comfortably ahead. The third period saw the Drillers further assert their dominance, with Brayden Pelcl scoring at 12:03, Jack Slotka at 10:53, and Draydin Johnson adding two more at 10:11 and 00:31, completing his hat-trick. Brody Haas, Draydin Johnson, and Carter Tymchak were standout performers, earning the top three stars of the game. 

Buzz 2 @ New Jersey 4 - The Jersey Titans took down the Buzz on home ice during Friday night's slate. In the first period, however, Blake Camomile opened the scoring for the Buzz and kept the lead going until early on in the second. In the first minute of action in the middle frame, Yosef Pievsky fed Ryan cook to bury one in and tie the game. Shortly after, Pievsky grabbed himself a goal to break the tie and give the Titans the everlasting lead, as his goal was assisted by Cook. Ten minutes later, Cook found another opening and another goal to his tally, as he did so unassisted. Then a minute after that, Juno Ryu lasered one in from the point for some insurance. But less than a minute after, the Buzz responded, as Jaylen Nurse tucked in a rebound from Chris Lane. And to cap it all off, with four seconds left on the final clock, Jessy Kiroff sealed the deal with the empty net. 

Bayou State 3 @ Texas (R) 12 - If Friday night of hockey was absent of goals for your team, never fear because the Texas Roadrunners put on a show on home ice against the Bayou State Rougarou by lighting the lamp 12 times. The club continues to dominate the standings with 26-9-0 on their record so far. For their game over Bayou State, the Roadrunners opened the scoring and put in four unanswered before the period concluded. Logan Diskey lit the lamp first, and then Brady Warrington and Jayden Hitt followed, as Diskey scored again before the first buzzer. In the second Jacob Brown got things started and made it five-nothing. But then three minutes later, Kamdyn Smith responded and broke the shutout dreams for Texas. However, their attempt would be met with a retaliation, as Will Dyker sauced one to Nathan Pickett to bury one. Ten minutes later, though, the Rougarou tried to muster more goals regardless of what the scoreboard said. In back-to-back settings, Evan McCreary put in two goals just a minute apart. His team still trailed, and would continue to even more, as Anthony Riviello responded after burying Kurtis Brachlow’s rebound. In the third, the Roadrunners went out with a bang and racked up five more, as seven goals simply wasn't good enough. At 16:25, Vincent Campbell launched one in while empty-handed. Then a minute later, Memphis Palmer added more with Jayden Hitt helping out. Shortly after, Dyker chimed in and added another. And before wrapping it up, Williams Heskett would jailbreak one past Bayou State’s goaltender and pick up a ‘shorty. But he wasn't done just yet. 18 seconds after the ‘shorty, Heskett blasted the biscuit past the net right off the centre ice faceoff to call it a game. 

Cyclones 7 @ Mustangs 2 - The Wausau Cyclones went on an absolute tear against the Peoria Mustangs, scoring six unanswered late in the second period and duration of the third. In the first period, Jackson Schroeder opened the scoring in the first 22 seconds of play. Then four minutes later, the Mustangs responded and tied the score, when Owen Gruden sent one in. The team kept the momentum going in the second, as Brendon Miller wristed one from the slot with the go-ahead lead. However, three minutes later Schroeder grabbed another and tied things up again. And that would be the end of it for the Mustangs, as the Cyclones would score five unanswered and shut down the home squad. Two minutes after Schroeder’s goal, Brady Knutsen would score the go-ahead goal after getting help from Elji Hofmann. And before the Mustangs could catch their breath, they would let in another one by you guessed it, Schroeder. The man would pick up a natural hat-trick and his 18th goal of the season to close out the middle frame. For the third, Knutsen point-blanked the biscuit behind the net at 12:51 to make it 5-2. Then at 8:21, Jackson Maddock buried one past the Mustangs netminder, with a cycle from Davis Polifka and Maksim Salienko. Before the final buzzer, Joel Anderson sent it off and sealed the deal, as Hoffman picked up his third assist.

West Texas 4 @ Tulsa 7 - The Tulsa Oilers’ offense dominated at home Friday night, defeating the West Texas Wranglers by a score of 7–4. It was an offensive battle throughout, but Tulsa’s firepower ultimately proved to be the difference. West Texas opened the scoring in the first period as William Andegren grabbed the 1–0 lead off assists from Justin Fielden and Vivaan Sood. Andegren later extended the lead to two, finishing a play set up by Gavin Brown and Jamison Houk. Tulsa answered a few minutes later when Stone Baulch found the back of the net, with Chase Boswell and Robert Naro assisting to make it 2–1. The Oilers tied the game late in the first as Boswell buried the equalizer, with Baulch and Alexander Elsner picking up the helpers. Tulsa carried that momentum into the second period, as Baulch scored again with assists from Montana Medina and Elsner, pushing the Oilers ahead 3–2. Hunter Yates responded for West Texas a few minutes later, tying the game once more off passes from Andegren and Brown. The tie didn’t last long, however, as Caleb Gamboa restored Tulsa’s lead with the assist from Andrew Arthur, making it a 4–3 game. In the third, Elsner stretched the lead to two midway through the period, finishing a setup from Boswell. Luke Yahola extended the advantage with a power-play goal off the assist from Arthur, pushing the score to 6–3. West Texas continued to battle, as Nathan Zane found the back of the net with help from Andegren and Zachary Polkes, cutting the deficit to two. Elsner then sealed the win with a power-play empty-net goal, assisted by Baulch and Tyler Stoesz, to make it a 7–4 final. In net, Garrett Lant stopped 28 shots in the loss for the Wranglers, while Jack Salverson turned away 46 shots in a strong performance for Tulsa to secure the victory. 

New Mexico 2 @ Texas 3 - The Texas Brahmas edged out the New Mexico Ice Wolves in a tight defensive battle, skating away with a 3–2 victory in a game that saw momentum swing early and late. New Mexico opened the scoring early in the first period as Oscar Schneider put the Ice Wolves on the board first, finishing a play set up by Tanner Ross to grab a 1–0 lead. Texas answered back shortly after when Tyler Conrad found the back of the net, with Peyton Deperno picking up the assist to even the game at one apiece. The Brahmas continued to push and took the lead later in the period while shorthanded, as Peyton Deperno capitalized on a chance with help from Joshua Reaska and Kayden Jones, giving Texas a 2–1 advantage after one. The second period was a defensive stalemate, with both teams tightening up and neither side able to find the scoresheet despite quality chances at both ends. In the third, Texas added an important insurance goal early as Jayani Benson extended the Brahmas’ lead to two, finishing off a setup from John Scharf and Benjamin Humphreys to make it 3–1. New Mexico refused to go quietly and pulled within one late in the contest when Jacob Wenner buried a goal off the assist from Ryan Hoogsteen, cutting the deficit to 3–2. Despite a late push from the Ice Wolves, Texas held strong defensively to secure the one-goal win. Strong goaltending from Gavin Erickson with his 37 save performance proved to be the difference as the Brahmas picked up a much needed victory.  

Willmar 1 @ Alexandria 7 - The Alexandria Blizzard put together a dominant performance at home, rolling past the Willmar Warhawks by a 7–1 final in a game where Alexandria controlled the pace from start to finish. The Blizzard opened the scoring early in the first period when Blake Breiland found the back of the net to make it 1–0, with Christian Crutcher and Easton Schmit picking up the assists. Alexandria continued to apply pressure and was rewarded again midway through the period as Reece Hubmer doubled the lead, finishing a setup from Caleb Waller and Christian Crutcher to push it to 2–0. Late in the opening frame, Hubmer struck again, tallying his second of the night off feeds from Ethan Boughton and Kaden Roness, giving the Blizzard a commanding 3–0 lead heading into the break. Alexandria showed no signs of slowing down in the second period. Early in the frame, Kaden Roness extended the lead to four, with Zach Benson earning the lone assist. The Blizzard kept the offensive surge going as Thomas Foley added another goal soon after, converting a chance created by Quinten Friborg and Ben Carolla to make it 5–0. Moments later, Carolla got in on the scoring himself, burying a goal with assists from Chase Collings and Thomas Foley, stretching the lead to six. Before the period came to a close, Reece Hubmer completed a hat trick, finishing off a play from Caleb Waller and Grady Stallman to give Alexandria a 7–0 advantage. Willmar was able to break through late in the third period, scoring on the power play as Elliot Domagala put one home with help from Mason Wanka, accounting for the Warhawks’ lone tally of the night. 

Wisconsin 2 @ West Bend 6 -  In an electrifying matchup at the Kettle Moraine Ice Center, the Power maintained their undefeated record at home, picking up a commanding 6-2 victory over the Woodsmen. The home crowd of 415 fans witnessed a flurry of goals, starting with Otis Berge's opening strike at 17:49 of the first period, courtesy of assists from Wyatt Emmett and Nathan Antti. Just moments earlier, Parker Holloway had given the Woodsmen brief hope with his goal at 17:57, assisted by Tyler Osborne and Ethan Foiles. The Power's scoring machine kept rolling with Cole Craft netting one at 11:36 of the first period, thanks to assists from Armani Fisher and Shaun Paulson. Shaun Paulson himself lit the lamp at the very start of the second period, capitalizing on a power play opportunity at 00:02, with assists from Evan Burchardt and Nathan Antti. In the third period, the Power sealed the deal with goals by Brody Josselyn at 10:56 and Quinn O'Connor at 19:32. Meanwhile, Tyler Osborne's answer for the Woodsmen at 6:23 came as only a brief interruption to West Bend's dominance. Ben Glaesman stood tall in the net for West Bend, saving 24 of 26 shots, while Aidan Vanderweele faced a barrage, stopping 27 of 33 before being replaced by Lleyton Jaschke late in the game. Standout performances included Shaun Paulson, Armani Fisher, and Cole Craft, each making crucial contributions to the Power's victory. The Power's potent offense was supported by a disciplined penalty kill and an effective power play, converting 2 out of 4 opportunities, showcasing their prowess in special teams. With this win, West Bend became the first team in the Central Division to punch their ticket to the postseason.

Minnesota (M) 5 @ Granite City 1 - In a thrilling encounter at the Miller Buick GMC Rink, the Minnesota Moose outclassed the Granite City Lumberjacks with a decisive 5-1 victory. The Moose were quick off the blocks, with Mitchell Gawel netting the opening goal at 5:33 of the first period. Just over two minutes later, Luca Salak added a second, capitalizing on a power-play opportunity at 7:41. The second period saw the Moose extend their lead as Brady Johnson found the back of the net at 12:33. The game was effectively put out of Granite City's reach when Cullen Murray scored a power-play goal at 10:52, rounding off a dominant second period for the visitors. Granite City's lone highlight came when Drew Thompson scored at 2:03 of the first period, assisted by Coltin Wassengeso and Micah Saxon, but it was too little, too late. In the third, Johnson sealed the deal with his second goal at 9:07. Moose's goalie Gabe Otis was a brick wall, saving 36 of 37 shots, continuing his momentum after being named December’s Goaltender of the Month. 

Sheridan 1 @ Great Falls 4 - The Sheridan Hawks traveled to the Great Falls Americans for a Friday as the first and second teams in the Frontier took the ice. Ethan Miller would get the scoring started for the Americans just a minute into the game, assisted by Cooper Clouse and Tallon Caron. Jordan Murray would add another for the Americans to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, his first goal in an Americans’ sweater. The Hawks would not respond until eight minutes left in the second on a goal by Jake Vukich, assisted by Caden Gleason and Jeff Slivon. The Americans would add another goal with forty nine seconds left in the second to regain their two goal lead, 3-1. In the third, Great Falls would tack on a powerplay goal by AJ Prioli, assisted by Jordan Murray and Ethan Miller for the 4-1 lead. The Hawks ran into a wall named Kaden Rhyder who saved 47 of 48 shots on goal for the Americans and posted an impressive 0.979 save percentage. Great Falls would take this one 4-1.

Bozeman 4 @ Yellowstone 6 - The Ice Dogs and Quake took the ice in Cody for Yellowstone’s Hockey Fights Cancer Night. The Quake struck first on a goal by Carson Joersz, assisted by Shayne Smith and London Jett just three minutes into the first period. The Ice Dogs answered ten minutes later on a goal by Seth Hanson, assisted by Hayes Masopust and Marshall Deraeve. The Ice Dogs would take the lead 2-1 with fourteen seconds left in the first on a goal by Avery Martin, assisted by Alex Brello and Daniel Heath. In the second period, both teams would go back and forth with two goals each. The Ice Dogs would hold on for the 4-3 lead into the second intermission. In the third, the Quake would tie up the game at four just five minutes into the final session. The Quake would then take the lead half way through on a goal by Jett, assisted by Nicholas Carver and Nolan Winkle. The Quake would then seal the win with thirty five seconds left. Yellowstone got the job done on their special night, picking up a 6-4 victory.

Helena 8 @ Gillette 3 - Helena dominates on the road, powering past Gillette in an 8–3 victory.  The Bighorns wasted no time, with Ty Schell netting the opening goal at 10:00 of the first period, assisted by Austin Uecker and Clint Isakson. Just under two minutes later, Schell struck again with a power-play goal at 08:19, setting the tone for a dominant performance. Fischer Nicolet added to the tally at 04:07, ensuring the Bighorns ended the first period with a commanding 3-0 lead. The second period saw Helena's power-play prowess continue as Clint Isakson and Cal Kellenberg capitalized, extending the lead to a daunting 6-0. Despite a spirited response from Gillette, with Joshua Sauro scoring a shorthanded goal at 12:39 of the second period, it was too little too late. Dylan Herold scored twice in the dying moments of the third period at 19:46 and 19:32, but Helena's Casey Barriteau had already sealed their fate with a goal at 02:46. Schell dazzled with a hat-trick, earning him the first star of the game, while Branson Appelman stood firm in goal for Helena with 16 saves. Helena's power-play efficiency was remarkable, scoring four goals from seven opportunities, while Gillette struggled, failing to capitalize on their three power-play chances.

Badlands 6 @ Butte 2 -. Badlands took the victory in game one of their weekend series with Butte, skating away with a 6-2 victory. The Sabres would strike first four minutes in on a goal by Matthew Cordis, assisted by Dayton Niedert. In the second, the Sabres would strike again on a goal by Logan Salo for the 2-0 lead just two minutes into the middle frame. Rhylan Olson would add another for the Sabres on a shorthanded goal a minute later. The Irish would answer back with two powerplay goals in the final minute and thirty seconds of the second period to make it 3-2 Sabres. In the third, it was all Sabres as they added three more goals by Dayton Niedert, Gavin Marx, and Kyyan Jahner. Sabres goalie Parker Kelly saved 32 of 34 shots on goal for a 0.941 save percentage.