Lights, Ice, Action: Saturday Recap

Photo Credit: Sasa Starkjohann

New Jersey 2 @ New Hampshire 4 - Saturday afternoon, the New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings came out in full force on home ice over the Jersey Titans, defeating the club 4-2 and outshooting them 41-16. In the first period, Talon Schackman opened the scoring after collecting a pass by Andrew Chandler. However in the second, Ryan Cook responded quickly into the frame and tied the score, as Yosef Pievsky gave him some sauce. Ten minutes later, though, the Mountain Kings responded themselves and broke the tie, as Kyle Bouvier got it done on the power play. For the third, New Hampshire would score another one towards the middle half, as it would get done by Liam O'Boyle. Shortly after, the Titans would pick up another response, as Pievsky racked up a goal himself to put them within one. Likewise, while short-handed and with Jersey's netminder pulled for the extra attacker, Jacob Landry for New Hampshire would bury the empty netter to call it a night.

Minnesota (M) 4 @ Mason City 3 - The Minnesota Moose continued their impressive campaign with a hard-fought road victory over the Mason City Toros by a score of 4-3. Minnesota established an early lead and managed to hold off a late push from the Toros to secure the win. In the first period, Mark Denoyer opened the scoring for the Moose, finding the back of the net off an assist from Charlie Marchand. Mason City answered back before the end of the frame when Mason Buchanan leveled the score, assisted by Jason Williams and Dom Despenas. The Moose regained control in the second period, starting with a goal from Caleb Schwark, who was set up by Luca Salak and Mark Denoyer. Later in the period, Will Burnevik extended the lead to two goals, with assists coming from Brady Johnson and Carsen Gause. The third period saw Mason City attempt a comeback as T.J. Gibson scored early in the frame off passes from Christian Plaga and Luke Gustafson. However, Charlie Marchand notched a crucial empty-net goal for the Moose, assisted by Brady Johnson and Gavin Jensen, to provide much-needed breathing room. The Toros added one more late tally from Blaze Bauer, assisted by Kellen Kantaris and Weston Bohlman, but the Moose held on for the 4-3 result.

Butte 2 @ Great Falls 3 - The Great Falls Americans successfully defended home ice with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Butte Irish. In a physical battle that saw special teams play a major role, Great Falls was able to edge out the Irish to secure the win. The game opened with a quick strike from Butte, as Loghan Weber found the back of the net on an early power play off the assists from Andrew James and Jack Whitelaw. The 1-0 lead held until early in the second, when the Americans' offense began to click. Reid Lezubski evened the score with a power-play goal of his own, set up by Fisher Hannesson and Cooper Clouse. Less than two minutes later, Jordan Murray struck again for Great Falls, burying a feed from Clouse and Keegan Hanson to give the Americans their first lead of the night. The drama continued into the third period as Butte fought to climb back. Kaleb Ivens managed to tie the game at 2-2 with a clutch goal assisted by James and Whitelaw. However, the deadlock didn't last long; just seconds later, Gordon Jennings reclaimed the lead for Great Falls, finishing a play orchestrated by Aidan Mulheran and Clouse. The Americans' defense stood tall for the remainder of the frame to preserve the one-goal advantage. 

Maine 5 @ Norwich 6 (SO) - The Norwich Sea Captains came out on top in a high-scoring thriller Saturday night, edging the Maine Nordiques with a 6-5 shootout victory at home. In a game that featured massive momentum swings, the Sea Captains showed immense grit to pull out the win in the final stages. The scoring opened with Ronan Howard finding the back of the net for Maine to take an early lead, assisted by Gavin Gleghorn and Carter Walls. Norwich quickly responded as Lukas Sobczak tied the game off feeds from Jake Wilkerson and Kolin Krizan. Maine reclaimed the advantage before the first intermission with goals from Peyton Dyer and Jaxson Sardinha. Norwich's Trenton Impens kept it close to make it a 3-2 game early in the second. The back-and-forth action continued in the second as Logan Niesen found the twine for the Sea Captains to level the score at 3-3. In the third, Norwich appeared to take control as Louis Allanson and Trenton Impens both scored to push the lead to 5-3. However, the Nordiques refused to go quietly; Brody Emond netted a power-play goal and Peyton Dyer scored his second of the night with just 13 seconds remaining to force the game into a shootout. In the shootout, the tension was high until Louis Allanson stepped up and buried the game-winner to secure the extra point for the home squad.

West Bend 8 @ Peoria 0 - West Bend seized control early, scoring three times in the opening period. Evan Burchardt opened the scoring off assists from Andrew Sparacino and Mason Wanka. Jace Fitzgerald followed with an unassisted, short-handed goal, and Sparacino added a power play tally set up by Quinn O’Connor to give the Power a 3-0 lead after one. The Power continued to extend their advantage in the second period. Fitzgerald scored with assists from Sparacino and Blake Kohnen, followed by a power play goal from Danny Jurcich off feeds from Fitzgerald and Sparacino. Wanka capped the period with his first of the night, scoring off assists from Fitzgerald and Otis Berge.  West Bend closed out the victory with two goals in the third period. Wanka scored his second goal of the game with help from Fitzgerald and O’Connor. Fitzgerald finished the scoring, converting a setup from Wanka and Kohnen. Ending the game in an 8-0 victory for the Power.

Granite City 4 @ Rochester 1 - Granite City opened the scoring on the power play when Ty Smith found the back of the net for his 100th NA3HL career point, giving the Lumberjacks a 1-0 lead after one. The Lumberjacks extended their lead early in the second period as Teagan Dodge netted the eventual game-winning goal on the power play finishing a setup from Smith and Wassengeso. Rochester answered when Mason Decker scored off assists from Andrew Bastian and Jake Kusch to cut the deficit to one and end the period 2-1.  Granite City added an insurance goal late in the third when Eli Tiernan scored with assists from Jack Postula and Alexander Zelazowski. Carter Oothooudt sealed the win with an unassisted, empty-net power play goal securing the 4-1 victory. 

Wisconsin 2 @ Wausau 3 - Wausau struck first early in the opening period when Jackson Maddock scored off assists from Jackson Schroeder and Frank Goodman. Wisconsin answered quickly as Nolan Mix found the back of the net with help from Brodie Mich and Josh Kauppinen. The Cyclones regained the lead later in the period when Schroeder scored with an assist from Eiji Hofmann, giving Wausau a 2-1 advantage at the first intermission. The second period featured back-and-forth action until Brady Knutsen capitalized on a late opportunity for the Cyclones, finishing a feed from Hofmann. Wisconsin pulled within one in the final minute of the period when Mix scored his second goal of the night, assisted by Mich and Kauppinen. Despite several chances in the third period, neither team was able to add to the score as Wausau held on for a 3-2 victory. Wisconsin Woodsmen goaltender Alex Rivolta made 35 saves in the loss. Cyclones netminder Brody Kunst earned the win with a strong 35-save performance. 

Minnesota (W) 5 @ Alexandria 8 - The first period featured lots of action as both teams traded momentum. Alexandria opened the scoring midway through the period when Maxim Lazo finished a setup from Ethan Boughton and Caleb Waller. Minnesota answered back quickly as Stratton Maas scored off assists from Zacary Norberg and Ethan Jacobson. The Wilderness struck again just after with Maas netting his second goal of the period on another feed from Norberg and Jacobson to take the lead. Alexandria responded before the break when Zach Benson found the back of the net, assisted by Caden Vos and Kaden Roness, sending the game into intermission tied 2-2.  Alexandria took control in the second period with three goals. Reece Hubmer scored on the power play finishing a setup from Caleb Waller to give the Blizzard the lead. Maxim Lazo extended the advantage by converting a feed from Blake Breiland and Kaden Roness. Minnesota responded late in the period when Wyatt Mineheine scored with assists from Jace Kampsula and Ethan Glimme. Alexandria answered quickly, as Christian Crutcher netted his first goal of the season off assists from Roness and Ethan Boughton to close the period 5-3 Alexandria. The third period featured a flurry of goals as both teams pushed the pace. Alexandria struck first when Blake Breiland scored off assists from Maxim Lazo and Caleb Waller. Minnesota responded quickly, as Wyatt Mineheine scored with help from Jace Kampsula and Christian Houser, then added his second goal of the period just 23 seconds later off assists from Job Carpenter and Kampsula. Alexandria regained control late, with Lazo netting a goal off a feed from Waller. Caden Vos capped the scoring with an unassisted goal in the final moments to seal the game for the Blizzard 8-5. 

El Paso 2 @ New Mexico 1 - After a loss to the New Mexico Ice Wolves the night before, the El Paso Rhinos were ready for a comeback on Saturday night. The Rhinos earned themselves a close 2-1 victory against their South Division rival on New Mexico’s home ice. The Rhinos played a strong defensive game. The Ice Wolves kept their scoring chances high, but Rhinos’ goaltender Nathan Graybill did not break a sweat. Graybill made 39 saves to keep his team in the game and earn his fifteenth win of the season. Mikhail Levaniuk opened the scoring off the stick of Austin McPherson. This goal got El Paso on the board first, establishing a lead early. The Ice Wolves would respond in the second with a goal from Jacob Wenner, his 100th NA3HL career point, assisted by Calahan Butler. These two teams would not stay tied for long though, Kenneth Cadwallader answered back quickly for El Paso giving them back the lead at the end of the second. A scoreless third period followed before El Paso skated away with a win. 

Yellowstone 7 @ Gillette 4 - The Yellowstone Quake picked up another victory on the road against the Gillette Wild. Carson Joersz got the Quake started with two goals in the first. Dean Schlarman then added a late period goal to give Yellowstone an early 3-0 lead entering the second period. The Wild answered back in the middle frame in an effort to tie things up. Both teams earned their share of power-play chances and Gillette capitalized on two of them. Dylan Herold and Riley Schmidt each scored a power-play goal for the Wild in the first half of the second.  Joersz then responded with his own power-play goal, shortly after Schmidt's, completing his hat trick. Teegan Gardner added the Wild's third with just 02:11 left in the period. Schmidt netted his second of the match to start the third and tie the score 4-4. However, the Quake answered quickly with a goal from Shayne Smith, assisted by Tagen Stout. Dean Schlarman would add further insurance for the Quake on the power play later in the third, before Christian Streuber wrapped the game up, scoring on the Wild's empty net. Damen Baxter was in the crease for Yellowstone, battling 34 shots and making 30 saves to seal the win for the Quake.

Badlands 3 @ Helena 7 - The Helena Bighorns carried momentum from Friday night’s game into Saturday to earn another win against the Badlands Sabres. Like Friday, the Bighorns’ offense was a standout part of this game. The Bighorns put up a total of 52 shots and scored seven goals across a full 60 minutes. Helena’s Ty Schell got the action started in the first with an early goal, and teammate Mason Smith added one late in the period to give the Bighorns a 2-0 lead. The middle frame started with fast-paced back-and-forth action. Sabres’ Dayton Niedert scored his first of three this match to start the period. Less than a minute after Braden Davis struck for Helena with a short-handed goal, Niedert then answered exactly a minute later with a power play tally for the Sabres. Lincoln Kearney and Chase Berg would finish off the period, each scoring a goal for the Bighorns to make the score 5-2 entering the final 20 minutes. Niedert completed his hat trick early in the third, scoring his twenty-sixth goal of the season, assisted by Gaven Marx and Carter Kilen. However the Bighorns still were not finished. Blake Chapman added a power play goal before Fischer Nicolet finished the game with a final tally, making the score 7-3. Branson Appelman was in net for the Bighorns again tonight, facing 28 shots from the Sabres.