Sunday Scores: The Phoenix Inferno Continue to Dominate in its Inaugural Season

Texas Brahmas 3 @ Phoenix Inferno 4- Phoenix continued its three-game slate against Texas with a 4-3 victory, earning its seventh straight win to start the season. Camden Babin opened the scoring for Phoenix midway through the first period. The Inferno's power play then played a key role, as Cash Johnson scored at 5:30 before Trevor Grazier added another power-play goal to give Phoenix a 3-0 lead. In the final minute of the period, Benjamin Humphreys scored his second goal of the season to cut the deficit to two. Texas erased the remaining deficit in the second period, as Tyler Conrad scored late in the period before Peyton Depreno followed up just minutes later with his first goal of the season to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the final period. Otaro Inuque continued his knack for scoring big goals for Phoenix, breaking the tie early in the third with his eighth goal of the season. The Inferno held onto the 4-3 lead for the remainder of the game to earn their seventh straight victory and remain undefeated. Texas goaltender Wes Carl made 28 saves, while Phoenix's Logan Gibbs stopped 24 shots. 

West Bend Power 8 @ Fox Cities Forge 3- West Bend continued its strong start to the season with a dominant 8-3 road victory over Fox Cities. The Forge opened the scoring as Wesley Loxley put the home side up 1-0. West Bend answered at 11:43 of the first period, as Elias Holan tied the game for the Power. Just four minutes later, Blake Kohen scored his first goal of the season to give West Bend the lead. Late in the period, Zachary Halling added another goal to put the Power up 3-1 heading into the intermission. Drew Sparcino extended West Bend's lead early in the second period before Adam Sexton scored on the power play following a slashing penalty against the Forge to make it 5-1. Sexton added another goal just two minutes later to give the Power a 6-1 lead heading into the third. Midway through the third, Tomas Kobela found the back of the net to extend West Bend's lead. Fox Cities responded as Maxim Bachmann scored on the power play, with Egor Kondratev recording his second assist of the game. Just two and a half minutes later, Tyson Bradford scored an unassisted power-play goal to cut the deficit to 7-3. West Bend added one more late in the period, as Tristan Hearley scored his first goal of the season on the power play to seal the 8-3 victory. The Power improved their strong start to the season and remain atop the Central Division. 

Wilmar Warhawks 2 @ Granite City Lumberjacks 5- Alex Zelakowski recorded a hat trick to help Granite City earn a 5-2 home victory over Wilmar. Midway through the first period, Vince Murn opened the scoring for the Lumberjacks, and just two minutes later, Zelakowski found the back of the net to give Granite City a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. Wilmar answered early in the second, as Maddox Domagala scored his second goal of the season unassisted. Wyatt Garvey then tied the game at 6:16. The deadlock would not last long, as Zelakowski scored his second goal of the game just over a minute later to put Granite City back in front 3-2 heading into the second intermission. The game remained a one-goal contest late into the third period until Ethan Fitch added an insurance goal to extend the Lumberjacks' lead to 4-2. Zelakowski then completed his hat trick, scoring his third goal of the game to seal the 5-2 victory for Granite City. Wilmar goaltender Noah German faced 47 shots, while Granite City's Griffen Bunnell made 12 saves to secure the win. 

Sheridan Hawks 1 @ Bozeman Icedogs 2- Bozeman earned a 2-1 home victory over Sheridan in a tightly contested game. Cash Phillips opened the scoring in the first period, recording his first goal of the season to give the Icedogs a 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second period, Lex Steckelberg extended Bozeman's lead with a power-play goal midway through the third. Sheridan responded just three minutes later, as Cole Bishow cut the deficit to one. Despite the late push from the Hawks, Bozeman's defense held firm to secure the 2-1 victory. Both goaltenders turned in strong performances, with Sheridan's Wyatt Knott making 24 saves and Bozeman's Jack Ryan also stopping 24 shots. 

Great Falls 2 @ Badlands 4 - The Great Falls Americans returned to the Roosevelt Ice Arena for a Saturday showdown against the Badlands Sabres. Despite being on the road, the Americans opened the scoring for this game just minutes into the contest. Following a Sabres turnover, the Americans recovered the puck allowing Cooper Palazzolo to score off a pass from Jordan Antar. In the back half of the first period, a minor penalty assessed against the Americans gave the Sabres a power-play opportunity. Badlands successfully converted just seconds into the man advantage, when a centering pass from Oliver Giles connected with Dayton Niedert who would tie the game. The Sabres extended their lead in the final minutes of the period, when a shot from Matthew Cordis deflected over Americans goaltender Kaleb Wood. The bouncing puck found its way past the goal line to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead heading into the second. Penalties increased in the second period, and it was late in the period that another minor penalty went against the Americans. On the power play, the Sabres generated extended offensive pressure in the Americans’ zone. A shot from the blue line by Rhylan Olson rebounded to Dayton Niedert. Niedert made a quick pass to Matthew Cordis whose shot found the back of the net for his second of the night, extending the Sabres’ lead to 3-1 just before the final period. Early in the third, the Americans found themselves on the power play after a minor penalty by the Sabres. The Americans capitalized on the power play when a shot from Keifer Lundmark near the blue line made its way through traffic and into the back of the Badlands net to cut the lead down to one. It was minutes later that the Sabres were given a chance to respond after a penalty against the Americans put them on the power play nearing the midway mark of the third period. After spending most of the power play in the offensive zone, the Sabres converted on the man advantage when a shot from Rhylan Olson at the blue line found the twine to give the Sabres the 4-2 lead. The remainder of the game saw any chance for the Americans to generate offensive pressure limited by the number of penalties assessed against them. When the final frame was over, the Badlands Sabres left the ice with a 4-2 win over the Great Falls Americans

Helena 8 @ Gillette 5 - The 635 in attendance at the Spirit Hall Ice Arena were treated to a great night of hockey when the Helena Bighorns arrived to take on the hometown Gillette Wild. The Wild opened the scoring off a three-on-two rush, where a pass from Reece Clouston connected with Donovan Balek for the Wild’s first goal of the game. Minutes later, a hooking penalty called against the Bighorns gave the Wild a power-play opportunity. In the dying seconds of the powerplay during a scramble, the bouncing puck found the stick of Cody Lang who was able to put it past Helena goaltender Gavin Winter to send the Wild into the second period with a 2-0 lead. From the time the puck dropped on the second period, scoring quickly increased. Less than a minute in, following a faceoff win from the Wild, their lead was extended to three after a tough-angle shot from Dylan Herold made its way past the goal line. Despite the Wild holding the offensive edge this far, the Bighorns kept pushing for the next goal. The Bighorns responded before the midway point of the period, with goals from Cameron Kimmerly and Breck Buettner just minutes apart to make the score 3-2. When the Wild were given a penalty for cross-checking halfway through the period, the Bighorns were able to generate more offensive pressure. A mishandled puck from the Bighorns resulted in a turnover that would find Wild forward Jay Reese on a breakaway through the neutral zone. A backhand shot from Reese resulted in a short-handed goal that extended the Wild’s lead back to two. Despite giving up a shorthanded goal, the Bighorns responded just as they had earlier in the period. Through the second half of the second period, the Bighorns proceeded to score three unanswered goals from Austin Uecker, John Freitas, and the second of the night from Cameron Kimmerly. The Bighorns took a 5-4 lead heading into the third. Early in the third period, the Bighorns continued to hold the offensive edge over the Wild. It was just minutes into the period that the Bighorns extended their lead to two with another goal from Austin Uecker. Moments later the Wild cut the deficit to one after Dylan Crossley scored to make the score 6-5 in favor of the Bighorns. The remaining 15 minutes of the contest saw penalties given to both teams, allowing for power play opportunities from both sides. In the end, it was two empty-net goals from Helena’s Tyler Parsons and Clint Iskason that sealed the win. The Bighorns rallied back from a 3-0 deficit and left Gillette with an 8-5 win over the Wild. 

Yellowstone 2 @ Butte 3 - In this Saturday showdown the Yellowstone Quake took to the road to match up against the Butte Irish. It was less than a minute in that a pass from Mason Chapmon connected with Anthony Moorehead to put the Quake up 1-0. Five minutes later the Irish responded with a goal from Zach Buchlot to tie the game. From here most of the remaining first period was a display of physicality between the two Frontier Division rivals, that is until a centering pass from Jacob Avgustovskiy found Tyler Jones in front of the net to give the Irish the 2-1 lead heading into the second period. The first half of the second period saw multiple penalties handed out to each team. Halfway through the period offsetting roughing penalties were assessed to both the Irish and the Quake. The Quake scored yet again during the four-on-four play, when a shot from Anthony Moorehead rebounded to Carson Joersz who found the back of the net to tie the game at two. The physical play continued for the remainder of the second and a majority of the third, with a substantial number of penalties being handed out to each team and two game misconducts being assessed in the latter half of the third period. While both teams played physically, the Irish were the ones generating the most chances offensively, holding the edge in shots on goal over the Quake 43-42. After multiple penalties had been assessed in the back half of the period, the Irish found themselves on the power play. A blue line wrist shot from Koll Tait made its way past the Yellowstone goaltender to give the Irish the 3-2 lead with just over six minutes remaining. The Yellowstone Quake were unable to tie the game in the final minutes, and the Butte Irish were able to secure the 3-2 victory.

New Jersey 0 @ New Hampshire 7 - The colossi matchup between the New Jersey Titans and the New Hampshire Mountain Kings saw everything: lots of scoring, tons of man advantages and some elite goalie play to top it off. The Mountain Kings netminder Max Guerra pitched a shutout, stopping all 33 shots against him, making some spectacular short-handed saves. For a majority of the game New Jersey  actually held the advantage in shots on goal and time in the p2

attacking zone. And then the game morphed into a state of seemingly constant powerplays and penalty kills, fluidly changing hands between the two teams, before the Mountain Kings were able to wrest away control of the game behind Kayden Hill’s two goal game and five skaters with multiple points. 

Garden State 5 @ Norwich 2 - The Norwich Sea Captains, playing with a skeleton crew, hosted the Garden State Gamblers. The Sea Captains started strong, with 17 first period shots on goal, but their attack ran out of steam pretty quickly, as they totaled just 7 shots over the last two periods. The first period was almost exactly even in terms of shots, and the score was knotted at 1 during the intermission. But things took a turn over the next two periods, during which the Gamblers outscored their opponents 3-1 on the strength of two points each from Isaac Emmerich and Joseph Foody. The score would’ve been much worse, if not for a spectacular 46 save performance from Norwich ’tender Henry Strubber. 

Louisiana 10 @ Atlanta 1 - If you can’t go around them, you can always go under them. And that seemed to be the mindset for the Louisiana Drillers as they powered their way past the Atlanta Capitals. Louisiana’s defense definitely deserves credit, seeing as they allowed only six shots on goal over the entirety of the contest. Although Atlanta did finally break through with a Taylor Dahlberg powerplay goal in the third period, it wasn’t enough, as Trent Larochel’s hat trick and Dayton Ruppel’s two goals helped to electrify the Drillers. 

Austin 2 @ Pelham 4 - The Pelham Prowlers protected home ice Saturday morning against the Austin Ice Bats. Austin came out swinging on fresh ice, as Guhnar Hillman scored his seventh goal of the season less than a minute into the action. The teams duked it out for the remainder of the period, with nothing happening until three minutes were left in the opening frame. Keaton Moffitt evened out the score before intermission, capitalizing on a rebound for the Prowlers. Tensions flared in the second frame, with seven penalties handed out. Pelham's goals in the middle frame came on the power play from Bearic Wolle. His first goal came on a slap shot with 13 minutes remaining, while his second came with a five-on-three advantage to give the Prowlers a 3-1 lead. In the final frame, Pelham extended its lead even more as William Hartle scored off a blocked shot. The Ice Bats finally got an opportunity to respond on the power play, as Hillman picked up his second goal of the night, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Even as the Ice Bats outshot the Prowlers in the second and third periods, they were unable to slip past Pelham’s Zachary Campbell. 

Oklahoma City 5 @ Tulsa 6 (SO) - The Tulsa Oilers won in thrilling shootout action against the Oklahoma City Warriors. A physical affair throughout, the teams were neck-and-neck through all 60 minutes of regulation and extra time. The first frame was highlighted by traded shots on goal, with the Oilers holding a slight 8-7 advantage. However, it would be the Warriors who opened the scoring for the game, with London McDougall scoring with three minutes remaining in the first period. The second period was filled with action for both teams. In the opening minute, Tulsa got on the board as Rodion Dubrovin scored on the power play. A minute later, the Oilers claimed the lead for the first time off a powerful slap shot from Luke Yahola. Two minutes later, the Warriors tied things back up at 2-2 on the power play from King McDougall. Reclaiming the lead for Oklahoma City, Carter Halling scored his first goal of the season on a breakaway opportunity. The Warriors' lead continued to grow, as Jon Sproule sunk the puck in on a rebound opportunity. Moving into the third period, Oklahoma City kept its momentum going, bringing their lead to 5-2 halfway through the final frame as Benjamin Craft scored. The Oilers awoke in the back half of the final frame, ignited by Dubrovin’s second goal of the night. As the clock trickled down, John Scown cut the Warriors’ lead to one with just over two minutes left in regulation. Looking to force overtime, Owen Feinstein stepped up for the Oilers on a goal that left bodies on the ground. Going into extra minutes, both teams were unable to get anything moving, with Tulsa having 3 shots on goal while Oklahoma City had none, sending the game to a shootout. The back-and-forth continued in the shootout, which went to 14 shots. Each team had successfully made two shots before Morgan Barclift secured the win for the Tulsa Oilers. 

Peoria 1 @ St. Louis 2 - It was the Robert Kelly show for the St. Louis Jr. Blues, as he was the lone goal-scorer for the team to secure a 2-1 victory over the Peoria Mustangs. His first goal was late in the opening frame, slipping the puck past the Mustangs’ goalie. Heading into the second frame, nine penalties were given out, as both teams were looking for any opportunity to score. That chance would come within the final two minutes of the middle period, when Kelly scored his second goal just after the power-play ended, giving the Jr. Blues a 2-0 lead. The intensity continued over into the final period. After an overturned goal in the third frame made it look like the Jr. Blues would take a 3-0 lead, the Mustangs responded. With the clock against them, Braden Hillebrand scored Peoria’s lone goal with three minutes left in action. The Mustangs pulled their goalie, looking for a way to tie things up in just under two minutes of action. Nothing was slipping past St. Louis’ Keaton Pardy, preserving the Jr. Blues' 2-1 lead while the Mustangs had six men on the ice. The Jr. Blues outshot the Mustangs every period, finishing with a 36-24 advantage through the 60 minutes of play.