Rematch: Bulls to face Lumberjacks in Silver Cup Championship
Ben Falk helped the Nashville Jr. Predators finish 2-1 at the Silver Cup Tournament with a 3-1 win on Saturday.
Granite City 6 vs. Metro 1 – Granite City controlled most of the 1st period and eventually broke through with a goal from Dallas Marvin. Marvin got a pass from Jared Sprink and wondered into the high slot. Using the defenseman as a screen, Marvin then wired a shot past Jake Stephan for a 1-0 lead. In the 2nd period, the Lumberjacks would use two goals from Travis Kothenbeutel to increase their lead to 3-0. Kothenbeutel’s first goal came after a shot from the high slot was sent over the net, but the rebound bounced out front and off Stephan as it trickled over the line. With time winding down in the 2nd period, Kothenbeutel danced out of the corner and moved in front of the net, stuffing a shot through the legs of Stephan for a 3-0 lead with just one second to go in the 3rd period. Granite City kept pouring it on the 3rd period as Marvin scored his second goal of the game as he used his speed around the outside and snuck a backhander through the legs of Stephan for a 4-0 Granite City lead. Just :36 seconds later David Kenney worked his way through the Jets defence and put on a nice dangle past Stephan for a 5-0 lead. The Jets finally got on the board halfway through the frame as a pass from behind the net from Cooper McLean to Cody Jones, who slipped a shot over the shoulder of Jacks goalie David Garcia. The Lumberjacks weren’t done scoring however as Jared Sprink put home a rebound from the side of the cage on the power play to make it 6-1. Garcia picked up the win, making 19 saves, while Stephan made 31 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Nashville 3 vs. West Michigan 1 – A two-goal win was not enough for Nashville who beat West Michigan 3-1 in the final round-robin game. Nashville ended up with a 2-1 record with a +1 goal differential, while Granite City also had a 2-1 record with a +4 goal differential. West Michigan took advantage of a power play in the 1st period as Devin Farkas got a pass down the left wing, crossed the blue line and let go a slapshot that eluded Jr. Predators goalie Nate Klebe for a 1-0 West Michigan lead. The Jr. Predators amped up the pressure in the 2nd period and it paid off in the team’s first goal as Trent Kulczyk got free down the left win after a pass from Matiss Gelazis and wired a shot off the far post past West Michigan goalie Chase Stanford to tie the game at 1-1. Late in the period, Nashville grabbed the lead as a shot from the point was tipped by Ben Falk for a 2-1 lead. Just over a minute later, Nashville jumped ahead 3-1 as a shot from Spencer Marchand appeared to hit the netting behind Stanford, but play continued with Alex Durand picking up the loose puck from behind the net and putting one top shelf over a sprawled Stanford. Needing a couple more goals to try and advance with the goal differential, Nashville pulled out all the stops in the 3rd period, but Stanford was remarkable in goal, making several spectacular saves and ending up with 35 for the game. Klebe made 12 saves in the win. Justin Ball played the 3rd period and made six saves. Boxscore
North Iowa 6 vs. Great Falls 1 – With a berth in the Championship Game on Sunday already locked up the North Iowa Bulls and Great Falls Americans gave the fans a very entertaining game, but the Bulls blew the game open in the 2nd period and never looked back, completing a 6-1 win. North Iowa won their pool with a perfect 3-0 record and will face Granite City in the NA3HL Silver Cup Championship game. Great Falls finished the event with an 0-3 record. Great Falls started the scoring as Lucas Lomax snuck down the right wing and fired a shot that eluded Bulls goalie Chris Amsden. Seven minutes later, North Iowa drew level as a shot from Johnny Panvica was denied by Americans goalie Jordan Moran, but Joe Burgmeier was there to sweep home the rebound to tie things at 1-1. Three minutes later Burgmeier would score again in very similar fashion on another rebound. North Iowa broke the game open in the 2nd period with three more goals to make it 5-1 as Conor Durgan, Jake Johnson and Brett Gravelle all lit the lamp. Early in the 3rd period the Bulls pushed the lead to 6-1 as Dylan Zins found himself alone down the right wing to fire a shot past Moran. Amsden would end up with the win, making 14 saves. David Johnson played a perfect 3rd period, making six saves. Moran made 47 saves in the loss. Boxscore
