Friday Finals: Bighorns, Generals Punch Tickets to Fraser Cup
Owen Zenone stopped all 20 shots he faced to keep the Ice Wolves season alive
Northeast 5 @ Norwich 2 (Northeast wins series 2-0): Reese Tamburo scored twice and added an assist as the Northeast Generals punched their ticket to the Fraser Cup with a 5-2 win over Norwich. Matthew Nuzzolilo and Brandon Hemmer each had a goal and an assist for the Generals while John Rodgers also found the back of the net. Skylar Bawcom and Jameson Bain provided the offense for the Sea Captains. Mike Foglia earned the win in goal for Northeast as he made 25 saves. Riley Gorman suffered the loss, stopping 22 shots.
West Bend 5 @ Wausau 0 (West Bend leads series 1-0): An offensive explosion helped the West Bend Power take down the Wausau Cyclones 5-0 in Game 1 of the Central Division Finals. Monte Goold scored in the second period to break the scoreless deadlock. Then in the third the Power scored four times in just over three minutes of action. Bryce Garber, Owen Drake, Nik Johnson and Odin Klebba all netted goals for West Bend. Ian Kangas was perfect in goal as he turned aside all 28 shots he faced for West Bend. Collin Lemanski took the loss as he made 27 stops.
Louisiana 0 @ New Mexico 6 (Series tied 1-1): The New Mexico Ice Wolves kept their season alive as they routed the Louisiana Drillers 6-0 in Game 2 of the South Division Finals. Tanner Ross scored just before the buzzer in the first period to break the tie. Braeden Whitesell increased the lead with a goal in the opening moments of the second period. Tanner Ross made it a 3-0 game before Whitesell netted his second of the night just minutes later. Easton Armstrong and Kennan Reyelts also scored in the middle frame to make it a half dozen for the Ice Wolves. Owen Zenone made 20 saves as he earned his first playoff shutout. Sebastian Thome and Daegen Love combined to make 38 saves for the Drillers.
Rochester 2 @ Granite City 3 (Granite City leads series 1-0): A third period goal from Nolan Widman was the difference as the Granite City Lumberjacks came up with a 3-2 win over the Rochester Grizzlies in Game 1 of the West Division Finals. Sam Brennan and Connor Miller put the Lumberjacks up by two in the second period but Ryan Berglund scored late in the frame to make it a one goal game heading into the third. Owen Van Tassel tied things up early in the final frame but then it was Widman who lit the lamp just under halfway into the period. Ryan Lehet would lock things down from there, finishing with 25 saves on the evening. Nick Kurtiak took the loss in goal despite making 37 saves.
Gillette 2 @ Helena 6 (Helena wins series 2-0): For the third straight year, the Helena Bighorns will represent the Frontier Division at the Fraser Cup as they knocked off the Gillette Wild 6-2. Tim Mattingly scored twice in the opening period while Garrett Bogan also scored to give Helena a 3-0 after 20 minutes of action. The Bighorns would go up 5-0 as Cal Robinson and Camden Cunningham scored goals early in the second period. Ty Moore would add another goal for Helena. Blake Biermaier and Isaac Young generated the offense for Gillette. Jesse Schindel was the winner in goal as he made 33 stops. Weston Gerke and Cole Wheaton teamed up to stop 46 shots for the Wild.
