Saturday Scores: Jacks Stay Perfect With Shutout
by NAHL Writing Team
Austin 3 @ Louisiana 4 - Louisiana defeated Austin 4-3 Saturday evening in a tight-checking affair. The Ice Bats jumped out to a quick lead as Paul Wiese scored just 1:39 into the game. The lead only held up for 15 minutes of clock time before the Drillers struck twice in the first period’s final 3:20. Jake Bergstrom scored first before Jackson Lord pushed Louisiana ahead in the dying seconds of the frame. The middle frame began as the first concluded. However, this time it was Austin’s Georgii Tokarskll tying the game with his fourth of the year 18 seconds in. The Drillers punched back on the power play just 3:12 later as Johnathon Brendt scored. The Ice Bats then answered quickly once again. Tara Korotchenko found his second goal of the season. The teams headed into the final 20 minutes knotted at three. The game-winning goal, and lone of the third period, came off the tape of Louisiana’s Brendan Johnson at 10:59. Cole Schmidt stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced for the Drillers in the victory while Bryson Frazee made 19 saves in the loss.
Willmar 1 @ St. Louis 4 - St. Louis defeated Willmar 4-1 last night in a game where goaltender Brooks Barofsky and forward Joseph LoPiccolo stole the show. Both goaltenders were locked in for the game’s first 20 minutes as the teams entered the first intermission scoreless. The Jr. Blues broke the ice just under three minutes into the second period. LoPiccolo netted his second goal of the year and first of the night at 2:49. Later in the frame, LoPiccolo found the back of the net for a second time. St. Louis was not done there. Kyle Settles pushed the Jr. Blue advantage to 3-0 with his third goal of the year with under three minutes to play in the second period. Willmar finally spoiled Barofsky’s shutout bid with 4:12 remaining in the game as Carson Wendorff got the WarHawks on the scoresheet. St. Louis’ Jack Reuss added the final tally of the game at 17:11 of the third period to push the tilt to its 4-1 final. Barofsky stopped 26 of 27 shots he faced in the win while Willmar’s Josh Mack made 25 saves.
New Hampshire 3 @ Long Beach 2 (OT) - New Hampshire took down Long Beach in dramatic fashion last night. Both goaltenders held their opposition scoreless in the opening 20 minutes as the game’s first goal did not come until 1:19 into the second period. Sam O’Neil and the Sharks took advantage of a Nick Cox cross-checking penalty, potting a power play goal to put Long Beach up 1-0. New Hampshire did not waste much time grabbing the goal right back as Xander St. Pierre tied the game just 2:07 later. The game moved to the third period knotted at one apiece. Like the second, the final frame opened with a power play marker. This time, though, the Jr. Mountain Kings found the goal through Braedan Gagnon. The Sharks continued to grind and were rewarded on a power play of their own. Mason Jackson scored the game-tying goal which pushed the contest into overtime. New Hampshire picked up the extra point thanks to Tommy Titone’s third goal of the year 3:30 into overtime. Tristan Harris made 33 saves on 35 shots in the winning effort for the Jr. Mountain Kings.
Minnesota W 3 @ Peoria 7 - Peoria thumped Minnesota yesterday on the back of a four-goal opening period. The Mustangs struck early and often in this game as Andrew Johnson opened the scoring less than three minutes in. Ian Ingles was next to find the back of the net on the power play at 6:20 before Jordan Mini made it 3-0 Peoria. Nathan Pleva’s goal at 16:01 ended the first-period onslaught and gave the Mustangs a 4-0 lead. All four goals to start the game for Peoria were each player’s first markers of the season. The second period began with Johnson finding his second tally of the game to push his team’s lead to 5-0. This time the goal came on the man advantage. Minnesota finally got on the board with a power play goal of their own. Kaden Rocheleau potted his third goal of the campaign at 7:28 of the second. The Mustangs were able to answer the opening Minnesota goal with one of their own five minutes later with Colten Cox credited for the score. The Wilderness found their second power play marker of the middle period at 16:14 as Tyler Webb cashed in. The teams traded goals in the third period with Peoria’s Pleva and Minnesota’s Rocheleau each scoring their second goals of the game to push the tilt to its 7-3 final. Peoria’s Filip Kaczmarczyk impressed in the win stopping 40 of 43 shots he faced. Minnesota’s Nate Jansen stopped 12 of the 15 shots he faced before Pierson Haislet took over and made 19 saves on 23 tries.
New Jersey 3 @ Maine 4 - In an intense back-and-forth matchup that consisted of 81 total shots on goal, the Maine Nordiques just edged out the New Jersey Titans 4-3 Saturday night at the Colisee. Brody Edmond opened the scoring for the Nordiques in the first period, before Williams Fliss netted one late for the Titans to level the score. New Jersey would then score a pair of goals in the midst of the second, courtesy of Vladimir Zakharov and Nikita Suvorov. The lead wasn’t safe for long however, as Carter Walls’ put the Nordiques within one, before an additional beautiful play would again tie the game. Edmond netted his second of the game in the final frame, as Maine was able to hold off the Titans from a comeback attempt. Backed by their three unanswered goals, along with goaltender Gabe Pomerleau, the Nordiques hung onto win. Despite the loss, Nicolas Gould was solid in net for New Jersey as he saved 40/44 shots.
Northeast 2 @ Norwich 3 - Fans certainly were in for a treat Saturday night, as the Norwich Sea Captains rallied back from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Northeast Generals 3-2. Following a scoreless opening period, Ryan Solari put the pressure on early into the second, scoring one just 1:25 in to give the Generals the lead. Liam Schaentzler then hit the back of the net for his fourth of the season to put Northeast up by a pair. Looking to strike back, Chase Leivian netted one late in the period to bring the Sea Captains within one. After solid defense from both sides to open the final period, Andrew Hill scored for Norwich to break the tie. The game wouldn’t be even for long though, as Aidan Ready gave the Sea Captains their first lead of the night, which wound up being the game-winning goal as Norwich would be victorious. Goaltender Presley Patrin earned the win, while Jascha Grossenbacher was stellar, padding away 40/43 despite the loss.
Texas R 4 @ Tulsa 3 (OT) - In an exciting back-and-forth matchup, the Texas RoadRunners came up victorious in Overtime to take down the Tulsa Jr. Oilers 4-3. With the game just barely beginning, Lucas Dyer buried one early to give Texas the early lead. Austin Tyler leveled the score, as his goal with 20-seconds remaining in the first put Tulsa on the board. Tyler then gave the Jr. Oilers their first lead of the night, netting the game’s lone goal of the second period. Looking to come back, Brayden Bibby’s first of the season tied the game for the RoadRunners. However, Cayden Vos put one away late as Tulsa looked to earn their first win of the season. Joseph Izzo said not so fast, as his shot would make it 3-3 with just over a minute left in the third. Heading into OT, it didn’t take long for a winner to be determined, thanks to Skylar Bawcom scoring his sixth of the season. Goaltender Jimmy Packee earned the victory, while David Gifford was spectacular, stopping 50/54.
Atlanta 0 @ Texas B 2 - The Texas Brahmas remain perfect to open up the season, as their 2-0 win over the Atlanta Capitals improves their record to 4-0-0-0. The game’s only scoring came into the opening period, as Chase Forry’s fourth goal of the season gave Texas an early lead. Later in the period, Henry Griffin extended the lead to put the Brahmas up 2-0, which would end up being the final. Lucas Romney was perfect in net to earn the shutout, while Robert Pogosian put up a hard-fought battle by stopping 43/45 shots.
Minnesota M 2 @ Wausau 4 - Wausau would take the lead and never look back in this one, Landon Bechtolt would get the party started six minutes in. Micah Saxon on the powerplay would double up the lead and Jake Garrow would give the Cyclones a three goal lead after 20. The Moose would not back down, as Carter Daul and Dmytro Pankovskyi would give their team some life. However, a third period powerplay goal from Bechtolt would seal the deal, giving Wausau the win. Dereck Namlick would grab the win with 14 saves, while Cooper Langley would take the loss with 28 saves.
Granite City 3 @ Wisconsin 2 - The first period would be full of goals, as Easton Portner would break the ice nearly 10 minutes into the period. Tyler Osborne would respond within a minute, to equalize the game. Shortly after, Granite City would reclaim the lead from Seth Terhell. The second period would also see a quick exchange of goals, as Pierson Zittel would tie the game. Within seconds, Granite City’s Teagan Dodge would score the eventual game winning goal. Nick Hansen grabs the win, Steven Kelley plays stellar in the loss with 29 saves.
El Paso 1 @ New Mexico 5 - New Mexico would come out firing in this one, with Jake Wenner and Cooper Annala giving the Ice Wolves an early two-goal cushion. Donovan Bradford would cut the lead in half, as he would put El Paso on the board. That would be all the Rhinos would give, as a strong second period would put this game on ice. Goals from Carson Gotelaere, Dantae Hunziker, and Jake Wenner would give New Mexico the win. Ryan Wallin would finish the win out making 20 saves, while Dylan Newton would have 29 saves in relief.
Mason City 3 @ West Bend 5 - West Bend would be the more dominant period in the first, dominating the shot totals and Jace Fitzgerald finding the twine. TJ Gibson would equalize this game on the powerplay before Jackson Hoem would give West Bend the lead again. Aven Prodzinski would give the Toros momentum, as it led to Dominic Thomas giving them the lead. The Power would tie the game early in the third from Fitzgerald’s second goal of the game. Brayden Graning would score a powerplay goal midway through, with Teagan Scheurer securing the win with an empty net goal. Ben Glaesman would have 17 saves in the win, Jonah Little would make 27 in the loss.
Sheridan 3 @ Badlands 4 (OT) - Charlie Lorbieki’s overtime winner helped the Badlands Sabres defeat the Sheridan Hawks. Lorbieki got his first goal and assist of the season in the game! Tied 2-2 in the third period, Josh Serino and Gaven Marx traded goals and the game headed to overtime. Lochlin Jackson saved 25-of-28 and earned the win.
Great Falls 2 @ Helena 6 - Kade Pareja’s hat trick headlined an offensive boom that helped the Bighorns rout the Americans. Finn Thereault and Garrett Lindsey also had multi-point games, helping the Bighorns go 2-of-3 on the man-advantage. Late in the third, Helena’s Kennedy Easton potted two to keep the game competitive. Malik Johnson only had to make 16 saves in the win.
Gillette 8 @ Yellowstone 2 - Eight consecutive goals, including three shorthanded, allowed the Gillette Wild to overwhelm the Yellowstone Quake. Outscored 3-1 when on the power play, Yellowstone was stonewalled by Noah Hacker who held the shutout until deep into the third period. Zach Lebens, Chase Hapka, Christopher Lang, Max Arlt, and Dylan Peterson finished with multi-point games in the comfortable win.
Butte 1 @ Bozeman 9 - With nine different goal scorers, the Bozeman Icedogs easily overpowered the Butte Irish. Brett DeVincent stood on his head in net, saving 41-of-42. Offensively, Butte had no answer for the Bozeman offensive attack. Aiden Shockley’s game misconduct was a representation of the frustrating night for the Irish, who allowed four goals in both the first and third periods.
