Friday Fireworks Across the NA3HL

Photo Credit: Ryan Holden

Texas B 5 @ West Texas 0 - The West Texas Wranglers hosted the Texas Brahmas for their seventh game of the season and second of the week. The Brahmas won its previous game against West Texas 7-1 on Thursday. Neither team got on the board in the first period. However, in the second period, Brahmas forward Alex Morris opened up the scoring with a short-handed goal at 19:04. Brahmas forward Benjamin Humphreys scored the second of the game at 7:19, and his teammate, forward Joshua Reaska, scored the third of the game at 5:17 to end the period 3-0 for Texas. In the third period, the Brahmas continued to dominate the game. Reaska completed a hat trick with goals at 15:27 and 1:50 to close out the game 5-0 for the Brahmas. Jacob Brumm started in net for Texas and blanked the Wranglers by making saves on all 27 shots. 

Texas R 5 @ Bayou State 4 (SO) - The Bayou State Rougarou hosted the Texas RoadRunners for their tenth game of the season. The RoadRunners have won all of their previous matchups against the Rougarou. In the first period, the Rougarou opened up the scoring with goals from forwards Denis Portnoy and Nathan Daniels at 16:31 and 00:15, respectively. In the second period, the RoadRunners began their comeback with a goal form defenseman Brady Warrington at 18:05. The Rougarou were then able to capitalize on its powerplay and forward Ethan Tierman scored the third of the game for Bayou State at 4:48. Texas was able to tie up the game with a pair of goals from forwards William Heskett and Kristopher Pope at 3:28 and 1:48. However, Bayou State’s Portnoy scored his second of the game with 13 seconds left in the period to give the Rougarou a one-goal lead heading into the third period. During the third, Pope scored his second of the game for the RoadRunners and the only goal of the period to send the game to overtime. Neither team was able to score in overtime, and the game headed into a shootout where Pope scored a goal in the third round to give Texas the win. Brenden Patterson started in net for the RoadRunners and made 22 saves on 26 shots. 

Norwich 8 @ Buzz 3 - The Buzz hosted the Norwich Sea Captains for their fifth matchup of the season. The Buzz have won three of their four previous games against Norwich. In the first period, the lone goal came from Sea Captains defenseman Ryan Janik at 11:44. In the second period, Norwich began to dominate the game. The three goals scored during the second all came from Sea Captains players. Forward Jaden Mills scored at 11:20, forward Houston Friesen scored at 8:21 and defenseman Atley Perdue scored at 5:26 to give Norwich a 4-0 lead heading into the third. The Buzz started off strong in the third, with forwards Andrew Jazwin and Jaylen Nurse scoring a pair of goals at 14:07 and 9:51. Norwich, however, took advantage of their power play and forward Louis Allanson scored at 7:45. He was followed by fellow forwards Kolin Krizan with a goal at 6:01, Henry Pinkerman on the power play at 4:20 and Travis Dubielewicz at 3:56. Buzz forwards Tucker Sarkisian closed out the game with an empty netter at 1:50, and the Sea Captains won the game 8-3. Anderson Weimer started in net for Norwich and made 22 saves on 24 shots. Dalton Elliott started in net for the Buzz and made 30 saves on 36 shots and Jack Dysart made two saves on four shots. 

Pelham 0 @ Louisiana 12 - The Louisiana Drillers hosted the Pelham Prowlers for their fifth matchup of the season. Louisiana had won all of their previous games against Pelham. Louisiana was dominant throughout the entire game. In the first period, forwards Lucas Dyer scored on the power play at 14:47, Brody Neish on the power play at 14:08, Riley Schmidt at 12:12, Emerson Laroche at 10:29 and Loghan Weber at 3:45. In the second period, the Drillers continued to dominate with goals from Neish for his second of the game at 17:23, Brayden Pelcl at 10:32, Weber for his second of the game at 6:25, Skyler Tompkins at 4:50 and Jack Slotka at 4:21. The Drillers closed out the game with two more goals in the third from forwards Carter Gnau at 11:00 and Logan Woods on the power play at 4:23 to end the game in a 12-0 win.

Atlanta 6 @ Carolina 3 - The Carolina Rage hosted the Atlanta Capitals for their 13th matchup of the season. Atlanta won their pervious matchup 5-1 on Feb. 8. Carolina forward Garett Kocon opened up the scoring in the first period with a power play goal at 15:53. Atlanta was quick to respond, with forward Alexander Morrison scoring on the power play at 7:20. Capitals defenseman Hatcher Horton proceeded to score two goals to end the period. The first was unassisted at 5:31 and the second came at 1:20 to end the period 3-1 for Atlanta. In the second period, Carolina forwards Parker Greenway closed Atlanta’s lead to one with a goal at 13:00. Atlanta, however, was quick to respond. Horton completed a hat trick with a goal at 10:34. His teammates, forwards Brayden Grant and Gavin Koehler, scored on the power play at 5:31 and unassisted with 10 seconds remaining in the period, respectively. The lone goal of the third period came Kocon with his second of the game for Carolina at 17:05. The Capitals won the game 6-3. Devin Diller started in net for Atlanta and made 40 saves on 43 shots.

Maine 1 @ New Jersey 4 - The New Jersey Titans earned a 4-1 win over the Maine Nordiques. Lincoln Walters got things started for New Jersey with help from Zac Huettl and Devyn Tarlton, then added another on the power play off assists from Jackson Dougherty and Yosef Pievsky. In the second, Mikhail Mishin scored shorthanded with Ivan Korshikov on the assist. Dewight Singleton followed with a power play goal, assisted by Tanner Conant and Devyn Tarlton. Maine found the back of the net in the third period as Jaxson Sardinha scored, with Gavin Cleghorn earning the assist. 

Wisconsin 6 @ Peoria 2 - The Wisconsin Woodsmen came away with a 6-2 win over the Peoria Mustangs. Thomas Suckert opened the scoring for Wisconsin with assists from Ty Paulos and Parker Holloway. Tyler Osborne followed with help from Bryce Bechen. Parker Holloway added another to give Wisconsin a three-goal lead, with help from Josh Kauppinen and Colton Holzer. In the second period, Nathan Pleva got Peoria on the board, assisted by Owen Gruden and Charlie Anthony. Wisconsin responded with a goal from Tristan Pownall, with assists from Olli Niemela and Patrick Bowser, before Hayden Gray scored for Peoria with help from Anson Zaiser and Breyon Maroney.  Wisconsin pulled away in the third as Parker Holloway scored his second of the game, assisted by Josh Kauppinen, and Ozbej Muzan added another with assists from Brodie Mich and Patrick Bowser. 

Minnesota W 2 @ Willmar 3 (SO) - Wyatt Garvey was the hero for the Willmar WarHawks Friday night, as he netted the shootout winner in a tightly contested 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wilderness. Garvey’s shootout winner plus two-points night from teammates Max and Kaiden Jackson propelled the WarHawks to victory. Willmar get back in the win column after dropping its last two contests while Minnesota’s losing streak reaches five games with the loss. The teams were tight defensively most of the first period. The only offense came off the stick of Minnesota’s Stratton Maas (10th) with just over one minute left in the period. The Wilderness carried a 1-0 lead into the break despite being outshot 14-7 in the opening 20 minutes. Willmar struck back just under seven minutes into the middle frame. Max Jackson nabbed his 11th of the year to knot the game up at one goal apiece. Kaiden Jackson finally broke the deadlock with under two minutes to go in the second period. His sixth goal of the season sent the teams to the final period with the WarHawks clinging to a 2-1 lead. The teams traded chances in the final 20 minutes, but neither side could light the lamp. Minnesota got a huge opening late in the period when Willmar’s Elliot Domagala was called for tripping with under two minutes to go. The Wilderness made no mistake as Emmett Reiter tied the game with just 33 seconds left to send the game to OT. Neither team found the twine in OT. After Max Jackson and Minnesota’s Jace Kampsula scored in the shootout, Garvey netted the dagger to help Willmar escape with a 3-2 shootout win.

Mason City 0 @ Minnesota M 5 - The Minnesota Moose picked up a 5-0 win over the Mason City Toros. Wyatt Hoepfl opened the scoring for Minnesota with help from Brady Johnson. In the second period, Johnson added a goal of his own, assisted by Carsen Gause and Will Burnevik. Minnesota added three more in the third as Carsen Gause scored with an assist from Mitchell Gawel. Cullen Murray followed with a goal, assisted by Luca Salak and Mark Denoyer, and Mitchell Gawel added another, with assists from Carsen Gause and Charlie Marchand. 

St. Louis 2 @ Wausau 3 - A dominant third period sparked a comeback victory for the Wausau Cyclones Friday night, as they took down the St. Louis Jr. Blues by a final score of 3-2. The Cyclones entered the third period down 2-1, but outshot St. Louis a whopping 17-5 in the third period to steal the game away from the Jr. Blues. Wausau jump into sole possession of second place in the Central Division with the win and have now won three straight games. St. Louis remains in fourth place – three points back of third-place Rochester. St. Louis got the scoring started via the power play just eight minutes into the contest. Teagan Lee’s seventh of the year gave the Jr. Blues a 1-0 lead that stood as the only offense of the opening 20 minutes. Elijah von Gunten wasted no time evening the score in the second period. He snatched his 14th of the year just 10 seconds after the second-period puck drop. The Jr. Blues had a quick response to regain the lead. Lonnie Land’s 19th of the season just past the three-minute mark got St. Louis its one-goal lead back. Land’s goal stood through the second-period buzzer to send the game to the final frame with the Jr. Blues leading 2-1. Wausau completely took the game over in the third period. Maksim Salienko notched his 10th of the season on the power play to even the score at 2-2 with just over 17 minutes to go in the game. The Cyclones kept up the pressure and finally found their first lead of the night at the perfect time thanks to Eiji Hofmann with just 1:42 left to play. The Wausau defense shut down the remaining Jr. Blues attack and skated away with a come-from-behind 3-2 win.

Alexandria 1 @ Granite City 6 - An all-around dominant performance by the Granite City Lumberjacks propelled them to a 6-1 blowout win over the Alexandria Blizzard Friday night. The Lumberjacks got contributions all over the lineup, but were led by a two goal, two assist performance from Ty Smith and a one goal, two assist game from Micah Saxon. Granite City also got stellar goaltending from Nathan Mach, who turned away 26 of the 27 shots he faced. The Lumberjacks have now won four straight games with the win and sit tied atop the West Division with the Minnesota Moose at 63 points. Alexandria sit comfortably in third place in the West with 52 points – 12 points up on fourth-place Mason City. Saxon got Granite City off and running with a power-play goal early in the game. His 10th of the year put the ‘Jacks ahead 1-0. Teagan Dodge doubled the Granite City lead nearly five minutes later on his 16th goal of the campaign. Dodge’s goal was the last offense of the period, giving the ‘Jacks a 2-0 lead after one period. Granite City kept up the pressure in the middle frame, potting three more goals. Garrett Plaude (16th), Alexander Zelazowski (ninth) and Smith (29th) all found the twine to put the ‘Jacks up 5-0 after 40 minutes. Alexandria finally stopped the bleeding midway through the third period. Christian Crutcher scored his second goal of the year to cut the deficit to 5-1. Smith (30th) put what little doubt was left to bed with 29 seconds left, scoring a power-play goal to seal the dominant 6-1 win for Granite City.

Tulsa 1 @ New Mexico 5 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves took the second game of a three-game series with the Tulsa Oilers Friday night, skating away with a 5-1 victory. The Oilers kept Friday’’s game closer than Thursday – a game in which they lost 14-1 – but couldn’t find enough offense to keep up with New Mexico. The Ice Wolves remain fourth place in the South Division – four points back of Austin for third place. The Oilers’ losing streak now hits 10 with the loss as they remain in last place in the South. New Mexico handled most of its business in the first period, exploding for four goals in the opening 20 minutes off the sticks of Davis Flint (first and second), Sammy Albano (second) and Alex Ihling (ninth). Tulsa didn’t find any offense in the period, giving the Ice Wolves a 4-0 lead after 20 minutes. Neither team found the back of the net in the second period. New Mexico held the shots on goal advantage at 11-6. Tulsa finally got on the board early in the third period thanks to Owen Feinstein’s second goal of the campaign. Any hope of a comeback was dashed by Ihling, who buried his 10th goal of the year and second of the game with just over 12 minutes to go. The Ice Wolves ran out the clock conceding no Tulsa goals to secure the 5-1 win.

Rochester 2 @ West Bend 4 - The West Bend Power picked up a 4-2 win over the Rochester Grizzlies. Nolan Mix opened the scoring for West Bend with assists from Shaun Paulson and Nathan Antti. Rochester answered in the second period as Benjamin O’Leary scored on the power play, assisted by Trenton Fore and Mason Decker. In the third, Jackson Hoem gave West Bend the lead with help from Danny Jurcich and Quinn O’Connor. Mason Wanka added another, assisted by Aidan Callaghan and Shaun Paulson. Blake Kohnen scored an empty-net goal with assists from Nolan Mix and Jackson Hoem before Alex Arneson added one late for Rochester, assisted by Sam Paczan and Brett Ludvigsen. 
Sheridan 7 @ Helena 6 - In a very back and forth contest, the Sheridan Hawks pulled out a big regulation win to widen their lead for first place in the Frontier Division. Neither team could gain safe control of the lead, but ultimately the Hawks were able to hold on and take a huge win on the road. Jeff Slivon went unassisted to start the game for the Hawks, but quickly the first lead change happened. First, Braden Davis scored to tie the game, and Austin Ueucker followed to turn the tide in favor of the Bighorns. Just a minute after the lead shift, Dantae Hunziker responded short- handed. With 6:50 remaining in the first frame, Kiefer Dunham regained the lead for the Hawks before the intermission. Around the midpoint of the second frame, Max Krueger extended the Hawks lead just before Cameron Kimmerly responded with a power play goal before the second intermission. Krueger went back for his second goal of the game short-handed to start the third period, but Kimmerly fired back on the power play. Then, it was Elijah Farris and Easton Langemo putting up back-to-back goals for the Hawks. Some late resistance then came as Davis and Ty Schell then scored back-to-back goals of their own for the Bighorns. Although they cut the three goal lead to just one, the Bighorns couldn’t manage the tying goal and the Hawks sealed victory. They don’t ask how, they ask how many. With the season slowly entering its final act and each team looking for every point possible, the Sheridan Hawks were able to win in regulation and secure every point, even though it wasn’t pretty.

Gillette 0 @ Great Falls 11 - The Great Falls Americans took care of the Gillette Wild handedly on home ice. Thanks to a potent offense, the Americans were able to put up 11 scores total. After getting off to a quick start, the Americans were practically unstoppable through the full 60 minutes. Just past five minutes through the period, Reid Lezubski broke the seal on the contest with Brennan Pierce and Wyatt Hanna picking up the assists. Then, Gavin Denis piled on while Hanna and Lezubski both grabbed their second points of the night. Tallon Caron then scored number three under a minute later and gave his team a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission. AJ Prioli got the second frame started with a power play goal, and then Jaxen Savage added on a minute and a half later. Colton Bacon and Cooper Clouse pumped out two more goals, and the score was 7-0 going into the third. Caron got the final 60 started with a power play goal for his fourth point of the night, and Prioli got his second tally shortly after. Again, it was Prioli on the power play, and Denis followed for the eleventh and final Americans goal of the night. The Americans are just a few spots higher in the division from the Wild, but in this bout the gap seemed much wider. Poor discipline, little zone time and plenty of shots against were the catalyst to this loss for Gillette, and the Americans took supreme advantage.

Badlands 4 @ Bozeman 6 - The Bozeman Icedogs stormed back in impressive fashion against the division rival Badlands Sabres. Although the Sabres managed a lead for nearly the first thirty minutes of the game, Bozeman had a late game surge that allowed them to take the lead and close out the game. Cole Schneider debuted this one with a first period goal with Maddox Harn and Kyyan Jahner grabbing the assists. Peyton Kostad then went unassisted for a goal, and the Sabres got out to a two goal lead. Andrew Kaunas caught a late period goal to cut the lead in half, and the first intermission hit. Lex Steckelberg grabbed the tying goal for the Icedogs, but Nicklas Bacskai responded to regain the lead for the Sabres. Reid Wilkinson scored his seventh of the season just minutes before the end of the second, and the game was tied with 20 minutes left in regulation. Thankfully for Bozeman, the quick start to the final frame was in their favor. First, it was Steckelberg grabbing his second goal of the game. Nearly ten minutes later, Ryan McCreary scored his first goal of his NA3HL career to extend the Icedogs lead. Jace Griffin scored just a minute later and, despite a goal from Rhylan Olson in the waning moments, packed up the win. Lex Steckelberg got himself the first star of the game and for good reason. He scored both a tying goal and a leading goal in this game and made the big plays when it mattered most.

Yellowstone 1 @ Butte 5 - In a high shooting, high intensity matchup, the Butte Irish were able to win big on home ice. Both teams did a great job of generating offense, but the Irish did a better job of capitalizing on the Yellowstone mistakes and convert the ‘W. It took a moment before either team could find the back of the net, but Andrew James picked up a short-handed tally with three minutes remaining in the first period. The second period was all Irish, with Bryce Hodges grabbing a power play goal five minutes into the frame. A few minutes later, Jack Whitelaw grabbed a goal of his own. On the power play, Jacob Avgustovskiy capped off a three goal period for the Irish, giving them a seemingly insurmountable lead. Aaron Keener cleaned up a rebound when approaching the midpoint of the third period, giving the Irish some more insurance. In the dying minutes, Dean Schlarman scored for the Quake to break up the shutout before the final buzzer. The difference maker in this contest was special teams, and the Irish proved superior. The Irish went 2/6 on the power play and even buried a goal on the penalty kill, while the Quake could not convert on their five man advantage. Hats off to Irish netminder Blake Drost as well, stopping 44 of 45 shots and nearly 58 minutes of a shutout.