Sharks, Ice Bats, Brahmas Clinch; Bighorns Keep Series Alive

Photo Credit: Gary Marshall

New Jersey 2 @ Long Beach 5 - A big first period and a dominant goaltending performance from Will Zinnen helped the top-seeded Long Beach Sharks punch their ticket to the East Division Final with a 5-2 victory over the No. 4 seeded New Jersey Titans in Game 3 of the East Division Semifinal. After dropping Game 2 on the road to be forced into a Game 3, the Sharks responded with a three-goal first period en route to the series-clinching win. Zinnen was exceptional for Long Beach in the winner-take-all contest, making a whopping 49 saves on 51 shots. The Sharks advance to the East Division Final with the win and will take on the No. 2 seeded New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings. Despite being outshot 18-12 in the opening frame, Long Beach’s offense found success while Zinnen held New Jersey at bay. Payton Hauge, Jay Montgomery and James Steinberg all notched their first goal of the postseason to give the Sharks a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. The Titans did not give up despite the three goal deficit. Brody Acropolis nabbed his second goal of the playoffs to get New Jersey back within two goals with 7:37 to go in the middle frame. His goal stood to the buzzer to send the game to the third period with Long Beach ahead 3-1. New Jersey set up a photo finish early in the third period. Mikhail Mishin (first) scored just 1:26 in to suddenly make it a one-goal game with the Sharks ahead just 3-2. The offensive pressure from the Titans was relentless in the third period as they desperately searched for the equalizer, bombarding Zinnen with 21 shots in the period. Despite the last-ditch push from New Jersey, Zinnen never allowed the would-be game-tying goal past him. Two empty-net goals from Jace Tourtillott (first) and Gustav Martinsson (first) gave the Sharks all the insurance they needed to close out the 5-2 win and secure a trip to the East Division Final. 

El Paso 0 @ Austin 5 -The Austin Ice Bats defeated the El Paso Rhinos 5-0 in a decisive Game 3 on Sunday, punching their ticket to the South Division Finals for the first time in program history. Between the pipes, Gavin Morris was a brick wall for Austin, stopping all 23 shots he faced to earn the shutout. The Bats opened the scoring early in the first period when Jaxon McGovern found the net with assists from Garrett Morris and Georgii Tokarskii to make it 1-0 after one. Austin added to the lead in the second period as Arys Perardi scored with assists from Jake Bamback and Guhnar Hillman, extending the advantage to 2-0 heading into the third. Austin pulled away in the final frame. Matthieu Leblanc scored on the power play with assists from Mason Manderfield and Georgii Tokarskii. Tokarskii later added a goal of his own assisted by Aiden DeLuna, before Mason Manderfield capped off the scoring with a powerplay tally assisted by Jake Bamback to make it a 5-0 final.

Helena 4 @ Great Falls 3 (OT) - Cameron Kimmerly was the hero for the No. 2 seeded Helena Bighorns Sunday, scoring the overtime winner of a 4-3 win in Game 2 of their Frontier Division Semifinal with the No. 3 seeded Great Falls Americans to save the season and force a winner-take-all Game 3. With the season on the line after dropping Game 1, Kimmerly came to Helena’s rescue early in overtime with his first goal of the postseason to push the series to a deciding Game 3. Lincoln Kearney and Caden Feinstein were also at the forefront of the win for the Bighorns. Kearney posted two goals in Sunday’s contest while Feinstein collected three assists. Helena dominated the opening frame, outshooting Great Falls 15-5. Kearney finally broke through in the late stages of the first period to get Helena off and running. His second goal of the playoffs gave the Bighorns a 1-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes. The Americans found their game to start the second period. AJ Prioli nabbed his second goal of the playoffs just over four minutes in to even the score at 1-1. Just over two minutes later, Austin Uecker restored Helena’s lead with his first tally of the postseason. The back-and-forth continued in the final ticks of the middle frame. Prioli buried his second goal of the game and third of the postseason with just over a minute to go in the period to once again tie the game heading to the third period. Kearney struck again early in the final period to give the Bighorns their third lead of the game. His third goal of the playoffs had Helena just 15:26 away from forcing a Game 3. Just as he had done twice before, Prioli had an answer. His fourth goal of the postseason completed the hat-trick and tied the game for the third time with 8:39 to play. The score held to the buzzer, sending the game to sudden-death overtime. Kimmerly stole the spotlight from Kearney and Prioli in the overtime period, scoring the biggest goal of the game 3:34 into the extra frame to earn Helena a 4-3 win and a winner-take-all Game 3 with Great Falls. 

New Mexico 2 @ Texas B 3 (OT)  - Overtime was the theme of the weekend as the Texas Brahmas edged the New Mexico Ice Wolves 3-2 in Sunday’s Game 3 thriller after Saturday’s matchup also required extra time. The win sends the Brahmas to the South Division Final for a showdown with the Austin Ice Bats. New Mexico opened the scoring in the first period when Brayden Johnson found the net with assists from Christopher Mason and Hunzeker Piersimoni. The Brahmas answered later in the period with a powerplay goal from John Scharf assisted by Joshua Reaska and Jayani Benson to make it 1-1 after one. Texas took the lead early in the second period when Benjamin Humphreys scored to make it 2-1.With under 40 seconds remaining in regulation, the Ice Wolves pulled even as Grant Sexton buried the tying goal off assists from Jacob Wenner and Tanner Ross to send the game to overtime. John Scharf delivered the overtime winner, his second goal of the night, finishing a play set up by Benjamin Humphreys and Charlie Wilson to secure the 3-2 win for the Brahmas.