Brahmas, Hawks Open Series With Wins

Photo Credit: Kodie Booth

Austin 1 @ Texas B 3 - The Texas Brahmas opened the Division Finals with a 3-1 win in a tight battle against the Austin Ice Bats. After going 6-0-1-0 against Austin in the regular season, Texas carried that edge into the postseason and set the tone early. Joshua Reaska got the Brahmas on the board first, burying his first goal of the playoffs with under six minutes to play in the opening period. The second period saw nearly even shot totals, but only one found the back of the net as Guhnar Hillman knotted things up for Austin, sending the game into a high-stakes third period. Just over five minutes into the final frame, the Brahmas capitalized on a power play opportunity as Patrick Garvey stepped up from the blue line and delivered the go-ahead goal. With time winding down, Austin pulled goaltender Gavin Morris in search of the equalizer, but Garvey struck again, this time into the empty net, to seal the 3-1 victory and give Texas a 1-0 series lead. Between the pipes, Gavin Erickson was rock solid once again, turning aside 26 of 27 shots to earn his third straight postseason win, finishing the night with a stellar .963 save percentage.

Sheridan 5 @ Helena 4 (OT) - The Helena Bighorns and Sheridan Hawks have made it to the Frontier Division finals, facing off on Wednesday night in their first game in another best-of-three round. Vincent Leaf brought the action early, recording a goal and an assist in the first. Leaf struck for Sheridan just 30 seconds into play before assisting on Max Krueger's goal along with Jameson Clark later in the period. This is Krueger's third goal of the postseason after he scored twice in the Hawks’ last game against the Badlands Sabres in the division semifinals. Cal Kellenberg answered back for Helena late in the first, getting the Bighorns on the board to finish off the period. Braden Davis opened the second, tying the score for the Bighorns, assisted by Chase Berg and Maddux Hale. Blake Chapman then added another for the Bighorns to give them a one-point lead. However, the Bighorns' lead was short-lived and Elijah Farris added a third tally for the Hawks to finish off the middle frame. The final twenty minutes of regulation kept things close. The Hawks upped the offensive pressure but the Bighorns responded with strong defense to keep this game lively. Berg scored early in the period before Leaf evened the score later and sent these teams to overtime. The Hawks would ultimately come out on top with Zachary Marsell scoring a heroic overtime goal to seal Sheridan's first win of the series. Both teams saw expert goaltending throughout the game. Andrew Blake battled 50 shots from the Hawks and turned away 45, displaying a strong performance in the crease for the Bighorns. TJ Wonnacott earned his third postseason win with the Hawks, making 36 saves to seal Sheridan's 5-4 victory.