Manzella kicks out 25 to help Norsemen reach NAHL win column

By Jim den Hollander  

Editor/Publisher 

Midwesthockey.info 

The third time proved the charm for the St. Cloud Norsemen who broke into the win column Friday (Sept. 15) with a 2-1 edge against the Chippewa Steel in one of the early games at the NAHL Showcase Tournament at the National Sports Center Super Rinks in Blaine, MN. 

The Norsemen boosted its weekend and regular season record to 1-2 with goals from Peyton Mithuangneua (‘05’/Aldergrove, BC) and Braden Panzer (‘03 Grand Forks, ND) along with some standout work between the pipes from Ryan Manzella (‘04/Eagan, MN) who stopped all but one of the 26 shots he faced. 

In other action involving Central Division teams, the Austin Bruins and Minot Minotauros both pushed their records to 3-0 with 4-3 wins, the Bruins against the New Jersey Titans and the Minotauros edging the Corpus Christi Ice Rays. 

The Aberdeen Wings fell to 1-2 with a 3-2 loss against the Johnstown Tomahawks and it was a rougher day for the Bismarck Bobcats who dropped a 7-1 decision against the Shreveport Mudbugs and the North Iowa Bulls shutout 5-0 against the Philadelphia Rebels. 

Austin Bruins 4 New Jersey Titans 3  

Dylan Cook (‘03/Princeton, NJ) paced the Bruins to its third straight win with a two goal game against the Titans, other goals added by Alex Laurenza (‘05/Woodbridge, ON) and Damon Furseth (‘03/Grand Forks, ND) who sank the game winner with just nine seconds to play in the contest. 

Matthew MacArthur (‘04/Barrington, IL) picked up the win in goal with a 14-save effort. 

Minot Minotauros 4 Corpus Christi IceRays 3  

The Toros also grabbed a narrow win, rallying back from a 2-1 deficit at the end of a period to a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes. 

Jack Gardner (‘05/Safety Harbor, FL), Will Dawson (‘05/Traverse City, MI), Chad Muller (‘03/Kingston) and Nicholas Sawecke (‘03/Sewickly, PA) scored the Minot goals while James Norton (‘03/Scarborough, ON) stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal. 

Johnstown Tomahawks 3 Aberdeen Wings 2  

The Wings also fell to 1-2 the Tomahawks with both teams scoring first and third period goals but the Hatchets with the lone goal of the middle frame. 

Logan Gravnik (‘03/Andover, MN) and Bennett Koupal (‘03/Sioux Falls, SD) fired the Aberdeen goals and Adam Dybal (‘05/Ostrava, Czech Republic) stopped 26 of 29 for the Wings. 

Bismarck Bobcats 1 Shreveport Mudbugs 7  

The Cats fired the first goal and a 1-0 lead out of the opening period but the Mudbugs responded with three middle period markers and another four down the stretch. 

Carter Cormier (‘04/Kindersley, SK) scored the lone Bobcats goal and Klayton Knapp (‘03/Sylvania, OH) stopped 18 shots in goal for the Tabbies. 

North Iowa Bulls 0 Philadelphia Rebels 5 

Lukas Fursten stopped all 31 Bulls’ chances in the contest and the Rebels grabbed contest with three middle period tallies after a scoreless opening period.  

Santo Simmchen (‘05/Dresden, Germany) stopped 28 shots in goal for the Bulls. 

Most of the Central Division teams will square off against Midwest Division rivals Saturday as the South and East Divisions play earlier games giving them a chance to hit the road for a longer drive home.