Forbort rallies Wilderness (NAHL – Sept. 26-28)

The Austin Bruins and Topeka Roadrunners both looked impressive at the NAHL showcase tournament, both winning all four games, including some by lopsided counts.

But that trend was nipped in the bud as both teams came up short in their next test on Sept. 26. The Roadrunners actually dropped two at Wichita Falls while Austin was shutout in Minot but rallied back with a win at Bismarck the following night.

Following is a wrap up of NAHL games on the Sept. 26-28 weekend.

Sept. 26

Fairbanks 3 MN Wilderness 4

The visiting Ice Dogs fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits but the second rally was short lived.

The host Wilderness looked to build off of a 3-1 showing at the Showcase tournament and carried a 2-0 lead out of the opening period at Northwods Credit Union Arena in front of a solid crowd of just over 1,100. The Ice Dogs rallied to tie it with a pair of goals in the first half of the third period, but the home team was in front again 3-2 heading to the final frame.

Jacob Hetz equalized it again for the Ice Dogs in the ninth minute of the third period but Jack Forbort responded with the game winner just 15 seconds later.

Forbort and Jesse Norling both scored a goal and added an assist for the winners with other goals for Michael Covach and Rob Stautz. Brock Kautz stopped 16 of 19 in goal for the Wilderness to pick up the win.

Caleb Schroer, Cayden Cahill and Hetz scored the Ice Dogs goals with Patrick Munson handling 28 of 32 shots in goal.

Johnstown 2 Michigan 1

Despite a valiant effort that saw the Warriors firing 49 shots against Jacob Gwillim at the Perani Arena in Flint, the home team dropped a 2-1 decision to the visiting Tomahawks and fell to 0-5 on the young season.

The Tomahawks got goals from Andrew Romano and Luke Lynch in the opening period, both on set ups from Alex Jaeckle, then held off the Warriors the rest of the way relying heavily on Gwillim’s 48 save effort, boosting its own record to 3-3-0-0.

A.J. Marcinek scored the lone Warriors goal late in the second period and Trevor Gorsuch handled 22 of 24 shots in goal for the Warriors.

Keystone 6 Soo 3

A pair of unanswered goals in both the first and second periods had the Ice Miners in control 4-0 entering the final frame at Pullar Stadium, but the Soo gained some consolation and tried to build momentum for the following night with a 3-2 edge in the final frame.

Cameron Smith, Brendan Jaquay and Garrett Hallford led the Miners with a goal and two assists each and Noah Batis collected a pair of goals. Michael Marden chipped in a goal and assist and Jacob Coleman had two helpers while Alex Blankenburg picked up the win in goal with 31 saves on 34 shots.

For the home side, Matt Menta, Trevor Cope and Raymond Brice picked up the third period goals, Menta adding an assist.’

Springfield 3 Janesville 4

A back and forth game at the Janesville Ice Arena finally tilted the way of the home side as Zach Lavalle triggered the game winner just 73 seconds from the final buzzer.

Other Jets goals came from Adam Roeder, Adam Winborg and Drew Callin while Alex Smith assisted on three and Brandon Schultz helped out on two.

Niikta Prishyvalko scored two for the Jr. Blues and Trevor Jestadt added the other while Dryden McKay turn aside 37 of 41 in goal.

Topeka 1 Wichita Falls 3

The Roadrunners saw a six-game winning streak come to a close at Kay Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls

The host Wildcats scored once in the first period and that lead held up all of the way to the third period. The hosts added one more before Daniel Rzavsky scored the lone Roadrunners tally just six minutes from the final buzzer, shattering the shutout bid of Wildcats goaltender Austin Shaw who stopped 30 shots in the game. Matej Tomek ended up 32 saves on 34 shots.

Austin Beaulieu scored the first two for the home side and Cam Knight added another just 13 seconds from the end into an empty net.

Bismarck 3 Aberdeen 1

The Bobcats spoiled the home opener for the Wings at Odde Ice Center, taking its first and only lead with Logan Rivard’s goal early in the third period.

Ronnie Hein brought the Wings’ fans to their feet with the lone goal of the first period and JM Piotrowski responded with the only goal of the second for the Bobcats.

The other goal came from Evan Gesler into an empty Wings’ goal with seven ticks to go on the clock. Cullen Willox had two assists for the Bobcats.

Alex Bitsakis picked up the win with 32 saves on 33 shots while Chad Catt handled 24 of 26 for the Wings.

Austin 0 Minot 4

After dominating the opposition on its way to a pennant at the Showcase Tournament the previous week, the Bruins ran into a hot goaltender at Maysa Arena in Minot as the fired up Minotauros opened the home schedule with a shutout.

James Mathias, Christian Mohs, Chase Springman and Jacob Howie collected he Minot goals, Mathias and Howie adding an assist. Troy Degler also had a couple of assists and Atte Tolvanen was unbeaten in goal stopping all of the 31 shots he faced.

Zach Driscoll stopped 25 of 29 in goal for the Bruins.

Kenai River 4 MN Magicians 6

After a one goal first period allowing the host Magicians to open a lead, teams exploded for seven second period goals and were all even at 4-4 heading to the stretch at Richfield.

Marc Michaelis scored his second in the eighth minute of the third and it stood up as the game winner for the Magicians and Kane Durment added insurance with his second of the night as well, about seven minutes later. Both also picked up an assist in the game while. Jack Christensen and Tony Uglem each added a goal and assist. Matt Colford and Sam Becker each assisted on a pair and Vaughan Ahrens.

Tyler Andrews led the Brown Bears with a goal and two assists, Maurin Bouvet adding a goal and assist. Gustav Berglund set up a pair and the other goals came from Sam Carlson and Jack Gessert.

Sept. 27

Topeka 1 Wichita Falls 5

For a second straight game Daniel Rzavsky scored the lone Roadrunners goal at the Kay Yeager Coliseum.

The goal cut into a 2-0 Wildcats lead 7:34 into the third, but Wildcats took over from there, adding three more before the end to grab a sweep of the two-game set in Texas.

Austin Bealieu scored two and set up another for the winners while Colin Staub, Jonathan Lazarus and Nikita Litviak added a goal and assist apiece. Erich Jaeger had two assists and Austin Shaw stopped 21 of 22 to pick up the win in goal.

Johnstown 1 Michigan 4

The Warriors finally broke into the win column and earned a split in its weekend set with the Tomahawks,

After a scoreless opening period, both teams scored once in the middle frame and the Warriors put it away with three more in the third.

Tyler Groat scored two of the Warriors goals and assisted on another, Mitch Wedding and Garrison Sanipass both adding a goal and two assists. Ryan Wischow helped his team get into the win column stopping 28 of 29 in goal for the Warriors.

Cam Bleck scored the lone Tomahawks goal and Ryan Bednard stopped 28 of 29 in goal.

Keystone 3 Soo 1

A shorthanded goal by Vito Alvia late in the second period stood up as the game winner for the visiting Ice Miners at Pullar Stadium, and Scott Donahue added some insurance with his goal, the lone marker of the third.

Austin Romzek had the other Keystone goal and Nick Kossoff stopped 37 of 38 to get the win in goal.

Bruno Birzitis had the lone goal for the Eagles and Jack Berry stopped 26 of 29 in goal.

Springfield 2 Janesville 3  

A third period uprising with goals by Evan Feno,  Alex Smith and Brandon Schulz saw the home Jets wipe out a 2-0 deficit and grab the weekend sweep at Janesville Ice Arena. Feno’s goal gave the home side its first lead of the night on a powerplay, just five seconds from the final buzzer.

The Jr. Blues had single unanswered goals in both the first and second periods, both scored by Brian Rigali.

Gavin Nieto picked up the win in goal with 24 saves and Dryden McKay stopped 34 of 37 in goal for the Blues.

Kenai River 5 MN Magicians 1

The Brown Bears earned the weekend split against the Magicians at Richfield, scoring the first three before Brandon Loven notched the lone Magicians tally near the 13 minute mark of the middle period.

Joe Gessert scored two and added an assist for the Brown Bears while Gustav Berglund and Matt Rudin both assisted on two. Tanner Schachle, Tyler Andrews and Jack Murphy had the other goals for Kenai River and Josh Creelman stopped all but one of 33 shots he faced in goal.

Fairbanks 3 Wilderness 5

The Wilderness earned a sweep against the defending Robertson Cup champs and improved its own record to an impressive 5-1 at the Northwoods Credit Union Arena.

The Wilderness scored the lone goal of the middle frame to carry a 2-1 lead into the third, then scored twice in the first 6:03 of the final period to give them a more comfortable 4-1 cushion.

Tobias Bjorklund scored twice and added an assist for the Wilderness and Billy Exell also had two set ups. Robb Stautz, Derian Romanko and Tyler Cline also scored for the winners and Ryan Anderson stopped 31 of 33 shots in goal.

Jakob Stridsberg, Ethan Somoza and Ryan Gorowski scored for the Ice Dogs and Samuel Kany handled 31 of 36 shots in goal.

Austin 4 Bismarck 2

After being held off the board the previous night, the Bruins scored twice in the first four minutes at the VFW Sports Center in Bismarck, carrying a 2-1 lead to the second and a 3-1 lead into the final 20 minutes.

Jacob Kullberg, Brian Bachnak, Ian Scheid and JC McLean had the Bruins goal, Kullberg and Bachnak both adding an assist. Jake Kielly stopped 37 of 39 Bobcats shots to nail down the win in goal for the Bruins.

Alex Strand and Anthony Song both scored for the Bobcats.

Aberdeen 4 Brookings 1

The wings rebounded for a tough loss the previous day, heading to the Larson Ice Center in Brookings and collecting a win.

The Wings scored the lone first period goal, then added two more in the first six minutes of the second before Alex Copa notched the lone Blizzard goal on a powerplay at the 12 minute mark.

Ronnie Hein scored twice for the Wings while Colin O’Neill and Bjorn Sigurdarson both adding a goal and assist. Kyle Haak assisted on two and the win went to Andrew Shortridge with 34 saves on 35 shots.

Sept. 28

Keystone 2 Michigan 1

The final game of the weekend, and the month of September saw the Ice Miners wrapping up a six-point road weekend, traveling from the Soo to Flint’s Perani Arena where unanswered single goals in the first and second periods stood up for the win, thanks to some stellar goaltending from Alex Blankenburg.

The Keystone goaltender was beaten just once on 47 shots, AJ Marcinek putting it in and shattering Blankenburg’s shutout bid just 73 seconds from the final buzzer.

Ryan Wischow stopped 18 of 20 in goal for the Warriors.