Islanders Hockey Club 2, South Shore Kings 1 (OT)
The Islanders evened their semifinal series against the South Shore Kings with a 2-1 overtime win on Friday afternoon. The hero for today was Edijs Freimanis, who scored both goals including the OT winner. Jake Henry stopped 27 of 28 shots for the win. The Kings’ Matthew Dore was very impressive as well with 51 saves on 53 shots. The deciding Game 3 hits the ice at Merrimack College on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights 4, Mercer Chiefs 1
Watch out for that No. 8 seed! The WBS Knights continue their magical run with a 1-0 lead in their series against the Atlantic No. 5 Mercer Chiefs, following a 4-1 win on Friday. Ilya Baldin had a goal and an assist, Timofei Korober had two assists and in net, Gusts Valantis turned away 26 of 27 shots for the win. Mercer’s Edouard Piche made 24 saves on 28 shots.
Montreal Black Vees 5, College Universel Gatineau 3
The Black Vees have moved on to the Canada Division championship series, to be held next week starting Friday. The Black Vees defeated College Universel Gatineau by a 5-3 score on Friday. Dylan Perron scored twice, and added one assist, while Benjamin Lavallée and Charles-Emile Clermont each had a goal and an assist. Nathan Rutter-Richardson stopped 36 of 39 shots for the win. Marcus Gomes stopped 44 shots for Gatineau.
Rockets Hockey Club 5, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 4 (OT)
The Rockets Hockey Club are up 1-0 on the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders after winning their semifinal opening matchup in overtime, 5-4. Viktor Wardas scored the #OTGWG, Anthony Azzarello registered three assists, and Steven Prevendar scored a goal and an assist. In net, Tim Miller stopped 38 of 42 shots for the win. Marks Dinsdorfs turned away 32 shots for P.A.L. Game 2 is Saturday at 5:45 p.m.
Springfield Pics 3, Northern Cyclones 2
The Pics started their New England Division No. 2 vs. No. 3 seed playoff round against the Northern Cyclones with a 3-2 victory. Jacob Carey’s regulation winner at 15:49 of the third was the difference, helping the Pics come back from being down 2-1 entering the third period. Cameron Prodin stopped 40 of 43 shots for the victory. Game 2 kicks off at 6:20 p.m. on Saturday night.
Tampa Bay Juniors 1, Florida Jr. Blades 0
The Tampa Bay Juniors carry on into the Winners Bracket of the USPHL Premier Florida Division’s double elimination tournament. They narrowly defeated the Florida Jr. Blades, 1-0, on Friday evening. Savva Serdiuk made 28 saves for a shutout win, while for the Jr. Blades, Gage Cercone was strong with 46 saves on 47 shots. Jakub Koudelny scored the only goal, which stood up as the GWG.
Toledo Cherokee 7, Columbus Mavericks 3
The Cherokee are a game up to start their Great Lakes Division semifinal series, winning 7-3. Trevin Johnson, Gavin Elkins and Cameron Krause each had a goal and an assist in the win, and Aidan Gonzalez finished with four assists. In net, Austin Nowak made 21 saves on 24 shots. Game 2 is again at 7 p.m. EST Saturday night.
Florida Eels 4, Bold City Battalion 2
Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings 5, Northwest Express 2
The Riverkings won 5-2 against the visiting Northwest Express in Game 1 of the North semifinals. Francesco Carlo Denti scored twice and added one assist and Jake Bryceland had three assists. Bryce Cooper had two assists, and Hogan McNeish scored a goal and an assist. Dominic Hite made 24 saves in the win.
The teams play Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. CST
Minnesota Squatch 5, Minnesota Mullets 4 (OT)
The Squatch got the job done even if the Minnesota Mullets never made it easy. The teams required overtime to settle Game 1 of their series. Five different goal-scorers put the puck in for the Squatch, including the OT winner by Lukas Plank. The Mullets were facing down defeat with a 4-3 deficit before Jacob Sinclair evened it with 3:20 remaining in regulation. Anyon Bennett made 36 saves on 40 shots for the Squatch, and Kody Niederkorn made 52 saves on 57 shots for the Mullets.
Fresno Monsters 5, Henderson Force 1
The Monsters will play for the Pacific Division championship against the winner of the Ontario Jr. Reign vs.
Lake Tahoe Lakers series. Fresno won Game 2 of their series against Henderson by a 5-1 score to sweep the series. Filipp Papshev scored twice for the Monsters. Jesse Nuutinen had two assists, and Brooks Barofsky made 24 saves on 25 shots. Jacob Brumm made 50 saves on 55 shots for Henderson.
Ontario Jr. Reign 6, Lake Tahoe Lakers 3
The Jr. Reign are up one game to zero on the host Lake Tahoe Lakers after their Game 1 6-3 victory. Grant Coykendall and Christopher Lai each scored two goals, Denver Craig scored a goal and added two assists, and Amir Shirakov also had two assists. In net, Josh Henson made 29 saves on 32 shots. Henderson’s Nicholas Perry stopped 37 of 42 shots. Game 2 is again in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. PST.
