Dallas Snipers 7, Southern Oregon Spartans 2
The Dallas Snipers put up 51 shots in the very first game of the Showcase on their way to a comfortable win. Albin Klockare sufficed with 12 saves.
Arthur Aloyan led all skaters with four points including two goals and two assists, but the Snipers also got a hand from Michael Fatta who registered two goals and three points. A total of five players for Dallas had multiple points.
Aloyan scored a pair of goals in the first period to give Dallas a 2-0 lead. The Spartans were able to provide an initial response when Jeremy Vant Geloof put them on the board at 5:32 of the first half.
The second half belonged to Dallas who moved to a four-goal lead and made it 6-1 before the Spartans netted their second tally of the afternoon at 9:09 of the second.
Fatta added the final insurance goal for the Snipers.
Wichita Jr. Thunder 3 vs. Cold Lake Hornets 2
Three straight conversions in the second half lifted the Jr. Thunder over the Hornets who began with the 1-0 lead in the first. 23 Saves is all it took for Jeremy Haffner to backstop his team.
The first half was rather quiet as Colby Krupp had the only goal in the frame. The Jr. Thunder were down going into intermission but then quickly started on their three goal push with one from Thein Gamble at 23:06.
Wichita veterans, Braeden Thomas and Qiunn O’Reilly, insisted thereafter and secured the only lead the Thunder needed.
The Hornets cut it to a one goal lead with a shorthanded goal at 7:42 of the second frame but the remaining minutes proved to be fruitless.
Northern Colorado Eagles 4, Hinton Timberwolves 1
Northern Colorado’s first two goals were pivotal for them to get the better of the Provincial Division’s No. 2 team, Hinton.
Eric Hildebrand and Sean McMahon combined to get the 2-0 lead and then John Campbell scored on a short-handed opportunity at 9:14 of the first half.
Hinton started to pressure more in the second and outshot the Eagles in the frame but the effectiveness of Marshall Murphy’s goaltending kept the Eagles afloat.
Marshall Murphy made a total of 29 saves to mitigate the Hinton pressure but got beat once by Ilya Zhilinsky at 3:43 of the second.
Northern Colorado’s Banks Burkart closed the game out with their fourth goal under a minute left in the game.
CPJHL 6, Barrhead Bombers 2
CPJHL has been showing improvement at the Showcase every year and opens with a big 6-2 win over the Barrhead Bombers who skated in their first appearance.
The Bombers took an early advantage lighting the lamp first on a 4-on-4 opportunity at 20:16 of the first. They skated with the lead until the midway point of the first. Jack Dorey tied the match 1-1 at 13:46 and the period would close out even.
The stalemate turned into an all out tilt as CPJHL accelerated their production with five unanswered goals in the second half—one power play and their second 4-on-4 chance.
Dylan Henri sparked the five-goal period at 18:24 and David Barrett kept the Bombers from scoring after making 31 saves.
Fresno Monsters 7, Bellingham Blazers 3
A hat-trick from Petr Philippov deflected the Blazers who were able to tie the game 3-3 going into the second half. The Blazers started with the lead but tapered off as the Monsters put four past Sam Milan in the second.
Mitchell Trzebiatowski opened the scoring at 16:15 and got the Blazers to a brief lead. The Monster’s William Markstedt answered just over a minute later and Zackory Turpin cashed in for the first Fresno lead at 7:43 of the first.
The Blazers penalty kill was up to the offensive challenge as they scored their second short handed goal of the game to tie it 2-2. Riley Keys netted the goal in unassisted fashion.
The battle of attrition continued late in the first with both teams managing goals to stay deadlocked at 3-3.
Fresno established a clear presence over Bellingham in the second half and ran with the score on the count of four straight goals.
Edson Aeros 1, Utah Outliers 0
The Edson Aeros pushed the pace of the game in this very tight matchup between two Top-5 teams in the league. Sebastian Heden netted the only goal of the game early in the first half.
The Aeros may have had the pace but Utah stayed right with them sustaining the one goal game against the highest scoring team in the Provincial Division.
Sebastian Heden beat Oscar Wahlgren at 20:21 to score the lone goal and boost the Aeros to their 21st victory in a row. The Aeros surpass the Ogden Mustang’s former win streak of 20 consecutive wins.
Final shot count reads 17 for the Outliers and 21 for the Aeros.
