Saturday, Oct. 14, was the first day in NCDC league history that 18 teams all played on the same day.
Boston Junior Bruins 3, Northern Cyclones 2 (SO)
Shane Baker scored the first goal of the game and also the last, in the shootout, to capture a victory for the Junior Bruins. Garrett Simpson stopped 43 of 45 shots in 65 minutes and three shots in the shootout. Cyclones and Junior Bruins face each other again at 5:15 p.m. Sunday.
Utica Jr. Comets 2, South Shore Kings 1
Wyatt Swonger and Daniel Urban scored second period goals (and Swonger assisted on Urban’s) en route to a close 2-1 victory for the visiting Jr. Comets against the South Shore Kings, ending their points streak from the start of the season at 7-0-0-1. Cameron Manley made 30 saves on 31 shots. South Shore and Utica wrap up their three-game series on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Mercer Chiefs 4, Rockets Hockey Club 3
On their Pink the Rink game, the Chiefs – in distinctive pink Breast Cancer Awareness special jerseys – came out with a 4-3 win against fellow New Jersey team the Rockets Hockey Club. Dylan Young and Ryan McKenna each scored one goal and one assist and Kyle Cupolo and veteran Gregory Diamond each had two assists. Dominick Gatto made 32 saves on 35 shots. Mercer hosts the Rockets at 4:30 p.m.
P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 3, Connecticut Jr. Rangers 2
Three different goal-scorers tallied for the Jr. Islanders and veteran Marshall Beaker registered two assists. Nick Bevilacqua stopped 30 of 32 shots for the win and Luciano Scaglione put up a strong performance in net for Connecticut, with 57 stops on 60 shots.
Islanders Hockey Club 5, Twin City Thunder 0
Frank Murphy improved to 6-0-1-0 with a 42-save shutout of Twin City on Saturday. Five different goal-scorers helped him out on the offensive side and the NCDC’s co-leading scorer Tikhon Ashikhmin had two assists, helping him to 17 points (bypassing the 16 points he scored in all of 2022-23).
Jersey Hitmen 5, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
Five different goal-scorers (the theme today) posted tallies for the Hitmen, and Jack Matsukubo and Connor Lemmerbrock each had a goal and an assist, while Braedyn McIntosh made 35 saves in net for the victory. The Hitmen and Knights return to action against each other on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Ogden Mustangs 3, Idaho Falls Spud Kings 1
Dimitri Voyatzis scored the GWG as one of three different Mustangs goal-scorers. Cameron Hollands made 33 saves on 34 shots for the win in front of a sold-out Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls.
Pueblo Bulls 4, Rock Springs Grizzlies 1
Hunter Hayes’ fourth of the year was the GWG for the Bulls as they swept the Grizzlies for the weekend series. Beckham Dempsey made 24 saves on 25 shots in the victory.
Utah Outliers 4, Provo Predators 3 (SO)
David Utkin scored two more goals (his eighth and ninth) to help the Outliers come back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 en route to their shootout victory. Jentzen Kaebel scored the shootout game-winner. Griffin Davis stopped 24 of 27 in 65 minutes and five of six in the shootout for the win.
