By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
Northern Cyclones 4, Utica Jr. Comets 3 (OT)
Nick Vinson’s first of the year was the overtime game-winning goal as the Cyclones kicked off their three-game home set against Utica with a 4-3 victory. The Cyclones fought back from Utica leads of 2-0 and 3-1 en route to the win, which saw seven different total goal-scorers between the two teams. Logan Abric stopped 27 of 30 en route to the win in net.
South Shore Kings 4, Islanders Hockey Club 1
The Kings started quickly, scoring 50 seconds into the game as four different goal-scorers tallied for the winning team. With the victory, the Kings jumped one point in front of both the Islanders Hockey Club and P.A.L. Jr. Islanders for first place overall in the NCDC. Xavier Vaillancourt and Aiden Lindley each had one goal and one assist, and Kotaro Murase had two goals. Ryan Keyes stopped 25 of 26 for the win and Frank Murphy was impressive for the Islanders with 47 saves on 50 shots.
Provo Predators 5, Rock Springs Grizzlies 0
Lucca Ori scored two goals and Cannon Lentz registered two assists helping the Predators to a 5-0 victory, in which goaltender Ryan Henry stopped all 28 shots he faced for the shutout.
Ogden Mustangs 2, Utah Outliers 1
All three goals between the longtime rivals were scored in the second period. Jack Bartfield’s first and Carson Melquist’s fourth were on either side of the Outliers’ Michael Schwartz’ second of the year to set the final score. Vladislav Bryzgalov stopped 20 of 21 shots, and Loic Mainguy-Crepault made 36 saves on 38 shots.
Pueblo Bulls 6, Idaho Falls Spud Kings 1
The host Bulls were dominant out the gate with a 5-0 lead before the Spud Kings were able to break through. Ethan Thombs led, offensively, with a goal and two assists, while Jack Hanson, Balasz Hiezl and Eddie Paulissian each registered two assists. Ryan Mitchell stopped 33 of 34 for the win in net.
