Ice Dogs, Windigo capture FALL League titles
The NAPHL FALL League Playoffs concluded on Sunday at the Super Rink in Blaine, MN, with each team playing in their final games of the season.
Sunday marked the final day of the season for the FALL League with each team playing one more round-robin game, followed by the Championship games in the afternoon.
10 teams at the 18U and 16U level competed for the title as this weekend which was an exciting conclusion to three very competitive events.
Day 3 Recap
FALL 18U: The St. Cloud Norsemen defeated the Chippewa Steel by a score of 3-1 after scoring twice in the third period. Eugene Wegleitner III scored two goals and goaltender Gavan Norton stopped 20 shots. The Corpus Christi IceRays beat the Wisconsin Windigo, 6-1. Simon Mateas posted two goals and goalie Logan Nowlin stopped 14 shots. The Kenai River Brown Bears blanked the Odessa Jackalopes in a 4-0 final. Caden Kubis posted a 16 shot shutout win and Brayden Pelci recorded 3 points. The Fairbanks Ice Dogs silenced the Minnesota Wilderness, 5-0. Fairbanks goaltender Kole Kronstedt turned away 28 shots in the win. The Janesville Jets held on to defeat the Austin Bruins 3-2. Trenton Peterson took the win in net for the Jets.
FALL 18U CHAMPIONSHIP: The Fairbanks Ice Dogs shutout the Corpus Christi IceRays by a score of 2-0 in the 18U Fall League Championship game. In the second period, Mario Bernard and Harrison Browning both scored. The Ice Dogs split time between the pipes with Kole Kronstedt who stopped 8 shots and Andrew Saxe who turned away 14 in the shutout victory.
FALL 16U: The Kenai River Brown Bears shutout the Chippewa Steel 5-0. Brown Bears goaltender Carson Hauger earned the shutout win. Janesville edged past Odessa in a 3-2 overtime win. Vincent Heisz scored twice which included the overtime winner. Jets goalie Ethan Burkard earned the win in net. The Wilderness got an overtime win against the Norsemen, 2-1. Neil Elsmore scored both Wilderness goals in the contest while Jacob Iallonardo took the win in the net. The Fairbanks Ice Dogs battled back scoring three goals in the third period winning 4-2 against the Corpus Christi IceRays. Nathan Heilman lit the lamp twice and goalie Chase Jerdee turned away 28 shots. The Wisconsin Windigo won 6-4 against the Austin Bruins. Tevin Stukel had a four point game and goalie Cooper Flachs got the win in net.
FALL 16U CHAMPIONSHIP: The Wisconsin Windigo defeated the Janesville Jets to earn the title as 2023 Fall League Champions by a score of 4-2. Wisconsin opened up the first period peppering the Janesville netminder where they scored three goals with Connor Arko, Nathan Londo, and Brody Donnelly. In the second, Janesville got on the scoresheet with a goal from Vincent Heisz. In the third, the Jets got within one with Zaylin Sweet making it a 3-2 score. Late in the period, Connor Arko sent the puck from his defensive end into an empty Jets net to seal the deal for a 4-2 Wisconsin win. Goaltender McCullen Hayes turned away 27 shotts in the Championship win.
