NAPHL FALL League Recap: 10/11

The first day of playoff weekend is in the books and we look forward to seeing what's in store for day two. Each matchup is important as teams are looking to advance through the playoff rounds and compete in the Championship games that will be held on Monday.

18U:

Being the lower seeded team, the Wisconsin Windigo came to play, coming out victorious on day one, making a case for themselves during their round-robin start. With a final score of 2-1, one goal was scored per period with Gabe Pankratz opening the scoring up for Janesville over halfway through the first twenty minutes. Scoring goals in both the second and third, the Windigo would pull away with the win as Milwaukee, WI native Preston Slater would bank home the game winner, just his second goal of the season. 

Flipping things over to the later portion of the day, the Kenai River Brown Bears put on quite the show, coming away with a 5-4 overtime win over the Chippewa Steel. ‘07 Garrett Fischer would dominate the game offensively scoring two goals and tallying two assists, his best game so far this season. In addition to Fischer’s contributions, it would be Jake Vukitch who would seal the deal for the Brown Bears two minutes into OT. When asked what he is most looking forward to during a postgame interview, Vukitch simply stated “Winning it all.” 
 

16U:

The Austin Bruins and Minnesota Mallards kicked off the day with a thrilling overtime game, the Mallards coming out on top with a final score of 4-3. Both goaltenders were tested quite a bit during the contest as the Mallards outshot the Bruins by a margin of 39 to 35. Minnesota’s goaltender in Daniel Linn turned away 32 of 35 shots, bringing his FALL record to 5-1-0-0. Offensively, Sam Pacovsky scored the game winner in OT and also tallied an assist, a huge win and momentum swing for the Mallards as we head into the remainder of the weekend. 

As the second overall team in the standings, the Janesville Jets improved their record to 6-1-0-1 with a 5-1 win over the North Iowa Bulls. Carsen Somers stood out on the scoresheet for the Jets as the Stevens Point, WI native buried two goals and notched one assist, one of two players on his team with 10 points in eight games. The Jets hope to build off of their success as they head into Saturday’s contest with the Chippewa Steel. 

For all of the day's scores click here!