FALL League Recap: Day Three Featured High-Level of Competition at the 18U and 16U Levels

Day three of the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) FALL League has wrapped up as the teams brought the energy! Teams at both the 16U and 18U levels kept the intensity high throughout day three. Click here to see all the scores!

18U: 

Minot 2 @ Odessa 1 (SO) - In a tight battle between the Jackalopes and Minotauros, the Tauros would take the victory in shootout fashion on Sunday morning. The contest opened with Odessa taking the lead in the opening frame thanks to a goal by Jon Spengler. As the matchup moved into the middle frame, the game would go scoreless as both teams traded chances. Moving into the final period of regulation, Trevor Burdette from the Minot Minotauros lit the lamp with 1:53 to spare on the clock to even the score. As the contest moved into overtime and then an eventual shootout, the Tauros would come out victorious with a shootout tally by Trevor Burdette.

Northeast 2 @ St. Cloud 3 (SO) - With a weekend sweep on the line, the St. Cloud Norsemen skate to a victory with a come-from-behind push against the Northeast Generals. The contest opened with the Generals lighting the lamp first in the opening frame. Chase Ballinger tallied his second of the weekend for Northeast, giving them the lead early in the contest. The Norsemen would respond shortly after with Cameron Gluch finding the net with 2:15 to spare in the frame. Moving into the second period, Jimmy McBeain regains the lead for the Generals, sniping a goal a few minutes into the middle frame. As the contest moved into the third period, the Norsemen would equalize the contest as Lane Larson scored his fourth of the weekend. As the matchup moved into overtime and then an eventual shootout, the Norsemen would come out victorious when Logan Ylinen lit the lamp. St. Cloud would go 4-0 on the weekend while the Generals fell to 1-3.

16U:

Austin 3 @ St. Cloud 4 – The St. Cloud Norsemen secured the 4-3 win over the Austin Bruins with a late third-period goal, capping off a strong back-and-forth matchup on Sunday. St. Cloud wasted no time establishing pressure, striking first when Landon McGovern buried an early chance to put the Norsemen ahead 1-0. They built off that momentum, securing another goal by Jordan Rogers later in the period to put St. Cloud up 2-0 heading into the first intermission. The Bruins responded in the second period with goals by Caleb Wiedrich and Connor Fecht, tying the game 2-2, breaking through St. Cloud’s defense. Before the end of the period, St. Cloud reclaimed the lead when James Larson found the back of the net, putting the Norsemen back on top 3-2, heading into the intermission. Early in the third, Austin’s Wesley Mattila delivered the equalizer, finding the 5-hole to tie the game 3-3 and setting up a tense final stretch. With just over two minutes remaining, St. Cloud’s Charles Getting put it home off the side of the goaltender to push the Norsemen ahead 4-3. Austin pressed in the final minutes, but St. Cloud held strong to secure the victory.

Minnesota W 4 @ Fairbanks  3 – The Minnesota Wilderness held off a late push from the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to secure a 4-3 victory. Fairbanks struck first when Jack Breen opened the scoring to give the Ice Dogs a quick 1-0 lead. Minnesota settled in as the period progressed, with Liam Frick finding the back of the net to tie things up, closely followed by a Vincent Panchi goal to flip the game to a 2-1 Wilderness advantage. A cluster of penalties closed out the period but neither side could convert, keeping the score locked at 2-1 heading into the first intermission. The middle frame brought an uptick in pace with Fairbanks capitalizing on another Jack Breen goal, tying the game 2-2. Minnesota responded with two late period goals by Cade Nelson and Calvin Rinkinen, extending their lead to 4-2, giving them breathing room heading into the third. Fairbanks kept pushing through the third when Cam Marshall cut the deficit to 4-3, setting up a tense final stretch as the Ice Dogs tried to tie things up, but Minnesota held firm and closed out the game to secure the win.