The West Bend Power completed their “5-games in 5-days” run in Blaine, MN at the NA3HL Showcase, and came away 1-1-1 picking up 3 points.
GAME 1 – NEW MEXICO ICE WOLVES
The Power faced off with the first-place team in the South Division, the New Mexico Ice Wolves to kick off the showcase on Sunday, 12/17. The first goal of the game came at 1:15 of the first period when Max Mudge (7) scored off an assist from Andrew Butler to give the Power a 1-0 lead after one. New Mexico quickly answered in the second period, scoring in the first minute of play to tie things up at 1-1. Riley Planey (3) battled the puck away as New Mexico was clearing the zone and drove it for an unassisted goal to put the Power up 2-1 at 11:24 of the second period, which proved to be the eventual game winner. There was no scoring in the third period. Brooks Barofsky got the win in the Power net, saving 32/33 Ice Wolves shots on goal. The Power had 23 shots on goal.
GAME 2 – HELENA BIGHORNS
After a quick turnaround from Sunday night’s game, the Power took on the Helena Bighorns of the Frontier Division on Monday. Both teams got off to a bit of a slow and sloppy start, with no scoring in the first period. Oliver Schroeder (2) got the scoring started on the day at the 15:24 mark of the second period off an assist from Owen Drake. Fatigue became a factor for the Power in the second period as the Bighorns added two goals to take the 2-1 lead after two. After pulling goaltender Walker Berner with 4 minutes to go, the Power were able to bring it within one off a Cole Fenske (12) goal, assisted by Teagan Scheurer, but couldn’t grab another, and fell to the Bighorns by a final of 3-2. Walker Berner saved 24/27 shots on goal; the Power had 17 shots on goal.
GAME 3 – ROCHESTER GRIZZLIES
The Power was able to find their energy and come out strong in the final game of the showcase Tuesday against the Rochester Grizzlies of the West Division. Bryce Garber (11) got the Power on the board first at 13:32 of the first period and Tommy Kundinger (2) added goal number 2 at 11:27. Rochester was able to take advantage of a turnover in front of the net at got on the board at 3:15 of the first for a 2-1 score after one period. The Grizzlies tied it up at 14:31 of the second, but the Power took the lead again at 13:21 when Odin Klebba (6) scored off a Colin McMahon assist for a 3-2 lead after two periods. The third period saw a lot of back-and-forth scoring which forced the game to overtime. Rochester tied things up at 13:07. The Power went ahead at 11:03 off an Andrew Butler (9) goal, assisted by Jace Fitzgerald. Rochester tied it again at 5:41 but the Power answered, when Max Mudge (8) scored off another Jace Fitzgerald assist. As the clock ticked down to the final seconds, Rochester was able to get one past Power netminder Gavin Wohlmacher to push this high-powered match up to overtime, where Rochester gained the victory with an overtime goal at 1:27.
The Power now stands at 21-5-1-2 with 45 points on top of the Central Division. They return from Christmas break to take on the Oregon Tradesmen in Oregon Friday, December 29 and Saturday, December 30. Both games are at 7:30pm and will be broadcast on NAHLTV.
The Power returns home to Kettle Moraine Ice Center on Friday, January 5 to again face the Tradesmen for a 7:30pm puck drop. January 5 is TDS SKATE WITH THE POWER night sponsored by US Cellular West Bend.
