Blaine, Minnesota | 9/15/23 | Isaac Smoldon
The Anchorage Wolverines would come up short against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Friday afternoon, losing by a final score of 5-3. Jozef Zilinec had six saves on 10 shots, while Liam Beerman made 15 saves on 16 shots after coming into the game in relief three minutes into the 2nd period.
New Hampshire scored 10:28 into the contest, marking the first time that the Wolverines had failed to score the first goal of the game this season. Anchorage would respond late in the period, when Bryce Monrean scored after being given a breakaway by a long stretch pass from Wilson Dahlheimer.
The Wolverines would be set back on their heels early in the 2nd however, with the Mountain Kings blasting three goals past Zilinec in rapid succession before the four-minute mark. Now trailing by multiple goals for the first time this year, Anchorage took some time to regain any sort of momentum, and despite having a couple chances late in the period, were held scoreless in the middle frame by New Hampshire goalie Aiden Wright.
Kade Shea got his team back into the game five minutes into the 3rd period, scoring shorthanded to cut the Mountain Kings’ lead to two. New Hampshire would score the next goal of the contest however, striking at the 13:48 mark to reestablish their three-goal advantage. Despite a powerplay goal from Fyodor Nikolayenya late in the frame, the Wolverines would fail to erase their deficit, and lost by a final score of 5-3.
Anchorage will play its last game of the NAHL showcase tomorrow at 2:15 AKDT, against the North Iowa Bulls. The Bulls finished the season 29-27-4 last season, dropping to sixth place in an extremely close Central division. Wednesday, North Iowa took out the Wolverines’ in-state rivals, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, by a score of 5-4. Tomorrow’s game can be streamed live or on-demand exclusively at nahltv.com
