It was a tough weekend for your Jr. Stars as they dropped all three games in the series against the Oklahoma City Ice Hawks and still sit on a single-digit number in the win column.
Friday’s defeat began off the stick of Garrett Conner in the closing seconds of the first period, where both teams were even in play and chances, but the Jr. Star headed to the locker room down by one.
Heading into the second frame, Richard Indermill pushed the OKC lead to two goals by netting his 9th of the season. Conner scored his second of the game at 9:34, with Noah Henslee capping off the middle frame with the third goal of the period to extend the lead 4-0.
The third period didn’t have a lot of action until the five minutes left to play, where we had a flurry of goals. Grant Hanifen picked up his fourth of the season while Ilnur Madiarov put a goal on the board at 17:33. Indermill scored his 10th of the season at 18:46, but the big goal of that game came off the stick of Brayden Grassi, who was a game-time decision. He put his first NA3HL goal in the back of the net in the closing minute of regulation to end the game with a 6-2 score.
Nathan Hadley collected his 9th win between the pipes while Quillion Bowman stopped 35 of 41 in the loss.
Saturday’s start mirrored that of Friday, but this time it was Ice Hawks forward Avery Pittman getting his first of the weekend at 7:20 and was the lone goal at the buzzer to end the first period 1-0.
It was chippy and eventful in the second period, with ten different penalties occurring at the 6:33 mark. Ozzy MacDonald and Jakob Holley were capping off that minute of the game with a fight. Hockey resumed with Madiarov scoring his second goal of the series on the Allen’s Construction Power Play to tie the game 1-1. Oklahoma City broke the tie courtesy of Daniel Flodman, scoring his first NA3HL goal on the power play at 14:59. Indermill and Henslee scored in rapid succession to close the period with a three-goal lead.
Gavin Spears and Kayd Peterson also chucked the knuckles in the second period, with both being charged five for fighting and a 20-minute ejection.
OKC kept their foot on the gas throughout the third period and scored four more goals to finish the game with eight. Indermill collected a hat trick with a pair of goals in the third. Former Jr. Star Arron Best put one in the back of the net, while NA3HL Top Prospect Tournament selectee Avery Pitman scored another on the power play as the Ice Hawks went 3 for 3 on the man advantage.
Smushed in-between those OKC goals is Mid-Cities defenseman Dakota Sullivan, who scored the second Jr. Stars goal but his first as an NA3HL player. The game finished with 138 combined penalty minutes and an 8-2 Ice Hawks victory.
Blake Sprow collected the win while Aaron Palos took the loss.
The Jr. Stars were hoping to avoid the weekend sweep; when the puck dropped and through the first 20 minutes of play, they were only down by one goal due to Indermill collecting another goal on the weekend.
Oklahoma City scored eight goals in the second period before Easton Walters could get the Jr. Stars on the board. Indermill completed his hat trick with Conner, Henslee, Holley, and Rabroker scoring one more for the Ice Hawks before the buzzer sounded to end the period with a 10-1 score.
The third period became a formality, but three goals were scored to finish the game. Jakob Holley grabbed his second of the game at the 8:00 minute, while Brendon Zeis scored 13 seconds later to give Mid-Cities two goals on the game, a common theme throughout the weekend. Conner will put home his third of the evening to finish the weekend with a 12-2 victory.
Aaron Palos would be relieved in the second period by Luc Haggit. Palos would finish the game in the third period and take his second loss of the weekend. Andrew Owens picked up the win as three different goalies would secure wins for the Ice Hawks this series.
The Jr. Stars fall to 9-26-0-0 for 18 points and sit 7th in the South Division. The next time to see the Jr. Stars will be February 4th on the road at the NYTEX Sports Centre.