5 Top Storylines From Friday In The ECHL

From multiple shootouts to wild comebacks, Friday offered plenty of excitement on the ECHL schedule. Here’s a look at five top storylines from the action.

Nailers 4, Mavericks 3

Several record-breaking achievements were not enough for the Kansas City Mavericks to overcome a loss in Wheeling.

After the Nailers took a 3-1 lead in the second period, KC fought back to tie the score. At 11:38 of the middle frame, Damien Giroux scored to cut the deficit to one.

Jackson Berezowski and David Cotton picked up assists. For Cotton, the helper gave him 100 points for his professional career.

Another historic Maverick moment occurred in the third period, when Marcus Crawford tied the score 3-3 at the 3:29 mark. Crawford became the club’s all-time leader in goals by a defenseman.

Matt Koopman delivered the knockout punch for the Nailers at 11:38, assisted by Matthew Quercia and Taylor Gauthier for the eventual 4-3 final.

The last Maverick milestone came with Max Andreev playing in his 100^th game as a pro. Alas, none of those magical moments were enough to propel the Mavericks to victory.

Admirals 5, Lions 4 (Shootout)

Norfolk and Trois-Rivieres combined for four goals in the first period, with the score tied 2-2 at the first intermission.

‘Captain Morgan’, aka Morgan Adams-Moisan, regained the lead for the Lions at 3-2 at 1:22 of the second period. Norfolk came right back a minute later, but Adams-Moisan once again put his team in front 4-3 with his second tally of the period at 14:05.

Brandon Osmundson tied the game for Norfolk at 4-4 at 1:22 of the third period. The scoring frenzy stopped as quickly as it started after that, and the game went to a shootout.

After seven scorless rounds, Justin Young finally tickled the twine for the Admirals to give them a 5-4 victory.

Wichita Thunder 6, Grizzlies 4

It was a wild Friday night in West Valley City, as the Utah Grizzlies nearly pulled off a comeback from a 4-0 second-period deficit.

Utah roared back with four unanswered goals in an 8:29 span to tie the game. Just 17 seconds later, however, Jay Dickman snuffed out hopes of a miracle by potting the eventual game-winner for Wichita and his 15^th goal of the season.

Joe Carroll, who notched a hat trick on the night, scored an empty-netter with two seconds left in regulation for the 6-4 Thunder victory.

The crowd of 5,638 at the Maverik Center went home disappointed, but they were certainly entertained.

Stingrays 3, Everblades 2 (Shootout)

This game got moved up to an earlier time slot due to inclement weather in Charleston.

Micah Miller started the scoring for the Rays on a one-timer for a power-play goal and a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.

Florida tied the score at 6:57 of the middle frame on Craig Needham’s shorthanded tally off a breakaway.

Colin Theisen put the Everblades ahead 2-1 six minutes later, but South Carolina evened things up a minute after that on a Justin Nachbaur goal.

Both goaltenders were rock walls through the rest of regulation and overtime. Five rounds into the shootout, Austin Magera beat Florida netminder Cam Johnson blocker side for the 3-2 squeaker.

Rush 4, Americans 3 (Shootout)

Both teams have struggled this season, but their meeting Friday night at the Monument Ice Arena in Rapid City resembled a top matchup.

It was nip-and-tuck, with neither team able to get a multiple-goal lead. The Rush clung to a 3-2 advantage through most of the third period before Allen’s Brayden Guy tied the score with 34.5 seconds left.

Despite two combined shots, overtime came and went without a winner, so the game headed to a shootout.

Deni Goure started the skills competition with a goal. Goalie Christian Propp then proceeded to slam the door on the Americans with three stops to seal the 4-3 victory.

The win allowed Rapid City to break ties with the Americans and Utah Grizzlies to move into sixth place in the Mountain Division. They’ll go for a series sweep Saturday night.