Junior hockey roundup: Thunder thump Islanders HC; Nordiques bonked by Maryland Black Bears
Jan. 7—The Twin City Thunder scored four goals in the first period en route to a 6-2 victory over Islanders Hockey Club in a USPHL NCDC matchup Friday in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.
Denis Maliew opened the scoring 77 seconds into the contest and Matthew Cole made it a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal just past the five-minute mark. Tristan Rand scored less than two minutes later and Richard Davis rounded out the first-period scoring 11:41 into the frame to put the Thunder (12-14-1-0) ahead 4-0.
Andrew Miller and Steve Armstrong scored less than a minute apart in the second period to cut the deficit in half for Islanders HC (11-16-1-1). Elijah Brown assisted on Miller's goal, and Nicholas Rooney helped out on Armstrong's tally.
Trace Norwell scored unassisted to extend Twin City's lead to 5-2 with seven minutes left in the second.
Patrick Last lit the lamp for the game's final goal early in the third period.
Pierce Blaeser recorded his second assist of the game on Last's goal. Norwell, Nolan Leonard, Cullen McCormick, Martin Marnauzs, Dominic Chasse and Blake Tierney each notched one.
Trey Miller stopped 24 of 26 shots in goal for Twin City to earn the win. Connor Strobel started the game for Islanders HC, making six saves before getting pulled after the Thunder's third goal. Iannico Amaranto then stopped 25 of 28 shots while playing the final 53-plus minutes.
Twin City was 1 of 2 on the power play and Islanders HC went 0 for 3.
Adam Schankula scored two goals and assisted on another as the Black Bears got ahead early and didn't let the Nordiques gain any momentum when they had the chance in an East Division battle in Odenton, Maryland.
Samuel Stitz scored the lone goal of the first period to put Maryland (47 points) on top 1-0.
Schankula scored 1:30 into the second to double the lead. Nicholas Bernardo scored unassisted seven minutes later to put Maine (34 points) on the board, but the Black Bears went up 3-1 less than six minutes later on a Hunter Ramos goal. Schankula provided the secondary assist and Brayden Stannard recorded the primary helper.
Sean Kilcullen snuck in a goal in the final minute of the frame to send Maryland into the second intermission up 4-1.
Brad McNeil and Schankula sandwiched third-period goals around Alexey Yarmulnik's tally for the Nordiques. John-Paul Steele assisted on the goal.
Ramos and Stitz were among the Black Bears to record assists in the game.
Thomas Heaney took the loss for Maine, while William Hakansson netted the win in goal for Maryland.
The Nordiques were 0 for 3 on the power play and the Black Bears went 1 for 2, with Kilcullen converting on the man-advantage.
