The Gillette Wild survived a determined comeback attempt by Glacier on the way to a 3-2 win.
A goal by Bryce Mitzal put Gillette up 3-0 in the second period, but Glacier pulled to within one on Cody McGlocklin\’s tally 15:04 into the third period.
The Wild pulled out the victory even though they were hit with 29 penalty minutes.
Gillette kept Glacier\’s goalie busy throughout the game, and Pierre Gustafsson made 40 saves on 43 shots. Team could not crack Glacier\’s penalty kill and was held to one power play goal while having 10 opportunities to play with the man advantage.
The Wild were helped by Darren Banks, who racked up one goal. Banks scored 8:34 into the second period to make the score 2-0 Gillette. Tyler Reble picked up the assist. Gillette also got a goal from Michael Burke as well. In addition, Gillette received assists from Robbie Lantz, who had one.
Glacier forced Gillette goalie Sean Kelley to work between the pipes, taking 32 shots. Glacier\’s penalty killing units received substantial work throughout the game as Glacier finished with 25 penalty minutes.
Glacier was helped by Tucker Spooner, who had one goal. Spooner scored on the power play 11:39 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Gillette. A slashing penalty on Brandon Castleberry had put Glacier on the power play. Chris Cutshall assisted on the tally. More assists for Glacier came via John Tesarek, Karson Frisk, and Jackson Schroeder, who contributed one a piece.
Sean Kelley made 30 saves for the Wild on 32 shots. Gillette ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Andrii Istominov was ejected from the game. Glacier registered one goal on seven power play opportunities.