The Magicians hosted the Kenai River Brown Bears from Soldotna, Alaska over the weekend for a pair of games at Richfield Ice Arena. After winning the first game of the series in overtime on Friday night, the Magicians lost a close contest with the Brown Bears on Saturday. By earning two points in the standings with their victory on Friday night, the Magicians remained just one-point out of first place in the Midwest Division of the North American Hockey League (NAHL).
Goals were hard to come by for both teams all weekend long. On Friday night, the first goal of the game did not come until early in the third period when Magicians forward John Siebenaler found the back of the net. At that point, it looked as though one goal would be enough for a victory as the Brown Bears struggled to maintain any significant offensive pressure. With 45 seconds left in the game, however, a defensive lapse from the Magicians turned into a Kenai River goal to make the score 1-1 and send the game into overtime. Fortunately, less than a minute into the overtime period the Magicians made amends for their late game collapse when Nikita Kozyrev scored the game winner assisted by Caleb Hite.
The following night, the second game of the series was a similarly low scoring contest. The Magicians scored first once again when Caleb Hite registered his second point of the weekend on a goal assisted by Nathan Nelsen and Dmytro Kobylyanskyi. Unfortunately, it would be the last Magicians goal of the game. In the second period, two goals from Kenai River proved to be enough for a win as they sent the Magicians home with a 2-1 defeat.
By picking up two points on Friday, the Magicians kept pace in the Midwest Division with Janesville and remain just one point out of the first-place slot. This weekend, the Magicians play two more home games at Richfield Ice Arena as the Springfield Jr. Blues come to town for a series. Friday night’s contest is scheduled for 7:15 PM, and Saturday’s game starts at 7:00 PM. Call 612-861-9356 or visit www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com for tickets.