The Minnesota Magicians (27-17-5) started a two-week Alaskan road trip on a high note last weekend, sweeping the Kenai River Brown Bears (10-38-2) in addition to having two players earn the top two spots in the weekly Midwest Division awards.
On Friday night in Soldotna, Alaska, the Magicians offense was the story of the game. Rookie defenseman Hunter Lellig (University of Minnesota-Duluth) got the Magicians on the board early with a goal (Assists: Travis Brown, Mitch Slattery) less than a minute into the game. In the second period, the flood gates opened for the Magicians as Nikita Kozyrev (Matt Denman, Mitch Slattery), Mitch Slattery (Hunter Lellig, Dmytro Kobylyanksyi), Pieter von Steinbergs (Mitch Slattery, Caleb Hite), and Caleb Hite (Pieter von Steinbergs, Cam Buhl) each found the back of the net. Andrew Kangas (Pieter von Steinbergs, Davis Kirkendall) added a goal in the third as the Magicians skated away with a 6-3 thumping of the Brown Bears. Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov made 26 saves in earning the victory.
On Saturday night, the Magicians struck first when Nikita Kozyrev (Will Hammer, Mitch Slattery) scored midway through the second period. Shortly thereafter, Parker Mismash (Tanner Tweten) made it 2-0 Magicians heading into the final period. In the third, Kozyrev got his second goal of the game (Will Hammer) just 18 seconds into the action. Next, it was Caleb Hite scoring (Timo Walther, Cam Buhl) followed by Will Hammer (Dmytro Kobylyanskyi, Mitch Slattery) to make it 5-0. A late goal from the Brown Bears was of little consequence, and the game ended with a final score of 5-1. Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov was stellar making 44 saves in the win.
In addition to the sweep, two Magicians players were recognized for their great play over the weekend. Forward Mitch Slattery was awarded Midwest Division Player of the Week after registering a goal and 5 assists for a total of 6 points in only 2 games. Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov was named Midwest Division 2nd Star of the Week after earning a 2-0 record while only surrendering 4 goals.