FRIDAY RECAP Great Falls 2 @ Badlands 5 – Special teams came through in a big way for the Badlands Sabres Friday, as it helped them cruise to a big 5-2 victory over Frontier-Division powerhouse Great Falls Americans. The Sabres power play and penalty kill were spectacular in Friday’s contest. The power play accounted for three goals on seven opportunities while the penalty kill units went a perfect 5-for-5. Cole Schneider was the main offensive contributor for Badlands, posting two goals – both via the power play. Badlands get some breathing room in the Frontier Division with the win, now sitting two points ahead of fifth-place Bozeman – who lost Friday. Great Falls drop to third place in the Frontier Division with the loss, as Helena takes over with its win over Yellowstone Friday. Great Falls got off to a fast start. Ethan Miller (22nd) scored just 18 seconds in for the Americans to give them a 1-0 lead. Badlands had a response with just over seven minutes to go in the opening frame. Rhylan Olson netted his 13th of the year to bring the game back even. Schneider took advantage of a late-period power play, scoring his third of the season to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead after the first period. The offense was slow until late in the second period. Ethan Seanor (third) doubled the Badlands lead to 3-1 with 4:39 remaining. His goal stood as the only offense of the period. Jaxen Savage made things interesting late in the third period, tallying his seventh goal of the season with just under eight minutes left to get Great Falls within one goal. A late cross-checking penalty from Great Falls’ Keegan Hanson opened the door for Badlands’ power play to seal the game, and it made no mistake. Carter Kilen (sixth) scored on the man advantage to restore Badlands’ two-goal lead with just 1:42 to go. Schneider (fourth) sealed the deal with an empty-net, power-play goal with 52 seconds left to solidify the Sabres’ 5-2 win.
SATURDAY RECAP Great Falls 3 @ Badlands 5 – The Badlands Sabres earned a statement victory Saturday, taking down Frontier Division powerhouse Great Falls Americans by a final score of 5-3 to earn a weekend-series sweep. Badlands rode a three-goal third period to victory after a tightly-contested first two periods in which the Sabres barely held the shots advantage at 23-21. The Sabres inch closer to Great Falls for third place in the Frontier Division with the win, now trailing by six points. Great Falls came out of the gate hot, getting a goal from Tallon Caron just 34 seconds into the game. Caron’s 13th goal of the year stood as the lone offense of the period. The offense began to open up for both teams in the second period. A goal from Gaven Marx (sixth) tied the game with 14:35 to go in the frame. Matthew Cordis (seventh) followed up to give Badlands its first lead with just over two minutes remaining in the period. Great Falls did not go into the second intermission quietly. AJ Prioli (14th) responded just 34 seconds after Cordis’ goal to tie the game heading to the third period. The Badlands offense took over in the third period where they outshot the Americans 20-8. Dayton Niedert (22nd) gave the Sabres the lead it would not give back just over two minutes into the final frame. Sawyer Vaughn (second) and Justin Reams (eighth) provided the Sabres with insurance in the waning minutes to extend the lead to 5-2. Wyatt Hanna (seventh) got Great Falls back within two goals with just over two minutes remaining, but the Badlands defense shut down the remaining Americans attack to secure the statement 5-3 victory.
