Behind a great game by TJ McMinn, who had two goals, the Gillette Wild defeated the Yellowstone Quake, 7-2.
McMinn found the back of the net 2:24 into the third period to make the score 4-2 Gillette and again while 10:56 into the third to make the score 8-2 Gillette.
Gillette pulled out the victory even though it was hit with 14 penalty minutes.
The Wild forced Quake\’s goalies to work all game long, taking 68 shots and forcing 61 saves. Lance Knudson made 51 stops and AJ Hill made 10. Gillette outdid its season average for goals scored. The Wild average 3.6 goals per game. Gillette capitalized on Yellowstone\’s penalties, netting three goals while skating with a man advantage.
Gillette also got points from Rob Lantz, who also tallied one goal and one assist. Cade Boreing also scored for Gillette. Other players who recorded assists for Gillette were Trevor Ruiz, Jack Cleaver, and Darren Banks, who each chipped in one and Trent Dillinger, Mitchell McEwan, and Brett Kramer, who contributed two each.
The Quake were helped by Will Landsverk, who had one goal. Landsverk scored on the power play 12:06 into the second period to make the score 3-2 Gillette. Yellowstone had gotten the advantage when the Wild\’s Tyler Reble was sent off for tripping. Ross Mullen picked up the assist. Yellowstone also got a goal from Buck Scougale as well. In addition, Yellowstone received assists from Adrian Maass and Max Doner, who each chipped in one.
Alex Feese made 23 saves for Gillette on 25 shots. The Quake totaled 13 minutes in penalty time with four minors and one major and went 1-for-6 on the power play.