The Maine Nordiques got off to a good start in their final game of the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota, on Saturday, but they nearly had a flop of a finish.
The Corpus Christi IceRays put the pressure on in the third period and drew within one goal, but the Nordiques potted a pair or insurance goals in the final minute to nail down a 7-4 victory.
The win capped off a high-scoring and successful four-game showcase for the Nordiques, who totaled 22 goals and went 3-1, with the lone loss coming in a shootout.
The goals kept coming Saturday. Kim Hilmersson and Nick Romeo scored first-period goals, and Romeo scored again in the second, a short-handed goal that put Maine up 3-0 going into the final frame.
Third-period goals by Charles Tardif and Grant Dietz made it a 5-0 advantage by the 6:18 mark of the closing stanza.
The IceRays began their pushback 14 seconds later on Anthony Cafarelli’s goal. Billy Biedermann made it 5-2 less than two minutes later on the power play.
Arvid Lundberg Broback (on the man advantage) and Pierson Sobush each scored by the 13:14 mark to narrow the deficit to 5-4.
The Nordiques had to sweat out the next six-plus minutes, before Jake Bernadet scored an empty-net goal with 22 seconds left. Jack Kurrle lit the lamp 10 seconds after that to complete the scoring.
Hilmersson had two assists in the game for Maine, while Bernadet, Seth Murch, Aidan Dixon, Kellen Murphy, Shane Kozlina and goalie Carter Richardson each tallied one.
Sobush added two assists to his output for Corpus Christi and Ryan Berglund also provided a helper.
Richardson stopped 31 of 35 shots to earn the win. Vilgot Holm made 39 saves in net for the IceRays.
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