The Bruins and the Blackhawks traded goals throughout the battle of the B’s, culminating in a thrilling shootout in the first Saturday game. 

The Bruins took a short-lived 1-0 lead at the 14:34 mark of the first half on a goal by Alex Illies before Drew Holt evened the score at 1-1 for the Blackhawks less than ninety seconds later. Austen Humphrey put the Bruins ahead 2-1 late in the first half.

Jackson Kunz scored early in the second half for the Blackhawks to tie the game 2-2, until the 5:45 mark when Luke Kron put the Bruins ahead. Kunz again answered the bell for the Blackhawks, tying the game at three goals apiece with just 1:06 remaining in regulation. 

Ryan Mulrenin continued his exceptional play in the Penguins’ second game of the weekend, scoring a goal and assisting on three others after scoring twice on Friday night. Mulrenin assisted on the first two goals of the first half for the Pens, goals scored by Brett Oberle and Noah Tussey.

Logan Anderson pulled the North Stars within one at the 8:12 mark of the first half, but Mulrenin scored his goal with four minutes left in the first frame to put the Pens ahead 3-1. 

Gavin Best kicked off the second half with a goal for the Pens just 1:44 into the period, and the Pens finished off the game with another goal by Oberle and a scoring tally by Will Mortenson. Caden Triggs scored the lone goal of the second half for the North Stars.

Defense dominated this matchup, with each team just scoring twice in regulation before clinching the win for the Flyers in the shootout. 

Mark Overman out the Flyers ahead 1-0 in the first half, but the Kings’ Jacob Braccini evened the score at 1-1 just over a minute later. 

Again the Flyers went ahead early in the second half, with Luke Johnson netting the goal on assists from Overman and Ryan Roeske. Connor Kenefick would tie the game again for the Kings seven minutes later, with helpers going to John Mittelstadt and St. Cloud State commit Garrett Pinoniemi.

Jackson Kunz highlighted the Blackhawks victory, notching a hat-trick and adding an assist. The smooth-skating forward from Grand Forks worked particularly well with Duluth forward Jacob Jeanette, constantly pressuring the Flyers’ net and creating scoring chances. 

Kunz and Joe Miller scored in the first half to put the Blackhawks ahead 2-0 before Carson Richels and Christian Zins scored less than three minutes apart to tie game for the Flyers. The Blackhawks regained the lead on a goal by Drew Holt to send them into halftime with a 3-2 lead. 

Jack Smith opened the second half with a goal for the Blackhawks, but the Flyers answered with two goals by Mason Wheeler and Charlie Strobel respectively to tie the game 4-4 with 16:44 to play. 

With under 12 minutes left in regulation, the Blackhawks took over. 

First, Kunz scored form Jeanette and Wyatt Kaiser. Then Jeanette scored off a slick centering pass from Kunz. Next, Drew Holt ripped a wrister top shelf on an assist by Nicholas Williams before Kunz put a cherry on his performance with his third goal with 20 seconds to play, assisted by Jeanette and Kyle Kukkonen.

Will Svenddal scored twice to lead the Penguins to victory in penalty-marred affair on Saturday afternoon.

Svenddal added in assist in the first half for the Pens on a goal by Brett Oberle. Gunnar Thoreson scored the lone goal of the first half for the Bruins on a beautiful top-shelf shot over a sprawling Dylan Pinney. 

Svenddal scored his second goal early in the second half to put the Pens ahead 3-1, but Luke Kron notched a goal for the B’s to pull back within one. Joey Anderson iced the game for the Pens with 7:21 remaining with goal.

Three players scored for the Kings to close out Saturday’s slate of games with a shut pout over the North Stars. 

Garrett Pinoniemi scored first for the Kings, followed by Jacob Braccini sending a laser of a shot past North Star goaltender Thomas Webert to put the Kings ahead 2-0 after the first half. 

Luc Laylin cemented the win for the Kings with an empty-net goal, streaking into the neutral zone from his own goal line, stealing the puck from a North Star defenseman and notching the goal.