Willmar, MN- The Mason City Toros and Willmar WarHawks put on the highest scoring game of the 2023-24 NA3HL season on Saturday night, combining for 17 goals in a 9-8 overtime thriller. Mason City emerged with the win to return to .500 and build a ten-point cushion over the WarHawks for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NA3HL’s West Division.
Aaron Sawicki led the Toros in total scoring with five assists on the night. Defenseman Brandon Hemmer piled up four points, including two goals, ending the night with the overtime winning goal 2:17 into the extra session. Dominic Thomas added three points, two of them goals, to the scoring effort while Marcus Fritel and David Loahr notched three assists each. All in all, ten different Toros recorded at least a point in the back-and-forth affair.
Parker McInroe made his NA3HL debut for the Toros.
Hudson Zinda notched a hat trick for Willmar and added an assist for a four-point night. Brayden Buckingham scored a goal and three assists for four points.
The teams combined for six goals in the first period, five goals in the second, and five more in the third, with each team scoring in the final four minutes. Mason City native Dominic Despenas put the Toros ahead with 3:52 left in regulation time. Willmar answered back with only six seconds left when Caleb Crouch scored his first goal in only his second game as a WarHawk.
Devin Peck took the net for the Toros and stopped 26 of 34 shots. Kai Gerard stopped 44 of 53 shots on the WarHawks net.
The Toros open their home 2024 slate of games on Sunday afternoon at the Mason City Arena. Puck drops against the Rochester Grizzlies at 2:10 PM.