Johnson is among a host of players who have dreams of getting closer to making the NHL. Another is goalie Parker Gahagen, who made 12 saves in the title game and will attend training camp with the New York Islanders in September.
The 32-year-old was 12-4-4 with a 2.39 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and one shutout in 22 games last season for Lehigh Valley, the Philadelphia Flyers’ affiliate in the American Hockey League, and 4-5-1 with a 2.69 GAA and .902 save percentage for Reading of the ECHL.
“We had great performances from Isaac with his goals, and Parker made a lot of big saves for us,’’ said Murphy, the 3ICE Minnesota coach who is a Hall of Fame defenseman and won the Stanley Cup four times. “But in 3-on-3 hockey, you really need all seven players. It’s like a chain; the weakest link will let you down. All of our guys were committed to this.”
3ICE Minnesota came into the final night of the season seeded fourth and advanced to the championship game with the win over Buffalo thanks in great part to 11 saves from Gahagen, who is expected to begin this season with Bridgeport of the AHL.
“We bounced back really well after that first week,’’ Gahagen said. “I think once our backs were against the wall, we were like ‘OK, now it’s time to go.’ We really were able to come together as a team and make it work. Each and every guy on this team stepped up.”
3ICE Tennessee made its way into the Patrick Cup final by defeating No. 2 seed 3ICE New York/New Jersey 5-1 in the second semifinal of the night.
In the consolation game, NY/NJ scored four unanswered goals in the second half — two by forward Gordie Green, who played professionally in Slovakia last season, to defeat 3ICE Buffalo 5-1.