Two tight games define the first day of Cactus Cup

The first day of the Cactus Cup wrapped up at Acrisure Arena and both games came down to the final minutes.

The first game of the inaugural two-day tournament was between the Michigan Tech Huskies and the UMass Lowell Riverhawks.

Michigan Tech struck first and quickly as Elias Jansson scored two minutes and one second into the opening frame. UMass Lowell responded with a goal of their own from Matt Crasa to end the first period.

Scoreless in the second, both teams picked it up offensively in the third. Pierson Brandon opened up the scoring in the final frame of play for the 2-1 Riverhawks lead. About 11 minutes later, Isaac Gordon made the game even at two all. In the final stretch, Lee Parks lit the lamp to put his team on top and seal the win.

The second game of the Cactus Cup started at 7:00 P.M. between the Holy Cross Crusaders and the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks.

Omaha opened up the scoring after Sam Stange found the back of the net four minutes into the first period.

The Crusaders took over for the remainder of the period with goals from Matthew Kursonis and Matt DeBoer for the 2-1 lead.

Scoreless in the second, the Mavericks flipped the script in the final frame of play.

Omaha added a pair of goals from Myles Hilman and Jacob Guevin, while Holy Cross only scored one goal from Timothy Heinke.

In overtime, Cam Mitchell became the hero scoring the game-winning goal to secure a spot in the Cactus Cup Championship.

Play will continue tomorrow with the first game starting at 3:30 P.M. Michigan Tech will face off against Holy Cross for third place, while the University of Nebraska-Omaha and UMass Lowell will compete for the championship trophy.

Stay with us here at News Channel 3 for coverage of the 2025 Cactus Cup.