CHAMPIONS!!! Ice Raiders Sweep Barracudas to Clinch Clear Cup
- Phillip Goodman
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
By Phillip Goodman
April 30, 2026
The Reno Ice Raiders won the franchise's third Mountain Hockey League championship title by defeating the Mansfield Barracudas at Reno Ice in the Clear Cup Finals presented by Bladetech Hockey. As potent as the Ice Raiders' offense was in both games, the goaltending tandem of Justin Sand and Justis Gyori combined to stifle the Barracudas and lead Reno to glory.
Sand secured game one on Friday with a 6-3 win, ending his season 9-1 overall, including a perfect 8-0 at home with a goals against average of 1.75 and 93.1 save percentage.
Justis Gyori denied all 29 Mansfield shots in Saturday's 5-0 shutout win. Gyori, who will celebrate his 31st birthday as a champion on Apr. 30, had a career year going 9-6 overall, 7-2 at home with a goals against average of 1.67 and 93.9 save percentage.
The Sierra Sid's Casino series sweep marked Reno's 14th consecutive win against Mansfield going back to January of 2022. Gyori owned Mansfield all season, winning all five games he played against them with a minuscule goals against average of 0.6 and save percentage of 96.4.
"Justis was 4-0 against [Mansfield] before tonight so he had confidence, we had the confidence in him," said Ice Raiders' head coach and AHL Hall Famer Tim Tookey. "He played great, made timely saves when we needed them, and it's a big, big, big, big win for us."
Bobby Watson, Jake Minton, and Andrew Peterson each had five points each on the weekend to lead the Ice Raiders' relentless offensive attack. Hunter Sine padded his season-high league-leading point run with four more helpers.
Barracuda netminder Alex Taylor took both losses despite showing flashes of brilliance and stopping eight of 10 Reno power plays. Taylor, who previously played for the Ice Raiders in NorCal and Reno, faced 77 Reno shots in two games and did allow three shorthanded goals in Saturday's finale.
The opening frame was as electrifying and intense as one would expect for a champ game. Nathan Hogge put the Ice Raiders on the board three minutes in when he spun a backhand through the legs of Taylor. Alex Gunnoe and Zeph Fagergren assisted on the play.
A minute and a half later Jake Minton tucked one underneath the crossbar on the Brewer’s Cabinet power-play. Bobby Watson and Hunter Sine assisted.
The Barracudas responded 21 seconds later with a fluttering wrister by Michael Tatum over Sand’s right shoulder.
Tony Tyrell, playing in what could be his final series as an Ice Raider, amped up the crowd and his teammates with a spirited bout against Chris Alexander that left both combatants leaking from the bridges of their noses.
Only 18 seconds after the dust settled from the BJ's Nevada BBQ Kickass Fries Kickass Fight, Minton potted his second goal when he roofed a rebound on the power play. The Ice Raiders took a 3-1 lead to the locker room after 20 minutes.
Early in the second after Taylor was assessed a delay of game penalty for freezing the puck below the goal line, Bobby Watson ripped a wrister over Taylor's shoulder for a 4-1 Reno lead.
With under five to go in the second, Barracudas sprung an odd man rush into Reno's zone and Chris Blake beat Sand five-hole, trimming Reno's lead to only two.
In the opening shift of the Brewer's Cabinet Third Beeriod, Johnny Garrity's one-timer beat Taylor, making Bobby Watson's backhand setup the Nevada Retina Associates Assist of the Night.
Almost 90 seconds later, Alex Boyko deflected Rob Hallowell's hard wrister past Taylor for the 6-2 lead. Wayne Johns added a power goal for Mansfield but the 6-3 score held through the final buzzer.
It took more than 17 minutes of back and forth action on Saturday before the Ice Raiders could beat Taylor. Bobby Watson put up-ice pressure on the Barracudas during a Peterson Wealth Management Penalty Kill. Watson left a drop pass for Johnny Garrity and Garrity lasered it in the upper right corner for the 1-0 lead.
Watson put Reno up 2-0 28 seconds into the second period when he blew by a defender and rifled a shot past Taylor at even strength.
Jake Minton scored his third goal of the series when the Barracudas botched a power play breakout and Minty Fresh found himself alone in the slot for a wrister that beat Taylor's glove.
A few seconds into the third, Mansfield had their best scoring chance of the night off a Reno turnover but Gyori made the Brain Bean Save of the Game on a wide-open Tatum. The puck caromed all the way into the Mansfield zone for Reno to get to work on the forecheck. Garrity pounded home the rebound of Andrew Peterson's shot for the 4-0 lead.
Each team had one more power play try in the third but no one else found the back of the net until Alex Gunnoe snuck a shorthanded wrister past Taylor with a minute left. Coming into the weekend, the Ice Raiders had only scored three shorthanded goals at home all season. They doubled that with three more in the Cup-clinching game.
The 5-0 final victory was Gyori's only shutout at home this season.
"I stayed focused, but my boys in front me – couldn't have done it without them," Gyori said as his teammates skated their victory laps holding the Clear Cup. "Every year the group just gets closer and more refined. Everyone just blends and it's just incredible. Then there's the people that you don't see on the ice. It's a big family, a big community. We couldn't have done it without everyone."
Tyrell revealed in the regular season finale that he was leaning towards retirement and now goes out a champion, if he does not come back to sub in when needed next season.
"This is definitely the best feeling I could have had," said Tyrell. "The whole group of guys, the whole surrounding of ownership, my family, my wife, my son supporting me the whole way through, my mom flying up and being there since day one all supporting me. I couldn't ask for a better group to support me and surround me. It's been fun to watch and fun to play in. It wasn't even work to me. It was just fun. The whole reason I stopped playing hockey back in the day was because I wasn't having fun anymore. But this was fun the whole five years I played here. It was awesome. I might pop in for a few games here and there but I'm pretty much on the way out. I'm 43, so I can't be playing that way anymore. I'm having a blast fighting and playing the body but it's taking a toll."
"It's already going to be different in the dressing room," Tookey said of Tyrell. "He and Adam Barba used to sit next to each other and it's totally something we're going to miss for sure."
Barba had hip replacement surgery after the final regular season series and is recovering well. Though not on the ice, the 10-year co-owner and assistant captain was beaming from behind the bench at his brothers.
"I am very proud of our entire organization and honored to be a part of it," Barba said. "I was so happy for our guys, watching them celebrate on the ice with each other. They all dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort to our program. Watching them give their all and come out on top in front of our loyal fans will forever be a top memory for me."
Both games were sold out days before Friday's puck drop and the Reno faithful did their jobs by bringing their championship spirit both nights.
"The fans make it all possible and without them, the team does not exist," Barba added.
"We were all saying in the locker room, 'Listen to this, it's so loud out there,'" Tyrell said. "How could you not be psyched for this? Everybody was pumped the whole way through."
Ice Raiders' iron man and three-time champion Jeff Jiron also praised the fans for making this championship different from others.
"This one differs because we're doing it in front of a much bigger community," Jiron said. "We're getting a lot more support from Reno. We were able to come together really well. We left it all out there."
Jake Minton echoed Jiron's sentiments.
"We didn't have much turnover from last year," Minty Fresh said. "So the boys stayed pretty close and they just wanted to fight for each other this weekend. You could really feel it looking left, looking right, the person next to you [in the locker] - you really wanted to win it for them and not yourself."
"We worked hard to get here," said assistant Captain Johnny Garrity. "Coming to practice in the morning when we're supposed to be at work, it was a hard fought season and it tastes great."
The championship festivities also fell on Hunter Sine's 26th birthday.
"This is unreal," Sine said after his turn hoisting the Clear Cup. "I couldn't ask for a better birthday present. Can't be happier. I love these guys - the coaching staff, the media, everyone. Unreal."
Last year's playoff and championship weekends fell through, so this go around meant more in the big picture of the MHL's growth.
"The league has come a long way and we're working on it," said Ice Raiders' owner and general manager Jess Peterson. "We got a trophy, we got a playoff, we had a championship. Progress is progress. This is where we're at. Rome wasn't built in a day."
The hope is that players and members of the Ice Raiders' organization will have their day with the Clear Cup to celebrate as they please. Details will be announced when or if there are any public events for that as well as the '26-'27 home opener and championship banner raising ceremony.
Until then, on behalf of all the Ice Raiders' players and staff, THANK YOU to all fans, YouTube watchers, WAGS, The Jennifer M. O’Neal Community Ice Arena staff, our generous sponsors, numerous volunteers, and friends and family that made this championship run so amazingly successful. Go have a WINNING summer and we will see you next season.
Friday's LT Automotive Three Stars of the Game
Jake Minton - 2G, 1A
Bobby Watson - 1G, 2A
Andrew Peterson - 3A
Saturday's LT Automotive Three Stars of the Game
Justis Gyori - 29 saves for the shutout
Johnny Garrity - 2G
Andrew Peterson - 2A
Friday's Brain Bean Stats
Reno - 2-for-7 on the Brewer's Cabinet Power Play, 6-for-7 on Peterson Wealth Management Penalty Kills
Reno won 39 of 73 draws (53.4%)
Shots on goal: Reno 44, Mansfield 38
Point scorers
Jake Minton - 2G, 1A
Bobby Watson - 1G, 2A
Andrew Peterson - 3A
Hunter Sine - 2A
Julian Herrera - 1A
Johnny Garrity - 1G
Alex Boyko - 1G
Rob Hallowell - 1A
Alex Gunnoe - 1A
Zeph Fagergren - 1A
Nathan Hogge - 1G
Saturday's Brain Bean Stats
0-for-3 on the Brewer's Cabinet Power Play, 5-for-5 on Peterson Wealth Management Penalty Kills
Reno won 30 of 54 draws (55.6%)
Shots on goal: Reno 43, Mansfield 29
Point scorers
Johnny Garrity - 2G
Alex Gunnoe - 1G, 1A
Jake Minton - 1G, 1A
Bobby Watson - 1G, 1A
Andrew Peterson - 2A
Hunter Sine - 2A
Rob Hallowell - 1A
Ice Raiders Game Records
Home 16-2
Away 8-6
Friday Nights 11-2
Saturday Nights 8-5
Ice Raiders Team Stats for '25-'26 season (home)
Goalie Stats - Home - Full Season
Franchise Totals
Since Assistant Captain and co-owner Adam Barba is always the last man to leave the ice, it is only fitting that he gets the last words on the 2025-2026 championship season.
"To the front end staff: you all truly make this work and are equally responsible for this team's success. To Goodman, Payne, and Dunigan: we have the best broadcast in Sr. A hockey without question because of you. To the coaches: thank you for being hard on us, yelling at us when necessary, keeping us on track, and making it fun. To my teammates: you are the best friends I could have ever asked for. Thank you for how much you care about this team, for all your hard work, the laughs, the memories and for getting it done!" - Adam Barba
Friday, 4.24.26 - Clear Cup Final, Game 1 Highlights: Reno Ice Raiders vs. Mansfield Barracudas:
Saturday, 4.25.26 - Clear Cup Final, Game 2 Highlights: Reno Ice Raiders vs. Mansfield Barracudas:
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