Mar 1, 2017

Day 1 Recap
Central 4 vs. Midwest 2 – The Central Division continued their dominance at the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament with a 4-2 win on Day 1 of the 2017 event over the Midwest Division. Central got off to another patented fast start with two goals in the 1st period. Just 6:48 into the game Minnesota Wilderness forward Zach Mills lit the lamp with assists to Nicholas Cardelli (Brookings Blizzard) and Jon Richards (Austin Bruins). Less than three minutes later, Jack Murphy (Austin Bruins), who was a late addition to the event, proved his worth with the Central’s second goal with assists to Mills and Tim Nicksic (MN Wilderness). After a scoreless 2nd period, the Central increased their lead in the 3rd period with two quick goals.  Minot forward Zack Bross scored a highlight reel goal to make it 3-0 with an assist to Travis Kothenbeutel (Austin Bruins). Just :34 seconds later, Richards added his first goal and second point of the game with assists to Mills and Jake Dittel (Minot Minotauros). The Midwest Division made a game of things thanks to two goals later in the 3rd period courtesy of Cullen Munson (Janesville Jets) with assists to Keegan Miller (Janesville Jets) and Peter Bates (Janesville Jets), and a late goal from Joey Sofo (Coulee Region Chill) with assists to Kevin Dineen (Coulee Region Chill) and Brennan Blaszczak (Springfield Jr. Blues). In goal, Minot goalie Lucas Murray was perfect stopping all 13 shots he faced, while Josh Boyko (Brookings Blizzard) stopped 16 of 18 shots in the win. For the Midwest side, Robbie Goor (Kenai River Brown Bears) made 17 saves on 19 shots and Jake Acton (Minnesota Magicians) made 16 saves on 18 shots. Boxscore
East 4 vs. NAHL Selects 2 – Northeast Generals and former NA3HL forward Kohei Sato had a goal and an assist, as did Johnstown Tomahawks forward and late replacement Nick Bruce to lead the East Division to a 4-2 win over the NAHL Selects on Day 1. It was the Selects who struck first in the opening period as Donovan Ott (Johnstown Tomahawks) lit the lamp with assists to Johnstown teammates Filips Buncis and Dalton Hunter. A couple of minutes later, the East tied the game at 1-1, as Sato found himself alone in front and put a shot over the glove of NAHL Selects goalie Tomas Vomacka (Corpus Christi IceRays). In the 2nd period, the East took the lead for good as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Paul Maust scored to make it 2-1. The East pushed the lead to 3-1 in the 3rd period as Jeff Makowski (Topeka RoadRunners) was the beneficiary of a nice play by Nick Bruce, who stole the puck and gave it to Makowski, who scored for the East. The Selects cut the lead four minutes later to 3-2 with a goal from Cade Borchardt (Brookings Blizzard) with assists to Vince Marino (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights) and Gvido Jansons (Aston Rebels).  A late East Division goal made the highlight reel as Drew Blackmun (Aston Rebels) got a nifty pass from teammate Dom Garcia (Aston Rebels) with another helper from Bruce to make the final 4-2. In goal, Ryan Snowden (Topeka RoadRunners) made 12 saves on 13 shots and Jack Leavy (Aston Rebels) made 14 saves on 15 shots to pick up the win for the East. For the Selects, Vomacka made 6 saves on 8 shots, while Ivan Prosvetov (Minnesota Magicians) made 9 saves on 11 shots. Boxscore
Day 2 Recap
South 5 vs. Central 2 – Along with the East Division, the NAHL South Division finished the Top Prospects Tournament at 2-0 by snapped the 10-game winning streak of the Central Division with a 5-2 win. Five different players scored for the South, which included 1st period goals from Chase Thudium (Odessa Jackalopes), Austin Kamer (Lone Star Brahmas) and Hunter Stanley (Lone Star Brahmas). The Central cut the lead to 3-1 with an unassisted goal from Minot Minotauros forward Derek Frentz in the 2nd period. The South poured it on in the 3rd period, with two more goals from Luke Edgerton (Amarillo Bulls) who scored his 3rd goal of the event and Troy York (Lone Star Brahmas), who added an empty-net goal. Carter Roo (Aberdeen Wings) had the other Central goal, which came in the 3rd period. In goal, Amarillo goalie Nikita Babintsev (Amarillo Bulls) got the start, stopping all 11 shots that came his way, while Dylan Lubbesmeyer (Shreveport Mudbugs) made 23 saves on 25 shots. For the Central, Josh Boyko (Brookings Blizzard) made 15 saves on 18 shots and Lucas Murray (Minot Minotauros) made 11 saves on 12 shots. Boxscore
NAHL Selects 6 vs. NTDP 5 (OT) – Tomas Vomacka (Corpus Christi IceRays) made 26 saves as the NAHL Selects came from behind to defeat a combo 17 and 18-Team NDTP program, 6-5 on Tuesday. The NTDP cruised out to a 3-0 lead behind goals from Phil Kemp, Quinn Hughes and Jonathan Gruden. The Selects responded with five straight goals to make it 5-3, which included three goals in the 2nd period from Cade Borchardt (Brookings Blizzard), Simon Loof (Lone Star Brahmas) and Donovan Ott (Johnstown Tomahawks). The scoring for the Selects continued in the 3rd period as the lead swelled to 5-3 with goals from Dalton Hunter (Johnstown Tomahawks) and Jakov Novak (Janesville Jets). The NTDP didn’t say die as they tied the game with two late goals in the 3rd period from Oliver Wahlstrom and the second of the night from Gruden. The Selects were on their heels to start overtime, but all the game-winner took was a rush up the ice by New Jersey Titans forward Maxim Andreev, who drew a fake on a 2 on 1 and fired the overtime-winner through the five hole past NTDP goalie Adam Scheel. Boxscore