Four, one-goal games highlight Day 1 of NAPHL Top Prospects

February 24, 2015

It was an exciting first day of competition at the NAPHL Top Prospects Tournament in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Combined with the NAHL Top Prospects and the NA3HL Top Prospects, almost 200 NHL and college scouts checked in on Day 1, with close to half of that checking in before the NAHL portion even took to the ice.

 

The NAPHL games couldn’t have been more competitive and close, with all four games being decided by a goal and three of the four going to a shootout.

 

Watch all the action live on FASTHockey

 

 

Game 1: East 5 vs. Great Lakes 4 (SO) - Three periods of regulation and an overtime session were not enough to settle matters as East defeated Great Lakes in a shootout 5-4. The shootout featured 10 attempts between both teams. Great Lakes' shootout goal was scored by Josh Kirsch. In addition to the clincher, East got a shootout goal from Mike Gelatt. East forced Great Lakes' netminders to work between the pipes, taking 36 shots and forcing 31 saves. Devin Cooley made 21 stops and Chance Kremer made 10. East was helped by Gelatt, who registered two goals. Gelatt scored the first of his two goals at 2:36 into the first period to make the score 1-0 East. Anthony Cusanelli provided the assist. Gelatt's next tally made the score 3-3 with 12:45 left in the third period. Charlie Singerhouse picked up the assist. East additionally got points from Singerhouse, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Jake Hagstrom also scored for East. In addition, East received assists from Tim Gelatt and David Polinski, who each chipped in one. Great Lakes forced East's goalies to work hard to keep the puck out of the net, getting 33 shots and forcing 29 saves. Jospeh Giacobbo made 19 stops and Scott Trellis made 10. Great Lakes was helped by Wyatt Beard, who grabbed two goals. Beard scored the first of his two goals at 7:33 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Kirsch assisted on the tally. Beard's next tally made the score 2-2 with 8:39 left in the second period. Kyle Berry picked up the assist. Great Lakes also got points from Kirsch, who also finished with one goal and two assists to lead the team in points. Great Lakes also got a goal from Tyler Berndt as well. More assists for Great Lakes came via Austin Redders and Kasey Fitzjerrels, who contributed one each.

 

Game 2: West 8 vs. Central 7 (SO) - Three periods of regulation and an overtime session were not enough to settle matters as West defeated Central in a shootout 8-7. The shootout featured 12 attempts between both teams. Central's shootout goal was scored by John Moeller. West's other shootout goal was scored by Tim Sharky. West led by three goals at one point and ended with the victory. The largest advantage in the game came when West's Felix Takacsi-Nagy scored at 10:47 in the second period to put West up 4-1. West additionally got points from Aaron Burden, who also finished with one goal and one assist, Richie McCartney, who also racked up one goal and one assist, Evan Camba, who also registered one goal and one assist, and Paul Boutoussov, who also had one goal and one assist. Others who scored for West included Dallas Comeau and Keegan Weckesser, who each put in one. Other players who recorded assists for West were Connor Chilton, Jarod Hovde, and Zachary Zorn, who each chipped in one. Central was helped by Jacob Kerns, who tallied one goal and two assists. Kerns scored 12:25 into the second period to make the score 4-2 West. Erik Pritchard assisted on the tally. Central also got points from Reise Kieffer, who also grabbed one goal and two assists. Central also had goals scored by Alex Rowe, Charlie Corbett, Austin Junger, Moeller, and Matt Christian, who scored one goal each. In addition, Central received assists from Martin Aune, Jordan Bratton, and Jordan Fader, who contributed one each. Sean Lincoln took the win and made eight saves before being replaced by Nicholas Nast who made 14 saves. West registered two goals on two power play opportunities. Central's starting goalie, Cam Newman, made nine saves and finished with the sol before he was taken out in favor of Darion Hanson, who stopped 13 shots.

 

Game 3: East 5 vs. Central 4 -  Anthony Cusanelli netted a hat trick to lead East over Central, 5-4. Cusanelli's first goal came 14:04 into the first period. He then added goals at 15:19 into the first and at 5:48 into the second. East forced Central's netminders to work between the pipes, finishing with 31 shots and forcing 26 saves. Darion Hanson made 14 stops and Cam Newman made 12. East put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Central to score on any of its three power plays. Others who scored for East included Brian Dee and Bobby Rogers, who each put in one. In addition, East received assists from Michael Butler, who had two and David Polinski, Brad Becker, Jake Hagstrom, Charlie Singerhouse, Eric Lauk, and Mike Gelatt, who each chipped in one. Central forced East's goalies to work without much rest, taking 34 shots and forcing 30 saves. Jospeh Giacobbo made 14 stops and Scott Trellis made 16. Central's defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals. Central was led by Matt Christian, who registered one goal and one assist. Christian scored 12:11 into the second period to make the score 4-2 East. Brycon Johnson picked up the assist. Central additionally got points from Johnson, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Central also had goals scored by Jarrett Mari and Matt Nehls, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Central were John Moeller, who had three and Jordan Bratton and Jordan Fader, who contributed one each.

 

Game 4: Great Lakes 5 vs. West 4 (SO) - Three periods of regulation and an overtime session were not enough to settle matters as Great Lakes defeated West in a shootout 5-4. The shootout lasted for nine attempts between the teams. West got a shootout goal from Evan Camba. Great Lakes' other shootout goal was scored by Tyler Berndt. Great Lakes came back from a two-goal deficit to capture the victory. Great Lakes trailed 2-0 after a goal by West's Camba at 9:35 in the first period. Great Lakes knotted things up at 4-4 on a goal by Paul Boutoussov at 16:29 in the third period. Great Lakes was helped by Wyatt Beard, who tallied one goal. Beard scored 1:38 into the second period to make the score 2-2. Kieran Durgan picked up the assist. Great Lakes also got points from Mark Sanchez, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Others who scored for Great Lakes included Cory Sprague and Kyle Berry, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Great Lakes were Mason Graves, who had one and Caleb Wortz, who had three. West was led by Eric Pinsky, who had one goal and one assist. Pinsky scored 6:30 into the second period to make the score 3-2 West. Tim Sharky assisted on the tally. Felix Takacsi-Nagy also scored for West. More assists for West came via Cam Collin, who had two and Ryan Meure, Connor Chilton, and Evan Somoza, who contributed one each. Sean Lincoln recorded 23 saves for West.