Day 1 of NAHL Showcase is one for the record books

Over 200 NHL, NCAA and junior scouts turned out on Day 1 of the 11th annual NAHL Showcase in Blaine, MN.  Day 2 faces off on Thursday.

Watch all the games live on FASTHockey

Here are some helpful links to assist with the five days of hockey:

NAHL Showcase website

Master Showcase Schedule

NAHL Schedule and Scores

NAPHL Schedule and Scores

HPHL Schedule and Scores (18U, 16U)

Upper Midwest High School Elite League Schedule and Scores

Kenai River Brown Bears 4 vs. Lone Star Brahmas 2 – 17-year-old Sebastian Fuchs scored twice to help the Brown Bears to a 4-2 win in the opening game of the NAHL Showcase over the Lone Star Brahmas.  Kenai River improved to 1-2-0, while Lone Star fell to 1-1-1. The teams traded goals in the 1^st period with Alexey Solovyev scoring for the Brahmas and Fuchs scoring for the Brown Bears.  Kenai River added two more goals in the 2^nd period from Alec Butcher and Jake Bushey. Fuchs added a goal in the 3^rd period, while Liam Stirtzinger scored for Lone Star.  The Brown Bears outshot the Brahmas, 39-13. Boxscore

Corpus Christi IceRays 5 vs. Minot Minotauros 4 – In one of the more thrilling and competitive games of the opening day, the IceRays got a goal late in the 3^rd period from Maurin Bouvet to edge out the Minot Minotauros, 5-4. Corpus Christi improved to 1-2-0, while Minot dropped to 0-1-1. The IceRays led 2-0 early on goals from Frank Dini and Bouvet. Minot tied the game early in the 2^nd period with two straight goals from Jack Forbort and Jake McCann. Corpus regained their two goal lead with goals from Martin Hojbjerg and Eric Purcell, only to see Minot come back in the 3^rd period with goals from Cameron Rowat and Jadin Martin. Shots were 34-32 in favor of the IceRays. Boxscore

Coulee Region Chill 4 vs. Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 3 (SO) – It was a solid debut for the Coulee Region Chill, who survived a late push by the Killer Bees to win their season-opener in a shootout, 4-3. With the shootout loss, the Killer Bees earned a point and still have not dropped a game in regulation this season in three games. Mac Jansen opened the game’s scoring for the Chill, but that was quickly answered by two straight Rio Grande goals from Tyler Bruneteau and Rob Marsanico. The Chill scored twice on the power play in the 2^nd period to take a 3-2 lead on goals from Blake Kelley and Adam Lovick. Ben Greiner tied the game in the 3^rd period and had a chance to win it with a penalty shot with :18 seconds remaining, but hit the post in his attempt. Sean Kalbak, Richard Zehnal and Lovick scored in the shootout to win the game for Coulee Region. Boxscore

Wenatchee Wild 5 vs. Topeka RoadRunners 2 – The Wild scored early and never trailed as they handed Topeka their first loss of the season with a 5-2 win on Day 1 of the Showcase. Nicklas Balboa scored twice, including the game’s first goal in the 1^st period, which put Wenatchee up 1-0. Jerad Tafoya answered back for the RoadRunners midway through the 2^nd period to tie the game at 1-1, but the Wild regained the lead right back on a goal from James Mathias. The Wild scored three times in the 3^rd period to break the game open.  One goal came from Troy Loggins and the others came from Balboa and Mathias.  Michal Uhrik added a late goal for Topeka to make the final 5-2. Boxscore

Wichita Falls Wildcats 4 vs. Minnesota Magicians 3 (OT) – Kyle Bauman scored twice, including the game-winning goal with less than a minute remaining in overtime as the Wichita Falls Wildcats stayed undefeated on the season with a 4-3 overtime win over the hometown Minnesota Magicians in front of a packed house. The Wildcats led 2-0 after the 1^st period on goals from Bauman and Rudy Junda. The Magicians responded in the 2^nd period with two straight goals to tie the game from Mario Bianchi and Tony Uglem. Jake Townsend briefly game the Wildcats the lead back before Will Johnson tied the game at 3-3 with his first NAHL goal.  That set up the overtime heroics for Bauman, who leads the NAHL with five goals. Boxscore

Michigan Warriors 3 vs. Brookings Blizzard 1 – Warriors goalie Trevor Gorsuch made 38 saves and lost his shutout bid with less than four minutes to go as Michigan triumphed over Brookings on the first day of the NAHL Showcase by a score of 3-1. After a scoreless 1^st period which saw Brookings outshot Michigan 16-7, the Warriors scored twice in the 2^nd period to take a 2-0 lead.  The first goal came off the stick of AJ Marcinek and the second from Colin Horton.  Michigan took a 3-0 lead early in the 3^rd period on a power play goal from Josh Shellman.  Eric Brenk spoiled the shutout bid of Gorsuch late in the 3^rd period with a power play goal. Drew Weigman made 25 saves in the loss for the Blizzard. Boxscore

Aberdeen Wings 2 vs. Janesville Jets 1 – Both goalies shined in the Aberdeen vs. Janesville contest, but in the end it was Chad Catt’s 22 saves that outdueled 32 saves from Brock Kautz as the Wings opened their season with a 2-1 win over the Jets. The other star of the night was Aberdeen forward Erik Baskin, who provided both goals for the Wings, which came four minutes apart in the 1^st period. Nick Petrella scored midway through the 3^rd period for Janesville, but the Jets could not find the equalizer the rest of the way out. Aberdeen had the shots advantage, 34-23. Boxscore

Austin Bruins 3 vs. Port Huron Fighting Falcons 2 (OT) – The Fighting Falcons jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Austin slowly worked their way back in the game and ultimately took the contest in overtime, handing the Fighting Falcons their first overtime loss of the season. Lucas Little and Matt Jones scored in the opening three minutes of the game to give Port Huron a 2-0 lead.  Austin’s Guillaume Leclerc brought the Bruins back to within a goal with a power play marker midway through the 1^st period.  Jay Dickman’s unassisted goal in the 2^nd period tied the game at 2-2.  After a scoreless 3^rd period, it took the Bruins just over a minute to score the overtime winner as a nice backhand pass from Lucas Kohls got the puck to an open Drew Anderson for the game-winning goal. Boxscore

Soo Eagles 3 vs. Bismarck Bobcats 2 – The Soo Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 win over the Bismarck Bobcats in both teams season-opening game. The Eagles scored twice in the 1^st period opening up a 2-0 lead on goals from Jacob McDowell and Michael Crowley.   After both teams were held scoreless in the 2^nd period, the Eagles lead increased to 3-0 after Chase Matson fired a shot home from the low slot.  The Bobcats got back in the game in the second half of the 3^rd period as Stanislav Dzakhov and Evan Giesler scored power play goals, but it wouldn’t be enough as Eagles goalie Paige Skoog held the fort the rest of the way, making 28 saves. Boxscore

Minnesota Wilderness 4 vs. Odessa Jackalopes 1 – The Wilderness had an impressive NAHL debut as they fired 40 shots on goal and used a balanced scoring attack to defeat the Odessa Jackalopes on Wednesday, 4-1.  The Wilderness scored twice in the 1^st period on goals from John May and Brett Heikkila.  The lead then swelled to 4-0 in the 2^nd period with two more Wilderness goals from Zach Jordan and Dan Litschke.  Odessa got on the board early in the 3^rd period on a goal from Drew Gannon, but it would not be enough as Minnesota goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo shut the door the rest of the way, making 25 saves.  Odessa fell to 0-4-0 on the young season with the loss. Boxscore

Amarillo Bulls 6 vs. Johnstown Tomahawks 3 – It took a while for the defending Robertson Cup Champion Amarillo Bulls to get going, but when they did, they scored a NAHL Showcase Day 1 high six goals in a 6-3 win over the Tomahawks, who fell to 0-3-0 with the loss. The Bulls got on the board first on a power play goal from Tyler Gernhofer.  That was answered by two straight Johnstown goals from Jordan Watt and Matthew Meier.  Brendan Vetter tied the game at 2-2 before the end of the 1^st period with a Bulls power play goal.  Johnstown would go up 3-2 early in the 2^nd period on Meier’s second goal of the contest, but it was all Bulls after that.  Kyle Gattelaro and Matt Sieckhaus scored power play goals to make it 4-3 after two periods and 3^rd period goals from Roman Ammirato and Mike Davis put the game on ice. Boxscore