Central, Midwest and NTDP 18's win on Day 1 of Top Prospects
It was an exciting first day at the 2015 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, presented by Easton Hockey, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Close to 200 NCAA and NHL scouts checked in on Day 1 to see some great action.
Watch all the Day 2 action live on FASTHockey
Game 1: Central 4 vs. North 1 – North goalie Matt Jurusik was under fire from the opening face-off as Central used three points from both Johnny Walker and Beau Michaud to pick up a 4-1 win on Day 1. Johnny Walker started the scoring 12 minutes into the 1st period on assists from Michaud and Bismarck’s Tanner Salsberry. The Central opened the game up in the 2nd period with two more goals including one from Michaud and another from Rio Grande Valley’s Cam Bleck with assists to Trevor Boyd from Austin and Jarod Spooner from Bismarck. North got their lone goal early in the 3rd period on an unassisted tally from Janesville defenseman Alex Smith. Walker added his second of the game just :09 seconds later. Atte Tolvanen from Minot picked up the win making 16 saves, while Jurusik played well in the loss, making 37 saves. Boxscore
Game 2: Midwest 4 vs. NAHL Selects 1 – Both goalies played well, but in the end Minnesota Magicians goalie Vaughan Ahrens made 23 saves to best Evan Smith from the NAHL Selects, who made 39 saves as the Midwest won 4-1. After a scoreless 1st period, Midwest took a lead early in the 2nd period on a goal from Michael Covach of the Minnesota Wilderness with assists to Darian Romanko and Adam Lovick. Later in the period, the Selects would answer to tie the game at 1-1 on a goal from Odessa’s Kenny Hausinger. Nolan Schaeffer and Christian Hausinger would assist. The 3rd period was all Midwest as they scored three goals to win going away. Lovick netted the eventualy game-winner with assists from Sam Becker and Brogan Rafferty. Billy Exell then scored twice to put the game on ice. Rafferty assisted on both goals as did Dan Litchke. Boxscore
Game 3: USNTDP 18 Team 9 vs. South 2 – The shots were close, but the talent, skill and speed of the NTDP 18 Team was evident as they beat Team South on the heels of a five-goal, 2nd period. The shots were 10-7 in the 1st period, but the NTDP got two goals from Luke Kunin and Auston Matthews. Early in the 2nd period, USA made it 3-0 on a goal from Joseph Masonius. South came back to make it 3-1 on a goal from Amarillo forward Will Harrison with assists to Max Reisinger from Wichita Falls and Luke Novak from the Bulls. The NTDP then rattled off four straight goals to end the 2nd period with a 7-1 lead on tallies from Matthew Tkachuk, Troy Terry, Charles McAvoy and Christian Fischer. The lead swelled to 9-1 in the 3rd period as Jeremy Bracco and Jordan Greenway scored for USA. South’s second goal came from Wichita Falls forward Nick Famer with assists to Wildcats teammate Jake Townsend and Wenatchee forward Jake Ahlgren. Lone Star’s TJ Black and Wenatchee’s Zach Quinn split time between the pipes for the South, while Michael Lackey made 25 saves in the win for the NTDP. Boxscore
