The 2026 Top Prospects Tournament is Wrapped Up as the Selects Blue Defeat the USNTDP on Day 2

Central 2 @ South 3 - The South division team took down the Central division team Tuesday afternoon in the Top Prospect Tournament by a score of 3-2. In what was a close contest between these two loaded rosters, ultimately it came down to some last-second magic for the South team to escape with the victory. Yet, Central was able to get on the board first and grab the lead off the finish from Keanan Pearman, as they stepped ahead 1-0 in the affair. South answered back a few shifts later as Caden Hegarty was able to find the back of the net and tie up the game heading into the first intermission. Caden Ghiossi and Easton Swift assisted on the equalizer. In the second, despite trading opportunities to take back the lead, no one was able to find the back of the net, as the score stayed 1-1. In the third, the South was able to find some magic late in the period, as with just four minutes left, they took the lead. Swift found the tally to grab the 2-1 advantage off the feeds from Hegarty and Ghiossi. They weren’t done yet, either, as Leo Isaksson put home the empty-net goal off the assist from Andy Earl, grabbing a comfortable two-goal lead. The Central scored a power-play goal with a few seconds left in the contest to close the gap back to one, with Michael Coleman scoring off the pass from Herman Berggren. Despite making it a 3-2 game, it was too little too late as the South held on for the win in the Top Prospect Tournament. In the net, Central kept Marko Bilic in net for the whole affair as he turned away 25 shots in the close loss. While for the South, they split time between Billy Stuski and Michael Modelski, with each only letting up a goal.

Midwest 1 @ East 4 - The East division team was in control of the Midwest division team Tuesday afternoon in the Top Prospect Tournament, winning by a score of 4-1. Despite outshooting the East, the Midwest was dominated in the scoring category on Tuesday as it could not stop the East’s offense. In the first, it was the Midwest who jumped out to the advantage as Alexios Georgaklis found the back of the net off the assists from Zachary Homer and Gavin Jensen. The Midwest carried this advantage with them all the way into the first intermission. In the second period, Evan Dantas had the answer early for the East, tying the game back up at one apiece. A few shifts later, Daniel Johnson would add on to take the lead for the East, quickly taking over control in the contest. Later on, Kai Elkie would grab one of his own to make it three straight for the East in the period as they flipped the game on its head, carrying a 3-1 lead into the third. In the final frame, it was a defensive battle as the East looked to hold onto its lead despite heavy pressure from the Midwest. Yet, Nick Metelkin put the finishing touches on the game with an empty-net goal, sealing the 4-1 victory for the East. In net, the Midwest split time between Miles Roberts and Valdemar Andersen, Andersen making eight saves while Roberts made ten in the hard-fought battle. The East’s Lukas Fursten battled hard, turning away 25 shots and helping clinch the victory for his division in the Top Prospects Tournament.

Selects White 3 @ Selects Red 4 (SO) - The first and only contest to head to a shootout finish as some of the best young and upcoming talent took the ice. The matchup kicked off with back-to-back goals for the Selects Red, with Lucca Ori finding twine first at the 6:45 minute mark. Following that, Lucca Ori and Philip Wiklund would provide the setup for Evan Hoglund’s tally 14 seconds later. Moving into the second period, Luke McPherson continued his offensive presence on the scoresheet for the Selects Red, tallying his second goal of the Tournament for the Selects Red. As the Selects White were down by 3-0, they had a deficit to cut. First, Joe Gasperko notches the first Selects White goal with 8:03 on the clock in the second. The Selects White would continue the scoring by two Midwest division skaters, Joseph Hyten and Mack Diggins, in the third, evening the scoreboard 3-3. With the contest tied, the matchup moved straight into a shootout, that is where Shreveport’s Evan Hoglund would earn hero status, finding twine in shootout fashion. The Selects Red would skate away with a 4-3 victory in their final game at the USA Hockey Arena.

USNTDP 2 @ Selects Blue 4 - With a Top Prospects Tournament sweep on the line, the Selects Blue roster was hungry to continue their winning ways at the USA Hockey Arena. The contest kicked off with the first period being scoreless as both teams traded chances. As the matchup moved into the second frame, that is where the Selects Blues showed off their offensive prowess. First, Brody Dustin finds twine thanks to a Central Division connection of Camden Alemond on the setup. A few minutes later, Johnstown’s Charlie Zetterkvist added to the Selects Blue lead with an unassisted tally. Finally, with a tic-tac-toe setup, Kyle Sorensen scores with 11:42 on the clock thanks to Vitaliy Korolyuk and Brody Dustin. As the matchup moved into the third period, that is where the USNTDP would show up on the scoresheet and provide a little pressure. First, Brayden Willis finds twine on the man advantage for the Development Program. Following him midway through the frame would be Casey Mutryn following a scramble for the puck with netminder Ryan Gerlich out of the net for the Selects Blue. However, that third-period push would not be enough. The Selects Blue would add one more to the scoreboard as Brody Dustin scores an empty-netter in the final minutes of the game. The Select Blue skated away with a 4-2 victory and completed a NAHL sweep of the USNTDP at the USA Hockey Arena.