Top Prospects Tournament: Team White and Red go undefeated in tournament: Team Blue falls in two games
By Kevin Scott
| Team White vs. Team Blue | |||
| Box Score | Game Sheet | Tourney Scoreboard | Rosters |
| Team Red vs. Team Black | |||
| Box Score | Game Sheet | Tourney Scoreboard | Rosters |
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP (PITTSBURGH), PA., February 8, 2022 — The 2022 North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) closed out their 2022 NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament on Tuesday morning at the home of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins practice facility at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township (near Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. Each team played their second and final game of the tournament.
During Day 1 of the tournament, Team Red forward Dylan Walker (Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks) scored two goals and goaltenders Camden Pendleton (El Paso Rhinos) and Dolan Gilbert (Texas Brahmas) combined for 26 saves as Team Red led 5-0 and routed Team Blue 9-3 during the first day of action at the two-day 2022 Top Prospects Tournament at the UMPC Lemieux Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Monday morning. The Yellowstone Quake’s Gustav Ostman scored twice, and Great Falls Americans forward Micah Serino added one assist for Team Red in the loss.
In the second contest, Team White’s Ethan Chesney of the Peoria Mustangs scored once and dished out two assists as well as the game-winning goal in the extra period to down Team Black, 4-3. Sean Kenny of the Alexandria Blizzard had a game-high two goals for the winning team.
Click here to recap both games on Day 1 of the tournament. The early game started at 7:00AM (MST) or 9:00AM (EST).
The first game during the second and final day of competition at the tournament that saw lots of scouts taking notice of many talented players that participated, the Team Blue held a 3-2 advantage before the second intermission but Team White outscored Team Blue 5-1 in the last period to earn a 7-4 win to cap off their second win in the two-day tournament. Bay State Bobcats standout Landon Boothe scored a hat trick by providing Team White with three goals while Shota Kaneko (Mason City Toros) and Ethan Chesney (Peoria Mustangs) gathered four assists apiece. Team Blue’s Gustav Ostman (Yellowstone Quake) and Cade Wessman of the Butte Cobras each netted one goal and dished out an assist. Great Falls Americans standouts Micah Serino chipped in two assists and Jackson Henningsgard added one.
Each team provided a goal during first period action on Tuesday morning. It was the Oregon Tradesmen connection of Jason Tenezaca to Abe Laggis for the first score of the contest with nine minutes remaining. Brett Reed (Granite City Lumberjacks) evened up the score for Team Blue with assists coming from Great Falls Americans forward Jackson Henningsgard and Norwich Sea Captains defenseman Tim Hayden less than two minutes after Team White scored. Team Blue compiled 13 of the 20 first period shots.
During the first four minutes of the second stanza, the Blue Team scored twice to lead 3-1. Members of the Frontier Division contributed all the points. Cade Wessman and Nick Bradshaw, both members of the Butte Cobras, each earned their first goals of the tournament. Micah Serino (Great Falls Americans) picked up his second assist in two days on Wessman’s score with 16:47 left before the second intermission. Cade Wessman and the Yellowstone Quake’s Gustav Ostman assisted on Team Blue’s second scoring drive of the stanza. Before the period concluded, Landon Boothe from Team White racked up the first of his three scores with helpers from Shota Kaneko and Ethan Chesney. Team White doubled up on the shots by Team Blue (18-9).
In the third, Team White’s offense put the biscuit in the basket five times within an eight-minute span. Four players from four NA3HL clubs collected the goals including Rex Staudacher (Mason City Toros), Zach Vockler (Badlands Sabres), Jason Tenezaca (Oregon Tradesmen) and two goals from Landon Boothe (Bay State Bobcats). Shota Kaneko and Ethan Chesney provided three of their four assists during the final frame of the tournament. Abe Laggis also set up one of the scoring drives. Team Blue answered with a single goal with 5:39 left in regulation made by Gustav Ostman with a second assist (third in tourney) by Micah Serino. Both teams skated out the remainder of time with no goals.
Team White attempted 34 of their team total of 41 shots after the first period. Team Blue finished with 30 shots with 13 occurring during the opening stanza.
The teams combined for five minor penalties that resulted in ten minutes of time spent in the penalty box.
Mason City Toros netminder Owen Carlson picked up his second win for Team White in as many days by accruing 26 saves (50 overall in tournament). Cooper Olson, who is one of the goalies on the Willmar WarHawks, had 20 saves on 25 shots for a two-day total of 32 saves in two setbacks for Team Blue. Jake Turek (Gillette Wild) combined for 25 saves in both appearances including 14 on Tuesday morning.
How did the three Americans do in the tournament for Team Blue? Micah Serino finished with three assists in two games and Jackson Henningsgard had one assist. AJ Benit appeared in both contests.
After the tournament ended, the Team Red and Team White came away with undefeated (2-0) records and Team Blue (0-2) fell in both of their games and Team Black fell short in two overtime games (0-0-2).
Check out Team Blue’s fourth and final goal in 7-4 setback to Team White as Yellowstone Quake’s Gustav Ostman scores his third goal of the tournament with help from Americans forward Micah Serino during third period action on Monday morning.
GOAL! 🚨 Team Blue makes it 7-4 at the #NA3HL #TopProspects Tournament as @QuakeHockey forward Gustov Ostman puts one home in the slot from @GFAmericans forward Micah Serino pic.twitter.com/2bpjCbxkar
— NA3HL (@NA3HL) February 8, 2022
Team Red needs extra period over Team White to finish with 2-0 record
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP (PITTSBURGH), PA., February 7, 2022 — Texas Brahmas forward Michael Imala scored the tie-breaking goal on a penalty shot 47 seconds into overtime over Team Black goalie Hunter Hein (Texas RoadRunners) to ensure Team Red finished the tournament without a loss during Tuesday’s action at the Top Prospects Tournament in Pennsylvania.
After a scoreless first period that saw a combined 23 total shots-on-goal between both TPT teams, the second period was a different story. Caden Butler (El Paso Rhinos) delivered his second goal for Team Red off the stick of teammate Connor Thompson (El Paso Rhinos) with a secondary assist created by Noah Roitman of the Rochester Grizzlies early in the middle period. Later in the stanza, Team Black tied the contest on goal by Nate Stone (Milwaukee Power), his second of the tournament. Jack Dapron (St. Louis Jr. Blues) was credited with the assist. Team Red waited until the final 25 seconds before the second break to regain the lead on a successful goal by Louisiana Drillers forward Anderson O’Connor off a dish from Caden Butler and Pavel Bakhtin of the Wausau Cyclones. Team Red took three more shots (26-23) than Team Black after two periods.
A lone goal by Team Black’s Blake Keller, a member of the Minnesota Loons, in the third proved to be the goal that would send the contest into an extra period. Jack Dapron gained his second assist of the night and Owen McNamee (Northeast Generals) accumulated his first.
In overtime, Team Red took advantage of a penalty shot given to them by Team Black 47 seconds into the five-minute sudden death overtime to secure the win. Michael Imala scored over Hunter Hein that brought an exciting finish to the Top Prospects Tournament for 2022.
Team Black outshot Team Red 34-31 after attempting over ten shots in each of the first three periods.
Three minor penalties between both teams dotted the scoresheet after the contest. Team Red scored their first goal of the game on a power play and finished 1-for-2. Team Black went 0-for-1.
El Paso Rhinos netminder Camden Pendleton had eleven saves on Monday night and ended his second game with 13 for the winning Red Team. Dolan Gilbert (Texas Brahmas) stopped all 19 shots as Tuesday’s starter. Hunter Hein took the second overtime loss for Team Black, a night after they experienced their first loss in a extra period. Hein and Anthony Adleman (Oregon Tradesmen) each made 14 saves.
After the tournament ended, the Team Red and Team White came away with undefeated (2-0) records and Team Blue (0-2) fell in both of their games and Team Black fell short in two overtime games (0-0-2).
NOTES: View the second day of action (box scores/game recaps) by clicking here for the NA3HL article.
To view more information about the 2022 Top Prospects Tournament, please visit the tournament webpage: http://na3hl.com/tpt/
NEXT CONTEST: The Great Falls Americans will finish off three of their eight remaining games in the 2021-22 season starting on Friday, February 11th and Saturday, February 12th when they make the trip to Cody, Wyoming for a two-game series with the Yellowstone Quake with a 7:30PM start each night from Riley Arena. On Sunday, February 13th, they will make the trek from Wyoming to Bozeman, Montana for their final meeting with the Bozeman Ice Dogs with the puck to drop at 5:15PM (MST) from Haynes Pavilion.
Story Courtesy: North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL): White, Red teams finish unbeaten at NA3HL Top Prospects (February 8, 2022)