February 19, 2019
A good time was had by all and plenty of talent was on display at the 2019 NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament.
The 2019 NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament concluded on Tuesday, February 19th as all six teams played in their third and final games of the event.
All 24 NAHL head coaches attended the event and several of them we spotted on NA3HL team benches helping to coach and scouting the players.
The NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament was played in conjunction with the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament and the event has quickly become one of the most highly-scouted events of its kind.
Over 200+ NHL, NCAA, NAHL and other junior scouts were in attendance this season.
"All the NA3HL players are competing together for a common goal and that is advancement. I think it says something special that the divisional teams can put aside their competitive nature and work together to try and get noticed and advance to the next level. That's really what this event is about," said NAHL Commissioner Mark Frankenfeld.
Tuesday's Box Scores
Central 6 vs Frontier 4 - There was no shortage of offense in this one, as the teams combined for 10 goals in a 6-4 Central win over Frontier. Jack Radley (Peoria Mustangs) opened the scoring, but Darren Donovan (Helena Bighorns) responded to level the scores. From there, however, the Central took over, as Radley and Cole Ford (Evansville Jr. Thunderbolts) lit the lamp to close out the period. Logan Geisness (Milwaukee Power) kept the Central train rolling with a wraparound goal midway through the second period, followed up by a Matt Janke (Coulee Region Chill) marker. But the Frontier, seemingly down and out, roared back with three straight goals to get within one. Gage Thompson (Gillette Wild), Elliot Plourde (Helena Bighorns) and Payton McSharry (Great Falls Americans) led the comeback charge, but their bid fell just short as Chuck Bay (Milwaukee Power) sealed the Central win with a late goal. Four goalies saw action between the pipes, as Central goalies Mikael Foucher (St. Louis Jr. Blues) and Aaron Dickstein (Milwaukee Power) combined for 35 saves and Frontier stoppers Viktor Wennberg (Great Falls Americans) and Michael Allman (Yellowstone Quake) turned aside a shared 36 pucks.
West 4 vs Northeast 0 - Jacob Halvorson (New Ulm Steel) paced the attack with two goals as Kyle Hayden (Alexandria Blizzard) posted a shutout in a 4-0 win for the West over Northeast. Halvorson opened the scoring with Dan Wieber (Breezy Point North Stars) in the first period, followed by goals from Dylan Giorgio (Alexandria Blizzard) and another from Halvorson. Hayden took care of the rest, facing down all Northeast shots against.
South 2 vs Coastal 1 (OT) - Brenden Fehlig (College Station Spirit) played hero in overtime as the South topped Coastal 2-1 in a tense affair. Cole Thomas Johnson (Atlanta Capitals) lifted the South with a goal in the second period after a scoreless first 20. His team carried that advantage through much of the remainder of the game before Cole Therrien (Cape Cod Islanders) leveled the score and forced overtime, where Fehlig potted the winner just 2:36 in. Alexandr Gilev (Wausau RiverWolves) earned the win in net for the South, countering Andrew Ghimpeteanu's effort between the Coastal pipes.
