Talent shines on Tuesday at the NA3HL Showcase

The 2021 North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) Showcase continued with its second day of action on Tuesday and takes place from December 20-22, 2021, at the Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota. This season marks the 11^th year the NA3HL will hold a league-wide Showcase, which features some of the best junior talent in the United States.

Tuesday's story lines were all about the individual performances. There were five more shutouts on Tuesday, which brought the event total to 12 shutouts in 34 games played so far. In addition, there were plenty of individual performances that stood out with over 100 scouts in the building. Finally, there are no more unbeaten teams remaining as the last one fell on Tuesday.

View the 2021 NA3HL Showcase Schedule here

View the NA3HL Scoreboard here

For more details on the 2021 NA3HL Showcase, including ticket, hotel, rental car, scouting and schedule information, visit: na3hl.com/showcase. All the games at the NA3HL Showcase will be broadcast live on HockeyTV.

Tuesday Box Scores

Yellowstone 7 vs. Austin 2 – The Quake moved to 2-0 at the Showcase with a dominant performance over the Ice Bats. Gabe Coppo, Tyler Hanson, and Jack Harris all scored twice in the win. After an early goal from Austin’s Dominic Toews, it was all Quake who rattled off seven straight goals, including one from Gustov Ostman and Hanson later in the 1^st period, and five more in the 2^nd period, including two from Coppo, two from Harris and another from Hanson. Maddox Hoff had the other Ice Bats goal. Edvin Falkenstrom made 27 saves in the win, while Sebastian Skarzenski made 32 saves in the loss.

Minnesota 6 vs. Sheridan 5 (OT) – Adam Brown had four goals, including the overtime-winner as the Loons moved to 2-0 at the Showcase thanks to a 6-5 overtime win. Brown had a goal in the 1^st period and two more in the 2^nd period. Xavier Brooks had the other two goals for the Loons in the win. Sheridan got goals from three different players, including three goals in the 2^nd period from Blake Billings, Caden McDonald, and Derek Humphrey. Humphrey and Billings would both add their second goals of the game in the 3^rd period, which tied the game at 5-5. Payton West made 36 saves in the win, while Joseph Laforge made 34 saves in the loss.

Great Falls 4 vs. Mid Cities 0 – Will Simpson stopped all 27 shots that came his way for his first shutout of the season as the Americans blanked the Stars, 4-0. Tyler Sunagel scored two goals, which included the first goal of the game a minute into the 1^st period. Hunter Maschke also had a 1^st period goal. Jay Alford scored on the power play in the 2^nd period. Sunagel’s second of the game came in the 3^rd period on the power play. Stars goalie Aaron Palos played well in the loss, making 43 saves.

Long Beach 4 vs. El Paso 2 – Four different players scored for the Sharks as they picked up their first win the Showcase thanks to a 4-2 win over El Paso. The teams were even at 1-1 after the 1^st period as Ryo Yamamoto scored for Long Beach, with Connor Thompson answering for El Paso. Tyler Zembrzycki scored in the 2^nd period to put Long Beach ahead 2-1. In the 3^rd period, a goal from El Paso’s Noah Easterson made it 2-2. Later in the period, goals from Dylan Harbour and Hayden Doggett secured the win for the Sharks. Long Beach goalie Ryo Murakami made 28 saves in the win, while Peyton Brendel made 27 saves in the loss.

Atlanta 4 vs. Norwich 3 (OT) – The Capitals survived a furious comeback attempt by the Sea Captains as they picked up a 4-3 overtime win on Tuesday. Things were looking good for the Caps, who jumped out to a 3-0 halfway through the game thanks to goals from Harrison Flaacke, Nick Mumford, and Kaleb Miller. The Sea Captains stormed back later in the contest, tying the game at 3-3 thanks to goals from Wilkie Cook, Troy Harwell, and Caden Wurzbacher. In the overtime, the Caps took advantage of a power play as Kirill Nikulichev netted the game-winner. Hudgel Selk made 25 saves in the win, while Andrew Yocum made 23 saves in the loss.

Milwaukee 7 vs. Oklahoma City 4 – Seven different players scored for the Power and Tommy Kundinger had four assists as Milwaukee was dominant for a second straight day at the Showcase in a 7-4 win over Oklahoma City. Milwaukee scored twice in the 1^st period thanks to goals from Steven Delikat and Max Erstad. The Power then broke the game open in the 2^nd period with four more goals from Mason Ausmus, Michael Dalaly, Riley Planey, and Connor O’Neal. Nate Stone added a 3^rd period goal. Ice Hawks goals came from Richard Indermill, Tyler Larsen, Jakob Holley, and Avery Pittman. Austin Bartell made 29 saves in the win, while Blake Sprow and Andrew Owens both played in the loss.

Mason City 5 vs. Northeast 2 – Andy Larsen scored twice for the Toros as they handed the Generals their first loss of the season in a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Mason City never trailed in the game as Sota Isogai got the scoring started in the 1^st period. Northeast tied the game early in the 2^nd period off the stick of Payton Felix. Mason City regained the one goal lead thanks to the first from Larsen. Jack Campion scored on the power play early in the 3^rd period to make it 3-1. The Generals pulled to within one on a goal from Matthew Nuzzolilo, but goals later in the period from Brendan Sloth and Larsen secured the win. Erik Chaffe made 22 saves in the win, while Mason Joseph and D’Mar McCoy shared in the loss.

Butte 7 vs. St. Louis 4 – Nick Bradshaw had a hat-trick to lead the Cobras to a 7-4 win over the Jr. Blues. Butte jumped to a 3-0 lead and withstood a big comeback attempt by the Jr. Blues. Bradshaw scored twice in the 1^st period and Fabian Vik added a 2^nd period goal to make it 3-0. Other Butte goals came from Zach Turner, Luke Schleusner, and Tamer Billman. St. Louis got two goals from Jack Dapron and others from Sean Boehm and Michael Kennedy. Dale Pfannenstein made 30 saves in the win, while Espen Reager made 39 saves in the loss.

Danbury 4 vs. New Ulm 2 – Dylan Walker scored two goals and Brennan Churchill made 27 saves to lead Danbury to a 4-2 win over New Ulm as the Jr. Hat Tricks won for the second straight day at the Showcase. Danbury jumped out to a 3-0 lead, which included two goals from Walker and another from Nick Rogers. New Ulm tried to cut into the lead with goals from Gus Cantwell and Landen Schwantes, but a goal from Daniel Khatib provided the insurance Danbury needed for the win. Steel goalie Zach Foster made 17 saves in the loss.

Wausau 4 vs. Badlands 2 – Zac Maupin scored two goals to lead the Cyclones to a 4-2 win over the Sabres. It was the Sabres who jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the 1^st period thanks to goals from Zach Vockler and Carter Merritt. The Cyclones tied the game at 2-2 with two goals in the 2^nd period, including Maupin’s first and one from Hayden Shoemake. Maupin scored again in the 3^rd period and Luke Anderson also added a goal to make it a 4-2 final. Ryan Burke made 14 saves in the win. Maxim Currie made 24 saves in the loss.

New Jersey 0 vs Willmar 9 - The WarHawks scored a flurry of goals across all three periods to take down New Jersey 9-0. Willmar’s offense was highlighted by Ben Luedtke who potted a pair of goals and also dished two assists. Defenseman Enzo Tarducci added three assists in the winning effort. Teddy Kluesner, Tyler Misialek, Jordan Fjosne, Collin Kerchoff, Jeremiah Konkel, Marcus Mack, and Patrick Wyers were the other goal scorers for the WarHawks. It was a rather quiet afternoon in net for Will Pinney, who saved 14 shots in the shutout. On the other end of the ice, Donovan Alfama faced 60 shots and stopped 51 in the loss.

Granite City 5 vs TX Brahmas 0 - The Brahmas fell to the Granite City Lumberjacks 5-0, recording their 2nd loss of the season and 2nd straight in the showcase. Granite City came out firing on all cylinders, Ben Anderson scoring his 17th of the season just 32 seconds into the contest. The Lumberjacks scored a pair of goals to extend the lead in the 2nd period, with Kullen Daikawa and Tucker Skime scoring shorthanded on the same penalty kill. The Brahmas were unable to find any momentum as Carson Van Zuilen potted a pair of goals before the halfway point in the 3rd. Texas recorded just 9 shots and netminder Quentin Sigurdson stopped all of them to record the shutout victory. Dolan Gilbert was dealt the loss with 45 saves.

Peoria 5 vs Bozeman 0 - Peoria forward Jake Ratner scored a pair of goals and dished an assist to help the Mustangs power past Bozeman 5-0. Ratner broke the deadlock 4:26 into the 1st. Ryan Callahan added his sixth of the season for Peoria and Ratner scored again in the middle period to extend the lead. Jared Wisely and Brett Anderson both lit the lamp in the 3rd to put the final touches on Peoria’s victory. Between the pipes, Andrew Doran stopped all 20 shots to secure the shutout. Liam Scott took the loss while making 33 saves.

Louisiana 6 vs Bay State 2 - Josh Hrip recorded a hat trick and five point performance to ignite Louisiana in their 6-2 victory over Bay State. The two teams went back and forth in the 1st period to leave Bay State on top 2-1 through 20 minutes. The next 40 would be all Louisiana, as the Drillers would score two in the 2nd and three more in the 3rd to complete an early comeback victory. Louisiana’s Jack Lambert potted a pair of goals and added three assists. Anderson O’Connor also added a goal. For the Bobcats, Michael Montague and Will Cormie both lit the lamp to keep Bay State up early. Brandon Keeney had a solid performance in net, stopping 43 shots in the victory. Ben Di Fiore made 33 saves in the loss.

Helena 0 vs Rochester 4 - The Rochester Grizzlies bounced back Tuesday afternoon in a 4-0 win over Helena to even up on games in the NA3HL Showcase. Four different skaters found the back of the net for the Grizzlies. Max Breon’s goal, his 5th of the season 5:32 into the 1st period, opened up the scoring. Mason Thingvold and Justin Wright each lit the lamp to extend the lead after 40 minutes. Kyle Bauer buried another for Rochester in the 3rd. Lucas Henderson secured the victory in the blue paint with 14 saves. Eric Buccholz is credited with the loss, recording 33 saves.

TX RoadRunners 2 vs Alexandria 5 - Five different Alexandria skaters buried one past the netminder to take down the RoadRunners by a final score of 5-2. Colby Nickel scored the lone goal in the 1st period to put Alexandria up by one. The two teams traded goals in the middle period, Tyler Love scoring for Texas and Justin Wasvick answering just minutes later. Still holding onto a one goal lead after 40 minutes, Alexandria bursted for three consecutive goals thanks to Kaden Peterson, Alex Heidenreich, and Sean Kenny. Matthew Edestrand found the back of the net to add another Texas goal; however it was too little, too late. Joey Greilich made 21 saves in the victory while Nash Wilson was dealt the loss with 40 stops.

Oregon 2 vs Gillette 1 (OT) - Sam VanderHoeven scored his 30th goal of the season 1:06 into the extra period to take down the Wild in spectacular fashion. After a scoreless 1st period, Oregon broke the deadlock with a goal from Carter Stobb, assisted by Carter Watters and Gage Bowerman. Gillette’s Declan Young evened the score at one a piece in the 3rd, scoring his 35th of the season from Vance Kleinschmidt. Cole Garver secured the victory for the Tradesmen with an impressive 35 saves. Jack Orchard was dealt the loss between the pipes with 25 saves.