NA3HL Top Prospects enters final stage

May 13, 2013

The North American 3Hockey League (NA3HL) Top Prospects Tournament has been in full swing the past two days with each of the four teams playing in three games.

Armed with several players from the NA3HL and USA Hockey National Champion North Iowa Bulls, Team Midwest has been dominant to this point going undefeated through the round-robin portion of the event. Joining the Midwest in the Championship game will be Team Ohio, who went 2-1 in the round-robin. Team Minnesota (1-2) and Team Michigan (0-3) will play in the consolation on Monday morning.

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Here is how each team has gotten to this point:

Team Midwest: Coached by North Iowa Bulls head coach Todd Sanden, Team Midwest has beem dominant, outscoring their opponents 17-5 to this point. Peoria’s Cory Kettler leads the team and the tournament in scoring with five points in the three games. St. Louis Jr. Blues forward Lukas Daniels is right behind Kettler in scoring with four points. Both goalies have been good as well as Clint Steinmeyer (St. Louis) and Alex Reichle (Peoria) have both put up some good numbers. Kerry McGlynn has two goals from the blueline.

Team Ohio: Team Ohio lost to Midwest in the round robin 6-1, but managed wins against Michigan and Minnesota to secure a spot in the Championship game. Toledo’s Jordan Fogarty leads the team with three points in three games. Kevin Kenney has two goals to lead the squad and Cleveland’s David Heflin has played well in goal. The team is coached by Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks coach Bob Jacobson.

Team Minnesota: Coached by Granite City Lumberjacks head coach Brad Willner, Team Minnesota posted a 1-2 record during the round-robin with their lone win coming against Team Michigan. Minnesota Flying Aces forward Jared Sprink has been on fire with three goals and an assist. Erikur Aranason of the Breezy Point North Stars has appeared in every game and been solid. Bismarck tender Ian Ecklund has also been a team leader.

Team Michigan: It is been a rough go for Team Michigan, who is coached by Flint Jr. General head coach Steve Howard. Michigan has scored four goals in the three losses. Those have come from Jacob Howie, Mike Gambino, Austin Hill and Trevor Benaglio. Anders Franke and Spencer Craig have split the goaltending duties.