NAHL Showcase finishes with an exclamation point
Yusaku Ando celebrates one of his two goals as New Mexico took down the NTDP team on Saturday, 7-3 in the final game of the 2023 NAHL Showcase.
In front of yet another packed Super Rink full of fans, parents, players and scouts, the 2023 NAHL Showcase came to a close with the last round of games on Saturday morning.
Through all the hockey, only one of the 32 teams emerged with a perfect 4-0 record and it took overtime to do it. Thank to an overtime win over the Janesville Jets on Saturday, the Northeast Generals were the only team to win all four games during the event.
The 2023 NAHL Showcase was a smashing success, which included the debut of three new NAHL teams and two games that packed Rink 4 to the rafters against the NTDP team.
Each team will now go their separate ways back to divisional play as the nine month grind to the Robertson Cup begins.
Over 320 scouts packed the Super Rink to watch some incredible performances on the final day.
Click here for 2023 NAHL Showcase Scores
Divisional Records at the 2023 NAHL Showcase
South Division: 19-12-2
East Division: 20-14-2
Central Division: 12-12-0
Midwest Division: 12-15-5
Day 4 recaps
Maryland 5 vs. Shreveport 1 – Maryland finished the Showcase with a 3-1 record thanks to a 5-1 win over previously unbeaten Shreveport. Dimitry Kebreau was the star of the show for the Black Bears as he recorded a hat-trick and an assist in a 5-1 win. Jeremy Tremblay and Luke Rubin also scored in the win for Maryland, while Lucas Deeb had the lone goal for the Mudbugs. Jack Wieneke made 28 saves in the win, while Carson Dorfman made 20 saves in the loss.
Lone Star 3 vs. Philadelphia 2 – The Brahmas capped off a 2-2 record at the Showcase thanks to 26 saves from Deivs Rolovs in a 3-2 win over the Rebels. Avan Pyle opened the scoring for Lone Star in the 1st period. The Rebels took a 2-1 lead with goals from Luke Minard and Kris Samitis. Spencer Sasenbury would then tie the game in the 2nd period and Justin Kerr would add the game-winning goal in the 3rd period.
Maine 7 vs. Corpus Christi 4 – The Nordiques got two goals from Nick Romeo as their won their second straight game at the Showcase, beating the IceRays,7-4. Maine jumped out to a 5-0 lead on two goals from Romeo and others from Kim Hilmersson, Charles Tardif, and Grant Dietz. Jake Bernadet and Jack Kurrle scored in the 3rd period. All of the IceRays goals came in the 3rd period from Anthony Cafarelli, Billy Biedermann, Arvid Lundberg Brocack and Pierson Sobush. Carter Richardson made 31 saves in the win.
New Hampshire 4 vs. Odessa 3 (SO) – The Mountain Kings picked up their second straight win at the Showcase thanks to a shootout goal from Nick Reif in a 4-3 win. Damon Bossie, Matthew Hale, and Josh Doolan scored in regulation for the Mountain Kings, while Adam Armijo, Svante Standberg, and Kowin Belsterling answered for Odessa. Aiden Wright made 38 saves in the win, while Kael Depape made 18 saves in the loss.
Amarillo 5 vs. Johnstown 2 – The Wranglers finished the Showcase with a 3-1 record as five different players scored in a 5-2 win over the Tomahawks. Jack Ivey scored in the 1st period, Topi Puikkonen, Connor McNaughton, and Luke Morries scored in the 2nd period and Roman Zap added a 3rd period goal. Johnstown goals came from Jeremy LaCroix and Zach Aben. Amarillo netminder Luca Ganz made 33 saves in the win.
Oklahoma 4 vs. New Jersey 3 – The Warriors erased a 3-1 deficit with three goals in the 3rd period, including the game-winner from Zach Homer with just :30 seconds remaining in regulation in a 4-3 win over New Jersey. Bryce Howard opened the scoring for the Warriors in the 1st period, but New Jersey had an answer with three straight goals from Kristofers Krumins, Ethan Wongus, and Cooper Eberhardt. In the 3rd period, the Warriors tied the game with goals from Hunter Allen and Peter Rosa, setting up Homer’s late heroics. Dylan Johnson made 25 saves in the win.
Northeast 4 vs. Janesville 3 (OT) – The Generals capped off a perfect 4-0-0 record at the Showcase as Joseph McGraw scored twice, including the overtime-winner in a 4-3 win over the Jets. Ryan Remick and Ben Campeau had the other goals for the Generals in the win, while Jake Merens, Nick Sajevic, and Haden Kruse scored in the Jets loss. Northeast goalie Toby Hopp made 25 saves in the win, while Matthew Alberti made 37 saves in the loss.
Danbury 2 vs. Colorado 1 (SO) – Danbury picked up their first win of the season and handed the Grit their first loss of the Showcase thanks to a 2-1 shootout win on Saturday. Jr. Hat Tricks goalie Ethan Farrow made 31 saves in the win. Both goals in regulation came in the 3rd period as Jack Roberts scored for Colorado and Jacob Roberson answered for Danbury. In the shootout, all three Danbury shooters would score to give them the win. Grit goalie Max Lacroix made 35 saves in the loss.
Rochester 6 vs. Kenai River 5 – Rochester scored the final three goals if the game in a five-minute span late in the 3rd period to come from behind and beat the Brown Bears, 6-5. Six different players scored for the Jr. Americans including Matteo Disipio, Sawyer Boulton, and Jaden Dyke in the 2nd period and Dexter Kichline, Massimo Gentile, and Drew Haxton in the 3rd period. Marko Giourof had a hat-trick for Kenai River and Jackson Ebbott and Hayden Walters also scored. Florian Wade made 34 saves in the win.
Aberdeen 4 vs. Minnesota 3 – The Wings erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 as they scored the final three goals of the game to come from behind and beat the Wilderness, 4-3. Adam Johnson scored twice for the Wilderness and Aidan Shirey also added a goal as the Wilderness built a 3-1 lead with Riley Sharun scoring for the Wings. The Wings comeback including three straight goals from Simon Pollock, Logan Gravnik, and Grant Kohnen. Wings goalie Gage Stewart made 24 saves in the win, while Loris Uberti made 31 saves in the loss.
St. Cloud 5 vs. Springfield 0 – Max Weilandt recorded a 16-save shutout as the Norsemen picked up 5-0 win over the Jr. Blues on Saturday in both team’s Showcase finale. Five different players scored for St. Cloud including Gavin Gunderson and Michael Coleman in the 1st period, Braden Panzer in the 2nd period, and Niklas Miller and Sammy Crane in the 3rd period. Jr. Blues goalie Nick Bunch made 44 saves in the loss.
Chippewa 4 vs. Bismarck 3 – The Steel jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on to beat the Bobcats, 4-3. The Steel got off to a hot start with goals from Lukas Peterson, Talan Blanck, and Connor Miller. Bismarck made it 3-2 thanks to goals from Kade Kohanski and Landon Fandel. In the 3rd period, Peyton Platter scored for Chippewa to make it 4-2. Evan Hunter would add a late goal from Evan Hunter. Ajay White made 25 saves in the win.
Anchorage 5 vs. North Iowa 0 – Thanks to a 29-save shutout from Liam Beerman, the Anchorage Wolverines finished the Showcase on a high note with a 5-0 win over the Bulls. Danny Bagnole got the scoring started with a 1st period goal. The Wolverines then put the game on ice with four more goals in the 3rd period as Oliver Salo, Fyodor Nikolayenya, Colten Gerken, and Kade Shea all lit the lamp. Connor Graham made 14 saves in the Bulls loss.
Fairbanks 3 vs. Austin 2 – Ice Dogs goalie Tyler Krivtsov made 32 saves as the Ice Dogs handed the Bruins their first loss of the Showcase thanks to a 3-2 win on Saturday. Austin scored first on a goal from Isaak Brassard. Fairbanks answered with three straight goals as Nick Blood, Reece Cordray, and Cole Burke all scored. Austin netted a late goal from Damon Furuseth to complete the scoring. Bruins goalie Trent Wiemken made 33 saves in the loss.
Wisconsin 2 vs. Minot 1 – The Windigo won their third straight game at the Showcase and in the process handed Minot their first loss of the season in a 2-1 win on Saturday. Each team scored once in the 1st period as Erick Comstock scored for Wisconsin, with Will Dawson answering for Minot. In the 2nd period, Max Martin would net the eventual game-winner. Linards Lipskis made 36 saves in the win, while James Norton made 22 saves in the loss
New Mexico 7 vs. NTDP 3 – The Ice Wolves erased a 2-0 1st period deficit with six straight goals at one point in the 2nd period on their way to a 7-3 win over the NTDP-17 Team in the final game of the NAHL Showcase. Things were looking good for the NTDP after one period thanks to goals from Landon Hafele and Conrad Fndrk for a 2-0 lead. New Mexico then seized control in the 2nd period with six straight goals from Yusaku Ando, Brady Borgestad, Rasmus Leijonhielm, Ryan Johnson, Michael Schermerhorn, and Graham Harris. Jacob Kvasnicka would score to stop the bleeding for the NTDP, but another goal from Ando secured the 7-3 win. Andy Vlaha and Jackson Fuller combined for 23 saves in the win.
