Day 4 Recap: 2025 T1ER/T1EHL 18U Invitational Featured Tight Contests in Final Day

The final day of the 2025 T1ER/T1EHL 18U Invitational showed off dominant performances on the ice and extremely tight battles. 38 of the nation’s top 18U programs from both the T1ER League and the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL) were in attendance for a premier showcase of talent. Click here to see all the results.

18U: 

Belle Tire took the win in a nailbiter that required a shootout to decide. Despite both teams taking multiple trips to the power play, the game ended 2-1 with Cameron Walters shutting the door in the shootout and Anthony Abbo burying the winner. 

The first period came and went, but neither team was able to find the back of the net. Belle Tire went to the power play around the midpoint of the period, but the Stars did a masterful job of plugging up the zone and not allowing any quality scoring chances. The second period was largely uneventful as well until Dominic Cespedes picked up an errant puck and buried it with just 3:43 remaining in the period. This lead stood until the latter half of the third period when Stanley Whiteman took a holding penalty that sent Belle Tire to the power play. Billy Marshall, from an angle that few could score from, picked the top corner and evened the score. The final minutes of the third period expired, and the game headed to overtime, where neither team could light the lamp and end the game. Angelo Chiaravalle looked away from Marshall's first shootout attempt, while Belle Tire goaltender Walters did the same to Brtndin Zakhrz’s on the other end. This time around, Isaiah Pikora beat Chiaravalle while Walters made a crucial save on Cespedes. With the game on his stick and an opportunity to leave the weekend with a win, Abbo showcased some nice stickhandling and sent the puck into the top shelf to win the game. 

Both of these goaltenders deserve a great deal of recognition. Making it through a game and just one goal apiece to show for it is impressive, but it was the late penalty that was the killer for the Stars and ultimately sent this game past regulation. Ultimately, it was Belle Tire that finished out this contest and left in the win column.

Fox Motors managed to stick out the late comeback from the Philadelphia Little Flyers and secure the 4-3 shootout win. The Flyers made a late push to send the game past regulation, but some clutch goal scoring and goaltending allowed Fox Motors to seal the game and leave with a win.

Fox Motors wasted no time getting started. Kaid Pawlanta sent a perfect pass right onto Kyle Moyer’s tape in the slot and found the back of the net. Just 14 seconds later, Dillon Goodrich took a shot from the point that got deflected in front by Graiden Insana to extend the lead to 2-0. With just a minute and a half left, Nicholas Labuono sent a shot from the point that found the back of the net and cut the lead in half just before the first intermission. In the second period, it was Labuono again who wired the puck to the back of the net to even up the score heading into the third period. With nine minutes remaining in the frame, Insana knifed his way through the offensive zone and initially had his shot stopped before Nolan Farnsworth tapped the puck in to regain the lead for Fox Motors. With 1:23 left in the third, Moyer took a penalty that sent Philadelphia to the power play. 22 seconds later, Benjamin Holdsworth found the puck in the slot and lit the lamp to tie the game late and send the contest to overtime. A hard-fought overtime yielded no results, and a shootout was required. Calvin Ranger beat Flyers netminder Brock Reid, while Fox Motors goaltender Camden Backen stopped Labuono with the hot hand to give Fox Motors the early edge. Pawlanta then beat Reid while Connor Davis was able to do the same to Backen. Zach Fleming attempted the one-handed tap to end the game but was unsuccessful, and Carter Morrison scored on the other end to extend the shootout. Moyer scored to put the pressure on, but Backen made the save on Andrew Graney to secure the win for Fox Motors.

Fox Motors dominated on the scoresheet with a 28-15 shot on goal differential in their favor. Despite this, Brock Reid played a poised game that gave his team some light, but Fox Motors was able to seal the win in the end.