T1ER East Showcase: Day 1 Complete

The T1ER East Showcase kicks off today at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts. The day featured exhilarating contests from teams at the 18U and 16U levels. Click here to see all the results.

18U:

The Wasatch Renegades got the showcase started with a tight win over the Kings Edgehill School Highlanders. Despite a strong effort from both teams, the Renegades were able to generate more scoring chances throughout the game, outshooting the Highlanders 38-17. Alex Doyle put the Highlanders on the board first, but Bentley Sathre answered back for the Renegades. Liam Nash added another to give King's Edgehill a 2-1 lead to end the first. 

Jackson Briggs made it past Highlanders’ goalie, Mikko Robichaud, twice in the second to swing the game back in favor of the Renegades. In the third, Alex Hannah tied things up on the power play before Gavin Zuber buried a game-winning goal for the Renegades. Arden Crowser manned the net for the Renegades to help them secure a 4-3 win. 

The Danbury Hat Tricks opened their weekend with a first-period goal from Jeffrey Saul, assisted by Nick Keglewitsch, against the New Jersey 87s. While Saul’s goal was the only one in the first period, momentum swung back in New Jersey’s favor in the following periods. The 87s saw goals from Nicholas Gallo and Vincent Baldari in the middle frame to take the lead. In the third, New Jersey added three more. These goals came from Ryan Burtnick, Hayden Nubile, and a second from Baldari to finish off the game.

Boston Hockey Academy took on the New Jersey Jr. Titans in a close match that was lively until the very end. New Jersey's Jeb Purdy opened the scoring late in the first before Boston's Nikolai Kakasenko answered back with a power-play goal. Boston’s Michael Brandano got the action started in the second before New Jersey’s Devyn Tarlton responded with back-to-back goals. However, Brandano made sure the second ended tied back up, making the score 3-3 going into the third. 

Purdy netted another, this time on the power play, early in the third. After that, Ethan Kutcher and Nikita Gridassov scored twice more for Boston. Tarlton completed his hat trick and sent the two teams into overtime with just 21 seconds left on the clock. Keane Brushaber scored the game-winner in overtime to give the New Jersey Jr. Titans their first win of the showcase. 

The New Jersey Jr. Devils faced off with Mount Academy in a tight 2-1 contest. The Jr. Devils got to work early, scoring in both the first and second periods. The first goal for New Jersey came from Alessandro Fiermonte in the first twenty minutes. Noel Gaynor scored next for the Jr. Devils, making the score 2-0 entering the third. Diego Manzo scored Mount Academy’s only goal of the game in the third. Vincenzo Distasio was in the net for New Jersey and faced a total of 19 shots from opposing Mount Academy.

16U: 

The Danbury Hat Tricks kicked off their weekend at the 16U level with two close contests against the Valley Forge Minutemen and Mount Academy. Danbury faced Valley Forge first in a morning matchup that started with a scoreless first period. The offense started to pick up in the second with the Hat Tricks getting two goals from Rohan Venugopal and Josh Mosbacher. The Minutemen answered with back-to-back, power-play goals from Ivan Rudomanov and Bobby Lynn, keeping the score tied to finish the period. 

Lynn added another in the third, followed by a goal from Cooper Kanze. The Hat Tricks fought back with two of their own, Mosbacher’s second of the game and a short-handed goal from Nick Funaro with only eight seconds left in the third, sending the teams to overtime. Kanze scored his second of the night in the extra period to earn Valley Forge a 5-4 win. 

Danbury made a comeback in the evening against Mount Academy. Danbury’s Michael Suarez opened the scoring before Cache Smith tied it late in the first. Mount Academy’s Karigan Copage scored first in the second, but Danbury’s Nathan Nesbitt answered with a short-handed goal. Braiden Rossiter scored the final goal of the middle frame to give Mount Academy back the lead. 

Rohan Venugopal and Rowan Fair each scored for the Hat Tricks to get things started in the third, followed by a goal from Mount Academy's Mitchell Goodine. Suarez and Rossiter each added their second goals of the game, sending it to overtime, the second of the day for the Hat Tricks. This time, Danbury came out on top, Wil Widomski scored the game-winning goal for the Hat Tricks, and earned them a 6-5 win.