T1ER Central NAHL Experience Weekend Hits Rochester

Action ramped up this weekend as the T1ER Central NAHL Experience Weekend brought 16U and 18U competition to the Rochester Ice Center, home of the Rochester Jr. Americans of the NAHL’s East Division. With plenty of tight games and standout performances, here are a few matchups that caught our attention on day one. Click here to see all the results.

18U: 

In a ‘Dancing with the Stars’ matchup this afternoon between Lincoln and Pittsburgh, it was the Lincoln Stars that shined the brightest. Despite a slow start, Lincoln won the third period and buried Pittsburgh to close out this contest. The first period looked to be scoreless until Jon Morgan put a puck at the net late in the frame that snuck through the goaltenders’ wickets and gave Lincoln their first lead. Zakhar Brydin got the second period started for Pittsburgh after a great feed from Dominic Cespedes got him out in front of the goaltender alone. About six minutes later, Daxton Goetz regained the lead which allowed Lincoln to enter the third period up 2-1. In quick succession, Cody Sweeney scored two goals to extend the lead to 4-1 in the opening moments of the third period. Parker Menearschutz scored one with just five seconds remaining, and Lincoln finished off their impressive afternoon. Shoot more pucks than your opponent and you statistically give your team a higher chance of scoring more goals. When your teams shot total nearly quadruples your opponents, you shoul expect some pretty favorable results.

The Indiana Elite completed a suffocating win against the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers. After taking an early lead, the Elite did a great job of tacking on goals despite some slight pushback from the Flyers. Nick Beam got the afternoon started for the Elite after Charlie Rutz made an excellent play to maintain the offensive zone, dished the puck to Braydon Hunter whose shot went wide but ended up on Beams stick with a wide open cage. Later, Zach Dietz converted on the power play to give the Elite a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Hunter continued his night at the midpoint of the second period with a goal of his own, a tally that would end up being the game winning goal. About a minute and a half later, Brody Matthews got one back on the power play to break the scoreless streak for the Flyers that lasted 31 minutes and 9 seconds. With a 3-1 lead to start the third period, Beam posted his second goal of the game on another power play opportunity. Rutz got his second point of the night, this time with a goal, and Logan Brown scored one for the Flyers to cap off the contest. Braydon Hunter, Charlie Rutz, Nick Beam and Royce Dailey all picked up two points in this game for the Elite, with three of those players being defensemen. Having blue liners that can jump up into the play and contribute to the offense at a high level is a great asset, and the Indiana Elite took advantage of that in this convincing victory.

16U: 

Indiana Elite’s day was a tale of resilience, starting with a tough lesson in the morning before ending with a strong response later on. In their first game, the Elite were dealt a 9–0 loss by BK Selects, as the opening period quickly got away from them. BK Selects struck seven times in the first, led by a hat trick from Luca Filiaggi and steady playmaking from Nole Donohue, putting Indiana Elite in an early hole. The Elite managed to regroup defensively with a scoreless second period, but struggled to find offensive momentum, generating just seven shots on goal. Two late goals in the third sealed the result, making it a challenging start to the day for Indiana Elite.

That early setback set the stage for a much different showing in the afternoon. Indiana Elite came out energized against the Elmira Jr. Aviators Academy, flipping the script with a dominant first period of their own. Three goals in the opening frame, including two from Ethan Neumann and the eventual game-winner, gave the Elite immediate control. Ryder Carpenter’s unassisted goal in the second extended the lead, and after Elmira broke through on a third-period power-play tally, Indiana responded quickly with a goal from Brady Lemieux to put the game away. Backed by steady goaltending from Nicholas Svoboda, Indiana Elite closed the day with a convincing 5–1 win, turning a difficult morning into a statement bounce-back performance.