Top standouts from Game 2 of CHL USA Prospects Challenge
OSHAWA – The Canadian Hockey League has swept the first-ever CHL USA Prospects Challenge, beating the USA Hockey National Team Development Program 3-2 on Wednesday at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa.
It didn’t take long for the CHL to get on the board. Just 16 seconds in, Caleb Desnoyers was there to direct Porter Martone’s point shot past goaltender Harrison Boettiger to make it 1-0. The Americans did manage to tie the game for the first time this week, with Cole McKinney creating his own breakaway to make it 1-1 with five minutes to go in the first.
The CHL would regain the lead in the second, with Desnoyers finding Michael Misa on the doorstep to make it a 2-1 game. From there, the CHL dominated puck possession, outshooting USA by a rate of 3-to-1 at one point. But with Jack Ivankovic mostly sitting idle throughout the second half, Jack Murtagh was able to take advantage and fired home the 2-2 goal halfway through the third to tie the game.
The CHL started to lose its pace midway at points in the third, but Cole Reschny was able to rescue them late. With 1:12 left in the game, he fired a wrister over the arm of Boettinger and in to secure the 3-2 victory – and preventing a mini, winner-takes-all, 3-on-3 game to declare an overall winner.
CHL
#94 Porter Martone, RW: Today was a better showing for Martone, one of the top prospects for the draft. An excellent shot release 16 seconds into the game led to the 1-0 goal, and he nearly had another two off some good open space opportunities later in the period. He was a bit quieter in the third, but you still noticed his presence around the net.
#18 Caleb Densoyers, C: Desnoyers scored the first goal after a great screen in front of the net, tipping Martone’s shot from the point. He then made an excellent pass to Michael Misa on the power play for the 2-1 goal on one of the game’s better players. He’s just so smart – even when Desnoyers isn’t generating chances, he’s stealing pucks and getting the disk where it needs to be. I loved his third-period hit against Donato Bracco, too – that was mean.
#66 Michael Misa, C: Misa scored the 2-1 goal, but he did far more than that tonight. He had five shots over the first two periods and had a better physical game than he did on Tuesday. It seemed like he was playing with more spark – more energy – and wasn’t afraid of anything. He was also credited with the most faceoff wins of anyone – around 70 percent – despite starting the game as a winger.
#77 Kashawn Aitcheson, D: Aitcheson hit nearly everyone in the building tonight – all that was left was the spectators. Aitcheson is such an intriguing physical presence because he draws you to him before landing a big hit and taking you out of the play. He was involved in at least 4-5 scrums after whistles, too. If you like toughness from a defensively sound blueliner, Aitcheson is your man.
USA
#30 Harrison Boettiger, G: After a shaky start for Patrick Quinlan last night, Boettinger battled hard and gave the Americans a chance early on. The CHL had a couple of excellent looks early – including a goal just 16 seconds in – but Boettinger was lights out the rest of the way in the first period to keep his team in it.
#8 William Belle, RW: Belle was a physical machine out there. In one 10-second span in an early second-period shift, the big winger knocked down Malcolm Spence and Matthew Schaefer – two difficult dudes to contain. Belle doesn’t produce much in terms of offense, but he’s a tough enough grinder to earn some love from NHL teams in the bottom few rounds.
#9 Jack Murtagh, LW: Murtagh scored on his only listed shot – but he had a few other looks that just fell apart around the net, too. For the most part, Murtagh seemed to always be engaged and helped steal the puck away in the play that led to Cole McKinney’s 1-1 goal.
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