JANUARY 9, 2017 - The Steele County Blades began 2017 by heading to Boston for the USPHL Winter Showcase at the New England Sports Center. The Blades played four games over the course of three days in front of a number NCAA college scouts and coaches.
The first team on the docket for the Blades were the P.A.L. Junior Islanders. Blades Captain Chase Lewis opened the scoring in the game when he collected a rebound from a shot from defenseman Koy Payne on the power play. Zach Bettmeng also assisted on the play, helping give the Blades a 1-0 lead five minutes into the first half. Soren Colstrup joined the scoresheet two minutes later, adding an even strength tally with assists coming from Lewis and Colton Sprenger. Nearly eight minutes later, Chase Lewis redirected another Koy Payne shot from the point for the second power play goal coming from the duo. Before the end of the first half, Kyle Wadden added a goal of his own to give the Blades a 4-0 lead at intermission.
The Islanders would not go down without a fight, starting the second half on fire. The Islanders opened the second half scoring two minutes in. They would add another goal just under two minutes later to cut the Blades lead in half, 4-2. Not done yet, the Islanders capitalized for their second power play goal in four minutes and another even strength goal at the 11:14 mark of the second half to tie the game. The flurry of scoring continued; this time, the Blades' Wadden stopped the bleeding when he scored on a breakaway pass from Chase Wedding. The Blades held onto the lead for two minutes before the Islanders tied the game once again. Soren Colstrup put an end to the Islanders comeback, giving the Blades a 6-5 lead on the eventual game winning goal. An empty net goal with twenty seconds remaining in the game put the icing on the cake to give the Blades a 7-5 win in their opening game.
After letting up five goals against the Islanders, the Blades looked to improve in their defensive zone. Game two of the USPHL Winter Showcase matched the Blades against the third place team from the North Division, the Rochester Jr. Monarchs. The Blades opened the scoring 4:24 into the first half when Bettmeng scored off a wrist shot just above the top of the circle. Both teams killed off two powerplays a piece and Tim Grounds turned aside all 15 shots he faced as the Blades led 1-0 at the intermission.
One goal would not be enough to decide this Elite Division matchup. Just 7:39 into the second half, the Monarchs tied the game on an even strength goal. The Monarchs proceeded to take a 2-1 lead just under three minutes later. With just over four minutes left in regulation, the Blades made the most of a five on three two-man advantage, as Soren Colstrup tied the game at two. The remaining four minutes of the game stayed scoreless, giving both teams one point in the standings before the five minute overtime period began.
With nearly three minutes of overtime played and both teams getting their fair share of chances, Soren Colstrup scored his third overtime game-winning goal of the year, giving the Blades a 3-2 win over the Monarchs. Tim Grounds collected the win in net stopping 31 shots in the process.
Riding a four game win streak, the Blades entered their third game of the showcase against Team Beijing. The scoring started early when Griffin Waters redirected a Tristan Klewsaat shot from the point one minute and five seconds into the first period. Lewis scored the only other goal of the period, when he redirected a Jagr Wasem shot from the point, giving Lewis his 13th point in his last six games. Goaltender Nick Mizen stopped all 14 of Beijing’s chances to give the Blades a 2-0 lead at the intermission.
The second half started with Josh Gouin scoring his first goal with the Blades this season, when Oskari Valli made a perfect backdoor pass. Chase Lewis continued his hot streak, scoring on a rebound stemming from a Gouin shot from the point, giving the Blades a 4-0 win. Team Beijing added a goal of their own when a broken play yielded a successful breakaway attempt. Chase Wedding responded shortly with a wrist shot from the point, making it a 5-1 game. Justin Movalli would score his first of the year from the top of the circles, extending the Blades lead to five. Wedding would add his second of the game, similar to his first goal, scoring a wrist shot from the point on the buzzer to give the Blades a 7-1 win over Team Beijing. Mizen collected his fourth win of the year, while the Blades picked up four goals from their defensemen.
Entering the last game of the showcase, the Blades sat two points behind the Chicago Cougars and looked to close the gap against the Potomac Patriots. Once again, the Blades got on the scoreboard early when Colton Sprenger fired a shot top shelf just forty seconds into the game. The Sprenger tally marked the sixth game in a row where the Blades scored first. Later on, Wadden was the beneficator of a miscommunication behind the net on a Patriots power play. Wadden stripped the puck and buried a wrap-around on the penalty kill, giving him his second shorthanded goal of the year and the Blades a 2-0 lead. Justin Movalli picked up his second goal in as many games when a wrist shot got through a screen to extend the Blades lead. Wadden was not done, as he slammed home a rebound on the power play with assists coming from Wedding and Sprenger. With three seconds left in the first half, Sprenger head-manned a puck to Wedding, who unleashed a slapshot on net to give the Blades a 5-0 lead at the half.
In the second half, Bettmeng crashed the net a on Blades odd man rush before burying a rebound from a well-placed shot by Valli to make it 6-0. This would be Bettmeng's 10th point in nine games since joining the Blades in December. The Patriots would attempt a comeback as they snuck a breakaway goal past Mizen. Shortly after, they scored again with a successful power play opportunity. The two second half goals for the Patriots would not be enough as the Blades collected their sixth straight win, beating the Patriots 6-2. Mizen notched his fifth win in five starts this season, helping the Blades post a 4-0 record and go undefeated at the USPHL Winter Showcase.
Assistant Coach Bobby Solari found many positives to talk about regarding the showcase experience. “This is one of the bigger highlights of the year so far. We talk about wanting to be a successful hockey team while giving our players the best experience along the way. We were able to tour Worcester State, watch Franklin Pierce play Assumption, and tour the Becker University locker room. For us to win all of our games and have our players get noticed by college coaches, makes for a great weekend. Hopefully, these experiences will translate into our guys starting to make college commitments. With that being said, we have to stay focused and get back to work Wednesday night against the Forest Lake Lakers.”
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