BUFFALO, N.Y. –Matt Lane, Sean Malone and Steve Santini represented the State of New York in the Inaugural CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game at First Niagara Center, Buffalo, Saturday evening.
Team McClanahan bested Team Housley, 5-2, with Ryan Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) notching three assists for Team Rob McClanahan and receiving MVP honors. Meanwhile, Evan Allen (Sterling Heights, Mich.) scored both of Team Phil Housley’s goals.
Team McClanahan opened the scoring at 15:54 of the first period by capitalizing on a three-on-one. Fitzgerald carried the puck down the left wing and fed the puck across the crease to Hudson Fasching (Burnsville, Minn.) for a tap-in tally.
Seth Jones (Plano, Texas) made it 2-0 in favor of Team McClanahan at 6:06 of the second period. From the right point, Jones one-timed a clean faceoff win by Fitzgerald into the lower left corner of the net.
Two minutes later, Team McClanahan stretched its lead to 3-0. Coasting through the slot,Jimmy Lodge (Downington, Pa.) slipped a pass behind both defensemen to Jacob Montgomery (Oakdale, Minn.), who flipped a backhand shot under the crossbar.
Team McClanahan’s fourth straight goal came from Quentin Shore (Denver, Colo.) at 13:42. Mike McCarron (Macomb, Mich.) forced goaltender Hunter Miska (North Branch, Minn.) to make a difficult save and Shore knocked in the rebound. Taylor Cammarata(Plymouth, Minn.) also assisted on the play.
Allen put Team Housley on the scoreboard 6:08 into the third period. Frank Vatrano(East Longmeadow, Mass.) shot for a rebound as he crossed the blue line and the puck caromed perfectly to Allen who was driving to the net.
Dakota Mermis (Alton, Ill.) reestablished the four-goal lead, 5-1, for Team McClanahan with a wrist shot through traffic from the high slot at 10:50. Fitzgerald picked up his third assist of the game, while Matt Lane (Rochester, N.Y.) also drew a helper.
Allen scored a power-play goal for Team Housley to cap the scoring with 6:10 left in regulation. Steven Santini’s (Mahopac, N.Y.) shot ricocheted off the end boards and Allen slipped the puck behind the goalie at the right post. Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) had the second assist.
Team McClanahan starting goaltender Cal Petersen (Waterloo, Iowa) was flawless in 30 minutes, stopping seven shots. Evan Cowley (Evergreen, Colo.) made 15 saves on 17 shots in relief.
Eamon McAdam (Perkasie, Pa.) started the game for Team Housley. He turned aside nine of 12 shots. Miska had 14 saves and two goals against.
NOTES: Ryan Fitzgerald was named the Most Valuable Player of the inauguralCCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game … Attendance was 5,519 … Legendary coach Scotty Bowman dropped the ceremonial first puck. Bowman spent seven of his 30 NHL seasons as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres (1979-87) and had a hand in bringing Phil Housley and Rob McClanahan, the head coaches for the game, to Buffalo in the early 1980s … Nick Fohr, assistant coach for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 Team served as an assistant to Housley, while Don Granato, head coach for USA Hockey’s NTDP Under-18 Team, served at McClanahan’s assistant coach … Additional staff for the event included General Manager Jim Johannson, Director of Player Personnel Tim Taylor, Athletic Trainer Jason Hodges, Equipment Manager Jake Visser and Director of Hockey OperationsRyan Breen … Players selected to compete in the inaugural CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game were chosen by USA Hockey in conjunction with NHL Central Scouting … Of the 40 players that competed in the inaugural CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game, 30 were from the United States Hockey League, the top junior league in America, including 21 from USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. Additionally, some 34 of the 40 are future NCAA Division I college players … Players selected to participate represent 13 different states. Minnesota led the way with eight, followed by Michigan (6) and Massachusetts (5). Other states included California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin … Four members of the USHL’s Waterloo Blackhawks were in the lineup tonight, including both starting goaltenders … Team Housley wore blue uniforms and Team McClanahan wore white uniforms. Both sets of uniforms for the event were designed by Nike …FASTHockey.com provided a free-for-view stream of the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game … Two youth contests preceded the game Saturday — Buffalo Saints 18U vs. Amherst Knights 18U and Buffalo Jr. Sabres 18U vs. Greater Boston Jr. Bruins 18U — there was also games played by the Rochester Americans vs the Perinton Blades and the Niagara Junior Purple Eagles vs the Niagara County Coyotes in Cross Ice games held between the periods.
