Tied 1-1 after the first period, though the CHL Prospects carried the play with a 10-2 shot advantage. Early in the first, the CHL’s Porter Martone sent a waist-high floater from the point to the net which was nicely tipped in by Caleb Desnoyers. USA’s Cole McKinney tied it up with under 5 minutes left with a nice breakaway goal. He took advantage of a poor line change by the CHL Prospects to receive a pass by Drew Schock in the neutral zone, then walked in for the score.
2-1 lead for the CHL Prospects after two periods. Shots were 16-3 in the 2nd for the CHL for 26-5 advantage overall. Great power play goal by the CHL Prospects to take the lead. Caleb Desnoyers threaded the needle on a pass from the top of the left circle to Michael Misa at the right post for a tap-in. Very physical game both during the play and after the whistle. They are running out of room in both penalty boxes. USA goaltender Harrison Boettiger was clearly the USNTDP’s best player in the 2nd, making numerous stops on grade-A chances.
Power play goal on a one-timer by Jack Murtagh from the top of the right circle to make it 2-2. USNTDP then killed off a double minor high-sticking call, despite several excellent scoring chances by the CHL. Murtagh had another great scoring chance off the rush, trying to go 5-hole on CHL goaltender Jack Ivankovic. Another great save by Ivankovic on a 2-on-1 chance by William Moore. Great bar-down shot by Cole Reschny from the right circle with 1:12 left to make it 3-2 for the CHL Prospects. That’s how it ended.
The player of the game was Caleb Desnoyers, with two points and numerous great defensive plays as well.
The CHL Prospects were a much better team at this Challenge with 13 A-rated players, possessing a lethal mixture of speed, skill, and physicality. A positive takeaway for the USNTDP is that they played hard and did not shy away from the physical play, and didn’t quit after getting blown out in the first game. I’m sure the scouts appreciated that.