Strong Final Impressions: Forest received strong performances in its last game of the tournament in defeating Gold 5-1, including multi-point efforts from Ben Copeland (2G, 1A, Edina, Minn.), Cole Coskey (1G, 1A, Zion, Ill.) and Jordan Seyfert (1G, 1A, Annville, Penn.).  Forest also received a strong goaltending effort from Gabriel Vinal (East Syracuse, N.Y.) who stopped all 16 shots he faced in his 25 minutes of action. 

Orange also received multi-point performances from five different players in their 5-3 victory over Royal. Tyce Thompson (Orange, Conn.) provided two goals while Tyler Gratton (Pottstown, Penn.), Kendrick Frost (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) and Isaac Johnson (Andover, Minn.) each provided a goal and an assist. Nicholas Hale (Cary, N.C.) also provided two assists.

Race for the Divisions: In the fourth game of the day, Kelly and Red faced off with both teams needing a win to clinch their respective divisions. Kelly prevailed 4-2 to clinch the American division and finish with a tournament-leading 13 points. Ivan Lodnia (1G, 1A, Novi, Mich.) and Joshua Ess (2A, Burnsville, Minn.) led the way for Kelly.

Red’s loss gave Gray a chance to win the National division in the final game of the tournament against Columbia. Gray made the most of the opportunity with a five-goal outburst in the first half to take a commanding lead. The scoring didn’t slow from there as Gray clinched the division with a 9-5 victory, finishing the tournament with a 3-1-1-0 record and 11 points.

California Love: West coast natives Brandon McManus (Newport Beach, Cal.) and Jacob McGrew (Orange, Cal.) finished the tournament tied for the lead in scoring. The two California kids finished with an identical scoring line of four goals and five assists for nine points.

Shootout: The tournament’s final game was also one of its wildest with Gray prevailing over Columbia by a score of 9-5. The combined 14 goals was a tournament-high. 12 players finished with multi-point performances in the contest. Joey Strada (Scottsdale, Ariz.) led the way for Gray with two goals and an assist. Strada led the tournament with five goals over five games over the course of the week.