NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Liam Ruck chips a puck into the U.S. NTDP end in the first period of the second game of the CHL USA Prospects Challenge held Wednesday in Lethbridge. The CHL won the first game 4-3, forcing a sudden death overtime to decide the series. The U.S. scored 5:53 into the extra frame to the win two-game challenge.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
LETHBRIDGE
After getting swept in the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge, the U.S. NTDP took revenge this year.
Team CHL won the second game of the Prospects Challenge 4-3, forcing a sudden death overtime Wednesday in Lethbridge that the U.S. won 5:53 into the extra frame.
In the second rendition of the tournament it’s the U.S.’s first series win. The U.S. opened the two-game slate with a 4-2 win Tuesday in Calgary.
CHL head coach Willie Desjardins says they had a lot of chances in the second game and overtime.
“In overtime we could have won it early, we had great chances, but that’s the game,” the Medicine Hat Tigers head coach said. “I’m thinking yet last night and today, it’s going to come down to overtime and anything can happen in overtime. You knew that because I felt we’d play hard, I was hoping we would get a win, but you still had to win overtime and in overtime, it can go either way.”
Team CHL opened the scoring early in the first period.
After U.S. net minder Luke Carrithers made a save, defenceman Daxon Rudolph (WHL/Prince Albert) sent a pass cross-ice to JP Hurlbert for the one-timer 34 seconds into the game for the 1-0 lead. Medicine Hat Tigers forward Liam Ruck had the second assist.
Ruck liked the CHL’s response from their loss Tuesday to Wednesday’s action.
“It showed a lot of character, it showed how we were able to bond together and come together in a short event,” Ruck said. “Obviously the OT didn’t show the results we wanted. But it was a good bounce back for sure.”
The U.S. NTDP rattled off a pair of goals to lead 2-1 after 20 minutes. AJ Garcia and Victor Plante had the U.S. markers.
They put themselves ahead 3-1 with a five-on-three power goal from James Glance. The CHL showed life on the second half of the penalty kill as captain Caleb Malhotra (Brantford/OHL) scored on a shorthanded breakaway to make it a 3-2 game.
Before the second period ended, the CHL made it a tied game through 40 minutes. Alessandro Di Iorio (Sarnia/OHL) was all alone down in the slot and wasted no time after receiving a pass from Maddox Dagenais (Quebec/QMJHL), tickling twine for the 3-3 score. Rudolph had the second assist for his second helper on the night.
The CHL forced overtime with a late power play marker.
Mathis Preston (WHL/Spokane) had the puck in the high slot and passed to Carson Carels (WHL/Prince George) on the halfwall to the left of the U.S. net minder. He dished to Xavier Villeneuve (Blainville-Boisbriand/QMJHL) at the net front for the tip-in and the 4-3 lead with 3:11 left in the third.
The CHL held on, holding off the U.S. NTDP who pulled the goalie for an extra attacker, to win the second game of the series and force sudden death overtime.
CHL minder Zachary Jonvanovski (Guelph/OHL) finished the regulation game with 24 saves. Across the ice from him, Carrithers had 33 saves.The CHL power play was 1-4, the NTDP man advantage was 1-6.
After a couple of CHL chances to win the extra frame, it was the NTDP who pulled out the overtime and captured the series. Plante spun off a defender at the point in the CHL end and skated to the slot before beating Jonvanovski to win the sudden death overtime and spark an eighth playing of their goal song, ‘FreeBird‘ by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The 2026 tournament will be hosted in two QMJHL markets still to be announced.
See Friday’s News for more on the CHL USA Prospects Challenge and Desjardins/Ruck’s experience.
