The Minnesota HP 18 (MN 18s) team showcased its skill and depth throughout the 2015 CCM National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and topped the weekend off with a 4-1 win over the Michigan Seniors.

In a tournament typically dominated by the teams made of high school seniors, Minnesota’s class of juniors proved to be a force to be reckoned with, outscoring its opponents 26-6 en route to the team’s first ever CCM NIT Championship.  The MN 18s, who had finished in second place three out of the last four years, benefitted from a wealth of scoring as 12 of its 18 skaters registered a goal.

“It was somebody different every day,” said MN 18s coach Mark Manney. “Really (number) 1-20 on our team, they just kind of had fun playing for each other, and there were no egos in the room.

During Sunday’s Championship game, it was Alex Gregor (New Prague) that stepped up for the team, scoring the game’s first goal and tallying two more in the third period for a hat trick.

The MN 18’s controlled play through most of the first period and were able to jump out to an early lead. Wyatt Newpower (White Bear Lake) entered the zone with speed, swung around the net and found Chase Ellingson (Breck) coming down the slot. Ellingson made one hard fake and slid a pass to the back door where Gregor hammered it home for a lead the MN 18’s would never relinquish.

It didn’t take long for them to extend the lead either as Will Garin (Holy Family) redirected a pass from Wyatt Aamodt (Hermantown) on the very next shift to make the game 2-0.

The Michigan Seniors (MI Seniors) stole the momentum in the second half of the first period though as the MN 18’s got into trouble with penalties. Nick Borellis tipped in a power play goal on a shot by Brandon Young with 8:25 left in the period to make it 2-1.  Then, the MN 18s took two successive penalties just 22 seconds apart to give the MI Seniors a 5-on-3 opportunity with 1:17 remaining.

In order to prepare their team for how to handle the golden opportunity to tie the game, the MI Seniors called a timeout.

Unfortunately, the timeout also gave the MN 18s time to discuss their strategy. 

“It allowed us to talk about how to move and communicate as a group,” said Manney.  “I’m sure it was the same reason that they called the timeout, because they had to kind of work with their guys. You don’t get too many 5-on-3’s in these types of competitions.”

For a team of players that had never played together, it proved to be a critical opportunity to get on the same page. When play resumed, the MN 18s used a seamless rotation, several shot blocks and excellent goaltending to kill off the two man advantage.

“We had Jon Richards, a Detroit Lakes kid, who scored about 75 points for them this year, and he’s out there blocking shots,” said Manney. “That was kind of the story for us all weekend. Guys put aside egos and just did what it took to win.”

The MI Seniors pushed hard for the equalizer in the second period, but the goaltending duo of Will Swanson (Mahtomedi) and Mike Hughes (Tartan), who combined for a .943 save percentage and a 1.50 goals against average over four games, held up to the challenge and kept the score at 2-1.

In the third period, Gregor took control for the MN 18s, turning two loose pucks in the offensive zone into a 4-1 lead for the MN 18s.  Later in the period, Tanner Tweten (East Grand Forks) and Alex Adams (Grand Rapids) both added empty net goals, securing a 6-1 win.