Carolina Hurricanes Prospects Win Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup
The Carolina Hurricanes prospects were victorious in the final of the Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup. This is the first time that the Carolina Hurricanes have won the Tournament since 2009.
The Canes defeated the Red Wings prospects 6-4 despite missing Haydn Fleury, Sebastian Aho, and Aleksi Saarela. Saarela missed the entire tournament with injury, Fleury missed the final few games with an injury, and Sebastian Aho is playing in the World Cup of Hockey.
It is remarkable that the team team could win despite three of the top prospects not playing in the finals. It shows how far the team has come since Ron Francis took over as GM. The entire organization has depth at all levels.
The Carolina Hurricanes beat the host and winner of the Gordie Howe division, the Detroit Red Wings, 6-4 in the tournament final. The team was propelled to a win by their special teams and goaltending. Half of the Carolina Hurricanes six goals came either on the power play or while down a man.
???? #CanesTC #Redvolution pic.twitter.com/eGKuO6eg2g
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) September 21, 2016
In the final both 2016 first round picks scored on special teams. Jake Bean scored a power play goal at the 11:33 into the second period and shortly after Julien Gauthier scored a short handed goal at 16:11. The final special teams goal went to Hudson Elynuik at the 15:30 mark of the final period.
The Canes were out shot 35-30 but Alex Nedeljkovic remained solid as he had all tournament long. The team USA World Junior Championsip goalie now has a new win to put on his resume.
Young Carolina Hurricanes Performance Strong Throughout
The Canes finished the tournament undefeated in four games. Their biggest scare came in their first game, against the New York Rangers, which they won in over time.
The Carolina Hurricanes were the top scoring team in the tournament with 20 goals for. The team had no outright leader in scoring, but four players tied with four points each (Steven Lorentz, Sergey Tolchinsky, Nicolas Roy, and Tyler Ganly).
Steven Lorentz led the team with three goals, two of which were game winners. Tolchinsky had a large impact on the team as well with the OT winner against the rangers and dazzling opposing players with his stick work and skating abilities.
On the goaltending front Alex Nedeljkovis and Callum Booth combined for the tournaments third best goaltending performance. Over four games the two combined for a .906 save percentage and let in only 12 goals against.
Nedeljkovic led the tandem in minutes played 183:58 to 60:00. Nedeljkvic’s total was also the third most played by any player in the tournament.
Prospects Looking to Ride Momentum to a Roster Spot with the Carolina Hurricanes
The victorious Carolina Hurricanes prospects will now have today and tomorrow to rest before training camp starts this Friday, September 25th. They will be riding a wave of confidence and momentum going into camp, which should make drills and scrimmages with the vets very interesting.
During last year’s camp Tolchinsky dazzled, deked, and scored his way to a professional contract, no he and the others will be making their cases for the NHL team.
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