Dallas, TX – South Dakota’s team of 14-and-under hockey players kicked off the 2021 national tournament with an impressive 7-2 victory over the Nashville (Tennessee) Flyers this afternoon at the Children’s Health Star Center in Dallas, Texas.
Team South Dakota (Team SD) came out hard in the first period, scoring three goals on just seven shots. Forward Colton Merchen of Rapid City opened the action five minutes in, moments after Team SD killed off an early penalty.
Just 90 seconds later, defenseman Ren Jacobsen of Brookings scored Team SD’s second goal on assists from Mitchell forward Parker Denne and Sioux Falls forward Tytan Haight. With under a minute remaining in the first, Aberdeen forward Carson Myhre* scored a breakaway goal to put Team SD up 3-0.
“I grinded for the puck, then skated down as hard as I could and scored a goal, and just flipped it short side.” Myhre said.
Physical play set the tone for Team SD, led by Watertown defenseman Austin McBride who provided strong play at the blue line.
The second period began with Team SD continuing its high level of play, putting in two unanswered goals. Sioux Falls Forward Alex Chan made the first and Brookings defenseman Luke Honkomp scored the second to put Team SD up 5-0.
“My teammate Carter Sanderson flipped it over a defenseman, and my other teammate Nathan Renken came through, swung left, [and] passed it off the defenseman . . . it came right back out and [I] got the rebound,” Chan said. “I was a little pumped because it was a momentum shift.”
Penalties in the second period by Team SD provided an opening for Nashville. The Flyers scored two power-play goals and put up 14 shots to close the gap, 5-2 after two periods.
But Team SD’s physicality and excellent goaltending from Aberdeen netminder Carson Hundstad carried the day. Myhre and Chan both scored again in the third period, while Hundstad finished with 20 saves on 22 shots.
“I had a good warmup today [and] saw the puck really well,” Hundstad noted. “The team played well in front of me [and] we came out with the win in the first round.”
Team SD will face the Arizona Junior Coyotes in the second round of pool play at 6:30 P.M. central time on Friday, April 30.
“Winning the first game in this tournament format is super important,” said Head Coach Brian Prisbe. “We were the faster team and got pucks on the net.”
