Dallas, TX – South Dakota’s team of 14-and-under hockey players continued their fast and physical style in the second round of the 2021 national tournament, defeating the Arizona Junior Coyotes 7-2 this evening at the Children’s Health StarCenter in Dallas, Texas.
Team South Dakota (Team SD) again started strong in a fast-paced game. Aberdeen forward Carson Myhre opened the scoring less than four minutes in with a deft pull-back in front of the Arizona goalie to give Team SD the early lead.
Later in the first, an Arizona boarding penalty put Team SD on the powerplay. Less than a minute later, Mitchell forward Parker Denne ripped a one-time shot on a cross-ice pass from Watertown defenseman Austin McBride to put Team SD up 2-0.
“McBride came down the ice with a nice carry, brought it into the zone, [and] got the shot off,” Denne said. “I picked up the rebound one-timer and buried it.”
A goal from Rapid City forward Colton Merchen with 2:43 remaining in the first gave Team SD a 3-0 lead. Arizona snuck in a goal 90 seconds later, and Team SD ended the period ahead 3-1.
Team SD started the second by killing two penalties, then a tip-in goal by Nathan Renken, with assists from McBride and Yankton forward Hudson Burgeson, put Team SD up 4-1. North Sioux City forward Grant Harder also got into the action with a shorthanded goal and an assist to Brookings defenseman Ren Jacobsen, who give Team SD a 6-1 lead to close out the period.
In the third, Team SD answered an early Arizona goal with a tip-in by Aberdeen forward Brady Huff, again assisted by McBride.
Huff, who celebrated his birthday on gameday, described the game: “The other team was very fast compared to us, they were very physical, and they had a lot of shots on net – very good shots on net,” Huff said. “But our goalie was doing very good today too, and stopped a lot of pucks.”
McBride’s strong shots from the blue line earned him a Playmaker (three assists) in the contest.
“[Coaches] Brian and Ben [Prisbe] the past couple of weeks while we’ve been getting ready for nationals have been preaching getting the puck to the net,” McBride mentioned. “Doing that today sure worked out for us and led to three assists.”
Once again, Team SD enjoyed solid goaltending, as netminder Gavin Covrig of Sioux Falls only allowed two goals on 31 shots.
“Today I felt like I could really see the puck well, and I had the energy to play the entire game through,” Covrig said. “My “D” was really helping me out as well.”
Team SD’s decisive 7-2 win earned them a spot in the tournament’s quarterfinals.
“Another seven to two score, and that officially puts us in the quarterfinals on Sunday, which was our goal for today’s game – to win this game and advance to the next stage of this tournament,” said Head Coach Brian Prisbe.
They will face the Ashburn Virginia Xtreme in the third round of pool play at 2:30 P.M. central time on Saturday, May 1.
