Neely Cup – Day One
The inaugural Neely Cup got underway Wednesday afternoon with Team Currie knocking off Team Hodge 3-2 in overtime. The winning goal came off the stick of Stefan Schneider, who’s playing on the blueline in the tournament.
Schneider’s shot from the point got past Team Hodge goaltender Corbin Boes just 11 seconds into the extra frame. The victory came despite being outshot 47-25, as Kurtis Mucha and David Jacobson split time and stymied Team Hodge time and time again.
Team Currie got on the board first when Teal Burns made it 1-0 with a shot from the slot. But Team Hodge tied it up with 30 seconds to go in the half (the games are two 30-minute halves) on a goal from Jordan Pughe.
Team Currie made it 2-1 early in the second, but Team Hodge knotted it again when Riley Boychuk led a rush down the right boards and put one past Jacobson. From there Team Hodge had numerous chances to get the go-ahead goal, but Jacobson turned them away each time, most notably on chances from Boychuk and Taylor Leier, allowing Team Currie to make it to overtime where Schneider got the winner.
The nightcap featured Team Peterson going up against Team Bandura, who took a 1-0 lead into the second half before the game opened up with a flurry of goals.
Team Peterson tied it early in the second frame, and then took a 2-1 lead on a goal from Troy Stecher. The Bandura squad bounced back with a nice goal from newcomer Spencer Bennett on a tic-tac-toe play to tie the game at 2-2. But the momentum was short-lived, as Team Peterson came right back with the go-ahead goal just minutes later, before capping the win with an empty net marker.
The games are divided into two 30-minute halves with a running clock until the last two minutes, with each goaltender minding the crease for one half. The winner of the tournament will be decided by overall wins. Should there be a tie, then the winner of those two teams’ head-to-head matchup will be declared the winners.
