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Western States Invite: Day 2

By Peter Odney, 09/09/17, 9:15PM CDT

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Carter Batchelder notched a highlight goal on Saturday night in Great Plains' win over RHA.


Matthew Wisener notches a goal for Rink Hockey Academy in Saturday's win over Dallas Stars Academy.

There Can Be Only One

The final showdown of Saturday evening pitted the two remaining undefeatd teams against each other, as Great Plains took on Rink Hockey Academy of Winnipeg (MB). 

A back-and-forth battle ensued, with Great Plains coming out on top by a 5-3 final score and ending its run in the Western States Invite with an unblemished 4-0 record. 

Jackson Borst tallied a goal and an assist in the win, as did Jackson Blake and Justin Janicke. Carter Batchelder and Joe Palodichuk added single goals in the win for Great Plains.

For his five-goal, eight-point effort in four games, Borst was selected as co-Most Valuable Player.  

Matthew Wisener, Owen Weihs and Noah Serdachny all scored once in the loss for Rink Hockey Academy, its first defeat of the showcase.

Gentry Academy improved to 3-1 on the weekend with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Thunderbirds and a 6-3 victory over Dallas Stars Elite. The Galaxy have been paced through four games by Chaz and Cruz Lucius, who have scored 13 and 11 points respectively. 

The Anaheim Jr. Ducks eked out a 2-1 win over the Colorado Thunderbirds in a shootout on Saturday, with Samuel Harris and Joshua Hyden netting goals in the one-on-one's. The Jr. Ducks fell to Great Plains 6-3 earlier in the day before the evening win. 

A heartbreaking Saturday befell the Colorado Thunderbirds, with a close 5-3 loss to Gentry Academy and a 2-1 shootout loss to the Anaheim Jr. Ducks in the nightcap. Despite the losses, defenseman Kelsen Evenson turned in a standout performance with a pair of goals and an assist. 

The Thunderbirds and the currently winless Dallas Stars Elite will meet on Sunday morning, with the Stars hoping for another strong performance from forward Hayden Cox. 


Triston Tabucol scores one of his four goals in Saturday morning's win for Great Plains.

Sunday's Schedule

Team Team Time Arena
Colorado Thunderbirds Dallas Stars Elite 9:15 A.M. BIG 2
Anaheim Jr. Ducks Rink Hockey Academy 11:00 A.M. BIG 2

Dallas Stars Elite forward Hayden Cox scored twice in the Stars' loss to Rink Hockey Academy on Saturday.

Saturday's Top Performers

Kelsen Evenson, Colorado Thunderbirds 

A natural puck-rusher with excellent speed and power, Evenson impresses on the defensive side as a shot-blocking machine. 

Triston Tabucol and Jackson Borst, Great Plains

Repeats from yesterday's list, Tabucol racked up four goals and five points in Great Plains' first game of the day while Borst totaled four points on two goals and two assists. 

Hayden Cox, Dallas Stars Elite

Strong forward muscled his way to a pair of goals in the Stars' hard-fought loss to Rink Hockey Academy. 

Keenan Allan, Rink Hockey Academy 

Speed is Allan's strongest point of his game, and he uses it effectively, especially on the power play forecheck. 

Joshua Hyden, Anaheim Jr. Ducks 

Hyden netted the game-winner in Anaheim's shootout win over the Colorado Thunderbirds, adding to an already-impressive weekend resume of strong play.

Jack Stark, Great Plains

The First-team All-Bantam Elite League selection closed out the Great Plains' weekend with a 5-3 win over Rink Hockey Academy on Saturday night, and allowed just four goals in four games. 


Hayden Cox totaled two goals for Dallas Stars Elite on Saturday.

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