Jackson Jutting scores the eventual game-winner for Bolts in 6-5 win over Wild. Photo by Peter Odney.
Game 1 of the 2015 Bantam Elite League produced the league's current leading scorer, as Edina's Jack Jensen notched a hat-trick to kick off the fall season.
The Bruins tore out of the gates early, building a 4-0 lead after one half, with goals coming from Sibley's William Schimek, Lakeville's Sam Elasky, and two from Jensen.
Edina's Grant Silinoff scored early in the second half for the Flyers, but Jensen scored for the Bruins four minutes later to snuff out any chance for a comeback attempt.
Josh Luedtke scores low for the Bruins in 5-1 win over Flyers. Photo by Peter Odney.
Colton Linson (St. Francis) scored midway through the first half, and the Kings were able to sustain that slim lead until the early stages of the second session.
Ian Latvala (Osseo/Maple Grove) scored for the Pens just 27 seconds into the second half, and Eagan's Andrew Wilson added a pair of goals to give the Penguins an insurmountable 3-1 lead.
Wilson's second goal came off a slick toe-drag and rocket wristshot that managed to clang loudly off the crossbar before settling in the back of the net.
Andrew Wilson scores his first of two goals for the Pens. Photo by Peter Odney.
Tuesday night's finale featured the more goals than the first two games combined, with the Bolts scraping by the Wild in a back-and-forth battle.
Blake Warnert (Chaska/Chanhassen) scored two goals for the Lightning, and the Bolts got single goals from Trevor Janicke (Osseo/Maple Grove), Zachary Zemlicka (Spring Lake Park), Jackson Jutting (Prior Lake), and Jackson Perbix (Elk River).
The power play unit of Janicke, Jutting, and Robert Christy (St. Paul) was particularly strong, as the trio converted on a tic-tac-toe passing play on Jutting's beautiful snapshot, which turned into the eventual game-winner.
Tommy Winges (Sibley) scored twice for the Wild, while Tyler Rollwagen (Bloomington), Ryan O'Neill (Roseville), and Jackson Wille (Forest Lake) each scored a goal apiece in the hard-luck loss.