Nursing a 2-1 lead after the first period of Tuesday's game, Rocky Mountain aimed to pull away in the second from North America and put the hammer down on the first game of The Show. 

Rocky Mountain's attempt sputtered, notching just one goal in the second stanza and entering the third period with a less-than-solid 3-1 advantage, with goals coming from Trey Fredenburg, Logan Anderson, and Carter Ganser. 

The third period turned into Rocky Mountain's platform for domination, as the skaters in green turned on the heat against North America and racked up for goals, breezing their way to a 7-1 victory. 

Dimitri Tioumentsev, Sawyer Graubin, and Ben Davis scored in the third, as did Ganser, earning his third point of the game and clinching Player of the Game honors in the process. Liam Heary scored the lone goal of the loss for North America during the first period, blasting a slapshot from the point that eluded the Rocky Mountain netminder.

Despite taking the loss between the pipes, North America's Carter Nadon stood out, routinely denying Rocky Mountain shooters from close range.   

It wasn't the cleanest seesaw battle, nor the crispest, or efficient, but Great Plains slogged to a 10-5 win over Great Lakes, thanks in large part to a four-goal first period that helped set the offensive tone for Great Plains. 

K.J. Sauer scored twice in the first frame for Great Plains, with supplemental goals coming from Mason Jenson and Parker Deschene before Great Lakes' Wyatt Ehrhardt broke the ice to make the score 4-1 Great Plains after the first. 

Blaine Krahn netted the first goal of the second period to pull Great Lakes within two at 4-2, but Great Plains scored three of the game's next four goals to negate the momentum. Player of the Game Mason Jenson scored twice in the period, with Mason Kraft scoring the third of the period for Great Plains. Mateo Nunag scored the lone goal of the period for Great Lakes. 

The third stanza followed the exact same goal order, with Great Lakes scoring first, followed by two goals from Great Plains, a responsive goal by Great Lakes, and a victory-cementing score from Great Plains. 

Gavin McNeil, Tyler Hess, and Luke Myers all tallied goals in the third period for Great Plains, while Treyton Schumacher and Nunag marked the scoresheet in the third for Great Lakes.

While the game finished as a win for Great Plains, the battle may have exposed an Achilles heel. Great Plains struggled killing penalties, allowing multiple Great Lakes goals and losing valuable time in possession. The ability to effectively kill penalties and disrupt opposing power plays will be key for Great Plains as the tournament progresses.  

Behind the staunch goaltending of Owen Lunneborg and multiple clutch defensive zone clearances, Team Minnesota escaped Tuesday night with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Team USA.

The game could serve as a wake-up call for Team Minnesota, which saw a seemingly solid 3-0 lead nearly disappear after it relaxed in its own zone.  

Team Minnesota added to its 2-0 lead with a goal in the third period, with Jack Stanius stretching the team's lead to 3-0 with just over 13 minutes left in the game. The new three-goal deficit sparked the competitive fire for Team USA, as Wyatt Herres and Gurkaranvir Otal scored in the final 11:13 to pull Team USA within one at 3-2 before Team Minnesota's defense battened its hatches.

Otal's goal came with just 3:43 to play in the third, as the forward swooped past the Minnesota defense and stuffed the puck around Lunneborg on his forehand. 

Cole Braunshausen scored in the first period for Team Minnesota, Ryder Betzold scored a shorthanded beauty in the second in addition to Stanius' tally in the third period. Betzold also added an assist in the win, earning Player of the Game honors.