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Boys Select 17 PDC Notebook: Day 1

By Jim Christopher, 06/25/17, 8:30PM EDT

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Today's Camp Notebook

AMHERST, N.Y. – The USA Hockey National Player Development Camps kicked off today at the Northtown Center in Amherst, New York. The Boys Select 17 Camp started in full with all 10 teams in action on opening day. The first game, however, between Team Black and Team Orange, produced the most exciting contest of the day.

After a back-and-forth first period, Team Orange eventually built a 3-2 lead, but Team Black’s Logan Will tied the game with 36 seconds remaining. In what seemed like a sure shootout situation, Conner Hutchinson, from Hicksville, New York, snatched back all of the momentum as he bolted down the ice alone and found the back of the net with only 11 seconds remaining to knot the game at 3-3.

When asked who was the most influential person in his hockey development, Hutchinson credited his mother with being the one that put him on skates at a young age and drove him to the rink every day. All of those early mornings at the rink certainly paid off today as Hutchinson scored the biggest goal of the day.

The day’s second game, between Team Red and Team Royal, didn’t have the last-second drama, but still had an offensive explosion. Royal hung three goals on Red in the second half to take a 5-2 victory. Kevin Wall led the way for Royal as he tallied a goal and two assists. Wall joined Team Orange’s Phillippe LaPointe (1G, 2A), Team White’s Kyle Haskins (1G, 2A) and Royal’s Samuel Rhodes (0G, 3A) as the only players at camp to tally three points on the day.

The Team Kelly-Team Grey matchup ended in a 4-1 victory for Team Kelly. Adam Robbins opened up the scoring just 27 seconds into the game with his first goal of the week. Tyler Coffey was awarded a penalty shot following a hooking call on Grant Docter of the Grey side but was unsuccessful, as he could not get it past Team Grey goaltender John Paul Mella. Team Kelly went 2-for-2 on the power play, which proved to be a decisive factor in the outcome.

Team Gold defeated Team Columbia in the fourth game of the day by a score of 5-1. Columbia forward Jett Jungles was able to take a give-and-go from Jacques Bouquot and cashed in the only shorthanded tally of the day, preventing Gold from posting the first shutout of the week. Gold forward Ryan Roth set the tone for his side by scoring two goals.

While no team was able to keep their opponent off the scoreboard, Connor Hopkins (Gold), Isaiah Saville (Royal), Todd Scott (White) and Blake Pietila (Kelly) each refused to allow a goal during their playing time on the first day of competition, making eight, nine, nine and 16 saves, respectively.

The final game of the day saw a defensive struggle between the White and Forest sides. A comeback attempt from Forest was thwarted when they took a too-many-men penalty late in the second half and Team White converted on the power play to make the final 3-1.

With the first day in the books, the players are already looking toward tomorrow, as each team will be in action again. The Boys Select 17 Camp will run the rest of the week, culminating in the camp all-star game to be played Friday morning. Be sure to check back for coverage all week. The White and Royal squads will be the first teams on the ice tomorrow with the opening faceoff scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Team White celebrates its 3-1 win over Team Forest Green on opening day at the 2017 USA Hockey Boys Select 17 National Player Development Camp.

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