VANCOUVER, B.C. — The BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game hadn’t been held this far west in 11 years.
And yet it was a pair of players from the CHL’s eastern-most league that took over the final two periods as Team Orr won its sixth consecutive game over Team Cherry before 10,113 fans Thursday at Pacific Coliseum.
Pascal LaBerge of the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres scored the first two goals and assisted Pierre-Luc Dubois of the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on the game-winner as Team Orr erased an early 1-0 deficit with three goals in the final 23 minutes.
“Coming here I just wanted to play a good game,” said Dubois, the seventh-ranked draft-eligible North American skater according to NHL Central Scouting. “There were a lot of scouts and a lot of people watching, so my main goal was just to play a good game.”
For LaBerge, ranked 31st by the scouting service, Thursday was an opportunity to improve his draft stock after missing time this season with a broken bone in his hand. The chemistry between the two Quebec natives was apparent early — likely because they’ve played together before at U-16 and U-17 events.
“That was an amazing moment for me,” LaBerge said. “I hope I will bring that to my team when I get back.”
Everett Silvertips goaltender Carter Hart started between the pipes for Team Orr. The top-ranked North American goalie played the game’s first 31 minutes and recorded 15 saves on 16 chances.
“It was an all-around incredible experience and to top it off with a ‘W’ is incredible,” Hart said. “I thought we played great the whole night. It made my job pretty easy. I don’t think I had too many difficult saves.”
The Prospects Game is far more competitive than a typical all-star game as players are looking to impress the myriad scouts and general managers in attendance.
“It’s definitely faster than regular WHL games and to come here and play with some of the top prospects in the whole CHL is quite incredible,” Hart said. “It’s quite an honor to be here.”
The Everett netminder had long since been removed for backup Dylan Wells when the game was decided. Wells took over at 11:02 in the second period.
Hart allowed the game’s first goal when the Vancouver Giants’ Ty Ronning took the puck from the right circle and flicked it into the back of the net at 3:09 in the opening stanza.
Ronning was a late addition to Team Cherry as he filled in for his Giants teammate Tyler Benson who is out with an injury.
“In my hometown and all those fans cheering — it’s the loudest cheer I’ve ever had and it’s something I’ll never forgot,” said Ronning, the son of former Vancouver Canuck Cliff Ronning.
Team Cherry netminder Evan Fitzpatrick saved all 17 shots he faced before he was lifted for Moose Jaw goalie Zach Sawchenko at the same time as Hart.
It was Sawchenko, an old pal of Hart’s from peewee goalie camp several years ago, who allowed all three Team Orr goals.
LaBerge tied it for Team Orr late in the second period. He collected a pass from Dubois near the blue line, deked Team Cherry defender Alex DeBrincat and fired a slot wrister past Sawchenko at 17:09 to make it 1-1.
LaBerge scored the go-ahead goal on the power play at 9:40 in the third when he collected the puck along the left boards, skated to the bottom of the circle and fired a shot from a difficult angle to beat Sawchenko to make it 2-1.
“I think when they changed the goalie he was really cold so I just tried to put the puck on net and it went in,” LaBerge said. “In the third period it was just a quick release between the legs.”
The lead didn’t last long. Jordan Kyrou fed the puck across the ice to Logan Brown, who re-tied the game 2-2 at 11:24.
But Dubois scored what was ultimately the game-winner 10 seconds later when he created a turnover following the faceoff and passed to LaBerge who immediately fed it back to Dubois for the tap-in.
Team Cherry pulled Sawchenko with two minutes to play, but Team Orr withstood the final onslaught and preserved the victory.
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