Ethan Wongus scored twice along with an assist, and Dominick Rivelli added his own tally as Team East held on for a 4-3 win over Team Midwest on Day 1 of the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament.
It is the first Top Prospects selection for both players, and both Titans made their mark on the game. Wongus put Team East on the board first at 13:36, breaking into the zone a ripping a wrist shot from the high slot to put the East on top. Rochester’s Matteo Disipio and Massimo Gentile picked up the assists on the play that started when Wongus forced a Midwest turnover in the neutral zone. The East doubled their lead when Johnstown’s Lukas Klemm took a Wongus pass to put the division up 2-0 after 20 minutes.
Not to be outdone, New Jersey captain Dominick Rivelli connected in the second period to put the East up 3-0. As an East penalty expired, Rivelli received a pass from Northeast’s Ryan Remick and wired a shot high to the blocker side. Rivelli continues to lead the Titans with 17 goals this year.
Wongus scored what would prove to be the game winner 2:43 into the third period, tapping in a backdoor pass from Disipio to give the East a 4-1 lead. The Midwest would pull within one, but the East held on for their second victory in a row, stretching back to last season.
The East will be in action again tomorrow to wrap up the Top Prospects Tournament with a scheduled 3:30pm faceoff at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Before then, Nikita Meshcheryakov and his Selects Gold team will look to end the tournament with a victory against Team South at 12:45pm after dropping a 4-2 decision to the Selects Silver squad earlier today. All games will be available to watch on NAHLtv.