Friday night, the mood is set, the Flames and Jets young stars took to the ice which for many fans marked their first taste of hockey since the NHL Season came to a close just a few months back.
The Flames got off to a slow start in the game allowing the Jets to jump into a shots advantage with many of the bounces going the Jets way. Calgary throughout much of the 1st period fought back at times with quality scoring chances but lacked quantity of shots.
The most intriguing line for the Flames in the 1st period was Gaudreau-Arnold-Smith who showed some flashes of chemistry. The line seemingly has all the pieces to create quality scoring chances. Late in the 1st period the Flames were caught on a bad bounce in the Jets zone which led Austen Brassard to tap a goal past Joni Ortio with just 22 seconds remaining in the frame to give Winnipeg the lead heading into the 1st period but not before Van Brabant and Lowry dropped the mitts in a quick bout.
The second period was and is every hockey fans dream. Scoring, and tons of it. Both clubs combined for 7 goals in the frame that saw back and forth scoring. Josh Jooris scored for the Flames on a two on zero play with Ferland to make the game 1-1 but, Jooris and his club soon down by two goals from Ehlers and Lodge and suddendly the Jets before the 10 minute mark in the period were up 4-2 on the Flames.
Then this happened. Gaudreau jumps off the bench, keeps the play in the zone (just barely), absolutely outdangles the defencemen to roof it past Hellebuyck. This goal is simply magical and from a very special player.
Throughout the period both teams traded end to end rushes with both defences seeming to keep pace with the amount of raw talent both clubs had at the forward position. Markus Granlund who is expected to compete for a roster spot with the Flames this season tied the game nearing the end of the second period who will look to continue his scoring form throughout the young stars tournament and into the teams main camp.
3rd period began with more chances for both clubs who really showed some impressive speed from their defensive puck movers. Josh Morrissey and Brett Kulak were the fronts of most of the rushes up and down the ice for their respective teams. Just past the 6 minute mark of the period Granlund again was a part of the Flames offense, rushed down the left wing of the ice and laid a shot on net which led to a juicy rebound for Ferland who potted a great goal past Hellebuyck. The aforementioned Granlund had a team high 7 shots while Josh Jooris who collected 3 points in the contest had 6 shots on net.
Calgary closed out the game with a Granlund empty netter who was clearly the clubs best player. Sam Bennett was a quiet plus two for the Flames who also collected 1 shot. Bennett being the second youngest player in the tournament will have to raise his game in the coming games to showcase that he deserves a roster spot when main camp starts.