Recapping the Ice Breaker Showcase Day One, Thursday October 1, 2026
WALPOLE, MA — We go Around The EShow to recap the Ice Breaker Showcase at Cadillac Ice Arena.
EHL
Thur, Oct 1, 2026
Connecticut Nor’easter @ Express Hockey Club
The opening game of the Ice Breaker Showcase saw the host Express Hockey Club skate to a 4-2 victory over the Connecticut Nor’Easter.
The two sides battled through an evenly played first half, trading chances and each finding the back of the net. The Express offense took over in the second half, striking three times to pull away for the win. Sam Steinman led the charge with a pair of goals, while Nate Brissette played a hand in all four Express tallies, finishing the game with four assists.
Landon Buterbaugh was strong between the pipes, turning aside 33 of the 35 shots he faced for a .943 save percentage.
New York Applecore @ New Hampshire Avalanche
The New Hampshire Avalanche put together a dominant performance on the opening day of the showcase, rolling past Apple Core, 7-1.
The Avalanche offense was clicking from the start, scoring three times in the first half before adding four more in the second. New Hampshire controlled the attack throughout the day, peppering the Apple Core net minder with a whopping 60 shots.
Rookie Cameron Wooles stole the show, recording a hat trick and adding an assist for a four-point performance that earned him recognition as one of the three Sportability Stars of the Night. Casey Fuller also had a multi-goal outing with a pair of his own, while Curry College commit Petey Silverman helped fuel the offense with four assists.
Elite Golden Knights @ Valley Jr. Warriors
The Elite Golden Knights and Valley Jr. Warriors needed overtime to decide a winner, with the Golden Knights ultimately coming out on top, 2-1.
Despite the low-scoring affair, there was no shortage of action as the Golden Knights put 30 shots on net while the Warriors finished with 29. Both goaltenders were strong between the pipes, with Drew Johnson turning aside 28 shots for Valley and Lucas Bonnet making 28 saves for the Golden Knights.
Both sides found the back of the net in the first half. Cody Tatar opened the scoring for the Golden Knights before Gianluca Garippo answered for the Warriors to even things up.
After a scoreless second half, the game headed to overtime where Zack Mackeil played hero for the first-year Golden Knights program. With just under a minute remaining in the extra session, Mackeil buried the game-winner to secure the 2-1 victory.
Providence Capitals @ Hershey Cub
The Providence Capitals skated away with a 3-1 victory over the Hershey Cubs to kick off their showcase showing, with special teams proving to be the difference.
Providence put together a strong first half, outshooting Hershey 19-13 and finding the back of the net twice to take a 2-0 advantage into the break. The Capitals made the most of their opportunities on the man advantage, with both of their first-half tallies coming on the power play.
The Cubs cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second half, but the storyline from the opening frame continued. Providence capitalized on the power play once again, adding its third man-advantage goal of the game to restore the two-goal cushion and close out the 3-1 victory.
Special teams ultimately told the story, as the Capitals took advantage when opportunities presented themselves and used a strong power-play performance to secure the win.
New Jersey 87’s @ H.C. Rhode Island
The New Jersey 87’s and H.C. Rhode Island arguably delivered the most exciting game of the day, with HCRI pulling off a come-from-behind shootout victory after trailing 2-1 at the end of the first half.
The action picked up in a big way in the second half, with the two sides combining for five goals. Rhode Island struck three times while New Jersey added two of its own, leaving the scoreboard deadlocked at four apiece at the end of regulation. The offense came from all over the lineup, with seven different players finding the back of the net throughout the game.
After a scoreless overtime period failed to produce a winner, the teams headed to a shootout. With neither side giving an inch, only one player managed to find the back of the net, and to no surprise, it was Aidan Forcier who came up huge for HCRI. After already scoring twice in regulation, Forcier buried the lone goal of the shootout to complete the comeback and secure the victory for Rhode Island.
Seahawks Hockey Club @ Philadelphia Hockey Club
The Seahawks and Philadelphia Hockey Club battled it out in a back-and-forth matchup, with the defending champions ultimately coming away with a 3-2 victory.
Both teams found the back of the net in the first half, with PHC capitalizing on the power play to even things up at one heading into the break. The Seahawks regained the lead in the second half when Alexandre Archambault found the back of the net, but Philadelphia had an answer. Less than four minutes later, Alex Hood struck for PHC to once again bring the game even at 2-2.
The final minutes delivered plenty of drama as the Seahawks were sent to the penalty kill with the game still tied. Despite being down a man, Aidan Cruz made the most of the moment, finding the back of the net shorthanded to break the tie and secure the 3-2 victory for the defending champions.
Pennsylvania Huntsmen @ East Coast Wizards
The Wizards came to play on Thursday, using a dominant special teams performance to defeat the Huntsmen, 4-1.
Despite the final result, it was the Huntsmen who struck first as Richard Liversage gave his team the early advantage. The Wizards responded before the end of the first half, with Christian Palm converting on the power play to send the teams into the break tied at one.
In the second half, the Wizards’ power play took over. They struck three more times on the man advantage, accounting for all four of their goals in the victory. The offense also came from throughout the lineup, with four different Wizards finding the back of the net to showcase the team’s scoring depth in the 4-1 win.
EHLP
Thur, Oct 1, 2026
Seahawks Hockey Club @ New Jersey 87’s
The Seahawks picked up a close win over the New Jersey 87’s, coming away with a 2-1 victory to kick off EHLP action at the showcase.
The first half was a quiet one offensively, with just one goal separating the two sides. Michael Damon broke through for New Jersey on the power play, giving the 87’s a 1-0 advantage heading into the break.
The second half belonged to the Seahawks. They limited New Jersey’s scoring opportunities while finding the back of the net twice to erase the deficit and secure the 2-1 victory.
Between the pipes, rookie goaltender Gunnar Moninger was strong for the Seahawks, turning aside 21 of the 22 shots he faced for an impressive .955 save percentage.
Hershey Cubs @ Express Hockey Club
’09 netminder Wyliam Brouillard was lights out between the pipes as the Hershey Cubs made a statement against the host Express, skating away with a dominant 5-0 victory. Brouillard turned aside all 31 shots he faced to earn the shutout and keep the Express off the board from start to finish.
Hershey wasted no time getting its offense going, opening the scoring less than a minute into the first half before adding another tally ahead of the intermission to take a 2-0 advantage into the break.
The Cubs kept their foot on the gas in the second half, finding the back of the net three more times. Jeremy Drolet helped lead the charge with two goals in the half, including a shorthanded tally, as Hershey pulled away for the 5-0 win.
Despite the lopsided score, the shot totals remained close, with the Cubs narrowly outshooting the Express 34-31, making Brouillard’s performance in net all the more impressive.
New Hampshire Avalanche @ Connecticut Nor’easter
Similar to the Cubs, the defending champion New Hampshire Avalanche shut the door on their opponent, with Kian O’Leary posting a shutout in his first junior hockey game.
The Avalanche came out firing on all cylinders, striking twice within the opening five minutes to quickly take control of the game. New Hampshire added another before the end of the first half, carrying a three-goal advantage into the break.
The defending champions kept things rolling in the second half, adding two more goals before the final buzzer to close out the victory. On the other end of the ice, O’Leary took care of the rest, keeping his opponent off the board from start to finish to earn a shutout in his junior debut.
Valley Jr. Warriors @ Atlantic City Seals
The Warriors and Seals put on a show in the final game of the night, with Atlantic City battling back to earn a shootout victory.
The Seals struck first, but the Warriors answered with a pair of goals to take a 2-1 advantage into the second half. Valley picked up right where it left off, finding the back of the net again early in the final half to extend its lead to 3-1.
Atlantic City wasn’t going away quietly. The Seals responded with back-to-back goals, including a power-play tally, to erase the two-goal deficit and even things up at three. Neither side was able to break the deadlock in overtime, sending the final game of the night to a shootout.
Gabriel Crete struck first for Valley, but the Seals once again battled back. Kody Knott and Andrei Radkevich both converted their opportunities to complete the comeback and secure the shootout victory for Atlantic City.