18U action close on Day 1 of Fall League
The North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) opened the 2021-22 season on Friday with the debut of the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) Fall League.
The NAPHL Fall League is designed to give U18 and U16 teams the ability to play in a league within a shortened window of time before the Minnesota and Wisconsin high school seasons begin.
There will be three events, which will all take place before the high school seasons begin. The first event will take place this weekend from September 3-5 in Duluth, Minnesota, in cooperation with the NAHL’s Minnesota Wilderness.
All games will be broadcast live on HockeyTV (16U Games)(18U Games)
Here are some helpful links for the event:
Download the NAHL App to keep up to date with NAPHL scores (iOS - Google Play)
Day 1 recaps
18U Division: In 18U action on Day 1, the games were all close with four of the five games being decided by two goals or less. In the opener, the Southern Minnesota Bears (Austin Bruins) got by the Minnesota Wilderness, 3-2, thanks to 40 saves from goalie Carter Nelson. The Janesville Jets picked up a 2-0 win over the Kenai River Brown Bears thanks to a 23-save shutout from Noah McCrary. In their opening game of the event, the Green Bay Bobcats got an overtime goal from Sam Lyons to beat the Chippewa Steel, 4-3. In action later in the day, Max Klingraeff scored two goals in the 3rd period to lead the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Magicians. In the final game of the day, the Minnesota Wilderness picked up their first win their second game of the day as five different players scored in a 5-2 win over Green Bay, who also fell to 1-1 on the season, despite two goals from Eliott Mikesch.
16U Division: The 16U Division of the Fall League was a little more lopsided as plenty of offense was on display. The Minnesota Magicians got off to a strong start with two wins, scoring seven goals in each as they beat Fairbanks 7-1 and Chippewa 7-3. Max Anderson had three goals in the wins and Shawn Newton ended up with six points. The Janesville Jets also won both their games to move to 2-0 as they beat Chippewa 7-1 and shutout the Willderness, 4-0. Lucas Barnes had seven points in the two wins to take over the early 16U Fall League scoring lead. Jets goalie Aiden Tepper Engh allowed one goal in 76+ minutes of action. The Jets 15U squad went 1-0 on Day 1 as they beat the Fairbanks Ice Dogs 9-4, but lost to the Southern Minnesota Bears 6-3. The Bears got five points from Sam Jacobson in the win.
Each team playing in the NAPHL Fall League will be named after an NAHL team and be represented as such. The NAPHL Fall League events are designed to maximize exposure for the players and bring together teams for likeminded and enhanced competition. Players will also participate in seminars that discuss the NAHL junior hockey experience, the ladder of development, as well as, NCAA compliance seminars.
NAHL teams that are taking part in the Fall League with youth teams are: Austin Bruins, Chippewa Steel, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, Janesville Jets, Minnesota Magicians, Minnesota Wilderness, and Green Bay Bobcats
The second event will take place from September 16-19 in Blaine, Minnesota, in cooperation with the NAHL Showcase. The third and final event will take place from October 16-18 in Blaine, Minnesota, and will be the Fall League Playoff Championship.
Now entering its 13th season, no other USA Hockey youth league does more for its players than the NAPHL. Operated by the full-time staff of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), who make it their mission to outperform others both on and off the ice in promoting its players. NAPHL players are recognized on the league’s website and social media outlets, which receive millions of pageviews and social media engagements annually. This also includes broadcasts and play-by-play of every game on HockeyTV, highlights from every game on social media, monthly and yearly award recognition, feature stories, and real-time statistics.
Members of the NAPHL get the opportunity to attend some of the most dynamic and highly scouted events. Every member is guaranteed the opportunity to compete at the NAHL Showcase, which features every NCAA Division 1 and every NHL team along with dozens of junior scouts under one roof. No matter what age classification you compete, the NAPHL provides the most dynamic vertical exposure structure designed specifically to educate, develop, expose and advance players in the NAPHL.
