Blue Jackets-Wild open with Lindsay Division wins

The defending champion Columbus Blue Jackets Prospects and Minnesota Wild Prospects both opened play at the eight-team NHL Prospects tournament at Traverse City Friday (Sept. 11) afternoon.

Playing in the ‘Ted Lindsay’ Pool, the Wild started out with an impressive 5-2 win against the New York Rangers Prospects while the Jackets Prospects also opened with a 5-2 decision over the St. Louis Blues Prospects.

Wild 5 Rangers 2

The Minnesota hopefuls found themselves looking up a 1-0 deficit after a period but charged back with three unanswered middle period markers and scored two more in third before the Rangers finally connected again in the final two minutes of the contest.

Mike Reilly, signed as a free agent over the summer after originally being selected by the Blue Jackets in the Fourth Round (98th Overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, collected two assists in the game while Christoph Bertschy, a 21-year-old Swiss forward selected by the Wild in the 6th Round (158th Overall) of the 2012 Entry Draft picked up a goal and a helper in the game.

Other Wild goals came from Carter Rigby, a 21-year-old free agent from British Columbia,  Jack Walker, a 19-year-old unsigned prospect from Edina, MN who played last season with Victoria in the WHL, Sam Warning, a 22 year old free agent from Chesterfield, MO who just wrapped up his final year at University of Minnesota and Chase Lang, an 18-year-old winger from British Columbus selected in the Sixth Round (167th Overall).

Brody Hoffman, a 24-year-old goaltender from Saskatchewan who just finished his fourth and final season at University of Vermont, stopped 17 of 19 in goal for the Wild who fired 29 shots the other way.

Brad Morrison and Brook Adams had the goals for the Rangers

Blue Jackets 5 Blues 2

After getting on the board just 38 seconds into the contest, the Blue Jackets ended the first period even with the Blues and found themselves trailing 5:05 into the middle frame.

But four straight unanswered goals — two in the second and two more in the third — tilted this game in the Jackets’ favor. The final goal was slid into an empty Blues’ goal.

Oliver Bjorkstrand  a 20-year-old Dane drafted in the Third Round (89th Overall)  by the Blue Jackets at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and TJ Tynan, a 23-year-old Illinois native also selected in the Third Round (67th Overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft both picked up a goal and assist for the Blue Jackets.

Other Blue Jacket goals came from: Sonny Milano, the team’s First Round Selection (16th Overall) in 2014; Daniel Zaar, a 21-year-old product of Sweden selected by the Blue Jackets in the Sixth Round (152nd Overall) of the 2012 Entry Draft and Veeti Vainio, an 18-year-old defenseman from Finland Selected earlier this summer in the 5th Round (151st Overall) by the Jackets.

Picking up the win in goal was Joonas Korpisalo, a 21-year-old Finnish goaltender selected by the Blue Jackets in the Third Round (62nd Overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He turned aside 20 of 22 shots faced.

For the Blues, goals came from Zach Pochiro a 21-year-old St. Louis native selected by the Blues in the Fourth Round (112th Overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and Samuel Blais, a 19-year-old forward from Quebec selected by the Blues in the 6th Round (176th Overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Niklas Lundstrom, a 22-year-old goaltender from Sweden selected by the Blues in the Fifth Round (132nd Overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft stopped 29 of 33 shots in goal for the Blues.

As luck would have it, the Ted Lindsay Division will send the two winners out against each other tomorrow night as the Blue Jackets take on the Wild and the Blues will faceoff against the Rangers.