Five of Atlanta’s top prospects were in Lake Placid to compete in inter-nation exhibition games at the conclusion of an international prospect camp. Vinny Saponari, John Albert and Zach Bogosian each suited up for Team USA, while Nicklas Lasu and Niclas Lucenius skated for Team Sweden and Finland, respectively.
It was a quiet beginning for Atlanta’s Prospects at the Team Competition phase of the Evaluation Camp. None of Atlanta’s representatives made it into the scoring column. Bogosian did get called for a holding penalty in the second stanza, however.
The second day of team competition was another quiet one for the Thrashers youth, although there was one moment in Team USA-White’s runaway victory over Finland which had to make head coach John Anderson smile. Bogosian and Saponari were part of a three-on-one breakaway early in the third period. The two Thrashers were credited with assists on the goal.
To close out the weekend, the prospects finished with a flurry of fireworks as Saponari’s two goals led Team White to a 5-2 victory over Finland. His first goal came off a rebound in front of the Finnish net, soon after the game was tied at 1-1 late in the first period. Saponari started the second period where he ended the first—in the boxscore—giving USA-White a 3-1 lead six minutes into the period.
There was little to show for the Thrashers prospects in the Red, White and Blue on Day 3 of team competition, leaving the door open for the team’s foreign-born players to steal the show. Lasu scored a hat trick and added an assist in the first period alone, helping build a 4-0 for Team Sweden over Team USA-White. Sweden held on to their lead to win, but the Swedes allowed three goals through the rest of the game, making the score 4-3.
OVERTIMES FOR TEAM BLUE
For Atlanta’s other international prospect, it wasn’t as much the number of scoring opportunities but the timing of them that proved to be so critical. With the game tied at 4-4 in overtime, Lucenius fed his Finnish teammate with a perfect pass to score the game-winning goal for Finland over Team USA-Blue. The assist was Lucenius’s only point of the game.
The final games of the week ended with more Thrashers playing a pivotal role as Team USA-Blue won over Sweden in penalty shots, 5-4. Already with a 1-0 lead, Lasu helped his Swedish teammates by knocking in the team’s second goal of the game. Sweden gave the lead back and eventually tied the game before Team-USA Blue won in the shootout to end the competition.
The coaches will now return to their respective countries and look over their notes and tape before deciding on who will compete as a part of the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in late December in Ottawa, Canada.
Saponari impressed the USA team coaches, scoring two goals and two assists in his four games at Lake Placid. But Lasu was the real star from Atlanta during the four games, scoring four goals and notching another assist to compile five points for Sweden.
Boral can be reached at jboral@scoreatl.com.
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