Monday, August 1, 2011

ATHANASIOU’S NATURAL HAT TRICK LEADS RED TO CAMP-OPENING VICTORY

Press Release

CALGARY, Alta. – Andreas Athanasiou (Woodbridge, Ont./London, OHL) scored a natural hat trick to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead as Red drew first blood at the National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp on Sunday night with a 5-2 win over White.

Athanasiou drew Red even at 2-2 in the final minute of the second period and scored twice in the first 6:25 of the third to give Red a victory in the first of three intersquad games at camp.

It was Red that scored first off the stick of Sean Monahan (Brampton, Ont./Ottawa, OHL), who jammed home a Jarrod Maidens (Niagara Falls, Ont./Owen Sound, OHL) rebound on a Red power play just past the midway point of the first period, the only goal of the opening frame.

Outshot 7-3 in the first, White came out with jump in the second period, pulling even on a point shot from Slater Koekkoek (Inkerman, Ont./Peterborough, OHL) at 4:22 and taking the lead just 37 seconds later thanks to Justin Kea (Woodville, Ont./Saginaw, OHL).

But Athanasiou made sure the game went to the intermission deadlocked, splitting the White defence and snapping a shot low to the blocker side of Matt Murray (Thunder Bay, Ont./Sault Ste. Marie, OHL) with 56.3 seconds left on the clock.

Athanasiou struck again just 2:30 into the third, restoring the Red lead, and completed his hat trick at 6:25, driving to the net and tipping a picture-perfect feed from Griffin Reinhart (West Vancouver, B.C./Edmonton, WHL) past Murray.

Charles Hudon (Boisbriand, Que./Chicoutimi, QMJHL) rounded out the scoring in the final minute for Red, which outshot White 26-14, including 10-4 in the decisive third period.

The teams return to the ice at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena for the second intersquad game on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET before wrapping up camp on Tuesday morning with an 11:30 a.m. MT puck drop.

Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team roster will be announced Tuesday afternoon prior to the team’s departure to Europe for the 2011 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, which opens August 8 in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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