Game of the Day: Oakland Grizzlies vs. Central Connecticut Selects

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Youthful exuberance is the norm at USA Hockey Youth Nationals, but some teams are more restrained than others. That’s an apt description of the Central Connecticut Selects, who improved to 2-0 Friday with a workmanlike 5-1 victory over the previously unbeaten Oakland (Mich.) Grizzlies.

There were smiles afterward, but little of the raucous revelry common among 15-year-olds pursuing a national championship.

Ryan Coughlin, an upstate New York native who led the Selects with two goals and two assists, offered an explanation.

“We don’t want to be a wild team,” he said. “We want to carry ourselves well.”

The Selects did that and then some against Oakland, even-keeling their way to a 5-0 lead before Braden Lindstrom spoiled the shutout two minutes before the final buzzer.

“That left a little bit of a sour taste in our mouths,” said Central Connecticut head coach Devin Rask, elaborating on the subdued post-game celebration. “And really, this group never gets too high or too low. They’re focused on trying to accomplish that one goal of winning a national championship.”

After piling up 12 goals in two games and blanking the opposition in four of six periods, the Selects’ aspiration seems legitimate. Coughlin’s six points (3G, 3A) lead all tournament scorers; his closest pursuers are teammates Matthew Crasa, Stephen Kyrkostas, Simon Mack and Will Margel. Between the pipes, goaltender Trevor Giwerowski has surrendered only Lindstrom’s goal thus far. And depth players like Ryan Decker are also contributing. The Massachusetts native is comfortable at both forward and defense, and he played both against the Grizzlies, helping on the penalty kill when one of the Selects’ five defensemen was whistled for holding.

“Our depth as a group is a strength,” said Rask. “And we have a lot of high-end talent that people don’t necessarily know yet.”

Coughlin, whose brother plays NCAA Division I hockey at Holy Cross, certainly counts among that talent.

“He’s our second-leading scorer and he’s scored at least 40 goals this season,” said Rask, who complimented Coughlin’s puck skills, vision and hockey awareness, traits his linemates share.

And like most of his teammates, Coughlin seems to fit the Selects’ steady demeanor to a T. On Friday, he was dynamic on the ice and businesslike off it.