Traverse City liveblogging, not by me

3-8

Completely ganking Mike_Morreale's multiple post coverage of the championship game tonight! YEAH I'M MAILING IT IN! But I'm saving you some clicks so shut it. I love you, you look great, have you lost weight or something? You've been working out, haven't you?

Dallas 1, Atlanta 0 (9:00 left in first) 06:55 PM EDT

Tyler Shelast went top shelf while on the power-play off a feed from Colton Sceviour 8:06 into the first period to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Shelast was barreling down the slot before accepting his pass from Sceviour.

The goal was Shelast’s first of the tournament.

Dallas 3, Atlanta 1 (End 1st) 07:18 PM EDT

Plenty of action in the opening frame of the championship game of the Traverse City Prospects Tournament.

After Atlanta defenseman Zach Bogosian sent a harmless attempt towards the cage from the left point that deflected home to square the match, 1-1, Dallas connected for two straight.

Dallas forward Raymond Sawada happened to be "johnny on the spot" at the 14:39 mark of the first when he smacked home a loose puck on the goal line. Wes Cunningham took the original shot from the point that Thrashers goalie Chris Carrozzi misplayed. After the disk fluttered behind him, Sawada was there to sweep it home at the left post to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Less than two minutes later, James Neal roofed an superb feed by Shelast to give Dallas a 3-1 edge. Tyler Shelast, who scored the game’s opening goal, controlled a feed from Colton Sceviour before skating low in the right circle and sending a no-look pass behind his back to Neal.

The goal for Neal was his tournament-leading fourth, to go along with seven points.

Dallas goalie Tyler Beskorowany, a 6-4, 203-pounder, stopped 18 Atlanta shots in the frame. Carrozzi halted six pucks.

Atlanta was 1-for-3 on the power play and Dallas connected for one goal with the man advantage in as many attempts.

Espo cuts deficit 07:35 PM EDT

Atlanta’s Angelo Esposito just connected 2:09 into the second off a nifty backhand from the side of the cage that he directed just inside the long side right post on Dallas goalie Tyler Beskorowany. Dallas 3, Atlanta 2.

It was good hustle on Esposito’s part to retrieve the puck behind the goal line before scooting out for his opportunity.

Dallas 4, Atlanta 3 (11:00 left in 2nd) 07:47 PM EDT

Okay, what happened to the defense?

This is ridiculous.

Atlanta tied the game up, 3-3, on a power-play goal by 2008 third-round pick Danick Paquette at the 6:20 mark. That lead was shortlived, however, when Dallas regained the lead less than two minutes later after defender Ivan Vishnevskij floated a wide-angle attempt in the left circle toward the cage that was deflected home by Jamie Benn.

Both goalies are currently in a state of flux.

Dallas 5, Atlanta 3 (End 2nd) 08:15 PM EDT

Well, the Dallas Stars are one period away from capturing the championship of the TC Tourney.

The club grabbed a 5-3 advantage 15:31 into the second when Wes Cunningham feathered a shot from the left circle that deflected off Zach Bogosian’s stick right to Sergei Korostin in the slot for a one-timer past Chris Carrozzi.

Atlanta’s Angelo Esposito has one goal, but could very well have three. He’s played an aggressive game, however.

Atlanta holds a 28-17 advantage in shots and Dallas goalie Tyler Beskorowany has 25 saves. Dallas is 1-for-3 on the power-play and Atlanta is 2-for-8. Entering the contest, Dallas was ranked third in the tournament with an 89.5% penalty-killing efficiency. Atlanta had the fifth-best power play at 13.3%.

SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Dallas Stars – Tyler Shelast (powerplay) (Colton Scevior) 8:06
Atlanta Thrashers – Zach Bogosian (powerplay) (unassisted) 13:54
Dallas Stars – Raymond Swada (Wes Cunningham) 14:39
Dallas Stars – James Neal (Tyler Shelast, Colton Scevior) 16:03

Period 2
Atlanta Thrashers – Angelo Esposito (Spencer Machacek) 2:09
Atlanta Thrashers – Danick Paquette (powerplay) (Grant Lewis, Zach Bogosian) 6:19
Dallas Stars – Jamie Benn (Ivan Visnevskil) 8:12
Dallas Stars – Sergei Korostin (Wes Cunningham) 15:31

Period 3
Dallas Stars – Fabian Brunnstrom (Ivan Visnevskil) 2:28
Dallas Stars – Tyler Shelast (James Neal) 13:14
Dallas Stars – Jamie Benn (powerplay) (James Neal) 16:56

Me again. OK, well... the boys are proving they are actually Thrashers. The defense totally fell apart, and the final is 8-3. So... hey it was a great run up until now! Well played, baby Thrash. Can't win 'em all. One to learn from. Gotta get back to basics. Your favourite hockey cliche here.

And now... NOTHING BETWEEN US AND CAMP EXCEPT 36 HOURS OR SO!!!!!1!1!ONE!1