KELOWNA, B.C. -- The old adage 'blood is thicker than water' was certainly put to the test, to an extent, on Wednesday during the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game here at Prospera Place.

Saskatoon's Lukas Sutter (L) and Dalton Thrower

Not that Saskatoon Blades teammates Lukas Sutter and Dalton Thrower are related, but you kind of get the feeling this friendship is not only built on trust and reliability, but watching the other's back in a time of need.

So was the case on Wednesday when, with 3:22 remaining in the second period, Thrower came to the aid of his best friend following a tremendous hit that sent Sutter head over skates in his own zone. Plymouth Whalers forward Thomas Wilson was the one to raise the ire of Thrower, who wasted little time when given a brief window of opportunity to set the record straight despite being four inches shorter and 18 pounds lighter than the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Wilson.

"I was still on the bench when it happened, but the (defenseman) changed right after the hit and I saw Wilson was still on the ice," Thrower said. "He's a great player and a physical presence out there. I didn't know a lot about him but you see he's a big guy and I saw him hitting guys out there. I felt it wasn't a clean hit and did something about it."

Wilson appeared to get the upper hand initially, but Thrower, who partners with Colorado Avalanche prospect Duncan Siemens in Saskatoon, had a good finish.

"I thought I did OK [in the fight]," Thrower told NHL.com. "He had a couple inches and pounds on me, but I wasn't too scared."

Said Sutter: "That's what best friends are for. It was a good hit and he caught me at the end of a shift, and Dalton was the first guy to have my back … I wouldn't expect anything different from him."

Sutter, the son of former Philadelphia Flyers forward Rich Sutter, said he gave Thrower a hug and said thank you after the period.

"I gave him pat on back," he said.

Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mike_morreale

KELOWNA, B.C. -- Playing with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds this season, Matthew Murray has been splitting time in net with Jack Campbell, the Dallas Stars' 2010 first-round pick who arrived in a trade earlier this season.

Campbell has played the majority of the games since arriving in November, leaving Murray -- ranked second among North American goaltenders in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings for the 2012 NHL Draft -- stuck in the backup role and leaving him few opportunities to impress the scouts in his draft season.

Wednesday night, however, he was the center of attention at the 2012 Top Prospects Game, stopping 17 of 18 shots in playing the second half of the game.

"Coming off the bench is not an easy thing to do," said Team Cherry assistant coach Ryan Huska. "And as soon as he got put in he had a tough scoring chance against and he made a good save. He gave his team the feeling he'd be there for them. He held us in when we were giving up some pretty good chances at the end of the game."

For his effort, Murray took home his team's Jim Gregory Award for being named Team Cherry's player of the game.

"For me this was a really cool experience," said Murray. "This is the first time I've done anything like this."

It also gave him a chance to be watched by scouts from 30 NHL teams.

"It's nice," said Murray. "There's a lot of eyes on you at this game. I feel like I played pretty well. It's definitely good for me going forward."

That includes returning to platoon with Campbell, who he's credited for being a positive influence since arriving in Sault Ste. Marie. In 29 games, Murray is 11-15-1 with a 4.15 goals-against average and .872 save percentage on the last-place team in the OHL's West Division.

"Jack being a first round pick … he's taught me so much since he's come in from the trade," said Murray. "I want to thank him a lot for what he's done for me and for our organization. He's been nothing but a positive influence on me and the rest of the team."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

KELOWNA, B.C. -- Pat Quinn always seems to have a lot of fun when he's around junior-age hockey players.

It happened again Wednesday as he coached Team Orr to a 2-1 victory against Mark Recchi-coached Team Cherry at the 2012 Top Prospects Game.

"My hope in our young people has been reinforced again," said Quinn.

While he's had a ton of success coaching in the NHL, he's been just as good with younger players. In 2008 he guided Canada to a gold medal at the World Under-18 Championship, and a year later he led Canada to the gold at the 2009 World Junior Championship.

And from what he's seen with today's young players, he feels confident this current group could have as much success as those teams he coached.

"Our coaches at the young levels are doing a terrific job," said Quinn. "These programs of excellence are making us all aware we can help these young boys get better and better skills all the time. You saw the skills out here tonight. That first period was fast, the puck was moving, the players were moving. There was contact in the game -- not dirty contact, just good physical play. It was a treat to watch. I'm convinced, like I was then, we can take our boys, develop them in the (Canadian Hockey League) and the centers of excellence and we can play anybody in the world and we can match them with skill, and I'd like to think we can play a better team game. Tonight reinforce all that for me."

Besides their playing ability, Quinn found a great affection for them off the ice, as well.

"The young men are terrific kids," he said. "We're only 2. 5 days around them, but I can see our parents do good work, too. These are nice, humble kids. At least that's what they showed us. I believe that's true. It was a lot of fun for me. I hope I get the chance to do something like this again."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

KELOWNA, B.C. -- There was a bit of everything in the second period, including the game's only goal.

Team Orr's Griffin Reinhart picked up a puck in the left circle and fired a wrister that found a tiny gap between the goal post and Brandon Whitney's blocker at 2:46 of the period.

The other highlight of the period was the game's first fight. Team Cherry's Thomas Wilson decked Orr's Lukas Sutter with a big hit not long after Sutter left the penalty box. Sutter's teammate Dalton Thrower -- perfect name for this occasion -- jumped to his friend and teammate's defense and engaged Wilson in a spirited fight. At 6-foot-3.5 and 203 pounds, Wilson had the size advantage on the 5-11.5, 189-pound Thrower, but it was a long, even battle.

Not only are Sutter and Thrower teammates here, they're also teammates and close friends on the Saskatoon Blades.

Also notable in the period were a pair of penalty kills by Team Orr. Not only did they shut down Team Cherry's man-advantage opportunities, they barely allowed them any scoring chances.

We'll be back with more after the game.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

KELOWNA, B.C. -- Most of the top players for the 2012 NHL Draft are defensemen, so it shouldn't be a surprise that a defensive battle has broken out here at the 2012 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Team Cherry leads Team Orr in shots, 10-9, but neither team created much in the way of offensive chances, thanks to tight checking by both teams.

While there hasn't been much offense, there's been more than a few nice, hard hits. Team Cherry forward Thomas Wilson and Team Orr defenseman Gianluca Curcuruto took turns throwing big hits on each other early in the first, and Team Orr's Lukas Sutter did a nice job agitating a few players on Team Cherry.

The only penalty of the period came with 13 seconds left, as Team Orr captain Colten Sissons -- also captain of the host Kelowna Rockets -- was sent off for tripping, so the second period will start with Team Cherry on a power play for 1:47.

We'll be back with more following the second period.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

KELOWNA, B.C. -- Coaches Pat Quinn and Mark Recchi have submitted their lineup cards for tonight's Top Prospects Game (10 p.m. ET, NHLN-US, Sportsnet), and they include full line combinations.

They're not much different than what the teams used at practice this morning, with one exception -- Windsor defenseman Nick Ebert will play for Team Cherry. He was sick with a stomach bug last night and into today and skipped the morning practice.

Here are the full lineups for each team:

TEAM ORR
Francis Beauvillier - Colton Sissons - Branden Troock
Chandler Stephenson - Mikhail Grigorenko - Tomas Hyka
Raphael Bussieres - Radek Faksa - Scott Kosmachuk
Andreas Athanasiou - Lukas Sutter - Tanner Pearson

Griffin Reinhart - Derrick Pouliot
Adam Pelech - Matthew Finn
Gianluca Curcuruto - Dalton Thrower

Chris Driedger starts in goal, with Francois Tremblay to play the second half of the game.

TEAM CHERRY
Daniil Zharkov - Brendan Gaunce - Andrew Ryan
Tim Bozon - Gemel Smith - Thomas Wilson
Coda Gordon - Mike Winther - Martin Frk
Dominik Volek - Dane Fox - Scott Laughton

Brett Kulak - Damon Severson
Ryan Murray - Mathew Dumba
Dillon Fournier - Nick Ebert

Brandon Whitney starts in goal, with Matthew Murray to play the second half of the game.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

KELOWNA, B.C. -- It appears as though Ryan Murray and Mathew Dumba, two of the most talked-about defensive prospects eligible for the 2012 NHL Draft, will pair up in the first period of the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Wednesday at Prospera Place.

"That will be a pretty deadly pair, that's for sure," Team Cherry goalie Matthew Murray told NHL.com.

Perhaps it won't be the first time, either, that Murray and Dumba pair up along the blue line in an All-Star type setting. Both players, who worked together exclusively during Wednesday's morning skate for Team Cherry, are looking forward to the opportunity.

KELOWNA, B.C. -- Mark Recchi said he doesn't know much about coaching, but he certainly knows how to inspire the next generation of NHL stars.

Recchi, who is coaching Team Cherry here at the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, brought his three Stanley Cup rings into the locker room before the skills contest last night. The players clearly were impressed with the championship jewelry Recchi earned with the 1991 Penguins, the 2006 Hurricanes and 2011 Bruins.

"What a sight that was," center Brendan Gaunce told NHL.com. "Each of those rings takes up your whole finger. I thought the ring I won as a ninth-grader playing football in the Metro Bowl was pretty big, but that had one stone and those Stanley Cup rings had something like 25 stones … I've never seen anything like it."
 
"They looked like they weighed 30 pounds each," added defenseman Ryan Murray.

"They were pretty good," Recchi told NHL.com. "They quietly got up real quick. I just put them in the middle of the room. They could do what they want with it. It was good."

Everything's been good for Recchi since he ended his 22-year career following last June's Cup win. When he hasn't been home with his wife and children, he's done TV work for the NHL Network, skated in the alumni game at the 2012 Winter Classic, and spent time with the junior team he co-owns, the Kamloops Blazers.

"It's been great," he said. "I haven't done much. I still watch games every night, look at stats every day. Other than that, it's been really good. Just taking a break, getting away from it a little bit, playing with my kids and hanging out. The good thing about it is I don't have to be in a hurry."

As he dabbles in everything to figure out what's next, he figured coaching would be something new to try.

"Bruce Hamilton (Kelowna owner/GM) asked me if I was interested and I said absolutely," said Recchi. "I have no idea how to coach, but I've been around it enough. There's not a lot that goes into it. (Kelowna coach Ryan) Huska has been great. He's really the one leading the charge. I'm just trying to push pucks around and have fun with the guys."

Recchi also talked to my colleague Mike G. Morreale about the changes in junior players and the draft from his younger days, the advice he's been giving his players and which players have impressed him the most -- including which defenseman reminded him of a certain Hall of Famer. You won't want to miss that story when it goes up a little later today.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

Kelowna, BC -- The Canadian Hockey League on Tuesday announced that Hockey Hall of Famer Jim Gregory will be recognized annually at the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game with Player of the Game awards that will be named in his honor.

The announcement was made by CHL President David Branch on Tuesday evening at a special reception hosted by the CHL for those scouts attending the Top Prospects Game this week.

"The CHL and the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game has benefited from the support of builders such as Jim Gregory," Branch said in a statement released by the CHL. "Mr. Gregory's contributions to this event and to our game are countless and it is only fitting that he be recognized annually in an event that features future NHL greats."

KELOWNA, B.C. -- The host city for the 2012 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game isn't the most accessible place in western Canada, but for Erie Otters forward Dane Fox, any travel difficulties were well worth it.

Fox was one of the final players added to the roster, leaving him little time to book his travel arrangements.

"I got home from a road trip to Sudbury at 7 in the morning Sunday, and then 7 that night, Sunday, Mr. (Sherry) Bassin (GM) called me and said he got the call," Fox told NHL.com. "We had three hours to book the flight and I was off the next morning."

Fox's adventure started at noon ET on Monday with an hour-long flight from Erie, Pa., to Detroit. Then it was a five-hour flight to Seattle, followed by a 90-minute flight to Vancouver. After a 2.5-hour layover, he had one final hour-long flight to Kelowna. He said he checked into his hotel at 12:30 a.m. PT -- in all, a 15.5-hour day of travel.

However, Fox said he'd do it all over again just to have this experience.

"I'd do anything to be here," he said "That was just one little rough patch in the road that I got over. It's an honor to be here."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK