Recap: Ducks Sweep Prospect Showcase With 5-3 Victory Against Avalanche

The Ducks didn't just fly; they soared.
Anaheim's highly touted youngsters swept the 2017 Prospect Showcase with three consecutive victories, the most recent a 5-3 comeback win on Tuesday afternoon. In the end, the Ducks outscored their opponents, 16-5, over the three games, and got production throughout the lineup.

Today, the Ducks battled back, erasing three separate one-goal deficits en route to a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Solar4America Ice at San Jose. Five different players scored for Anaheim, including third-period goals from defenseman Andy Welinski, right wing Deven Sideroff and left wing Maxime Comtois. Olle Eriksson-Ek stood tall in net, allowing three goals in the victory.
Hugo Roy, Brady Shaw and J.T. Compher scored for Colorado, which ended the tournament without a win (0-2-1). Spencer Martin was in net for the Avalanche, allowing four goals. (Anaheim's fifth goal was into an empty net)
Anaheim took its only lead of the game with 17.8 seconds remaining in regulation when Sideroff redirected a shot-pass with one second left on a power play, erupting the Ducks bench into celebration.
But the start of the game was far from Anaheim's best over the course of the three-game tournament.
It took the Avs just 1:42 to open the scoring, a tap-in goal for Roy who finished a 2-on-1 rush to give Colorado a 1-0 lead on its first shot of the game. Roy, currently on an amateur tryout with the Avs, recorded 34 goals and 60 points in 68 games with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season.
The second period began with a heavyweight tilt between Anaheim right wing Zach Saar (6-4, 236) and Colorado left wing Ben Storm (6-6, 220). The fight lasted all but a few seconds, as both players tumbled to the ice before the officials stepped in.
Anaheim tied it up at the 3:17 mark of the middle frame when Josh Mahura finished off an impressive rush up the ice with a backhander that went top shelf over Martin's left shoulder. It was the first goal of the tournament for Mahura, who entered the game with one point (assist) in two games. Drafted in the third round (85th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft, the 19-year-old defenseman combined for 53 points (17g/36a) with a +17 rating in 73 Western Hockey League games with Red Deer and Regina in 2016-17, ranking sixth among WHL d-men in goals and tied for fourth in power-play goals (8). Furthermore, he helped lead Regina to the WHL Championship final, earning 21 points (8g/13a) in 23 postseason games.
Colorado recaptured the lead when Shaw went forehand-to-backhand on a breakaway goal less than two minutes after Mahura evened the score. The goal came on a delayed penalty, one that would have been assessed to Ducks center Mitch Hults had Shaw not scored.
The second fight of the afternoon came midway through the second period when Anaheim defenseman Keaton Thompson and Colorado blueliner Josh Anderson exchanged blows in front of the Avs bench. It came moments after Storm delivered a crunching hit on Ducks defenseman Marcus Pettersson along the near glass, further igniting an already physical game.
Brady Lyle tied the game at the 17:21 mark of the second period when he unloaded a wrist shot that sailed into the top-left corner of the net. The junior invite was the trailing defenseman on a 3-on-2 rush led by Giovanni Fiore, who found Lyle alone between the dots.
The Avs answered back just 11 seconds later, when Compher snuck behind the Ducks defense and deposited a backhander over Eriksson-Ek's blocker to give Colorado a 3-2 lead.
The seesaw battle continued into the third period when Welinski's seeing-eye shot from the left point snuck through traffic to tie the game, 3-3. Welinski's goal, his first of the tournament, also gave him two points in three games. Alex Dostie was credited with the lone assist, his second assist and third point in three games.
With a power play late in regulation, the Ducks took their first lead of the game off a Sideroff tap-in goal with 17.8 seconds left on the clock. Sideroff, stationed in front of Martin, received a shot-pass from Pettersson, who was stationed at the opposite dot.
Comtois sealed the victory with an empty-net goal in the closing seconds to give the Ducks a three-game sweep in the 2017 Prospect Showcase.
Scoring SummaryFirst period
COL: Roy (EV) - Greer, Jost (1:42)
Second period
ANA: Mahura (EV) - Steel (3:17)
COL: Shaw (EV) - Jost, Meloche (4:18)
ANA: Lyle (EV) - Fiore (17:21)
COL: Compher (EV) - Kerfoot, Lewis (17:32)
Third period
ANA: Welinski (EV) - Dostie (1:48)
ANA: Sideroff (PP) - Hults, Jones (17:42)
ANA: Comtois (EN) - Welinski, Steel (19:48)