Piercey, Red Wings beat Blue Jackets, 5-2, in NHL Prospect Tournament

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Forward Riley Piercey, who made the Detroit Red Wings' 2022 NHL Prospect Tournament roster as a free-agent invitee, made quite the first impression.

Piercey scored four goals for the Red Wings, who opened their three-game NHL Prospect Tournament schedule with a 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday afternoon in front of a packed Centre Ice Arena crowd.
"It was just one of those nights," Piercey said. "The puck bounces were there, and I capitalized on my opportunities when I had them."

Piercey, who earned 27 goals and 31 assists in 59 games last season for the OHL's Flint Firebirds, said he wants to "make a good name" for himself in Traverse City.
"It's the start that everyone hopes for and dreams for," Piercey said. "To get that start was good, but we got the big win."'

The 20-year-old Mississauga, Ontario, native opened the scoring for Detroit at 12:46 of the first period when he redirected undrafted defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka's shot past Columbus goalie Pavel Cajan.
Less than three minutes later, the Blue Jackets tied the game at 1-1 when Columbus prospect and former University of Michigan forward Kent Johnson sent a rebound past Red Wings netminder Sebastian Cossa.
Cossa, who was Detroit's 15th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, started Friday's game and made 17 saves before being replaced by free-agent invitee and Shelby Township, Mich., native Andrew Oke midway through the second period.
"I thought both goalies played very well," Red Wings prospect coach Ben Simon said. "And both gave us a chance to win."

Piercey's second tally with 8:04 left in the second period put Detroit ahead, 2-1. Then, former Western Michigan standout and current Red Wings prospect Drew Worrad's power-play goal with 3:35 to play in the middle frame extended the club's lead by a pair headed into the third period.
With 8:27 remaining in the game, Piercey completed the hat trick off a breakaway, giving Detroit a 4-1 advantage. Fourteen seconds later, Columbus forward Kirill Marchenko scored his second NHL Prospect Tournament goal to cut the Blue Jackets' deficit to two.
Piercey's fourth goal with 5:16 in the third sealed the win for Detroit.
"For the situation, for the game that we played and having a lack of preparation, I thought there is a lot of good stuff to build off of," Simon said. "We'll watch the video tonight and try to teach a little bit as we go and try to get a little better every period."

Detroit will play its second NHL Prospect Tournament game on Saturday with a 6 p.m. puck drop against the Dallas Stars. All Red Wings Prospect Tournament games will be carried live on
DetroitRedWings.com
and on the club's social media platforms.