Drew Larioza was a nice scoring piece amongst some of the other talented skaters on his team. A great understanding of that soft space around the offensive zone, he moved the puck in such a way he was able to retrieve it back in high-danger areas of the slot, quickly catching-and-releasing shots on net, showing excellent scoring instincts, and a strong shot as well. He was a very pacey forward playing away from the puck, had his head on a swivel, and really followed the flow of play, giving him the leg up when beating opposition to these valuable pockets of space in the offensive zone. From these high-danger areas of the ice he was able to forward the puck closer to the net through crowds with crafty one-touch passes, passing up a quality shooting option, freezing the defenders in the process, and sending puck backdoor or to the crease. The way he skated and handled the puck as a whole showed off some good dynamic skills. Handling the puck with good speed in combination with his crossovers as he navigated the neutral zone showed him to be quite capable of be an effective transition forward as well.

Going without a point, but not without strong play, Drew Larioza flashed some high-end skill and ability, along with good physical resiliency in moments allowing him to squeak into dangerous spots of the ice and generate some looks. He was very shifty in his movements, strong lateral cuts and crossovers; he could change direction and pace in a pinch, scanning the ice for passing lanes at all times, he managed to filter some pucks to the middle of the ice after eventually shaking off his man and having some space to work with. Some good stick work in battles let him quickly create passing plays coming from a standstill, his acceleration was once again seen in moments like this, piecing together give-and-go plays in tight spaces to help spread things out a little bit for his team. I liked how he was able to endure some bumps and checks throughout the game as well. He’s not the biggest player out there, but good balance and lower body strength were put on display in an effort to stay on his feet and continue to navigate the ice.

Scoring 1 goal in the game, Drew Larioza finds himself as a standout skater once more for Team White, his quick hands and snappy release allowed him to get into shooting areas from both range, and some in close proximity, to pepper the goaltender and get shots on goal. There wasn’t any super high-end plays from what I saw from Larioza, but consistently getting into ice, whether it be with the puck, or by finding that soft space in coverage, I consistently saw him involved around the mid-slot area getting shot attempts directed at the net. He scored the second goal of the game for his team as he followed up on a rebound and hammered it home, being the first to the puck, part-and-parcel due to his explosive first few steps.