Let’s begin this week with the European playoffs.
In the Finnish Liiga on Monday, Assat shocked Matias Mantykivi and Ilves 5-2 to even up their best-of-seven series at one game each. Mantykivi had a goal and an assist in a losing effort but showed he was still offensively capable. On Wednesday, Ilves took a 2-1 series lead on the back of a 3-assist effort by Mantykivi on the way to a 4-1 victory. Game 4 took place on Friday and Ilves took care of business 4-1 to take a 3-1 series lead. Mantykivi did not factor in the scoring and finished with 5 shots on goal in 16:41 time on ice. They returned to the ice Sunday and Mantykivi had a big performance again at both ends of the ice. He assisted on the first goal of the game and then had the goal to put Ilves up to stay, both coming on the powerplay. Mantykivi would finish the 5-game series with 2 goals and 5 assists. Ilves will have to wait to find out who their next opponent will be.
In Sweden’s Allsvenskan, Jonathan Myrenberg assisted on the GWG on Monday as Mora defeated Sodertalje 2-0 to take a 2-0 series lead. On Wednesday he did not figure in the scoring as Mora lost 3-1 but still led the series tied at 2-1. Game 4 took place on Friday and it was a very entertaining game considering the level of hockey. Sodertalje would come away with a 3-2 victory to even up the series at 2-2. They were back in action Sunday in what was the most exciting game of the series so far. Mora took this one 4-3 to take a 3-2 series lead with Myrenberg assisting on the goal that gave them a 2-1 lead. They will look to close out the series Tuesday.
In Sweden’s J20 Nationell playoffs, AIK blanked Dans Locmelis and Lulea 4-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the best of 3 series on Wednesday. Game 2 took place on Friday and Lulea evened up the series at 1-1. Locmelis had 2 goals and 2 assists but one of each came midway through the third on empty nets as AIK trailed 5-2 and pulled their goaltender to try and get back into the game. The rubber game of the match came on Saturday and it was a game dominated by the goaltenders. Locmelis put Lulea ahead midway through the second period and that held until just under 4 minutes remaining in the game as AIK would tie it. A powerplay goal with 1:53 remaining would put Lulea ahead and they would add an empty netter to take the series. Lulea will get the second pick in choosing their opponent in the next round, scheduled to start Wednesday and they chose Timra IK.
As we shift out focus to the NCAA, on Thursday Ty Gallagher and Boston University defeated Western Michigan rather handily 5-1. While Gallagher didn’t factor in on the scoresheet, he did play a solid defensive game. BU would move on to face Cornell on Saturday in the Regional Finals. They would end up winning the Regionals with a 2-1 victory. Gallagher did not hit the score sheet but played an excellent game. He was solid defensively with he and his team limiting Cornell to just 14 shots on goal. He was good in transition and finished the game with a plus-2. Their next game is April 6, 2023 in the Frozen Four from Tampa Bay Florida.
It was a performance of the season for Mason Lohrei as Ohio State blasted Harvard 8-1 which wasn’t great for Mason Langenbrunner, the Bruins prospect on the other side. It wasn’t just about the goal and two assists Lohrei had in this one. At times he showed domination at both ends of the ice and was a transition monster for Ohio State. Hands down his best performance of the season and there is more to come. They would move on to face top ranked Quinnipiac on Sunday with the winner moving onto the Frozen Four in Tampa. Unfortunately, Quinnipiac would take the finale 4-1 and put the Lohrei watch into full effect.
In the Canadian Hockey League it all came down to the final whistle for playoff spots and seeding. In the WHL Reid Dyck and the Swift Current Broncos had a home-and-home set with the Medicine Hat Tigers and if they could pull out victories they would be heading to the playoffs. On Friday, Dyck was fantastic stopping 30 of 31 shots to lead his team to a 3-1 victory. So, it came down to the final game Saturday. Win in regulation and they were in, win in overtime or shootout and there would be a one-game tiebreaker. Despite allowing 4 goals on 30 shots, Dyck was fantastic in the finale but the Broncos would lose 4-3 and their season would come to an end.
In the QMJHL Frederic Brunet and the Victoriaville Tigres haven’t been playing for much the last couple of weeks as they were planted firmly as the third seed in the Western Conference. They will face Drummondville in the opening round with the first two games at home beginning Friday and Saturday. For Brunet, he finished second in scoring among defencemen and led the entire league in powerplay assists. Brunet will get some votes for the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the league’s top defenceman.
In the OHL, it wasn’t avoidable in the end and we’ll have two Bruins prospects going head-to-head in the first round. Ryan Mast and the Sarnia Sting will host Matthew Poitras and the Guelph Storm That series will begin Friday in Sarnia with game 2 scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Sarnia. Despite the finish in the standings, this series features two of the hottest teams in the OHL since January.
Also in the OHL, Brett Harrison and the Windsor Spitfires open up their series against the Kitchener Rangers on Thursday with game two scheduled for Saturday. Jackson Edward and the London Knights will host the Owen Sound Attack on Friday and Sunday. You can find the entire first round of the OHL schedule here. I will have a preview of each series later this week.
Here’s a look at the Providence Bruins leaders:
Coming up this week:
| PLAYER | MON 27 | TUE 28 | WED 29 | THU 30 | FRI 31 | SAT 1 | SUN 2 |
| MANTYKIVI | TBD | TBD | |||||
| LOCMELIS | Vs TIK | Vs TIK | Vs TIK | ||||
| MYRENBERG | Vs SOD | *Vs SOD | |||||
| GALLAGHER | |||||||
| POITRAS | At SAR | At SAR | |||||
| HARRISON | Vs KIT | Vs KIT | |||||
| MAST | Vs GUE | Vs GUE | |||||
| EDWARD | Vs O S | Vs O S | |||||
| BRUNET | Vs DRU | Vs DRU |
*If necessary
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Dom - Hockey 