It was not a good week for our two remaining Bruins prospects in the OHL playoffs. Both Jackson Edward of the London Knights and Ryan Mast of the Sarnia Sting missed Tuesday’s action. Edward left the previous game after a (self inflicted) bad hit to the head. He would also miss Thursday’s game. The Knights would go on to win both games and take the series 4-1.
As for Mast, there is a flu bug going around the Sting dressing room but the team did not say whether his absence on Tuesday was related to the illness or whether he was a healthy scratch. He did return Thursday and got his first point of the playoffs – an assist – and Sarnia won the game and the series 4-0.
The two prospects will now go head-to-head in the OHL Western Conference finals. One will be left out as the other pursues and OHL Championship and a Memorial Cup birth. This promises to be an outstanding series. There is no schedule as of yet as the Eastern Conference Playoffs are ongoing but it is likely not to begin before Thursday.
The season has come to an end for Matias Mantykivi and Ilves Tampere. On Thursday they went up against IFK Helsinki in the third-place game in the Finnish Liiga playoffs. Ilves would pull out a 3-2 victory to finish in third place.
Mantykivi had a goal and an assist in helping Ilves to the victory. That raises his playoff totals to 3 goals and 9 assists in 12 games after a regular season of 12 goals and 21 assists in 60 games. In my opinion, that solidifies his character as a big game player – one who elevates his game when the stakes are higher. It’s something that he has almost always done throughout his career to date.
Now, we wait and see what the Bruins intentions are with the 21-year-old who was selected in the 6th round – 185th overall at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The Bruins hold his rights until June 1, 2023 and if they don’t sign him, he will become an unrestricted free agent.
Latvia took part in a two game Friendly match in preparation for the IIHF World Championships against Great Britain on the weekend. Bruins’ prospect Dans Locmelis took part in the first game centering Latvia’s top line. He went pointless in a 3-2 overtime loss. On Sunday, Locmelis once again centered the top line in a 6-3 victory. He had 2 assists in the rematch including on the game tying and game winning goals. I’m not sure Locmelis will make the roster with 20 forwards fighting for a spot on the roster, but Latvia is giving him every opportunity. They will play a 2- game set against Switzerland on April 28 and 29 and Denmark on May 5. The World Championships begin May 12. The exhibition games are streamed on YouTube.
After receiving a bye in the first round for winning the Atlantic Division, the Providence Bruins now know their opponent and schedule for round two. They will face the Hartford Wolf Pack in their best-of-five series beginning at home on Friday and Saturday at 7:05 PM. Game three will take place on Wednesday May 3 at 7:00 PM. Game 4, if necessary will also be in Hartford on Friday May 5 at 7:00 PM. If it goes the distance, that game will be played back in Providence on Sunday May 7 at 7:05 PM.
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Dom - Hockey 