On Wednesday, Roman Bychkov scored his first goal (and the game winner) in any league (MHL, VHL, KHL) since December of 2020 when he notched one for Buran Yaroslavl in the VHL. Things have just not gone well for Bychkov since the Bruins drafted him in the fifth round, 154th overall at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He has some skills and has always done well on the international stage for Russia but for whatever reason, can not put it together in league play.
Also on Wednesday, In J20 Nationell League action Casper Nassen notched his third goal of the season but his Frolunda HC were slapped 6-1 by the Malmo Redhawks. Despite the loss, Frolunda remains in third spot in the Sodra division just 4 points behind Orebro with 3 games in hand (remember the J20 uses a 3-2-1-point system). While they have Sodra’s second best goals-against-average they have scored the second fewest goals. Nassen needs to step up in that department. Kristian Kostadinski was pointless today but he continues to be tough to play against and is among the league leaders in plus/minus.
Moving onto Thursday where Jonathan Myrenberg and Linkoping defeated Malmo 6-3 in SHL action. Myrenberg did not register a point and credited with one shot on goal and a plus-1 in 15:44 TOI. It was a solid win for Linkoping who had lost four straight and were sitting in relegation territory. Scoring isn’t an issue with Linkoping, but preventing goals is not a strength. The good news for Myrenberg is that he is one of three defenceman that are pluses on a team that is a minus and has utilized 9 blueliners on the season through 8 games.
On Friday night in the OHL, Jackson Edward appeared in his third game of the season since being returned to Junior by the Bruins and is still looking for his first point after the London Knights dropped a 4-1 decision to the North Bay Battalion. Edward was once again forced to play the right side for London and there are mixed reviews. Offensively, he created some chances from the right point moving down the wall and towards the middle of the ice but he had some struggles pinching. The real struggles came in his own zone with at least one goal being the direct result of him being on his off side. He also had a couple of weak backhanded clearing attempts that a right shot would have made. It’s a learning experience.
On Saturday, Edward returned to the ice again on the right side. Thankfully, that experiment lasted just one period. In the second period he returned to his familiar left side and it didn’t take him long to jump into the play to make it a 3-on-2 timing it perfectly to complete a tic-tac-toe play and score his first of the season. While he had to take some shifts on his off side for an undermanned Knights squad, it’s clear that this experiment is not working. His goal was the GWG in a 4-1 win over the Poitras-less Guelph Storm.
In the J20 Nationell, Nassen hit the scoresheet with an assist, his third consecutive game with one helper. Nassen had a couple of opportunities to bury the biscuit but missed. It was nice to see the chances come his way, but it’s time to capitalize on some of those chances. Kostadinski was held off the scoresheet. It’s clear he has put in some work on his skating since leaving Bruins development camp, but he still has some work to do.
Over in the USHL, it was a big night for Chris Pelosi as Sioux Falls defeated Waterloo 7-4. Pelosi led the way with a goal and two assists and a whopping 7 shots on goal and was named the game’s second star. He could have had a couple more goals. His tenacity, puck pursuit and attention to detail really stood out. Beckett Hendrickson had a helper in this one and appears he is still trying to get his legs up to speed.
The NCAA got under way on Saturday for most Bruins prospects playing college hockey. It was not so good news for Dans Locmelis as he was suspended 4 games (yet to be confirmed) for having played professional hockey – 2 games with Lulea HF in the SHL back in 2021-2022.
Andre Gasseau picked up where he left off last season scoring a shorthanded goal and helping Boston College defeat Quinnipiac 2-1. His goal was a thing of beauty. He intercepted a cross ice pass in front of his own goal, skated up ice down the left wing and ripped a perfect wrister from the dot. Teammate and Bruins 5th round pick in 2021 Oskar Jellvik was held off the scoresheet.
Riley Duran scored his first of the season as Providence defeated Michigan 4-2. Duran went in on a two-on-one and was able to beat a sprawled out back checker to receive a pass and squeeze it through the goaltender to put Providence up to stay. Philip Svedeback stopped 30 of 32 shots in a “don’t underestimate me” performance.
Boston University defeated Bentley 3-2 in overtime. I missed this one (It’s Thanksgiving weekend in Canada). Ty Gallagher did not register a point. I also missed Minnesota-Duluth tying Michigan Tech 2-2. Quinn Olson had an assist while Cole Spicer did not record points.
Sunday saw the rematch between Providence and Michigan. By the 15-minute mark of the third period, Providence found themselves trailing 5-1. But they mounted a comeback. After two quick goals brought them within one and 58 seconds remaining on the clock, Duran had eluded the opposition – which he does so well – and found himself alone in the slot. A quick release, perfectly placed shot over the blocker pulled Providence within one. But that’s as close as they would come. Svedeback faced 40 shots in this one and I think there is one he would like back. All in all, I think he had a solid performance and the score could have been worse as Michigan outshot Providence 40-26.
We wrap this up with Pelosi and Hendrickson helping Sioux Falls to victory Sunday with a 3-2 win over Tri-City and start the season off with a 4-0-1 record and top spot in the Western Conference. A miscue on a zone exit by Tri-City allowed the Sioux to get possession and send in Hendrickson along with Pelosi on a short distance 2-0. Hendrickson set up Pelosi with a tape-to-tape pass for the easy redirect to open the scoring.
Coming up this week:
| PLAYER | M-9 | T-10 | W-11 | T-12 | F-13 | S-14 | S-15 |
| NASSEN/KOSTADINSKI | At VL | Vs HV | Vs LHC | ||||
| MYRENBERG | Vs VAX | At SKE | |||||
| BYCHKOV | Vs TN | ||||||
| JELLVIK/GASSEAU | Vs LIU | ||||||
| LOCMELIS | Vs MIC | Vs MIC | |||||
| WALSH | *vs TOR | ||||||
| LANGENBRUNNER | |||||||
| SPICER/OLSON | vsNMU | vsNMU | |||||
| SCHMALTZ | Vs ARM | Vs WIS | |||||
| DURAN/SVEDEBACK | Vs STN | ||||||
| GALLAGHER | At UNH | *vs U18 | |||||
| POITRAS | Vs MIS | At FLT | |||||
| EDWARD | At PBO | Vs KGT | |||||
| HENDRICKSON/PELOSI | Vs T C | ||||||
| DYCK | At PG | At VAN | At VIC |
* Exhibition game
AROUND THE GLOBE
WHO’S HOT:
Matthew Poitras remains at Bruins training camp.
Chris Pelosi has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last two games.
Riley Duran has two goals in his first two games of the season.
WHO’S WARM:
Casper Nassen has a 3-game point streak going on 1 goal and two assists.
WHO’S COLD:
Dans Locmelis suspended 4 games by the NCAA for having played 2 professional games back in 2021-2022.
The Swift Current Broncos are 2-3-1-0 without Reid Dyck and have the third worst GAA in the league. Dyck remains sidelined with an LBI.
Dom - Hockey 