In SHL action on Tuesday, Linkoping dropped a 2-0 decision to Frolunda dropping them to 9th place in the SHL standings with an 8-3-8-3 record (3-2-1-point system). Jonathan Myrenberg had zeroes across the board in this game with 17:09 TOI. Myrenberg is on pace to hit the preseason targets I had set for him.
Then on Thursday, Linkoping defeated Modo 4-0. Myrenberg was pointless once again in 19:25 TOI. He tied for the team lead for SOG with 3.
On Friday, Boston College fell to Northeastern by a score of 5-3 in NCAA action. Northeastern jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first when Andre Gasseau went to work. Down two men, he had a clear path to the net but his attempt was stopped. He took the puck behind the net and fed a perfect pass out front to get BC on the board. They would tie it by the end of the period only to have Northeastern notch the winner with just over 6 minutes remaining. Oskar Jellvik would go pointless in this one.
Elsewhere, U-Mass lost 2-1 to Vermont in overtime. Weird one here when U-Mass appeared to score the opening goal but Vermont challenged for a hit to the head late in the second. The goal was called back and Vermont was awarded a 5-minute major in which they scored late in the second period. Midway through the third, Dans Locmelis notched his first career assist when he set up the tying goal midway through the third that set up the overtime.
Cornell defeated Colgate by a 4-2 score. Ryan Walsh did not factor in the scoring but it wasn’t for lack of opportunity. He finished with 3 shots on goal and was 7 for 11 on the dot. Walsh has been a driver of his line for most of the season and the trio had their chances but could not convert.
Harvard is having a tough go this season dropping a 3-0 decision to Clarkson and falling to a 1-4-3 record on the season. Obviously, Mason Langenbrunner was held off the scoresheet. He finished a minus-1 with one shot on goal in just under 20 minutes TOI.
Minnesota-Duluth improved to 4-7-3 on the season with a 4-2 victory over the 8-4-1 Omaha. Leading 3-2, Quinn Olson notched his third of the season into an empty net to seal the victory. It was his only SOG in the contest. Cole Spicer did not factor in the scoring and also only had 1 SOG and was a disappointing 7 for 17 on the dot.
Jake Schmaltz returned from injury and notched two helpers as North Dakota defeated Denver 7-5. Schmaltz set up the opening goal but fell behind 4-1 after one. With six and a half minutes remaining in the contest, Schmaltz helped set up the tying goal with his 6th helper on the season. North Dakota would score the winner 3 minutes later.
Boston University defeated Merrimack 4-1 and improve to 10-4-1 on the season. Ty Gallagher did not factor in the scoring. In the span of 1:30, there were 9 roughing penalties and 3 misconducts as a couple of melees broke out. Give Gallagher credit for getting involved!
In the OHL, the London Knights were embarrassed by the Mississauga Steelheads by a 5-1 score on home ice. Many claimed the Knights to have the best blueline in the OHL this season and that includes Jackson Edward. Time and again in this game those blueliners regularly turned over the puck with bad giveaways. It’s an ongoing concern. Edward did not register a point in this one, finished with an even plus/minus and had 2 SOG.
As Beckett Hendrickson and Chris Pelosi prepare to represent the United States at the World Junior A Challenge in Truro, Nova Scotia from December 10 to December 17, 2023, they had some unfinished business to take care of. Sioux Falls defeated Waterloo 4-2 and the pair of Bruins prospects played a huge part. Both had a goal and assist on the night. Hendrickson had 5 SOG while Pelosi had 4. Both finished a plus-2 and both were on the ice in the last minute protecting a one goal lead in which Hendrickson scored and assisted by Pelosi. You couldn’t ask for more as far as their development goes.
On Saturday, it was a must win game for Frolunda in J20 Nationell League action and they delivered a 4-0 win over Linkoping. Casper Nassen missed his 5th consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. This game was settled in just 4:16 of the second period where Frolunda scored all 4 of their goals including his second of the season by Kristian Kostadinski. Kostadinski wired home a shot 2:13 after taking a 1-0 lead.
For the second time in two games, Linkoping shut out their opponent by the same 4-0 margin, this time against Leksand. The victory moved Linkoping into 4th place in the SHL standings. The game remained scoreless well into the second half of the second period until Myrenberg set up what would be the eventual GWG when he broke up a play in his own zone and immediately sent Linkoping in transition with a pass. It’s what he does best.
In the OHL, the London Knights lost 7-5 to the 2024 Memorial Cup host Saginaw Spirit. Earlier I spoke about issues facing the Knights defence and tonight they twice gave up two-goal leads. Things were a little different for Edward in this one. He set up the goal that pulled London within one with about 8 minutes remaining with rare powerplay time. But it was his play in his own zone that stood out. He was solid all night and was not on the ice for any of the 7 goals Saginaw scored.
In the USHL, Sioux Falls romped Cedar Rapids by a score of 7-1. It was a huge night for Pelosi as he recorded his first USHL hattrick. If I’ve learned anything over this last week, it’s that Pelosi can beat you in many different ways whether its as the net front guy, with a shot or on the rush he is capable. He’ll be a favorite in Boston one day – he plays Bruins hockey. It was a quieter night for Hendrickson as he assisted on Pelosi’s opening goal of the game. He did extend his modest point streak to 3 games on a goal and 3 assists.
In the NCAA, Boston College defeated Northeastern 3-1 in the rematch after Northeastern won Friday night. Northeastern got off to a 1-0 lead but scored 3-straight goals for the win. Jellvik set up the 3-1 goal with under 7 minutes remaining to seal the victory. Gasseau was held off the score sheet in this one.
Cornell dropped a 4-2 decision to Colgate in their rematch. After falling behind late in the first period, Walsh scored his 5th of the season early in the second to pull Cornell even. They would trade goals and then just over a minute into the third Colgate would take the lead for good. They sealed it with an empty netter with 14 seconds remaining. I’m not surprised by Walsh’s production as he is on target to reach what I had targeted for him. But the goals to assists ratio is surprising.
Harvard was shutout 2-0 by St Lawrence in what is turning out to be a struggling season. Obviously, there were no points for Langenbrunner in this one and he finished a minus-1.
Minnesota Duluth was also shut out Saturday dropping a 1-0 decision to Omaha. Nothing for Olson or Spicer in this one. Both had a pair of SOG. Spicer was manhandled on the dot winning just 4 of 22 draws.
North Dakota dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Denver. Schmaltz returned from injury with a couple of helpers on Friday but was held off the scoresheet in this one. He did have 3 SOG with one being an excellent high danger opportunity. He went just 2 for 7 on the dot.
Boston University defeated Merrimack rather easily by a score of 5-2. Gallagher was kept off the scoresheet yet again and at this point, I don’t know what to make of his situation at BU. After scoring 5 goals and 11 assists (.47 PPG) as a freshman and followed that up with 3 goals and 18 assists (.53 PPG) as a sophomore, he has 0 goals and 2 assists in 16 games on the season.
On Sunday, Frolunda defeated HV71 2-1 in J20 Nationell play. Nassen missed his sixth game of the season. Kostadinski did not register a point and had 1 SOG in 21:11 TOI. Frolunda opened up a 4-point lead over Sodertalje SK for fifth spot in the Sodra division and the final spot in the League’s Top-10 portion. Frolunda has 1 game remaining while Sodertalje has 2. And their final game is against each other. The league uses a 3-2-1-point system so this is far from settled!
Here’s a look at the Providence Bruins leaders. You will notice a new column called “value” with the Providence Bruins stats. This is provided by our friends at Benchrates. Created by a retired hockey player, Benchrates has created and algorithm that computes values in real time. The value you see below is calculated over more than one season. They do produce a value on the current season only. Give them a look and check out their site.
Coming up this week:
| PLAYER | M-4 | T-5 | W-6 | T-7 | F-8 | S-9 | S-10 |
| NASSEN/KOSTADINSKI | Vs SSK | ||||||
| MYRENBERG | At MAL | Vs LUL | |||||
| BYCHKOV | Vs AKB | ||||||
| JELLVIK/GASSEAU | Vs PRV | ||||||
| LOCMELIS | Vs AKA | Vs AKA | |||||
| WALSH | |||||||
| LANGENBRUNNER | |||||||
| SPICER/OLSON | At MIA | At MIA | |||||
| SCHMALTZ | Vs CC | Vs CC | |||||
| DURAN/SVEDEBACK | At BC | ||||||
| GALLAGHER | |||||||
| EDWARD | Vs SAR | Vs SAG | At SSM | ||||
| HENDRICKSON/PELOSI | vs SC | Vs MUS | Vs MUS | ||||
| DYCK | At CGY | At LET | Vs LET |
*Note: Team USA, along with Hendrickson and Pelosi, will begin their schedule at the World Junior A Challenge on Monday December 11, 2023. Hendrickson and Pelosi will Likely miss the back-to-back games against Muskegon this upcoming weekend. Good luck to both of them!
One final note on the week regarding Reid Dyck: I have spoken here about how important he is to the Swift Current Broncos and have gone as far as to say he has been their MVP in the early part of the season. He has missed the last 7 games with an injury and Swift Current is 3-2-0-2 in that time and am comfortable saying that they would easily have a couple more wins with him in the crease in that time. Their record with him is 8-4-0-0. Without? Just 5-7-1-1
AROUND THE GLOBE
WHO’S HOT:
Beckett Hendrickson is on a 3-game point streak with a goal and 3 assists. He has 2 goals and 4 assists in his last 5 games and 5 goals and 6 assists in his last 10.
Chris Pelosi is on a 3-game point streak with 4 goals and 2 assists. He has 4 goals and 4 assists in his last 5 games and 4 goals, 6 assists in his last 10.
WHO’S WARM:
Jonathan Myrenberg has a goal and 4 assists in his last 10 games. His defensive game and confidence have come a long way playing in Sweden’s top league.
Oskar Jellvik has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games non-consecutively. It’s safe to say that his transition to North America, although it took some time, has gone well.
Andre Gasseau has a goal and 3 assists in 5 games. He possesses plenty of tools, but I think his skating is holding him back. He’s a .69 PPG player yet he is pointless in half his games. Needs to find consistency.
Kristian Kostadinski has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 10 games and has matched last season’s goal output and surpassed his assist output of a year ago.
Jackson Edward has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 10 games and has matched his goal output of a season ago in 40 fewer games. He has a ways to go to match his assist total.
WHO’S COLD:
Cole Spicer is pointless in his last 6 games and has 1 goal and 1 assist in his last 10. That’s a far cry from his opening half dozen games with 3 goals and 3 assists and looked poised for a breakout.
Ty Gallagher is pointless in 6 games and is pointless in 14 of 16 games on the season.
Reid Dyck is still out with an injury.
Casper Nassen is still out with an injury.
Dom - Hockey 