On Wednesday, the London Knights were at home and defeated the Erie Otters by a score of 5-1. Jackson Edward did not factor in the scoring, but something I have to get off my chest. With the Knights leading 1-0 thanks to a goal 10 seconds into the game, Edward crosschecked an opponent from behind about 2 feet from the boards and sending him crashing into the boards. While there was no retaliation coming in the form of fisticuffs, another Otter threw a big hit on Edward and Edward proceeded to much him, gloves on, while the hit was coming. When the play was blown dead, Edward went after him with a two-handed gold swing across the ankles. I get that intimidation is a big part of Edward’s game, but both those were uncalled for and he was assessed a double minor that could have hurt his team. I watched the game after I got home from the arena and the Knights broadcast crew called both plays stupid and uncalled for several times. Edward will need to clean up that part of his game.
In the SHL on Thursday, Linkoping defeated Timra 3-2 to win its third in a row ad 4 out of their last 5. Jonathan Myrenberg did not factor in the scoring and had 1 SOG in 17:22 TOI. It is the sixth consecutive game without a point for Myrenberg, but once again, I am not concerned about his offence.
On Friday in NCAA action, U-Mass and Connecticut officially battled to a 3-3 tie although Connecticut won the shootout. Dans Locmelis, who is returning from the World Junior Championships in Sweden did not play as he gets reacclimated to the time zone.
Also on Friday, Arizona State defeated Harvard 5-2. Harvard is having such a rough go of it dropping to a 1-8-3 record after their latest defeat. It was an especially tough night for Mason Langenbrunner as he ended the game with a minus-3 and struggled throughout the night.
In the only other game North Dakota improved to 13-5-1 after defeating Alaska 6-4. Jake Schmaltz did not factor in the scoring, was a minus-1 with 2 SOG and just 3 for 11 on the dot. I’m struggling to find bright spots for him this season. With no goals and 6 assists on the season, he has been pointless in 11 of his 5 games and 4 of his 6 assists came in 2 games.
In the OHL, the London Knights improved to 25-11-0-1 with their 8th straight victory with a 6-2 win over the Barrie Colts. Much more controlled game by Edward although he did not factor in the scoring. He finished a plus-1 with 2 SOG and 6 PIM. His 62 PIM on the season have him in the OHL’s top-10.
In the USHL Sioux Falls dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Chicago Steel and fell to 15-13-2-1 on the season. Beckett Hendrickson scored his 9th of the season with help from Chris Pelosi. The pair were at their best at both ends of the ice. Hendrickson had 4 SOG and finished a plus-1 while Pelosi had 3 SOG and finished even.
On Saturday, the Top-10 portion of the schedule got under way in the J20 Nationell as Frolunda HC met Brynas IF in the new season’s opener. Casper Nassen returned to action after missing his previous 7 games prior to the holiday break and assisted on the goal that tied the game 4-4. Kristian Kostadinski also assisted on that goal. Nassen played mostly on the fourth line as he gets back into shape. Brynas scored a powerplay goal with 36 seconds remaining to win 6-5.
In the SHL, Linkoping lost a heartbreaker by a 4-3 score in overtime to HV71but it was still enough to move Linkoping into a tie for third place in the SHL standings. Myrenberg did not register a point and was a minus-1 in 18:54 TOI. It’s a noticeable trend with Myrenberg: as the games get closer no matter who is leading, his TOI goes up.
IN NCAA exhibition action, Boston College defeated Simon Fraser University 5-1. Simon Fraser is a Canadian University playing three exhibition games through Hockey East. Linemates and future Bruins Oskar Jellvik and Andre Gasseau both had a goal and an assist in the victory. Jellvik’s goal was particularly impressive. Gasseau found Jellvik in the slot and fed a perfect pass for Jellvik to one-time to even the score at 1-1. These will not count as official stats for the two prospects.
In a non-conference game, Minnesota-Duluth dropped to 6-10-4 after dropping a 3-1 decision to St Thomas. It was not a good game for Quinn Olson and his top line linemates. The trio did not register a point and were each a minus-2 and mustered 5 SOG between them.
In another non-conference game, North Dakota improved to 14-5-1 with a 6-2 victory over Alaska. Schmaltz did not register a point once again, had zero SOG and was 5 for 9 on the dot.
In the USHL, the rematch between Sioux Falls and Chicago went to Sioux Falls following their 5-4 shootout victory. Hendrickson had a goal and an assist while Pelosi had a goal and 2 assists. Neither had a shootout attempt and finished with an even plus/minus with 2 SOG each.
In the OHL, the surging London Knights defeated the Mississauga Steelheads 5-3 winning their ninth in a row and moving to within one point of the first place Kitchener Rangers. Jackson Edward missed this game while battling a flu bug. Trade deadline day is Wednesday and I expect the Knights to be shopping for a scoring winger, a veteran blueliner and someone who can win faceoffs.
In the WHL, the Swift Current Broncos defeated Moose Jaw 7-6 while still without the services of number one netminder Reid Dyck. The good news is Dyck is getting closer to a return. He has travelled with the team and once again participating in team functions off the ice.
On Sunday, Frolunda HC lost a 5-3 decision to Leksands IF in J20 Nationell Top-10 action dropping them to 0-2-0. Kostadinski and Nassen did not factor in the scoring in the loss. Kostadinski did finish a plus-2 while eating some big minutes on the blue line for Frolunda. As the season has progressed, Kostadinski has been the go-to blueliner being the first over the boards whether they are in need of a goal or defending a lead.
Here’s a look at the Providence Bruins leaders. You will notice a column called “value” 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 is the cap hit value they’ve earned this season to date. Give them a look and check out their site.
Coming up this week:
AROUND THE GLOBE
WHO’S HOT:
Beckett Hendrickson has a 5-game point streak going on 3 goals and 4 assists. He has 5 goals and 7 assists in his last 10 games, non-consecutively.
Chris Pelosi has points in 7 of his last 8 games with 7 goals and 8 assists.
WHO’S WARM:
Oskar Jellvik has a modest 2 game point streak with 2 goals and an assist, not counting exhibition games. He has points in 6 of his last 7 games on 4 goals and 5 assists, again not counting exhibition games.
Andre Gasseau has points in 4 of his last 5 games on 1 goal and 4 assists not including exhibition games.
WHO’S COLD:
Reid Dyck is still out with an injury.
Jake Schmaltz is pointless in 5 games and has yet to score a goal in 16 games on the season.
Cole Spicer, after being determined to be academically ineligible to play for Minnesota-Duluth, has yet to play for Youngstown of the USHL.
Jonathan Myrenberg is pointless in 7 games.
Mason Langenbrunner is pointless in 6 games, not including exhibition games.
Dom - Hockey 