The Swift Current Broncos dropped a 5-2 decision to the Medicine Hat Tigers in WHL action on Tuesday. Reid Dyck stopped 19 of 24 shots in the loss as he works his way back from a 2-month layoff due to injury. I would say he would like two of the goals back. His rebound control was not at the level it was pre-injury and it directly resulted in 2 Tigers goals. However, as is usually the case with Dyck, he made a jaw dropping save that is sure to make the highlight reels. That’s something we are use to seeing from Dyck. He’s on his way back to form.
On Friday, beginning with the USHL, The Sioux Falls Stampede dropped a 5-2 decision to the Lincoln Stars and fell to 18-15-2-1 but remained in third place in the Western Conference standings. Beckett Hendrickson had his 8-point streak snapped in the loss. He finished with an even plus/minus and 5 shots on goal. He had his chances but couldn’t find the back of the net. Chris Pelosi had his 5-gam point streak end at 5 games. He also was even in the plus/minus department and had 2 SOG.
In the WHL, Dyck dropped his second consecutive game since returning from injury while stopping 28 of 32 shots he faced. He couldn’t help his team hold onto a 3-1 lead in the third period. You can tell his timing is off and he’d probably like to have back 2 shots that squeaked between the blocker arm and the body.
In the first game of back-to-backs in the battle for top spot in the OHL, the London Knights overcame a 2-0 deficit against the Kitchener Rangers to win their 13th in a row to move within a point of the Rangers, although the Knights have 2 games in hand. Jackson Edward did not register a point and had 4 SOG to lead Knights defenceman. For those wondering, Edward is still playing predominantly on his off side.
In the NCAA, Boston College held off a late surge by Merrimack to take it by a score of 6-4. Andre Gasseau had a goal and an assist with 1 SOG and was a plus-1 while Oskar Jellvik had an assist, was a plus-2 and had 3 SOG. Their center, Cutter Gauthier (you should know that name) had a hattrick with 10 SOG. I’m told by a (very) few people that Gasseau and Jellvik are the beneficiaries of playing with Gauthier. Le me use Jellvik as an example: Of Jellvik’s 11 goals, only 3 were assisted by Gauthier (27.3%). Of Gauthier’s 17 goals, 6 were assisted by Jellvik (35.3%).
Cornell improved to 9-4-3 with a 6-2 victory over Princeton. Ryan Walsh was pointless in the victory and had 2 SOG and was 8 for 13 on the draw. The Freshman is 5th on the team in scoring, second in goals on the season. His production has come in bunches this season and he’s going to have to find some consistency moving forward. It’s not a concern at this early stage in development and he is still a freshman.
Don’t look now but Harvard has won back-to-back games for the first time this season after defeating RPI by a score of 6-3. It was just their third win of the season and are now 3-10-3. It was a big night for Mason Langenbrunner. Although he only had one assist in the game, he was a plus-4 logging some big minutes in a shut down role on the blueline.
It was a big win for Minnesota-Duluth (8-10-4) over Western Michigan (14-6-1) by a score of 6-3. It was a very quiet night for Quinn Olson, who did not register a point in what is now 4 consecutive games, he was a minus-1 and had just 1 SOG.
North Dakota defeated St Cloud State 5-3. Jake Schmaltz is now pointless in 8 consecutive games after this one and finished a plus-1 with 0 SOG and was just 2 for 6 on the draw.
Philip Svedeback stopped all 15 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season as Providence College defeated Alaska-Anchorage 2-0. Riley Duran finished with zeroes across the board with 1 SOG. I’m asked what the chances are Svedeback could turn pro at the end of the season and my response is: I never say never, but I just don’t think he’s there yet. He should return for his junior year.
Boston University improved to 6-0-1 in it’s last 7 games with a 5-1 victory over Vermont. You can’t argue with the decisions of the coaching staff when things are going your way. And with a 15-4-1 record on the season, well that’s another feather in your cap. Which is why I won’t argue about Ty Gallagher dressing for a game and not getting a single shift. Bad for a player’s confidence and development? Sure, it is. But Jay Pandolfo is there to win hockey games and that’s what he has his team doing.
On Saturday the battle for first overall in the OHL continued and the London Knights won their 14th in a row by pounding the Kitchener Rangers 10-3. This was a penalty filled affair. Jackson Edward received a major penalty and game misconduct for a check to the head that will surely get looked at by the league. I’m not sure which way they will go but a suspension is possible. That was the extent of his impact on the scoresheet.
In USHL action, Sioux Falls defeated Lincoln by the same 5-2 score that Lincoln won the night before. Hendrickson did not register a point in this one and was a plus-1 with 2 SOG. Pelosi however, scored twice on 3 SOG. It was his first goal in 5 games and now has 16 on the season.
In J20 Nationell Top-10 action, Frolunda HC were blanked 4-0 by Vaxjo Lakers HC and fall to 1-4-0 in this portion of the season. Obviously, Kristian Kostadinski and Casper Nassen were held off the scoresheet. There’s nothing good I can say about this game.
In SHL action, Linkoping defeated Modo 3-0. Jonathan Myrenberg did not factor in the scoring in 17:31 TOI. I’m liking how his defensive game has come along this season, even his transition and sometimes his physical game. Now, I would like to see him take some chances offensively to see if he can do it at this level.
In NCAA action, Dans Locmelis set up the game winning goals with 3:21 remaining in regulation as U-Mass defeated Northeastern2-1. Locmelis lost an offensive zone draw and immediately went to the blueline as the third man. A bad clearing attempt went right on the stick of Locmelis and he sent a pass to his teammate streaking down the right side for the winner. Locmelis has been his best offensively centering the Freshman Line, but they’ve been split up recently. His all-around game is really coming along.
Cornell defeated Quinnipiac 3-2 to improve to 10-4-3 on the season. Walsh was pointless in this one and was 7 for 15 on the dot centering the second line. As mentioned earlier, Walsh has been somewhat streaky this season. I’m not concerned for the freshman. He will put up points at this level and we’ll see it regularly next season.
All good things must come to an end and Harvard’s season best two-game win streak came to an end as Union defeated them 5-4 in overtime. Harvard held the lead but with 59 seconds remaining scored the equalizer before completing the comeback in overtime. Langenbrunner did not have any points but finished a plus-1, one of only three Harvard players to finish on the positive side.
Western Michigan defeated Minnesota-Duluth 5-2. Olson did not register a point and was a minus-3 on the night. For a player playing a graduate year and will be looking for a pro contract at the end of the season, things could not be going worse for Olson. He started the year out hot but has gone cold since returning from the holiday break.
Officially, North Dakota and St Cloud State played to a 3-3 tie but St Cloud did take the shootout victory. Schmaltz did not register a point and was 3 for 7 on the faceoff dot.
After shutting out Alaska-Anchorage on Friday night, Providence College returned the favor tonight by not scoring and giving A-A a 4-0 victory. Svedeback gave up 4 goals on 21 shots and has seen his save-percentage drop to .900. Svedeback has not been as good as he was last season and I think any thoughts of him turning pro after this season have to be put on hold for at least another season. Obviously, Duran did not register a point. I’ve said in the past that it’s not about points with Duran because he brings other things to the game, but at some point, playing in the top-6 at this level, you need to hit the scoresheet.
Boston University defeated Vermont 5-2 and once again, Ty Gallagher did not play.
On Sunday, Frolunda was blanked for the second consecutive game, this time by Rogle BK and losing 1-0. A couple of weeks ago here I said Frolunda was going to have a tough time with this portion of the schedule and they find themselves with a 1-5-0 record and tied for last place. Kostadinski and Nassen were kept off the scoresheet obviously.
In the NCAA, Boston College handled Merrimack again, this time by a 6-2 score. Jellvik had his 5-game point streak come to an end with zeroes across the board on this one and just 1 SOG. Gasseau extended his point streak to 5 games with a goal and now has 2 goals and 5 assists in that stretch.
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:
Oskar Jellvik has 4 goals and 3 assists in his last 6 games and 6 goals 7 assists in his last 11 games.
Andre Gasseau has 2 goals and 5 assists in his last 5 games.
WHO’S WARM:
Dans Locmelis has 3 goals and 1 assist in his last 5 games.
WHO’S COLD:
Jackson Edward could be facing disciplinary action from the OHL for a hit to the head.
Ryan Walsh has 1 goal, zero assists in his last 5 games.
Quinn Olson is pointless in 5 games.
Jake Schmaltz is pointless in 9 games and has zero goals on the season.
Riley Duran is pointless in 4 games.
Cole Spicer has yet to play a game in the USHL after being deemed ineligible to play in the NCAA.
Dom - Hockey 