In Monday’s off ice news, Reid Dyck was named the WHL goaltender of the week for the second time in February for the week ending February 25, 2024. Dyck won his 3 starts and had a goals-against-average of 1.99 and a save percentage of .925.
In bonus news, Samuel St Hilaire, who was invited to Bruins rookie camp, was named QMJHL goaltender of the week going 2-0-0 and stopping every shot he faced in back-to-back shutouts. With Brandon Bussi and Michael DiPietro requiring waivers next season, it will be interesting to see if the Bruins look hard at St Hilaire or possibly William Rousseau, also from the QMJHL.
The big news came from the USHL as Beckett Hendrickson was traded from the Sioux Falls Stampede to the Dubuque Fighting Saints in exchange for Chase LaPinta, a fifth-round draft pick (Stampede’s original pick) and future considerations. Unfortunately, we won’t get to see Hendrickson continue to build chemistry with Chris Pelosi. The pair have been joined at the hip virtually all season long with the Stampede and with Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge.
On Thursday, Vaxjo defeated Linkoping 5-2 in SHL action. Jonathan Myrenberg had 19:40 TOI with 1 SOG and 2 hits and a minus-1 on the afternoon. Linkoping is barely holding onto 5th place in the standings, but are a lock for the playoffs.
Providence College defeated Merrimack 4-2 in NCAA action. Riley Duran did not register a point, had 3 shots on net and was a plus-1 in the win. Philip Svedeback stopped 26 of 28 shots he faced and is now 18-10-3 on the season. Duran is on target to hit the projected goals I had for him at the start of the year, but he is well short on the assist department. He is shooting a lot this season – 50% more than the previous two seasons – and comfortably leads his team in SOG.
On Friday, beginning in the WHL, it wasn’t perfect. Dyck just needed to stop more pucks than his opponent and he was outshot 38-25. And he did just that stopping 33 while his opponent stopped 17 as Swift Current defeated Red Deer 7-5. Dyck has now won 11 straight starts and his only blemish was an OT loss on Feb 3 when he came in in relief. The Broncos moved into 4th spot in the eastern conference. It was Dyck’s 100th career WHL game.
In the USHL Hendrickson made his debut with Dubuque as they defeated Youngstown 6-4. Hendrickson was unable to find the scoresheet and had 2 SOG and finished a minus-1 in the loss. There were times he looked unfamiliar in his new surroundings but I have no doubt he will find his way in short order.
Sioux Falls ended an 8-game skid when they defeated Fargo 5-2, the team that trounced them 25-7 in three games in February. Pelosi had an assist in the win with 1 SOG and was a plus-3. He didn’t appear to miss Hendrickson running shot gun with him all that much.
In the NCAA, Boston College defeated New Hampshire 5-3. Oskar Jellvik assisted on the opening goal of the game, had 2 SOG and was a plus-1 while continuing to play an excellent game. The 2021 fifth round pick has hit the goals and assists I had projected for him at the start f the season. Andre Gasseau did not factor in the scoring and had 3 SOG and was 5 for 8 on faceoffs.
UMass edged UMass-Lowell 2-1 in overtime. Dans Locmelis had his modest 4-game point streak come to an end. He had 1 SOG and was 6 for 14 on faceoffs. I am happy with how his first season has come along and expect bigger things from him next season. Will be fun to watch.
Cornell fell to 16-6-6 on the season as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the now 15-15-3 Union. Ryan Walsh had an assist in this game with 2 SOG but was just 6 for 19 on the dot. A couple of weeks ago I wrote here how Walsh just needed to find some consistency in hos offence and he’s done that with 4 goals and 5 assists in 8 of his last 10 games.
Harvard edged Yale 2-1 in overtime to improve to 6-17-5 on the season. Mason Langenbrunner did not factor in the scoring and was a plus-1 on the night. It’s been a tough season for Harvard and in turn for Langenbrunner, but he’s coming along. I expect he will get top pairing minutes next season.
Officially, Minnesota-Duluth and Colorado College battled to a 2-2 tie however, the Bulldogs took the shootout. Quinn Olson did not factor in the scoring and the slumping forward didn’t register a SOG. He was the first shooter in the shootout and missed, putting the pressure in his teammates to get the job done, and they did.
Merrimack defeated Providence College 2-1. Duran did not factor in the scoring and had 2 SOG while Svedeback stopped 14 of 16 shots in the loss. BUT, Providence outshot Merrimack 47-16 and still couldn’t find a way to win. This is an all to common theme for Providence.
On Saturday, beginning overseas in Sweden, Linkoping defeated HV71 by a score of 4-1 in SHL action. That ended a 3-game losing streak for Linkoping who held onto 5th place in the SHL standings by a slim 1-point margin. Myrenberg did not register a point in 19:57 TOI with no hits and 1 blocked shot.
In the J20 Nationell, Frolunda won for just the second time in 13 games with a 4-3 shootout win over Farjestad. Casper Nassen had his 3-game goal streak come to an end (4 goals) while Kristian Kostadinski was also held off the scoresheet. Frolunda, who sits in 9th place in the Top-10 portion of the standings, have 5 games remaining before the playoffs begin. The top 6 teams from the Forts division will join the Top-10 in the round of 16 playoffs.
In the OHL, Jackson Edward returned after missing the last 3 games with a suspension and injury as the London Knights defeated the Flint Firebirds 4-3. Edward did not factor in the scoring and was a plus-1 with 1 SOG in 21:00 TOI. Edward is now 4th in the OHL in plus/minus with a plus-39.
In the USHL, Hendrickson scored his first and second goals as a member of Dubuque as the Fighting Saints blanked the Youngstown Phantoms 3-0. Hendrickson scored his first just :34 seconds into the game. He then added Dubuque’s insurance goal at 18:22 of the third. That was Hendrickson’s 20th goal of the season and is on pace to score the 28 I had projected for him.
Sioux Falls defeated the Fargo Force for the second consecutive night, this time by a score of 6-3. Pelosi did not factor in the scoring, had 3 SOG and was an even in the plus/minus department.
In the NCAA, U-Mass defeated Mass-Lowell 4-3. Locmelis did not have a point in this one on 3 SOG and was 8 for 15 on the dot. Interestingly, along with his linemates Jack Musa and Cole O’Hara, they have formed a formidable shut down line and that goes a long way in Locmelis’ development. His offence will come next season.
Cornell defeated Rensselaer 3-1 and improved to 17-6-6 on the season. Walsh did not register a point, had 1 SOG and was a minus-1. He went 3 for 10 on the dot. There are no complaints about the freshman’s first year.
The battle of two teams that have a hard time getting victories officially ended as a tie as Harvard and Brown ended in a 1-1 score. However, Brown did take the shootout. Langenbrunner wasn’t in on Harvard’s lone goal. He had 3 SOG and finished with an even plus/minus.
Colorado College defeated Minnesota-Duluth 4-1. Olson had no points in the loss, was a minus-1 and had 1 SOG.
North Dakota blanked Western Michigan 3-0 to improve to 24-8-2. Jake Schmaltz was not in on the scoring. He had 1 SOG and was a plus-1 while going 4 for 8 on the dot. I don’t think he’s done enough as a defensive specialist to earn an NHL job at some point. But he does have another year of NCAA eligibility. We’ll see where it leads but I am not to hopeful.
On Sunday, Frolunda spanked Djurgardens 7-0 in J20 Nationell Top-10 action. Nassen had 2 goals and an assist with 3 SOG and a plus 4 while Kostadinski had an assist and was a plus 2 with 1 SOG. Since the Top-10 portion of the schedule began, Nassen has been on fire with 10 goals in 14 games, which is tied for 2nd overall.
In the NCAA, Boston College blanked New Hampshire 1-0 in a defensive battle. Jellvik had zeroes across the board – a rare occurrence for him this season. Gasseau also had zeroes but with 3 SOG.
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 an 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:
This is the last week of the NCAA regular season. North Dakota has locked up top spot in the NCHC. Boston University has an outside shot at passing Boston College in Hockey East. U-Mass and Providence will battle along with Maine for the final two home ice spots.
AROUND THE GLOBE
WHO’S HOT:
Reid Dyck has won his last 11 starts.
Casper Nassen has 6 goals and 1 assist in 4 of his last 5 games.
WHO’S WARM:
Chris Pelosi has a goal and 4 assists in 5 of his last 7 games.
Beckett Hendrickson ended a 4-game pointless streak with 2 goals on Saturday.
Dans Locmelis has a goal and 4 assists in 4 of his last 6 games.
Jonathan Myrenberg has a goal and an assist in his last 5 games.
Oskar Jellvik has 1 goal and 9 assists in 7 of his last 10 games.
WHO’S COLD:
Mason Langenbrunner is pointless in 10 games.
Quinn Olson is pointless in 5 games and has just 1 goal and 2 assists in his last 15 games.
Jake Schmaltz is pointless in 5 games and has just 2 assists in his last 19 games.
Riley Duran is pointless in 4 games.
Andre Gasseau is pointless in 3 games. That’s his longest pointless streak since Nov 3 – Nov 11.
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Dom - Hockey 
Any chance Boston tries to repeat what they did with Farinacci with a couple of former second round picks in Sam Colangelo (Anaheim, 2nd rounder) or Luke Tuch (Montreal, 2nd rounder. Both seem to have Boston ties.
Also any word on whose the favorite for Quinnipiac’s Collin Graf who would fit nicely at RW in Providence
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