Loke Johansson
With Don Sweeney in the house to get a look at Caleb Desnoyers as he prepares for the 2025 NHL Draft, Sweeney was treated to a commanding 7-0 by Moncton over Baie-Comeau to begin their second round QMJHL playoff series. Johansson had an assist in the game, was a plus-1 with 4 SOG and 2 hits. If you are keeping score at home, Desnoyers had 2 goals and an assist.
Sweeney was in the house again Sunday afternoon doing draft prep work and he saw Moncton skate to a 4-1 victory and take a 2-0 series lead. Johansson did not register a point in what I would call his game as physical on this afternoon. He had 3 hits in the game and 1 SOG. For those keeping tabs on Caleb Desnoyer and the draft, he had a goal and an assist and was a plus-3 with 2 SOG while going 7 for 9 on the dot. What Sweeney saw in these two games is a player worthy of a top-5 pick in June’s draft.
Kristian Kostadinski, Jonathan Morello, Cole Spicer
Cole Spicer has committed to Arizona State for next season as he tries to restart his college career.
On Friday, Dubuque needed overtime to get past Madison 5-4. Spicer had a goal and 2 assists on the night, 2 SOG and was a plus-4. Kostadinski did not register a point, was a plus-2 with no SOG. Morello had zeroes across the board and was a minus-1.
Dubuque closed out their regular season with a 4-2 win over Cedar Rapids on Saturday. Kostadinski did not register a point and was a plus-2 with 1 SOG. He came into the game with 99 penalty minutes and did not earn a penalty to break the 100-minute mark. Morello was also pointless and was an even plus/minus with 2 SOG. Spicer had a goal and an assist and was a plus-1 with 2 SOG. Despite playing in only 37 of 62 games, Spicer finished 8th in team scoring and first in points-per-game with .95. He was also second in assists, just one off the pace. Dubuque finished with a 41-18-1-2 record and second place in the Eastern Conference. Dubuque has a bye in round one (best of three) and will face the winner of the Green Bay/Madison series.
Will Zellers
It was not a good night, Friday as Green Bay got smoked by Cedar Rapids 6-0. That brought an end to Will Zellers 9 game point streak.
Green Bay dropped their final regular season game 6-5 to Madison in what was a preview of the USHL first round matchup. Zellers had zeroes across the board. He finished the season with 44 goals and 71 points in 52 games. He led the league in goals and was third in pints despite playing in 10 fewer games. His 1.37 PPG led the league. Green Bay will now face Madison in a best of three series Monday and Tuesday with game 3, if necessary, on Wednesday. The winner will face Dubuque.
Providence Bruins
Fans are beginning to see why I was raving about Dans Locmelis on this site even a couple of years ago. On Friday night, the P-Bruins decided to move him to left wing on a line with Matthew Poitras and it paid dividends. Locmelis scored his first professional goal and added three assists while Poitras had a pair of goals and a pair of helpers. The third member of the line, Oliver Wahlstrom, had a goal and an assist. Brandon Bussi made a spectacular save with Providence leading 1-0 as he dove across the net to prevent a sure goal. All the Hartford Wolf Pack players could do is shake their heads and look up at the board on their way to the bench. Tyler Pitlick and John Farinacci (into an empty net) closed out the scoring as Providence won 6-2.
The line of Locmelis – Poitras – Wahlstrom was at it again on Saturday as Providence defeated Belleville 4-3 in overtime. Locmelis had a goal – the overtime winner – and a pair of assists while Poitras had 3 assists and Wahlstrom a goal and an assist to lead the P-Bruins. I only had one issue with Locmelis going all the way back to junior in Sweden; he didn’t use his shot enough. Well, on this night he had 5 SOG and if the move to left wing is going to be permanent, we need more nights like this, because he has an excellent shot. Daniil Misyul with his first and Jeffrey Viel had the other goals for Providence. Michael DiPietro returned from injury and looked a little shaky stopping 18 of 21 shots for the win.
Here’s a look at the Providence Bruins leaders. You will notice a column called “Benchrates” 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:
Dom - Hockey 