Greetings all – I’m back again and trying to get back on our regular schedule of Monday updates. We skipped last week with the All-Star festivities, so since we have two weeks to get through lets get on it (fair warning – it’s a long one).
Starting off in Springfield as we always do, the Falcons had two more games before taking time off for the All Star Game. Friday night it was off to Hartford for a game with the Wolfpack. Michael Chaput opened the scoring off the rebound of a Frederic St Denis point shot to make it 1-0. The Pack tied it early in the second before Kerby Rychel fired a shot just above the circle to make it 2-1 with his 11th of the season. The third period went a lot like the second with the Pack scoring early before Kerby scored again. Kerby got his next goal off a deflection of a St Denis keep in/point shot. The Pack scored two goals in a 1:02 span to clinch the 4-3 victory with goon/my favorite target of ridicule Dylan McIlrath scoring the game winner. In the 4-3 loss Anton Forsberg made 24 saves.
To close out the first half of the season, the baby birds welcomed their rivals – the Providence Bruins. In the 2-1 loss Chaput scored his second in as many games. In the second with Springfield trailing 2-1, off a pretty passing play that Ryan Craig started at the doorstep, TJ Tynan received a cross crease pass and made Malcolm Subban think he was going to try a wraparound. Instead Tynan passed to Chaput who found a hole to make it 1-1. Colin Stuart scored early in the third to make it 2-1. Forsberg made 29 saves in the loss.
After that it was off to Utica, New York for Austin Madaisky for the AHL All Star Game. He was named a starter for the Eastern Conference along with Anton Forsberg but the goaltender was pulled from the game due to the upcoming recall by Columbus. First up on Sunday, Austin took part in Fastest Skater event (even if he didn’t think it was a good choice). Madaisky finished last with a time of 14.500. Austin’s next event made a little more sense – the Hardest Shot contest. Austin shot third out of the Eastern Conference shooters and on his three attempts he hit speeds of 98, 97.7 and finished with a score of 99.2 which was second at the time but the next three shooters would hit over 100 MPH. A post event tweet from Austin showed he wasn’t happy with his performance. The East did go on to win the Skills competition by a score of 15-11. As for the game, Austin started and scored a goal early in the second period. With the East trailing 4-2, Vladislav Namestikov was in front of the net and sent a no look pass to Austin who had an almost empty net to shoot into making it 4-3. The assists from Namestikov and East captain Tom Kostopoulos in what could be the most syllables in a goal outside of Russia. The East fell by a score of 14-12.
Coming out of the break, the Falcons laid an egg when they dropped a 5-0 loss to the baby Penguins. In the loss, Oscar Dansk stopped 12 of 17 before being pulled midway through the second period. Next it was off to Hartford for another game against the Pack. The Falcons fell 3-1 with Marko Dano scoring his ninth goal of the season and Scott Munroe stopping 30 of 32.
Blake Siebenaler-Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
Season Stats 48GP 9-19-28 -2 19PIM
Blake and the Dogs opened with a game against his old Cleveland Barons teammate, Sonny Milano. In the second period, Blake started and finished on a goal beginning with a close shot that was stopped but Carter Verhaeghe gathered the rebound and found Josh Ho-Sang who quickly passed to Blake who potted the goal. The Dogs won the game 5-1 and Blake was named first star in the victory. Blake was held pointless in the Dogs next two games. In the following game against Barrie, Blake got the Dogs on the board with his ninth goal of the season in a 6-3 loss. Blake also picked up an assist in a 3-2 loss to Nick Moutrey and North Bay to close out the week
Sonny Milano-Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
Season Stats 30GP 13-30-43 -12 12PIM
As stated above, Sonny opened this two week time with a game against Niagara in which he picked up an assist on Matthew Campagna’s goal. The apple came off a crossrink pass to Campagna who had a wide open net to shoot into to give the Whalers a 1-0 lead in a 5-1 loss (highlights above). Sonny had a four game point streak snapped in a game against Guelph before picking up an assist in a 4-2 loss to Saginaw. Up next in a game against Belleville, Sonny scored his 13th goal of the season in a 3-0 victory. Sonny was held pointless in a 3-2 shootout loss to Windsor, he also missed in the shootout.
Markus Soberg-Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
Season Stats 43GP 10-13-23 -6 16PIM
Opening up against Sarnia, Markus picked up an assist on the opening goal when he won a board battle and got the puck to Luke Kirwan. Kirwan’s shot was stopped and Jamie Lewis helped with the battle by rushing to the net and picking up the rebound to make it 1-0 in a 3-2 overtime win. Markus was held off the scoresheet in the Spits next three games. In a 5-2 win over Belleville, Markus scored the Spits second empty net goal when he took a pass from Slater Doggett who passed up two attempts to finish off his hat trick.
Julien Pelletier-Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Season Stats 35GP 7-13-20 -15024PIM
Julien opened the week with two pointless games before picking up an assist in a 6-3 loss to Baie-Comeau. In the Huskies next game, Julien picked up his second multipoint game in a win over Gatineau. Starting off Julien was part of a two on one with Mathieu Boucher in which Boucher finished the play. In the second, with the Huskies leading 2-0, Julien was at the point and took a shot that was blocked but he was able to gather the rebound and pass to Francis Perron who fired to make it 3-0, in a 7-5 Rouyn-Noranda win. Julien was held without a point in a 6-5 overtime win against Val-d’Or.
Peter Quenneville-Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Season Stats 51GP 14-33-47 +5 18PIM
The Kings welcomed home a familiar face during the NHL All Star Break in a game against Prince Albert. In the 5-1 win, the Kings were leading 2-0 when Peter became a part of a passing play where he passed to brother John who passed to Rihards Bukarts who finished. Up next against Regina, Peter kept his point streak going when he added an assist on Nolan Patrick’s goal. The assist came off a pass to deadline pickup Morgan Klimchik whose shot was deflected by Patrick to make it 1-1 in a 8-3 Wheat Kings win.
Up next was a game against the Swift Current Broncos (quickly in injury news Broncos dman and CBJ prospect Dillon Heatherington is out the next 4-6 weeks with the dreaded upper body injury). In the 3-2 shootout win, the Broncos rolled out to a 2-0 lead before the Kings struck. Peter picked up an assist on the tying goal when, early in the third he gathered a rebound and found a streaking Klimchuk to tie the game at two. The assist gave Peter 32 assists – a new career high.
In the game against Moose Jaw, Peter kept his five game assist streak alive when he earned one on Nolan Patrick’s game opening goal. He almost didn’t get it according to Brandon Sun reporter Robert Henderson. Later in the game with the game tied at four, Peter gathered a Nolan Patrick shot, spun and snapped off a shot that ended up being the game winner in a 6-4 Kings win. This was the fourth time this season that the Quenneville brothers scored in the same game. Little brother David also added one the same night in his game with Medicine Hat. Next it was off to Moose Jaw where the Wheat Kings picked up a 6-0 win – Peter scored the 5-0 goal when, off a bang bang passing play between Ivan Provorov and Rich Pilon, Pilon found Peter in front.
Oliver Bjorkstrand-Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Season Stats 40GP 35-35-70 +34 23PIM
Oliver kept his point streak alive with a two assist game against Spokane. Early in the second, Oliver got the puck from Paul Bittner and skated in on a two on one with Chase De Leo with De Leo finishing it to make it a 3-0 lead. Just over four minutes later these two combined again with De Leo skating in and making it 4-0 in a 4-1 win. Up next against rival Seattle, Oliver literally opened the scoring by netting one on the Hawks first shot on goal when he took a crossrink pass from Nic Petan in the Hawks 4-3 overtime win. In their next game, Oliver had a huge night against the Tri-City Americans. He picked up his second hat trick of the season and added an assist to his tally.
The assist came first when he was working a two on one with Petan and Petan scored his eighth of the season 42 seconds into the game. The first goal was your average Bjorkstrand goal with him skating past two Amerks players before going backhand (yawn…ok I kid) for his 29th goal of the season. Later, with the Hawks leading 5-3, Oliver raced in and fired a shot trying to center a pass to Alex Schoenborn but the puck bounced off an Americans player to make it 6-3 Hawks. To finish off the hat trick, Oliver scored into an empty net making it 7-5 Hawks. Oliver was, of course, named first star in the win.
Oliver had his five game point streak snapped in a win over Victoria. During the streak Oliver collected 13 points with six goals and seven assists. Oliver got back on the scoresheet in the Winterhawks next game against the Kamloops Blazers (oddly enough the same night the Hawks’ arena mates, the Portland Trailblazers, played the Atlanta Hawks). In the win, Oliver opened the scoring when he got the puck from Anton Cederholm and started a three on two with Nic Petan finishing it. Later in the first, a pretty passing sequence finished with Oliver passing to Chase De Leo who tipped the puck past the Blazers goalie. Very late in the first period (like 1.7 seconds left late) Oliver scored his 31st goal of the season when Layne Viverios shot with Paul Bittner getting a piece of it but Oliver got credit for the goal giving Oliver three points with the Hawks leading 4-0 into the first intermission of a 6-2 victory.
Ok normally I describe all that happens and post the video with it, but, well with Oliver’s game against Everett its easier to just post the highlights because…Oliver was part of every Winterhawks goal and the score was 6-3. That’s right folks. The Great Dane set a career record in points in a game with six when he put up three goals and three assists against the Tips, so enjoy. The six point game is the first for a Winterhawk since Taylor Leier had one on February 18th, 2013 – a game in which Oliver scored four goals. This was only the second six point game since Chad Wolkowski had one in December of 2002.
Seth Ambroz, Mike Reilly Ryan Collins-Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big 10)
Season Stats
Ambroz: 24GP 7-6-13 +1 26PIM
Collins: 17GP 0-5-5 +4 18PIM
Reilly: 24GP 4-22-26 +12 42PIM
Minnesota started off the week in their own tournament, The North Star College Cup, against number one (at the time) Minnesota St Mankato. Seth Ambroz opened the scoring when he picked up the rebound of a Travis Boyd shot to make it 1-0 in a 4-2 loss. Seth earned a penalty shot in the game – the first for the Gophers since ex-CBJ prospect Jake Hansen scored against Alaska-Anchorage in 2011. Up next in the consolation game against St Cloud State, Mike picked up his 20th assist of the season on the Gophers only goal of the game. Early in the third period down 2-0, Mike fired a shot that Justin Kloos gathered to find Kyle Rau in front. Ryan Collins missed the NSCC weekend with illness.
Up next was another edition of the Border Battle as the Gophers were off to Madison for a series with the Badgers. As you may remember, these two teams met just weeks ago with some extra-curriculars happening – including Mike earning a game misconduct. As for the games, Friday was a defense optional affair with the final score 7-5. Seth got the Gophers on the board with only a minute remaining to tie the game at one the goal. It marked Seth’s eighth goal against Wisconsin (this number will grow by the way). Later in the second with the game tied at three, Seth struck again when he picked up the rebound of a Brady Skjei shot to make it 4-3. The nine goals against the Badgers makes Seth the team’s active scoring leader against Bucky. Here are Seth’s postgame comments after the win.
In the rematch Seth scored in the second to give the Badgers a 2-1 lead. The teams traded goals in the second with the Badgers scoring with 18:47 left to take a 4-3 lead but then Seth struck again for goal number 11 against Wisco. With just seconds remaining and goalie Adam Wilcox pulled, Mike fired a shot that started a scramble in front with Seth finishing it to tie the game and eventually force a shootout that the Gophers would lose. Adding insult to injury, the Badgers player that scored the game winner in the shootout earned a five minute major for kneeing Mike’s brother Connor and the prognosis doesn’t sound good. Here are Seth’s postgame comments.
Daniel Zaar-Lulea (SHL-Sweden)
CHL Stats 12GP 7-7-14 +5 0PIM
SHL Stats 44GP 6-14-20 -10 14PIM
Starting off in the CHL, in a game that determined who would advance to the finals, Daniel continued to put up points scoring his 7th goal of the tournament when he fired a rocket from the point to make it 2-1 Lulea. The Bears won the game by a score of 3-2 and won on aggregate scoring. Up next is the final game against SHL rival, Frolunda. Daniel is currently fourth in tournament scoring but, unless he puts up 11 points in the final he’s not catching Frolunda’s Mathia Olimb. Daniel was held pointless in Lulea’s first two games before snapping a five game pointless streak against Linkopings. The point came off an assist in the third with Lulea trailing 3-1. Daniel picked up the rebound of a point shot and took a shot that was stopped with Jonathan Granstrom making it 3-2 in a 4-2 loss. Daniel was held without a point in the Bears next two games.
Joonas Korpisalo-Ilves(Liiga-Finland)
Season Stats 29GP 11-9-5 .926Sv% 2.08GAA 2SO
Opening up against HIFK, Joonas stopped 25 of 27 in regulation and then stopped all four shooters he faced in the shootout. Next up in a home and home against Sport, Joonas made 28 saves in regulation but only stopped one of two in the shootout meaning the team fell by a score of 2-1. In the rematch, Joonas made 23 saves in a 3-1 victory. After a night off, Joonas stopped 18 of 22 in a 5-2 loss that had the coach pulling Joonas early in order to get back into the game. Joonas closed out the month in spectacular fashion with a 30 save 1-0 shutout over Saipa – his second of the month.
Elvis Merzlikins-HC Lugano (National League A-Switzerland)
Season Stats 20GP 12-7-1 2.56GAA .916Sv% 1SO 0-3-3 8PIM
Through most of January, Elvis has been relegated to backup but he got back into the Panthers crease for three of their last five games. He sat for the team’s first two games before getting back into the crease against Biel. In the 4-1 win Elvis stopped 26 of 27. Next against Zug, Elvis had to try and clean up Daniel Manzato’s mess. Entering with the Bulls up 4-2, Elvis ended up taking the loss in a game where he stopped eight of 11 in the 7-4 loss. To close out the month against Laussane, Elvis picked up his second career shutout with a 24 save clean sheet in a 5-0 victory.
There you have it folks – another busy period in CBJ prospects land. As for next week, we’ll have Minnesota welcoming OSU to Marriucci for a weekend series.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
