With the Minnesota Wild still lurking near the bottom of the divisional and Western Conference standings. The only real bright spot is looking at the future and by that I’m talking about team’s young prospects. A number of the Wild’s prospects are showing a lot of promise (and scoring) early on in their respective seasons. So here is a quick overview of what they have been up to this weekend.
Iowa Wild Report:
Record: (5-1-1-1) 11pts 1st in AHL Central
18.2% Power Play (13th in the AHL)
92.5% Penalty Kill (3rd in the AHL)
Top 5 Scorers:
1. #7 Sam Anas ~ 3G 5A = 8pts
2. #42 Kyle Rau ~ 3G 4A = 7pts
3. #27 Brennan Menell ~ 1G 5A = 6pts
4. #47 Louie Belpedio ~ 1G 4A = 5pts
5. #14 Will Bitten ~ 2G 2A = 4pts
Top 3 PIM’s:
1. #55 Cody McLeod ~ 14 PIM’s
2. #22 Brandon Duhaime ~ 14 PIM’s
3. #6 Mitch McLain ~ 13 PIM’s
Top Goaltenders:
1. #60 Mat Robson (1-1-2) 1.94GAA .941%SP
Iowa 1, Tucson 2 OT
It was spirited two-game series for Iowa, who came up a little short in both games. Mat Robson would get the start between the pipes for Iowa and Ivan Prosvetov for the Roadrunners. Both goaltenders were solid as they’d have a scoreless 1st period. Iowa would break the stalemate early in the 2nd period as a slap pass from Matt Bartkowski was ripped by Prosvetov by rookie Brandon Duhaime. The Roadrunners would answer back late in the period as Lane Pederson found the twine behind Robson. Iowa would nearly take the lead back in the closing seconds of the 2nd period as J.T. Brown raced in on a breakaway only to be stonewalled by Prosvetov. The two clubs were shooting any chance they had in the 3rd period but both goaltender were playing very well and the game would go to overtime. The game appeared to be destined for a shootout, when Maple Grove, Minnesota-native Jordan Gross wired a shot by Robson with just 46 seconds left in overtime to give Tucson a 2-1 victory. Robson had 38 saves in the loss.
Wild Prospect Report:
RW – Shawn Boudrias (Cape Breton, QMJHL) ~ the big-bodied power forward continues to have a strong overage season as he had an assist on 6 shots in Cape Breton’s 4-3 win over Victoriaville on Thursday night. Boudrias has 10 goals, 19 points, 15 PIM’s and is a +11 in 13 games.
C – Alexander Khovanov (Moncton, QMJHL) ~ the talented Russian earned 1st star honors by tallying a goal and two assists on 5 shots in the Wildcats’ 4-3 overtime win over Sherbrooke on Thursday. He also went 12-for-18 on his draws. The next night, he earned 3rd star honors as he tallied two goals including the game winner in Moncton’s 5-4 overtime victory over arch-rival Halifax. On Saturday, the skilled Russian was the 1st star with 3 helpers in a 4-2 win over the Tigres. Khovanov has 8 goals, 25 points, 17 PIM’s and is a +17 in 12 games.
RW – Ivan Lodnia (Niagara, OHL) ~ the skilled winger had a goal and an assist on 8 shots as the Ice Dogs prevailed 5-3 over Hamilton on Friday night. The Novi, Michigan-native would add another goal on Saturday as Lodnia has 3 goals, 4 points in 2 games.
D – Fedor Gordeev (Guelph, OHL) ~ the tall defenseman had 2 assists and was a +3 as the Storm overpowered North Bay 9-3 on Friday night. Gordeev has no goals and 6 helpers in 12 games this season.
LW – Adam Beckman (Spokane, WHL) ~ the skilled winger had an assist on 5 shots in Spokane’s 6-3 loss to arch-rival Portland last night. Beckman has 5 goals, 20 points, 2 PIM’s and is a +13 in 12 games.
RW – Nick Swaney (Minnesota-Duluth, NCHC) ~ its always a big deal for a Minnesota-born player to participate in the in-state rivalry between the Golden Gophers and the Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth. The former Lakeville South star had an assist in the Bulldogs’ 5-2 win over Minnesota. Swaney has 2 goals, 4 points, 2 PIM’s and is a -3 in 5 games.
C – Sam Hentges (St. Cloud State, NCHC) ~ the sophomore is anchoring the Huskies’ top line and he had a goal in their 5-1 loss to Northeastern last night. On Saturday, the former Totino-Grace star had an assist and the game winning goal in St. Cloud’s 2-1 to get the weekend series split. Hentges has 3 goals, 6 points and is a +1 in 4 games.
G – Hunter Jones (Peterborough, OHL) ~ the Wild’s 2nd round pick from this summer had 35 saves in Peterborough’s 10-3 trouncing of Mississauga on Saturday. Jones’ record improved to 10-1, 2.46 goals against average and a .920% save percentage with 1 shutout.
D – Filip Johansson (Leksand IF, SHL) ~ the Wild’s top pick in 2018 had a goal and an assist this week. His first points of the season.
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