The Prospect Park

Hawks soar over the Knights

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:41:00 +0000

Ty Rattie (Portland Winterhawks)

If you were lucky enough to be able to watch the London Knights/Portland Winterhawks matchup Monday evening then you got a chance to see not just one top prospect but as many as 30 prospects. Yes that is right 30 NHL prospects who either are signed, drafted or listed by Central Scouting took part in the game between the Knights and Winterhawks (Stick tap to Todd Vrooman and Andy Kemper of the Winterhawks for this).

The game didn't disappoint either as the Portland Winterhawks earned their first win of the Memorial Cup 6-3 and for the 2nd straight year, the Memorial Cup has all 4 teams with a 1-1 record. I for one totally disagree with those who think this is bad for the cup as to me what it means is that every game counts. There is none of the easy path's to the Cup finals as all 4 teams playing have a chance to earn their way to the finals.

It is good for junior hockey because the CHL is in their own way showing NHL fans what the future of the NHL is going to look like and it sure looks good. There was some great plays made by both teams including a goal from perhaps one of the more underrated prospects player in the Memorial Cup, Ty Rattie of the Portland Winterhawks. Rattie was the 32nd pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues and for the most part has been overshadowed by the better known names who have played for the Winterhawks in recent years. More on Rattie later as the game was almost a chess match in the beginning with Portland trying to solve London's trapping defense.

Portland got on the board off a nice deflection of a Tyler Wotherspoon shot by teammate Taylor Leier who tipped in the 5 hole past a handcuffed London goalie Anthony Stolarz. Portland with the goal at 16:53 of the first period grabbed a 1-0 lead that they took into the first intermission. In the second period Portland would extend their lead to 2-0 when Oliver Bjorkstrand carried the puck out of the corner and just snapped a shot past Stolarz at 2:17.

Portland would make it 3-0 when Ty Rattie would score his 2nd highlight reel goal of the Memorial Cup in as many games. With the teams playing 4 on 4, Rattie took the puck from his defensive zone carried into the offensive zone then cut across the slot moving the puck to his backhand and with a London defender all over him beats Stolarz at 10:23.

Have a look for yourselves as courtesy of Sportsnet are the highlights. Rattie's goal starts at the 37 second mark.

Portland was up 3-0 but that lead didn't hold as London got on the board 15 seconds after the Rattie goal when Scott Harrington fired a blast past Mac Carruth for London's first goal at 10:38. Less than 2 minutes later with London on a power play, Max Domi of London with a between the legs pass to Bo Horvat who roofed his shot to cut Portland's lead to 3-2.

In the 3rd, London would tie the game on a missed call as Ranger prospect Tommy Hughes with either a stick or fist bloodied Ty Rattie leaving him face first on the ice. Play continued while Rattie struggled to make it back to the Portland bench and London took advantage to tie the game up at 3 just 1:48 into the period.

The goal by London's Alex Broadhurst had Tommy Hughes (NYR 2013 UFA) credited with a secondary assist for his first point of the Memorial Cup (Portland fans might argue that the assist was for taking Rattie out). Portland would regain the lead for good when Portland's Derrick Pouliot cashed in a Ty Rattie rebound for what proved to be the game winning goal at 6:20. 23 seconds later at 6:43Portland's Chase De Leo would make it 5-3 of a nice pass from Bjorkstrand and then Rattie would get the final word when he scored an empty net goal at 19:05 for the final tally.

Rattie finished with a 2-1-3 evening yet only winds up as the game's 3rd star but in many ways that fits with how Rattie has been in the shadows whether it was Seth Jones this season, Nino Niederreiter 2 years ago and Sven Bartschi last season.

All Rattie has done as a Winterhawk is score as he broke the record for the most career goals in the WHL playoffs with 51 in 76 career playoff games this year. And if you think Rattie is just a goal scorer then you would be wrong as Rattie has 45 assists during the same span of time. His goals to assists ratio is as close to 1:1 as one can expect from a top player. Rattie was the WHL's Playoff MVP after the Winterhawks won the WHL Title as Rattie was 20-16-36 in 21 games.

Rattie has had back to back 100 point seasons the last 2 seasons and I would not be at all surprised that when the smoke is cleared that Rattie winds up with the more productive NHL career than any of the bigger named Winterhawks. It is just how he does things quietly but very efficiently.

With the Memorial Cup all knotted up with all 4 teams having 1-1 records for the second straight year, each team has a shot at heading to the finals just as much as they do winding up in the tiebreaker game with a loss. London plays Halifax on Tuesday with the winner assured of at the very least a spot in the semifinals. Portland and Saskatoon are in the same situation on Wednesday but the picture will be much clearer when they play.

That Saskatoon has a chance to wind up playing in the Cup finals despite being eliminated in the first round of the WHL playoffs just might drive many of the Memorial Cup critics insane which in some cases would be worth watching.

The Moose ran over the Hawks

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:49:00 +0000

Nathan MacKinnon (CHL/WHL/Steve Hiscock)

The Portland Winterhawks should have known that their day was going to wind up bad when the anthem singer royally messed up the Star Spangled Banner and had to be rescued by the fans. Too bad the fans couldn't rescue the Winterhawks from Nathan MacKinnon and his Halifax Mooseheads who did what no WHL team could do during the season and that was score 7 goals in a 7-4 win. It wasn't that Portland played badly but rather Nathan MacKinnon just played better in what could be said was a "statement" game over who was the best prospect heading into the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

MacKinnon hung a hat trick plus an assist for a 4 point game on the Winterhawks as the Mooseheads scored 5 goals in the 2nd period to turn a 3-1 Portland lead into a 6-3 Mooseheads lead. It was a very impressive game from the QMJHL champions and if anything made sure the Western Canadian hockey fans knew that they were a legit contender.

MacKinnon at least for Saturday showed why he too was worthy of being the first pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft making Portland goalie Mac Carruth look rather suspect in net. Portland outshot Halifax, outchanced them but could not outscore them especially when it counted. Others called Stephen MacAulay's 3rd period goal the one that put the nail in Portland's coffin but I have to disagree as I believe Portland's demise came late in the 2nd period when trailing 5-3 and on the power play.

Nathan MacKinnon scored his 3rd goal of the game, a shorthanded goal to push the lead to 6-3 and giving Halifax a lot of momentum going into the 3rd period. It allowed Halifax to weather Portland's charge early in the 3rd period when they scored a power play goal just a little over a minute in the period and then going right back on the power play. Big difference going into the 3rd period up 3 goals and it played out that way too with Portland unable to score just the one quick goal.

So now having beaten the team most (including yours truly) picked as the favorites in this year's cup, the Mooseheads take on Saskatoon on Sunday and sorry despite having 2 Ranger prospects on their roster, even before Halifax's win over Portland that Saskatoon is no match for Halifax. Only way Saskatoon beats Halifax is if Halifax beats themselves and that is hard to imagine.

Portland gets a day off to get ready to face OHL champs the London Knights in what most likely will be game 1 of the semi-finals.

And if you haven't seen it by now here is the Saskatoon fans coming to the rescue of Alexis Normand who just royally screwed up the American anthem. I am not going to jump on her case too much as over the years I have seen some really bad performances (worst in recent history was a cello player who's effort sounded more like he was high on something) but I am going to point the finger at the host committee for not making sure she had the words down pat.

I'm embarrassed and deeply sorry. I wish I'd had more time to learn the American anthem. Thanks so much for the crowd's help! #memorialcup
— Alexis Normand (@Alex6Normand) May 19, 2013

Didn't they bother to rehearse before the game like 80% of those I have seen "perform" the anthem? The crowd gets the stick tap for trying to rescue her but the goat horns belong on the host committee who have 48 hours to make sure the next person to attempt to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" knows the words and can sing them.

Should have seen this one coming

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:48:00 +0000

Shane McColgan (#9) (CHL/WHL/Steve Hiscock)

So much for all of us so-called "experts" as if you hear someone claiming they thought the Saskatoon Blades really had a chance to beat the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday don't believe them. Odds are that only the team and their most diehard supporters thought the Blades would knock off the Mooseheads at the Memorial Cup.

But 5-2 says they sure did and this one win does a lot for the Blades and in many ways their deserving to host the event. The Blades and Saskatoon have taken much of a beating since they were awarded the right to host the Memorial Cup and the first couple of days haven't been all that smooth either. An anthem singer who badly botches the Star Spangled Banner and some weak attendance (this game was just 8934 for an arena that sits over 15000) didn't make things much better.

Saskatoon came into this game already 0-1 after losing to London on opening night and the critics were having a field day with the Blades having a 13 game postseason losing streak going back 3 years. The 5-2 win shuts that one down with authority and this win has to start with the Blades playing their game plan almost to perfection.

The Blades wanted to get that first goal of the game and they did as Matej Stransky pounced on a Shane McColgan (NYR 2011 5th) rebound at 12:11 of the first period to give the Blades a 1-0 lead. If this was a game of redemption then count McColgan in as Friday night the only thing anyone noticed about McColgan was getting crushed by London's MaX Domi on a hit.

McColgan played well, he won faceoffs, set up scoring chances for his teammates and let the game come to him rather than try to force things. McColgan needed to be more visible on Sunday especially after a shaky opening night. The other Ranger prospect Josh Nicholls (2013 UFA) also had a strong game with another 2 point outing (1-1-2) to give him a 3-1-4 record after 2 games.

Nicholls has been making the Rangers look good for signing him by elevating his game against a very strong level of competition. Nicholls had a secondary assist on Saskatoon's 4th goal of the game which came on the power play in the 3rd period. Toss in the game sealing empty net goal and Nicholls has been much better than expected.

There is a slight concern about Nicholl's knee as he appeared to have tweaked it but gets 2 day off to rest it as the Blades don't play again until Wednesday night.

Next up will be the Portland/London game on Monday night as the Winterhawks find themselves now in an almost must win situation because of the Blades win. The Winterhawks don't want to get that 2nd loss which would put them into double elimination games on Wednesday and Thursday.

London will be wanting to win this one as 2 wins assures them of a spot in the semi-finals and also gives them a chance to earn a direct spot in the finals if they could also defeat Halifax. The possibilities are now endless thanks to a 5-2 win by the Blades.

Don't let the score fool you

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:12:00 +0000

Josh Nicholls scores (CHL/WHL/Derek Mortensen)

Appearances can be very deceiving as witnessed in the opening game of the 2013 Memorial Cup between the hosts the Saskatoon Blades and the OHL Champions the London Knights. Really the only reasons why London only won 3-2 have to do with a terrible power play of the London Knights and Saskatoon goalie Andrey Markov. London dominated the game when at full strength but turned into the New York Rangers when on the power play going 1 for 6 including a 52 second 5 on 3 where they missed a golden opportunity to blow the game wide open.

Markov along with New York Ranger prospect Josh Nicholls (2013 UFA) made the game look respectable as Markov rightfully earned the game's first star keeping his team in the game despite London outplaying them. Nicholls made the Rangers look very good for signing him as he scored both Saskatoon goals off some nice efforts.

The first goal scored by Nicholls came on a rebound where Nicholls was "right place, right time" as he was sitting at the London doorstep with a wide open net to cash in the rebound of a Michael Ferland shot. Nicholls scored the opening goal of the series at 7:55 of the 1st period. The goal gave Saskatoon a 1-0 lead that they held until London first tied the score at 12:55 mark and then took the lead at the 18:21 mark.

The Knights took the lead into the first intermission and held it until Nicholls tied the score off a breakaway when he got in beyond the London blueline, took the shot and then banged in his own rebound tying the game at 15:21. Tommy Hughes (2013 UFA) was one of the London defensemen who were beaten on this play. Hughes was the 2nd London defender back on the play but to be fair he wasn't the one who let Nicholls beat him back.

Hughes was 2nd pair for London but other than Nicholls goal wasn't bad but wasn't special and London will need a much better effort from their entire blueline when they face Portland and Halifax in back to back nights. London's Dale Hunter hardly uses his 3rd pair of defenders so London is going to face problems trying to match the speed that Portland and Halifax bring.

London scored the game winning goal in the 3rd period on their 5th power play of the game. Saskatoon just didn't have enough in the tank to score the tying goal.

The 3rd Ranger prospect playing was Shane McColgan (2011 5th) of Saskatoon but the only play where McColgan was noticed was not a play he will like seeing on TV. McColgan got just flat out wiped out by London's Max Domi (yes son of Tie) with a very clean hit. Here is the replay courtesy of Prospect Park friend Neate Sager.

It was a play in the 3rd period and Domi caught him clean so one can't complain about it. McColgan was helped off the ice by a trainer and did return to play,

Sager's Buzzing the Net blog awarded their 2nd star of the game to Josh Nicholls.

Saturday night night's game between Portland and Halifax is in danger of being over-hyped but I for one am very much looking forward to seeing 4 of the best prospects in junior hockey in action. London next plays Portland on Monday while Saskatoon faces Halifax on Sunday.

The "other" Cup

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:59:00 +0000

The Memorial Cup (CHL)

The 2013 Memorial Cup gets underway Friday evening in Saskatoon when the host Saskatoon Blades take on the OHL champion London Knights. It will be the battle of New York Ranger prospects as the Rangers will be represented by Shane McColgan (2011 5th) and Josh Nicholls (UFA) of the host Saskatoon Blades and Tommy Hughes (UFA) of the London Knights. Wish I could say you can catch it live in the USA but for some reason the "home of hockey", the NHL Network won't be showing the games live this year (but they will offer next day replays).

This year's 4 team round robin tournament this year will feature 7 prospects expected to go in the first round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Seth Jones (Portland Winterhawks), Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Druin and Zach Fucale (Halifax Mooseheads), Max Domi, Nikita Zadorov,and Bo-Horvat (London Knights) all represent a wealth talent that have turned this year's event into a wide open affair.

The matchup on Saturday night between the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL and the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL should be the best matchup of the opening round with the 4 expected first round draft picks facing each other. Don't be surprised if 17 year old goalie Zach Fucale of Halifax steals the show as he has gone an impressive 16-1 2.02 GAA and a 0.918 save percentage during the QMJHL playoffs.

I am going to send folks to the good folks of the Buzzing The Net blog for previews of each team with Portland, Halifax,London, and the hosts the Saskatoon Blades.

Ranger Thoughts

Yes the Rangers lost game one to the Bruins 1-0 in overtime but why are people acting like this was the end of the series? Really the Bruins won on a mistake by the Rangers not that they were able to score on Henrik Lundqvist during the previous 75:40 that was played. Take away that mistake and the Rangers are still in the game.

Sure it would have been nice to steal game one but the pressure is more on Boston who werethisclose to losing their opening round series with Toronto. The Rangers are playing with house money right now so I still think that this series is more than winnable thanks to Henrik's track record against the Bruins.

All it takes is winning one game in Boston to steal the home ice advantage away from the Bruins so let the team go for it on Sunday after getting some badly needed rest.

Staying Alive (barely) Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:07:00 +0000

London Knights 2103 OHL Champions (OHL Images)

It almost seems just totally unfair that the London Knights defeated the Barrie Colts 3-2 in game 7 of the OHL Finals to win the OHL Championship for the 2nd straight year. The Knights scored the game winner at 19:59 of the 3rd period on a goal that needed video review before the video replay officials said it was a good goal. There is something almost dirty about winning a championship via video replay. London is one of the most disliked teams in the OHL and winning like this will not improve their reputations among the fans in the OHL.

The only story to Knight fans will be that they won not that they had to come back from down 3 games to 1 against a team that by game 7 was missing it's entire first line and was decimated by injuries. The people won't remember that London tried to give this series away not once but on a couple of occasions, the Barrie Colts just didn't have anything left in the tank to finish them off. But while Tommy Hughes (NYR 2013 UFA) and his teammates head to Saskatoon to play in the 2013 Memorial Cup, the Colts have nothing to be ashamed of as they despite the odds put up one hell of a fight.

Tommy Hughes saw his game get better as the series went on, he will get to play in his 2nd straight Memorial Cup as the London defenseman may not put up the points but he really does make one think of Dan Girardi with the way he plays defense. Hughes is already playing John Tortorella defense which is going to earn him brownie points from the coach the moment he sees him play.

The last remaining New York Islander anything prospect Mitchell Theoret (2011 7th) outlasted the Islanders, the Sound Tigers and every other higher ranked prospect that the franchise has. Theoret tried his best to keep the Barrie season alive with 3 points in game 6 and a 1-1-2 effort in game 7. It was Theoret's 14th goal of the playoffs and it somehow almost got the Colts into overtime when Theoret scored at 17:07 of the 3rd period.

Despite struggling with injuries this season, Theoret was more than productive this season with career bests in goals, assists and points as he split the season between Barrie and Niagara. 25-35-60 in the regular season but Theoret's 14-7-21 in the playoffs is going to get him a contract if not from the Islanders then by someone else. The Islanders should at the very least offer him an AHL deal which can be converted down the road to an NHL deal.

Theoret is the perfect utility player for a coach as he can be used anywhere and everywhere. You need him to play on the 1st line to cover for an injury, done. A checker, no problem Theoret can do that as well and whether it is the power play or the penalty kill, Theoret can do the job.

The London Knights will head to Saskatoon to take on the host team the Saskatoon Blades Friday night to open the 2013 Memorial Cup. The "experts" are for the most part calling this year's cup a 2 team race between the Portland Winterhawks and the Halifax Mooseheads.

It won't be dull that is for sure.

Staying Alive Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:59:00 +0000

Portland Winterhawks 2013 WHL Champions (Andy Devlin)

In the end it was just too much everything for the Edmonton Oil Kings to overcome as they fell to the Portland Winterhawks 5-1 in game 6 of the WHL Finals and were eliminated 4 games to 2. Portland gets to move on to the 2013 Memorial Cup as the WHL Champions but this was a series that was entertaining as well as frustrating at times for fans of both teams.

Edmonton for the first time in the series actually got off to a good start jumping on the scoreboard just 64 seconds into the game when Travis Ewanyk fired a shot that Portland wound up putting in their own net for a 1-0 lead. Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) earned the primary assist on the play for his 13th assist and team leading 26th point.

That was the only highlight for the Oil Kings who held the lead for just 3:24 before the Winterhawks would score the 1st of 2 shorthanded goals on the same double minor to take the lead for good. Ty Rattie scored off a turnover at 4:28 to tie the game up and then it was Rattie again at 7:15 to give Portland the lead and this game was basically over. Portland took their 2-1 lead into the first intermission

Edmonton never recovered from the double shorthanded goals to really mount any real threat despite how early in the game the goals came. Portland just played their typical pressure defense and any hope the Oil Kings had was wiped out after a 2 goal 2nd period which extended Portland's lead to 4-1. All that was left was the final buzzer and the Oil Kings who got to celebrate winning the WHL title on their home ice last year had to watch the Winterhawks celebrate on their own ice.

Now Michael St. Croix will be turning his attention to earning a spot on the CT Whale's roster for the 2013-2014 season. St.Croix who turned 20 on April 10 has played 4 full seasons with the Oil Kings and owns just about every offensive record that the franchise has. St.Croix in 280 games with the Oil Kings scored 128 goals, recorded 192 assists for a total of 320 points.

The one area where St. Croix should be a difference maker from day 1 with the Whale will be on the power play where 52 of his goals came from. And the Rangers should thank Oil King coach Derek Laxdal as he did a great job helping St. Croix improve his game especially during the last 2 years.

As for the Winterhawks, they head to Saskatoon where they will face Halifax Mooseheads with Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin next Saturday starting at 7PM EDT/4PM PDT. A chance to see 3 of the top prospects in the 2013 NHL draft going up against each other should be very interesting.

The sad thing is viewers in the USA won't be able to see the game live as the NHL Network is not currently scheduled to show the Memorial Cup live. The games are currently scheduled to air the next day in the afternoon. If that changes I will be very happy to post the word.

One game left in the Staying Alive Weekend and that is Monday night as Tommy Hughes and the London Knights will host Mitchell Theoret in Game 7 of the WHL Finals.

Staying Alive Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 12 May 2013 08:21:00 +0000

Tommy Hughes (OHL Images)

Day two of the staying alive weekend made the stop in Barrie, Ontario for game 6 of the OHL Finals between the London Knights and the Barrie Colts and the fans were treated to a doubleheader by both teams. The London Knights scored at 1:30 of the first overtime to give the Knights a 5-4 win and send the game back to London Monday for a game 7. That was the easy part but getting to the overtime session was a story in it's own.

London came out like gangbusters taking the game to Barrie scoring the game's first goal just 2:25 into the game and silencing the Barrie fans very quickly. 5:29 later at 7:54, Tommy Hughes (NYR 2013 UFA) picked up his first goal of the playoffs using a slapper from the point to make it a 2-0 London lead. It was Hughes first goal since the 2nd game of the regular season all the way back to September 23rd.

Mitchell Theoret (OHL Images)

London would build a 4-0 lead that they took into the 3rd period looking like game 7 was a sure thing. Then Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th) put on what has to be the best 20 minutes he has played in the 2 seasons I have covered him. It started innocently enough with Barrie on the power play and with Theoret camped in the crease, the puck worked it's way to Theoret who tapped the puck over to the over side of the crease to a wide open Andreas Athanasiou who had a wide open net to score Barrie's first goal at 4:55 of the 3rd.

The Colts had some life but they didn't make their big push until there was less than 5 minutes remaining in regulation. Barrie scored at 15:07 to make it 4-2 and then Theoret found the puck right in the slot and banged in the rebound of his own shot into the net to make 4-3 at 15:32. The game made it to the final minute of regulation when with their goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Barrie got the puck again to the front of the net where Theoret was waiting and he scored his 2nd goal of the game to tie the score and force overtime.

Theoret's 2-1-3 effort earned him the game's 2nd star as Theoret improves to 13-6-19 (3rd goals, 11th total points).

Not sure which was the bigger story that Barrie has blown a 3-1 series lead or that London almost self-destructed in the 3rd period to end their season? In any event Monday now becomes winner take all for the OHL title and the right to represent the OHL in the Memorial Cup.

Upon Further Review

The WHL did change the scoring on Edmonton's first goal against Portland in game 5 giving the credit to T.J. Foster instead of Michael St. Croix. Without even bothering to ask, St. Croix is only focused on Sunday when Edmonton must win to force a game 7 Monday evening in Portland.

Game 6 starts at 3 PM PDT or right in the middle of the 2nd period of the New York Ranger's game 6.

Staying Alive

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 11 May 2013 11:15:00 +0000

Michael St. Croix (Canadian Press via Buzzing the Net)

Here's the part where doing what I do here is sometimes hard to explain to people because it is not about getting quotes or even talking to the prospects but watching the things they do in certain situations. Look if a prospect isn't a big game player here in the juniors then odds are he won't be as a Ranger. Having said that then it was Portland Oregon in a win or go home game for Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) and his Edmonton Oil Kings as they took on the Portland Winterhawks.

St. Croix has been held in check for the first 4 games of this series with just one goal and no assists to show for his efforts. Give the Winterhawks the lion's share of the credit because they had been doing an outstanding job defensively not only on St. Croix but his linemates as well. Portland has put the clamps on Edmonton's offense limiting them just to 6 goals in 4 games (with 4 goals coming in game 1).

Game 5 started off like it would be a celebration for Portland as they scored on their very first shot of the game just 15 seconds into the game. It was another slow start for Edmonton who have been shooting themselves in the foot with these starts all series long.

But on this night it was St. Croix and his linemates putting the team on their shoulders as Edmonton answered the Winterhawk's goal with one of their own. T.J. Foster fired a shot towards the Winterhawk net that depending on your perspective either went in off Portland's Nick Petan or off Michael St. Croix's stick. St. Croix was credited with the goal at 10:14 of the first for his 12th of the playoffs.

(Oil Kings folks say goal was Fosters but WHL will review before making any change)

In the 3rd period with the score still tied at 1-1, Portland goalie Mac Carruth left his net for a puck in the corner but was beaten to it by the Oil Kings Dylan Wruck who fed St. Croix who threw it into the empty net off a spin-a-rama for a 2-1 Oil King lead at 7:01. On this goal there won't be any question as to who scored it as St. Croix had his 2nd of the game and 13th of the playoffs.

Portland though tied up the game with just under 6 minutes remaining which led to overtime and overtime was as wild as the Rangers/Capitals was except this one had a happy ending for the Oil Kings. It was St. Croix scoring the series saving goal for the Oil Kings as he jumped into the rush and off a nice feed from Dylan Wruck beat Carruth with a wrist shot that was under the bar for the 3-2 game winner at 7:24 of the first overtime.

The win forces a game 6 in a wild series where both teams have won 2 games on the road and home ice so far has meant nothing. St. Croix who with each point re-writes the Oil King playoff scoring record book for now has 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points which is good for 2nd in the WHL playoff scoring race.

St. Croix for his efforts earned the Buzzing The Net First Star of the night. Game 6 is Sunday afternoon in Edmonton with the Oil Kings needing a win to force game 7 in Portland on Monday.

This series I know I am biased but it has been way more entertaining that either of the other two leagues. Neither team has dropped the gloves in the 5 games played (which of course means a riot will happen on Sunday).

In Halifax, Samuel Noreau (NYR 2011 5th) and his Baie-Comeau Drakkar were needing a win on the road against the Halifax Mooseheads to force a 6 game of their own. Unfortunately that didn't happen as the Mooseheads jump on the Drakkar for a 3 goal first period and rode it to a 5-1 win and the QMJHL Championship eliminating the Drakkar in 5 games.

Noreau ends his season on a down note a -2 on 1 shot and 2 hits but there is no question that Noreau was the most improved Ranger prospect of the year. The one time 3rd pair enforcer worked his way up to a leadership position on the Drakkar, a top 4 defender who was used on both the power play and the penalty kill.

Noreau posted career bests in goals, points and plus/minus (7-25-32 +19) with all 7 goals coming on the power play with 2 game winners. Has he earned a Ranger contract is a good question but at the very least he is deserving of an AHL deal which the Rangers can convert into an NHL deal down the road IF Noreau earns it. The Rangers aren't exactly swimming in defensive prospects which means they hopefully will think long and hard on Noreau.

In London, Tommy Hughes (NYR UFA 2013) and his London Knights were also needing a win to keep their series going against Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th) and his Barrie Colts. The Knights who are the defending OHL champions were heavy favorites to win this series but haven't played like champions.

The Knights scored the only goal in the first period made it a 2-0 lead early in the 2nd period before Theoret responded with his 11th goal of the playoffs to get his Colts on the scoreboard. London would add 2 more goals to take a 4-1 lead into the 2nd intermission and appeared to have the game under control.

The 3rd period saw the teams trade goals as London held off Barrie 6-4 to force a game 6 in Barrie on Saturday night. Both prospects in this game didn't play badly with Theoret putting up a goal along with a +2 and a cross-checking minor that was offset by a diving call on the London player. The OHL is going to rule on a charging major so Theoret could find himself having to fill in on the top line again.

Tommy Hughes who has overcome the rough game he had in game 3 was scoreless and a +2 in the win for the Knights. Game 6 is Saturday night in Barrie.

Three the wrong way

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 09 May 2013 06:49:00 +0000

(Lucasfilms LTD)

Wednesday night was a very good night for the New York Rangers and a very bad night for the 3 New York Ranger prospects playing in their league finals. Three prospects playing, three prospects on the losing end of the score and now all three's team's are on the wrong side of a 3-1 series lead.

The Portland Winterhawks were called the "Evil Empire" during the season because of the sanctions that the franchise was hit with back in November by the WHL. Their fans have embraced that nickname and the Darth Vader image that goes along with it. But no that image isn't Portland Winterhawk goalie Mac Carruth choking the life out of the Edmonton Oil Kings but it is a very good description of the way the Winterhawks have dominated the WHL finals.

Game 4 saw Portland once again hold the Edmonton Oil Kings to just 1 goal as they earned a 2-1 win that really wasn't as close as the score indicates. Yes Edmonton held Portland to 8 combined shots in the 2nd and 3rd periods but Mac Carruth made sure that Edmonton wasn't going to score more than the 1 goal.

Toss away the 4 goals that Edmonton scored in game 1 and Carruth has given up 2 goals in 3 games and is the biggest reason why the Winterhawks are heading back to Portland for a game 5 with a 3-1 series lead. The team that entered the WHL finals with a WHL best 71 goals in just 16 games has no answers for how to score on the Winterhawks.

Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) has been held to just one goal in the 4 games and the Oil King power play is making the Ranger power play look like gangbusters failing to score on their last 28 straight power plays (0 for 4 in the game). And trailing 2-1 in the game's final minute, Henrik Samuelsson killed any hope of scoring the tying goal by taking a terrible high sticking minor.

Portland just played "keep away" for the remaining 56 seconds to seal the win and now the Winterhawks will have a sold out Rose Garden waiting for them on Friday night as they look to dethrone the Oil Kings.

In Baie-Comeau, Samuel Noreau (NYR 2011 5th) scored his first career playoff goal to give his Baie-Comeau Drakkar a 1-0 lead in game 4 of the QMJHL finals. The Drakkar would score an early 2nd period goal to take a 2-0 lead on the Halifax Mooseheads.

Then the Halifax offense woke up first scoring 2 goals in a span of 15 seconds to tie the game and even though the Drakkar scored to retake the lead, the Mooseheads blew the game open. The Mooseheads would score 5 unanswered goals to grab a 7-3 lead as they went on to earn a 7-4 win and a 3-1 series lead.

The Mooseheads are heading back to Halifax looking to win their first QMJHL championships on Friday evening and it is highly doubtful that the Drakkar will be able to stop them. For Noreau, he didn't play a bad game as he like many of his Drakkar teammates just couldn't stop the MacKinnon/Drouin/Frk line (a combined 11 points).

In Barrie, the London Knights are the heavy favorites who find themselves on the wrong end of a 3-1 series deficit after dropping game 4 to the Barrie Colts 6-4. The Knights coach Dale Hunter was complaining after the game about the Colts "diving" but it is doubtful anyone inside or out of the OHL will feel bad for Hunter.

The Colts who were missing Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th) who sat out the game with a "torso" injury used a 5 goal 3rd period to rally from down 3-1 to earn the win. Tommy Hughes (NYR 2013 UFA) had a much better game despite the loss as he stayed out of the penalty box and was just a -1 on the night.

Barrie with the 3-1 series lead has to try to earn the series win on the road in London on Friday night. It will be interesting that is for sure.

Win 1 lose 1

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Wed, 08 May 2013 08:09:00 +0000

(Baie-Comeau Drakkar)

A Tuesday evening with a couple of teams sending out messages in their respective game 3's for the New York Ranger prospects. The question remains to be seen if the messages were received and how so will the teams in question respond.

Samuel Noreau (NYR 2011 5th) and his Baie-Comeau Drakkar returned home in need of a win to avoid falling behind to the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL Finals. Down 2-0 to a team that had not even suffered a loss so far in the 2013 playoffs, a win was something that only the Drakkar and their fans thought possible as everyone else had been handing the Mooseheads the QMJHL Championship.

The teams played to a scoreless tie for all of the first period and into the late stages of the 2nd period when the Drakkar scored for the first lead of the series let alone the game. The Drakkar playing a more physical game were hitting everything in a Mooseheads jersey and it payed off.

The Drakkar were credited for 23 hits for the game as Noreau had 2 of them (and 2 shots) while keeping Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin off the scoreboard. The defensive work from the Drakkar held the 2 Mooseheads stars to a combined 2 shots for the game.

The 3-1 win for the Drakkar cuts the series lead to 2-1 and the Drakkar will attempt to tie the series at 2-2 on Wednesday evening.

In Edmonton, the Portland Winterhawks took back the home ice advantage they gave away in game 1 by defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in game 3 of the WHL Finals. The Winterhawks jumped on the Oil Kings for 3 goals in the first period and then held the Oil Kings at bay with a strong disciplined defensive game and a solid performance from their goalie Mac Carruth.

Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) scored Edmonton's only goal of the game, his 11th of the playoffs but other than that the Oil Kings have only themselves to blame for this loss. They have yet to play well in this series and other than game 1, it has cost them.

Give Portland the credit as they showed up ready to take the game to the Oil Kings and other than the St. Croix goal, they kept the Oil Kings and their fans very silent. Edmonton has less than 24 hours to rediscover their game or else they risk heading back to Portland for a game 5 that just might spell the end of their reign as WHL Champs.

Wednesday should be interesting with all 3 leagues playing key games that could have a huge say in who gets to head to Saskatoon for the Memorial Cup next week.

Colts stampede knights

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:57:00 +0000

Mitchell Theoret (OHL Images)

Corny headlines day 2 but as the OHL Finals shifted to the home of the Barrie Colts for game 3, the advantages of home ice played a key role in helping Barrie earn a 6-3 win over the London Knights and a 2-1 series lead.

Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th) of the Barrie Colts got the nod to start the game as did Tommy Hughes (NYR 2013 UFA) but while Theoret got the start, he really didn't do much more than that. But at least Theoret didn't have the night that Hughes did as to say his game struggled would be an understatement.

It was bad enough that Hughes was a -3 but everything that could possibly go wrong did for the London defenseman. Hughes was on the ice for Barrie's first goal just 35 seconds into the game, then on again for Barrie's 2nd goal for a -2 in the first period.

Hughes also took the first of three minor penalties in the period but Barrie wasn't able to cash that one in. But the Colts did cash in on the 2nd minor that Hughes took, this time for "holding" as Barrie went ahead 3-2 on the play.

At least on Hughes's 3rd minor he took someone with him as he was called for roughing in the 3rd period. But Hughes's evening ended on a sour note when he was pressured into coughing up the puck on Barrie's 5th goal which sealed the win for the home team.

This will sound really cruel but this is the kind of game that we want to see happen to Hughes now. It is the playoffs and it may be in the OHL but if Hughes can't bounce back here then what might that say about his chances when he is wearing Ranger blue?

It is not like Hughes hasn't been here before (he won a OHL Championship last year) so I would be shocked if Hughes has 2 bad games in a row.

We will find out for sure Wednesday.

It is didn't like the hiring of John Tortorella in the first place and while I wouldn't shed any tears if he got fired, it isn't happening this year now that the Rangers won game 3. A sweep would have been about the only excuse to fire Tortorella who's act is finally starting to wear on Ranger fans.

But as much as I hate to say this but the trade for Nash and Ryan Clowe cost the Ranger's 3 top picks in the 2013 and Sather will want to keep Tortorella around to toss him to the media as to why the radical remake of the roster worked/failed.

Sather is not going to explain why Brad Richards will be bought out nor when Sather gets smart and moves Marc Staal to Carolina before Staal suffers another "head" injury. I would gladly accept Keegan Lowe from Carolina and a draft pick.

When you see the scissor's method of budgeting from the Rangers it won't be perfect. Take the 3.95 away for Staal, then Hamiriik with his 3.5 and I think we have seen the last of the slasler

Knights ride ponies to win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:50:00 +0000

Tommy Hughes (OHL Images)

OK yes I know that is one weak headline but really that is what happened as Tommy Hughes (NYR 2013 UFA) and his London Knights took care of Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th) and his Barrie Colts in game 2 of the OHL Finals 4-1. Seriously it was just like what Portland did to Edmonton on Saturday night as the Knights just flat out dominated the Colts.

London scored twice in the first 1:15 of the 2nd period and this game was for all intents and purposes over. London would go on to score a 3rd goal as they rang up a 24-4 difference in shots in the 2nd period.

Just like the Winterhawks, the only thing that the Knights did poorly was on their power play going just 1 for 8 (and giving up a shorthanded goal) otherwise this score would have been much worse for the Colts. The Knight's Tommy Hughes was scoreless and a +1 for the Knights while Theoret was also scoreless but a -1 for the Colts.

Theoret might find himself back on Barrie's 1st line when the series resumes in Barrie on Monday evening after Anthony Camara got himself ejected for a charging major in the 3rd period. Camara who has already been suspended once during the playoffs might be finding himself sitting yet again.

One can understand players getting frustrated but really the message has got to get across to the players that they are only making matters worse for their own team when they take penalties like this. Especially when you have a little over 24 hours between games as the OHL just might say hold him out until we review the play.

Lost in this win might be that Barrie got a split of the first 2 games stealing away the home ice advantage from the Knights. The series is just 1-1 so before we hand the Knights the OHL championship trophy again, let's see who rides who on Monday night.

It might be the Colts who tell the Knights to giddyap.

Textbook Buttkicking

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 05 May 2013 10:10:00 +0000

Seth Jones (Portland Winterhawks)

Everything that the Portland Winterhawks did wrong in game 1 of their WHL finals with the Edmonton Oil Kings, they did right in game 2 leading to a very dominating 3-0 win to tie their series at 1-1. This was a textbook case of how to kick a team's butt in a playoff game.

Pick something from the number of shots that the Portland defense allowed to reach their goalie Mac Carruth (16 total but just 2 in the 3rd period) to so frustrating the Oil Kings that the Oil Kings took 7 penalties which kept their offense sitting on the bench. Michael St. Croix played what had to be the worst game I had seen him play in the 2 years he has been a New York Ranger prospect.

A frustrated St. Croix was so upset over a non-call during the 1st period that he committed a turnover that led to a Winterhawk breakaway which forced a teammate to take a penalty. St. Croix would have been better off if he had been a non-factor but he was also called for "diving" in the 2nd period which was a first (and it was the right call too).

I wish I could tell you how he did in the 3rd period but he and his teammates were so swarmed over by the Winterhawks it was sad to watch. Give all the credit to Portland here as they did everything right and Edmonton did everything wrong.

Perhaps the only thing Portland did wrong was failing to do real damage on their 7 power plays as they only scored on 1 of them. If they had gotten their power play working this would have been an even worse beating for Edmonton.

Just as Edmonton had Portland talking to themselves after Portland lost game 1, now it is Edmonton talking to themselves after game 2. For Edmonton they have until Tuesday to figure out how to solve Portland but unlike Portland they will have the hometown media picking apart every flaw the team now has.

This series is far from over.

In the QMJHL, the Halifax Mooseheads have a 2-0 series lead over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar after a 4-3 win in game 2 of the QMJHL finals. Don't let the score fool you as this game wasn't as close as the score makes it look.

The Mooseheads chased Drakkar starting goalie Philipeppe Cadorette after 2 periods scoring 4 goals on 20 shots. Cadorette has been almost unbeatable until this series posting a 1.69 goals against but has given up 7 goals in the 2 losses.

Samuel Noreau was scoreless on 2 shots with a roughing minor as the Drakkar head home for game's 3 and 4 starting on Tuesday.

A view from the top

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 04 May 2013 10:03:00 +0000

Michael St. Croix, Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton Oil Kings)

I kind of owe Graham Kendricks the Director of Media and Public Relations a bigger thank you than I realize as I got to sit upstairs in the auxiliary press box for game 1 of the WHL Finals between the Portland Winterhawks and the Edmonton Oil Kings. The auxiliary press box for the Rose Garden is located at top of the arena but it has been so long since I had sat up there that I had forgotten why I liked sitting up there.

Sitting up in the rafters allows you to see the game unfold a bit slower than normal. You can see more of the ice so you can see what players (or in this case Michael St. Croix) do when they don't have the puck but more on St. Croix in a bit.

Game 1 went to the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-1 but before the Oil King fans start lighting their victory cigars, they might want to realize that this was more of Portland giving away a game than it was what Edmonton did to earn the win. This is not saying Portland played badly but rather Portland played too focused and it cost them this game.

This might sound strange but Portland dominated this game until they scored their first goal at the 3 minute mark of the 3rd period. They had the edge in play at both ends of the ice but despite all the advantages, Portland shot itself in the foot repeatedly.

In the first period Portland did everything right except put the puck behind Edmonton goalie Laurent Brossoit. Call this the bad part of having a week off to rest and practice as Portland tried to play way too perfectly whether it was on their shots or finishing their checks.

Portland came out firing at Brossoit recording 8-9 shots on him before Edmonton even had a chance to attack the Portland defensive zone. But when Edmonton did attack, their first shot on Portland's Mac Carruth was saved but the rebound came right to Dylan Wruck who backhanded it over Carruth's shoulder just 2:03 into the game.

Portland would hold Edmonton to 4 more shots in the period but while Portland was getting 16 shots off, they weren't getting any traffic in front of Brossoit. If a goalie can see the shot then he is going to make the save as it is not anything fancy just reality.

Portland was playing a solid game making sure they were responsible in their coverages and they were playing a physical game finishing their checks. The second period was the same story as Edmonton added to their lead to make it 2-0 even though they were being outplayed.

In the 3rd period Portland finally got on the scoreboard as Chase De Leo fired a shot on Brossoit that Taylor Leier deflected right between Brossoit's legs to cut the lead to 2-1 at the 3:00 mark. Pretty sure that Portland coach Travis Green is going to wonder why the Winterhawks stopped doing all the right things as on the very next shift after the goal, Edmonton got their 2 goal lead back at 3:47.

That goal finished off Portland and Edmonton added 1 more for the 4-1 final and a 1-0 series lead. Michael St. Croix was scoreless but he had chances for himself and 2 setups that IF he too was not trying to make the perfect play would have converted.

As I mentioned sitting up in the top of the arena gives you a chance to see more. St. Croix played 20 shifts with no points and just 2 shots but with Edmonton only having one power play I didn't get to see more of him there. Things to like about St. Croix when he doesn't have the puck is that he keeps his stick and body in a good position to receive a pass and take a shot.

St.Croix keeps moving his feet in the offensive zone and doesn't just stand in one spot expecting you to give him the puck there. St. Croix makes it hard for defensive players to cover him because he moves around constantly always watching where the puck is.

Yes St. Croix needs to put on more muscle and yes St. Croix is never going to win the Selke for best defensive forward but he will add to the Ranger power play mainly because he always moves. Game 2 is Saturday night in Portland and no I don't believe Edmonton is going to sweep the series.

One thing about a series like this is you never know who you will see but running into Don Maloney was a bit of a surprise until one remembers that the Coyotes missed the playoffs this year. Got a bit of a chuckle when the Winterhawks introduced some of the visitors in the audience including the fathers of 2 Winterhawks who weren't playing.

Pierre Turgeon still looks like he can lace up some skates and play. Sean Burke had this look like he didn't want to be shown (he works for the Coyotes and was sitting with Maloney).

In the QMJHL, the Halifax Moosehead won their 13th straight playoff game shutting out Samuel Noreau and his Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4-0. The Drakkar kept Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin from doing any real damage but it was the Moosehead's goalie Zachary Fucale who stole the show.

Noreau was scoreless on 2 shots and a -1 with a cross checking minor and an unsportsmanlike conduct misconduct for his night. Game 2 is Saturday night in Halifax.

In the OHL, the upset of the night came when New York Islander prospect Mitchell Theoret and his Barrie Colts defeated the London Knights 4-2 in game one of their series. The Colts found ways to keep London off balanced and stole this win from the Knights.

Theoret had a secondary assist on Barrie's 1st goal of the game for Theoret's 15th point of the playoffs (10-5-15). Game 2 in this series will be Sunday in London.

Dusting off the crystal ball

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:11:00 +0000

Michael St. Croix (Edmonton Oil Kings)

Over the years covering the New York Ranger prospects, there has been one thing that Gordie Clark and his scouts have somehow keyed on and that is selecting players from winning teams. It makes sense when you stop to think about it as players who come from winning teams already have the mindset where they expect to win.

Last year Ranger prospects Chris Kreider (Boston College NCAA Champions), Michael St. Croix (WHL Champions) and Steven Fogarty (BCHL and Canadian National Junior "A" Champions) created a very interesting hat trick of winning for the Ranger prospects and this year the Rangers have a chance to have as many as 5 players competing for the 2013 Memorial Cup.

I don't cover enough of the QMJHL or OHL to be in a position to offer anything more than a "close my eyes and throw a dart" guess so my best recommendation would be to follow the predictions of the folks at Buzzing the Net who have the Halifax/Baie-Comeau series right here and the London/Barrie matchup right here.

But I do know the WHL and the Portland/Edmonton series as it starts with Michael St. Croix and his Edmonton Oil Kings who open their defense of the WHL championship in a much anticipated rematch with the Portland Winterhawks. Portland is making their 3rd straight trip to the WHL finals after losing in the last 2 attempts.

This rematch might have been closer if the Oil Kings had not lost New York Islander prospect (and Oil King captain) Griffin Reinhart to injury during their series with the Calgary Hitmen. But it is on defense where the Winterhawks will hold an advantage that my crystal ball says why Portland will win.

Goal- Mac Carruth Portland vs Laurent Brossoit Edmonton

Nothing against Carruth who thanks to being sent back to the WHL by the Chicago Blackhawks for an overage year now holds several WHL goaltending records but Brossoit is the bigger game goalie. Carruth has been here twice (to the WHL finals) and on both occasions was outplayed by the opposing goalie.

Brossoit has 5 shutouts in his 12 wins and his performance against Calgary in game 7 of that series is why Edmonton is back here. Should anything happen to either starter then I wouldn't blink to start Edmonton's Tristian Jarry who is ranked 3rd among North American goalies in the final 2013 CSB rankings.

Portland's Brendan Burke isn't a bad goalie but he was 13th in the same rankings but the difference is Jarry has the better all around skill set. EDGE Edmonton

Defense- Even if Griffin Reinhart was in the Oil King lineup, the Oil Kings would be hard pressed to match up against the Portland blueline corp which has been dominating at both ends of the ice during the WHL playoffs.

The top four of Seth Jones, Troy Rutkowski, Derrick Pouliot and Tyler Wotherspoon are in my book the best Top 4 quartet in junior hockey. Jones is the expected first pick in the 2013 NHL Entry draft while the other 3 have signed NHL contracts. Edmonton's blueline took a huge loss when Reinhart went down and while they aren't bad in their own right (Martin Gernat, David Musil, Keegan Lowe, and Cody Corbett) but they haven't been as dominate as the Winterhawk's blueline has been. EDGE Portland

Forwards- The Winterhawks boast Ty Rattie who has put up a mind boggling 15-16-31 in just 15 games along with linemates Nic Petan (9-13-22) and Brendan Leipsic (7-13-20) as their top line. Edmonton isn't bad with St. Croix, Stephane Legault, and Edgars Kulda as their top line but they have question marks beyond that.

First Henrik Samuelsson has been a loose cannon very prone to taking bad penalties that have come back to haunt his team like the loss in game 6. The status of Trevor Cheek who missed game 7 against Calgary is up in the air (he is expected to play) because of injury and the hot/cold play of Curtis Lazar is where Portland starts to pull away.

Edmonton is bigger size wise but Portland is deeper and without Reinhart in the lineup the Edmonton penalty kill is suffering (once an impressive 97% has dropped to 88%) and Portland with a 28.8% power play is way too dangerous to give any extra opportunities. EDGE Portland

Coaching- Edmonton's Derek Laxdal has done a masterful job getting his team to buy into the "Unfinished business" mantra that has carried his team in the 2nd half of the season. Laxdal should be a top candidate for NHL positions this off-season as he is an excellent teacher/tactician/motivator.

His players believe in him and he into his players and I for one would have no hesitation in turning over a team like Colorado to help turn that franchise around. On the flip side is Travis Green who had the Portland job thrust on him when the WHL suspended Portland's head coach Mike Johnson.

If Portland wasn't so unpopular within the WHL because of the Winterhawk's "crimes" then a strong case can be made for Travis Green as WHL Coach of The Year. Green it is well documented how the team rallied behind the "Evil Empire, Us against the World" mindset.

And yes you can say given the roster that Green was given that he should have won. What Green did was get his players focused on the season and not on the media circus following the WHL's sanctions on the franchise.

Green stepped into a minefield and came away unscratched, Green flies under the radar because of Mike Johnson as Portland's GM/Coach but I see a guy who has earned the right to run his own team. The smartest guy actually might be Portland's owner Bill Gallacher who when he hired Mike Johnson talked him into hiring Green. EDGE EVEN

In the end It is Portland and the reason why is Seth Jones as here is a player who lives for the big games and because I don't think Edmonton has an answer for him. Edmonton is more banged up and bruised which plays right into the hands of Winterhawks.
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Portland in 6 games because 3rd time is the charm.

Predator 2 Hitmen 0

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:11:00 +0000

Michael St. Croix (Edmonton Oil Kings)

Get right to it, Edmonton/Calgary in game 7 with the winner getting to advance to the WHL Finals against the Portland Winterhawks. Cue the theme from the movie "Predator" as Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) did what he does best and that is score.

St. Croix was all the offense that the Edmonton Oil Kings would need as St. Croix with a 2 goal effort leads the Oil Kings back to the WHL Finals for the 2nd straight year. St. Croix who set a new playoff scoring record for the Oil Kings with his 10-12-22 as he topped the 19 points that he scored last year.

The first goal was on a 2 on 1 rush with Stephane Legault that an off-balanced St. Croix got just enough of to beat Calgary goalie Chris Driedger at 14:05 of the first period. While it proved to be the game/series winning goal, it was part of a 18-8 effort from all of the Oil King lineup in the first period.

St. Croix's 2nd goal was the kind of goal that earned him the "Predator" nickname as he swooped in and one-timed a rebound for the game's 2nd goal at 4:33 of the 2nd period. Both goals you can see at the Oil King website right here.

The game's 2nd star St. Croix was also named the MVP of the WHL's Eastern Conference Final after recording points in 6 out of the 7 games (4-6-10) in the series. The Oil Kings really needed this kind of game out of St. Croix especially when they were missing 2 key players from their lineup in Griffin Reinhart and Trevor Cheeks.

And while I don't want to rain on the Oil King's parade, they are going to need St. Croix to do even more against a very loaded Portland Winterhawk lineup in the WHL Finals. For the first time in 2 seasons, the Oil Kings won't have the home ice advantage in a playoff series as Portland finished the season with the best record in the WHL.

Last year it was Edmonton who had the home ice advantage for game 7 and it paid off for them as they won their first WHL Championship. This year it will be Portland who will have that final game should the series go that far.

This is the series that most WHL fans want to see as the "Evil Empire" Portland make their 3rd attempt at winning the WHL title in the last 3 years while Edmonton looks to make it back to back WHL titles.

Game 1 in Portland on Friday night.

They Deserve a Bow

There was no way that the New York Ranger player development folks could have predicted this but the Rangers will have prospects playing for league championships in all 3 Canadian junior leagues. But that it has happened is something that those folks deserve a bow for.

Now if all 3 prospects (Michael St. Croix, Samuel Noreau and Tommy Hughes) somehow all win their league championships and earn the trip to the Memorial Cup where Shane McColgan and Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades are waiting then they might need a new floor for Gordie Clark.

A Ranger/Islander playoff series (sort of)

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:34:00 +0000

Mitchell Theoret (OHL Images)

It seems really ironic that the only New York Islander prospect still playing in the Canadian juniors is 2011 7th round draft pick Mitchell Theoret of the Barrie Colts. But yet Theoret who the Islanders haven't decided whether or not they are going to sign (they have until the end of May) finds himself in the OHL finals after his Barrie Colts defeated the Belleville Bulls 3-1 in game 7 of their Eastern Conference Finals.

Theoret went scoreless on the scoresheet set a screen on Bulls goalie Malcom Subban on the play that turned out to be the game winning goal when Tyson Fawcett deflected Ryan O'Connor's shot from the point. It was a power play goal that broke a 1-1 tie at 11:49 of the 2nd period giving the Colts the lead for good.

The win sends the Colts into the OHL Finals where they will be taking on the London Knights who have Ranger prospect Tommy Hughes (2013 UFA) on their blueline. This might be as close as the Rangers and Islanders get to facing each other in the playoffs this year.

The OHL Finals will begin on Friday in London.

Going Home?

The NHL held their draft lottery on Monday night with the Colorado Avalanche winning it and they are expected to use that pick on Portland Winterhawk defenseman Seth Jones. I am sure by now you have heard all the stories about how Jones who was living in Denver at the time first got hooked on hockey.

Call me the only person who isn't all that thrilled over the thought that the Avalanche might select the kid who grew up a fan of the team. The Avalanche haven't exactly done well with their prospects as of late and it goes farther than the contract dispute with Ryan O'Reilly.

Still adding Jones who really is a franchise quality defender will go a long way in helping the Avalanche rebuild. Jones is expected to make the jump to the NHL after this season no matter who takes him also added being named as the "WHL Player of the Week" to his resume on Monday.

One More Game

Michael St. Croix and his Edmonton Oil Kings will play the Calgary Hitmen in game 7 on Tuesday evening. It is a shame that the NHL Network in the USA could not find a way to telecast this game. If you are interested in listening for free then head to the Team 1260 radio website starting at 9 EDT/6 PDT.

Missed Opportunities

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:21:00 +0000

Michael St. Croix (Edmonton Oil Kings)

The playoffs no matter what level it is NHL, AHL or the Canadian juniors is a battle of survival where really the biggest key isn't having the most talent but rather how fast you can advance. There is a reason why no team has won the Stanley Cup after playing 4 playoff series of 7 games.

The schedule is brutal and if you have a chance to take a team out then you had better do it or you might not pay right away but you will later. I make this point after the Edmonton Oil Kings let a 3-1 lead lead slip away in game 6 of their WHL Eastern Conference Final and gave the Calgary Hitmen a lifeline that they took full advantage of.

The Hitmen scored 3 unanswered goals to come from behind and defeat the Oil Kings 4-3 in overtime to force a game 7 on Tuesday night. Call it whatever you want but I am pretty sure Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) and T.J. Foster will be having nightmares wondering how they missed on a 2 on 0 as Calgary's goalie Chris Driedger made a stick save that even Henrik Lundqvist would have taken notes on.

That pretty much was the kind of night St. Croix had as he didn't play badly despite being held to just a secondary assist on Edmonton's first goal of the game in the first period. St. Croix had chances but Calgary had a goalie who stole the show.

The real winners on Sunday just might have been the Portland Winterhawks who will have at least a full week of rest before facing either team in the WHL Finals. Portland has only played 15 games in 3 playoff series with just 9 of them in their last 2 series.

The "Evil Empire" sits at home resting, getting those dings and aches all healed while Calgary and Edmonton with have a day maybe 2 before they have to head to Portland. If you don't think that Edmonton won't regret letting game 6 slip away, just remember Henrik Samuelsson's slashing minor at 18:25 of the 2nd period.

That penalty set up Calgary's comeback in the 3rd period so circle that on the scoresheet when Portland packs their bags for the Memorial Cup.

(Baie-Comeau Drakkar)

Sailing to Their First Final

Lost in the soap opera that their QMJHL series with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada turned into was that for the first time in franchise history the Baie-Comeau Drakkar are going to play in the QMJHL finals. Samuel Noreau (NYR 2011 5th) and the Drakkar shutout the Armada 4-0 in game 6 to win the series 4-2.

Noreau was scoreless on 3 shots and a +1 but led the Drakkar with 3 hits as the team who's name translates in English to "Viking Ship" jumped on the Armada for 2 goals in the first and cruised from there. The Drakkar are going to face the Halifax Mooseheads for the QMJHL Championship and the right to represent the league in the Memorial Cup.

They will be huge underdogs against a monster of a team that the Mooseheads have but now that his suspension is over, the Drakkar will have their coach Eric Veilleux back behind the bench. Now while nobody wants to give the Drakkar a chance against the Mooseheads who are 12-0 in the playoffs, I will because of their coach.

Last year at this time Eric Veilleux was coaching the Shawinigan Cataractes who hosted the 2012 Memorial Cup. The Cataractes were eliminated in the 2nd round of the QMJHL playoffs and there was talk that Veilleux was going to be replaced as coach before the Memorial Cup.

Veilleux on the other hand had a plan for his team and his players bought into it. The result was the team that nobody gave a chance to win the Memorial Cup did exactly that.

Veilleux may have been suspended but I bet he has a plan for the "Viking Ship" so I won't be surprised if the Drakkar steal this series.

Scorecard

Samuel Noreau joins Tommy Hughes (NYR 2013 UFA) of the London Knights in playing for their league championship. If St. Croix and company can win game 7 then that would give the Rangers 3 prospects playing for their league championships.

That would be a first in the 9 years I have been doing this.

Toss in Shane McColgan and Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades who are this year's Memorial Cup hosts and the Rangers have a shot to be represented by every team in the Cup. That would be an even bigger feather in the caps of the Ranger scouting team.

Oops

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 05:13:00 +0000
Only one game on the schedule and it was featuring Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th) and his Barrie Colts as they looked to eliminate the Belleville Bulls and advance to the OHL Finals. The Bulls despite being out played and out chanced escaped with a 3-1 win for the 2nd straight night.

Theoret had a secondary assist on the Colts only goal for his 14th point of the playoffs (10-4-14) but the Colts couldn't score more than 1 goal for the 2nd straight night and now will be the underdogs come Monday. The Colts have to be wondering what do they have to do in order to get more than a single goal during a game.

Pretty sure bet that if the Colts can't figure how to score then they will have a long off-season to ponder "what if."

Do they have any black eyes left?

The QMJHL playoff series between the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada has been everything from a soap opera featuring the father and son Matteau, the WWE PPV postgame brawl after game 4 which resulted in 12 players from both teams being suspended along with both coaches and now we bring to you "Offside-gate."

It appears that the overtime winning goal in game 5 may or may not have been offsides.

From the QMJHL:

Video review of offside goals

BOUCHERVILLE, Saturday April 27, 2013 – Following last night’s controversial goal in the game between the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Baie-Comeau Drakkar, the commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Gilles Courteau, issued the following statement:

“It is unfortunate that the result of a game was determined by an offside goal without the possibility of a video review. It is for that reason that as a League, we are taking the initiative to bring this addition to the Canadian Hockey League. We will therefore formulate a directive, beginning next season, allowing video review for all offside goals. The QMJHL has a very competent and passionate group of officials; because of the fast-paced nature of hockey sometimes things go unnoticed on the ice. It is for this reason that a technological aid will allow officials, during this type of situation, to make adjustments, if necessary, in order to make the right decision.”

For his part, the League’s Director of officiating, Richard Trottier added: “officials are the first to want to review a game to ensure that their decisions are correct. By having the possibility to verify them by video review, we can eliminate such situations which have a direct impact on the outcome of a game.”

The commissioner added that this is not the first time a situation was brought to the CHL; last year, video review was added for goals scored with a high stick and or a hand pass.

“We are always trying to ensure that our officials have the necessary tools so that they can make just and equitable decisions for all our teams,” added the commissioner.

The only thing missing now is the clown car with 43 people exiting the vehicle.

This was fun

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:09:00 +0000

(CHL.ca)

OK I won't deny it, I love the "game after something happened" in large part because you don't know what will happen as was the case on Friday night for the New York Ranger and New York Islander prospects. One thing was for sure and that was the paying customer got their money's worth (well depending on which team you were rooting for).

In Baie-Comeau, the biggest question was who was left to play in game 5 after the game 4 post-game brawl between Samuel Noreau's (NYR 2011 5th) Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Blainville-Boisbriand, Armada? 12 players (including all 4 goalies) and both coaches were suspended because of what happened leaving both teams depending on players who under most circumstances would never have played in such a key playoff game.

Noreau's Drakkar were able to earn a 2-1 overtime win in what was a very tame (only 8 total penalty minutes) affair. Noreau was scoreless, a -1 on 1 shot as both teams were playing under the threat of a 25,000 dollar fine if anything close to what happened in game 4 happened.

The stars of this game were the kid goalies for both teams as the Drakkar's Simon Lemieux and the Armada's combo of Storm Phaneuf and Marc-Antoine Turcotte. Turcotte a 16 year old made his QMJHL debut when Phaneuf went down with an injury in the 3rd period with the score tied 1-1.

All 3 goalies put on a pretty good accounting for themselves given the circumstances as Lemieux stopped 29 of 30, Phaneuf 20 of 21 and Turcotte 6 of 7. The Drakkar with the win take a 3-2 lead in the series as it shifts to Blainville-Boisbriand for game 6.

In London it was 20 seconds into overtime that Max Domi scored the series ending goal for his London Knights as the Knights eliminated the Plymouth Whalers 5-4 in 5 games. Down the road all people will remember that this was the night that young Domi either scored or set up all 5 London goals.

That is the funny thing about hockey as unless you paid attention then you were not aware that London blew a 4-0 lead that they had built up over the first 37:26 of the game. Even stranger was that despite the stats was that Tommy Hughes (NYR UFA 2013) and his fellow defenders saved the game for London in the last 4:33 of regulation.

Hughes is fast showing that he is the kind of defender that John Tortorella dreams of, the shot blocking, lane clogging physical player who eats up minutes. Pretty sure Tortorella will adopt Hughes when he sees him play.

The Knights have the chance now to defend their OHL title in the finals but they will have to wait to see who they face because Mitchell Theoret's (NYI 2011 7th) Barrie Colts could not finish off the Belleville Bulls in game 5 of their series losing 3-1.

The fans of the Colts might have a beef over Mitchell Theoret's disallowed goal was good or not because it would have sent the game into the 2nd intermission tied at 2-2. It doesn't matter as the Colts will have home ice for game 6 still leading in the series 3-2.

Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) scored his 8th goal of the playoffs as his Edmonton Oil Kings got goals from 5 different players to earn a 5-1 win over the Calgary Hitmen in game 5 of their series. The Oil Kings who were playing without team captain Griffin Reinhart who is finished for the season after undergoing surgery for a torn tendon in his foot.

St. Croix scored his goal on a nice one-timer from the slot while being covered pretty well. The goal was the 4th of the game for the Oil Kings as St. Croix matched his playoff totals of last year with his 19th point (8-11-19).

The series shifts to Calgary for game 6 with Edmonton looking to advance to the WHL Finals for the 2nd straight year.

A Major blow

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:06:00 +0000

Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton Oil Kings)

From the Edmonton Oil Kings:

The Edmonton Oil Kings announced today that they will be without their Captain for possibly 6 weeks. Veteran defenceman Griffin Reinhart sustained a foot injury in Game 3 of the Husky WHL Eastern Conference Championship in Calgary against the Hitmen. The first round pick of the New York Islanders underwent successful surgery Thursday to repair a torn tendon in his foot.

The 19-year-old has contributed to the Oil Kings 2013 playoff run with 3 goals and 4 assists with a +5 rating through 12 games.

The original reports hinted at a skate slicing through Reinhart's skate during game 3 in Calgary. It is a huge blow to the Oil Kings losing both their captain and one of the best defensemen in all of the Canadian juniors.

This will make Edmonton's goal of repeating as WHL champions that much harder especially if they wind up facing Portland in the finals should they get that far.

Oh and those wondering what happened with the Armada and Drakkar after their moronic postgame brawl?

Following the events that occurred during the end of the game between the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada last night, the Director of Player safety of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Raymond Bolduc, announced the following sanctions:

Blainville-Boisbriand
Ryan Tesink, 2 game suspension,
Aaron Hoyles 1 game suspension,
Étienne Marcoux 1 game suspension,
Guillaume Decelles 1 game suspension,
Yassin Cissé 1 game suspension.

Baie-Comeau
Jérémie Gregoire 1 game suspension,
Bokondji Imama 2 game suspension,
Gabriel Verpaelst 1 game suspension,
Philippe Cadorette 1 game suspension,
Francis Desrosiers 1 game suspension,
Alec Jon Banville 1 game suspension,
Alexandre Ranger 1 game suspension.

Moreover, the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada forward, Cédric Paquette, is fined $1 000 for his inappropriate behaviour at the end of the game.

Each of the organizations is fined $5 000 and the head coaches, Eric Veilleux and Jean-François Houle are suspended for the next 2 games.

The Director of Player Safety took this decision after having viewed the video of the incidents, considered the officials report, spoken to the Baie-Comeau and Blainville-Boisbriand organizations and consulted with his senior advisor, Sébastien Bordeleau.

Both teams lose their starting and backup goalies for at least one game leaving a 3rd string goalie to play game 5 in a series tied at 2-2. Both teams have only themselves to blame for this.

In the meantime, the Halifax Mooseheads are sitting at home waiting to pick the bones of whoever wins this series.

And a little late to the party is QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau:

The Commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Gilles Courteau, reacted today to last night’s events between the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

"What we saw yesterday is not at all representative of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. It is a deplorable and isolated incident that doesn’t have its place in hockey," said the Commissioner.

"The League has evolved a tremendous deal in the past several years and we have deployed all of our efforts to ensure the well-being and security of our players. To this effect, at my discretion, I will impose a $25 000 fine, on top of any sanctions imposed by the Director of Player Safety, for all inappropriate future behaviour from a player, coach or member of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar or Blainville-Boisbriand Aramda organisations until the end of the semi-finals."

The Commissioner said that the League has advocated to its players, for a number of years, a mutually respectful attitude whilst rejecting violent behaviour. Our priority will always be the supervision and safety of our players, said Gilles Courteau. "We need to meet this goal by creating an environment where they can feel free to play hockey safely. In this regard, we must deter players from inappropriate behaviour. I reiterate that it is important that this League be the best place for a player’s development."

Seeya Friday night

The Wild Wild Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:28:00 +0000

Michael St. Croix (Edmonton Oil Kings)

It was a very wild Wednesday evening of prospect hockey as New York Ranger and New York Islander prospects went a bit crazy as we have a little of everything for everybody. The biggest game was out west as the prospect I like to call "The Predator" was so good Wednesday that Michael St. Croix was named the "Buzzing the Net" first star of the night and very deservedly so.

In Calgary, Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) had been pretty quiet during the first 3 games of the WHL Eastern Conference Finals with just 2 assists so far. Missing their captain Griffin Reinhart (NYI 2012 1st) to a "lower body injury", St. Croix's Edmonton Oil Kings were in danger of a possible 3-1 series deficit with a loss to the Calgary Hitmen in game 4.

The Oil Kings needed "The Predator" to show up and boy did he. St. Croix needed just 1:15 in to the game to set up linemate T.J. Foster for the first goal of the game and off the Oil Kings went. Calgary took a slashing minor at 1:55 and St. Croix made them pay by teaming with Martin Gernat to feed Foster for his 2nd goal of the game at 2:10.

St. Croix was given the secondary assist on the play as Edmonton was up 2-0 in just 2:10 but St. Croix was far from done. After Gernat had scored to make it 3-0 at the 5:33 mark, St. Croix recorded his 3rd assist of the period again a secondary one as Edmonton scored to make 4-0 at the 10:15 mark of the period.

By the end of the 1st period, the Oil Kings were up 5-1 and looking pretty good. Edmonton would add another goal in the 2nd period while Calgary would score 2 to make it a 6-3 game after 2 periods.

In the 3rd St. Croix put the game away with a goal for his 4th point of the game at the 1:30 mark. This time it was Foster feeding St. Croix who got the puck at the blue line, charged into the offensive zone and into the slot then stopped to set up his shot and then beat Calgary goalie Mac Shields under the glove with a blistering snap shot to make it 7-3 which was the final score.

The 4 point game for St. Croix was a career high as he was named the game's 2nd star and Edmonton really needs this kind of performance with the Oil Kings down 2 of their top 4 defensemen. At 7-11-18, St. Croix jumps up to 6th in the playoff scoring race.

As for Reinhart, sorry it's playoff time and nobody will say more than "lower body injury" but the scowl on Coach Derek Laxdal's head says Reinhart might be lost for at least Friday's game 5.

In Blainville-Boisbriand, the fans were treated to a hockey game followed by a WWE riot as Samuel Noreau (NYR 2011 5th) and his Baie-Comeau Drakkar took on the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in game 4 of their QMJHL semifinal series. The game part was in favor of the Armada 4-3 to tie the series up at 2-2.

The Drakkar dug themselves into a 2-0 hole in a penalty filled first period. The 2nd period was the Drakkar's starting with Noreau earning a secondary assist on the Drakkar's first goal. It was Noreau's first assist of the playoffs and second overall point.

Still Noreau took a cross checking minor during the period that the Armada scored their 3rd goal 5 seconds after the power play expired. The teams traded goals in the 3rd period as the Armada would get the last one to earn the win.

Now on to the riot with a stick tap to Neate Sager of Buzzing the Net for doing the legwork here.

Forget trying to decide who started this as really the tone of this game was set in the 1st period when the teams combined for 12 minors totaling 24 minutes. The 2nd was slightly better with 5 minors total but still the fuel was there for what happens after the final whistle.

This was an ugly dangerous situation that the QMJHL has to crack the whip on. Here is the YouTube clip with Noreau (#8) and the Drakkar in white.

If you want to look at it from a New York Ranger point of view then you want them giving Noreau a contract because despite several attempts to get someone to fight him, none of the Armada wanted anything to do with him.

As a hockey fan then you want to think "how stupid these players were" because when game 5 starts on Friday there might not be enough players for both teams. Both starting goalies got hit with "fighting after the original altercation" game misconducts so instead of being in the nets for the pivotal game 5 both might be in the stands.

In Plymouth, Tommy Hughes (NYR UFA 2013) played a much "smarter" game on defense for his London Knights as they defeated the Plymouth Whalers 6-4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Hughes was scoreless but a +3 for the game as this game was almost a carbon copy of game 3 where London would get a lead only to give it back and then win in the latter part of the game.

A very dangerous brand of hockey that catches up to a team in the end. Still despite 3-1 lead, don't call this series over as Plymouth is a very good team coached by a very good coach.

In Barrie, a name very familiar to NHL fans for scoring clutch playoff goals was the reason why Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th) and his Barrie Colts earned a 4-3 overtime win over the Belleville Bulls. Brendan Lemieux son of former NHLer Claude scored his first career OHL playoff goal at 5:26 0f the first overtime period to give his Colts the win and a 3-1 series lead.

Theoret was scoreless with a -1 and a roughing minor in the first period. The Colts get their first shot at ending this series on Friday but they have to do it in Belleville. Good Luck boys.

Troubling Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:13:00 +0000

(CHL.ca)

Tuesday prospect hockey was an ugly affair with 3 games involving 3 New York Ranger and 1 New York Islander prospects. Only one team was able to escape with a victory on Tuesday evening but they too tried to give away their game.

Going to go coast to coast because nobody did anything to be worthy of a star.

The QMJHL semifinal series between Samuel Noreau's (NYR 2011 5th) Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada shifted to Blainville-Boisbriand for game 3 and the Armada took advantage of their home ice to earn a 3-0 win. The win cuts the Drakkar's lead in the series to 2-1 as this was a penalty-filled contest where the Drakkar wound up with 23 penalties for 41 minutes not including the 4 misconduct penalties that were also handed out.

Noreau was held to one shot and had only 1 hit while getting called for a hooking minor in the 1st period. It was just 1 of the 12 power plays that the Drakkar gave the Armada who converted only on 2 of them.

An ugly affair for the Drakkar who suffered their first loss of the playoffs after winning their first 10 games. Game 4 will be Wednesday night again in Blainville-Boisbriand.

In Plymouth, Tommy Hughes (NYR 2013 UFA) and his London Knights looked to rebound after losing game 2 in overtime back in London to the Plymouth Whalers. This one wasn't much better than the game in the QMJHL as London had a 3-0 lead on 3 special team goals (1 power play, 2 shorthanded) before the game was even 10 minutes old.

The Knights held the lead until the 3rd period when it was Plymouth's turn only the Whalers scored 4 unanswered goals in 10:21 to grab a 4-3 lead. But that was just the beginning of the "fun" as London caught a break with a suspect crosschecking call.

The ensuing power play led to the game tying goal just 9 seconds after the call. London went back ahead less than a minute late and tallied an insurance goal to "earn" a 6-4 win and a 2-1 lead in the series.

I have to send people over to Neate Sager as his call of the "fun" was the best (as always). As for Tommy Hughes, he was rather quiet in this game as defense wasn't exactly well played in this game.

Hughes was scoreless with a minor for slashing at the start of the 3rd period. Game 4 will be Wednesday evening in Plymouth.

In Calgary, Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) and Griffin Reinhart (NYI 2012 1st) along with the rest of the Edmonton Oil Kings find themselves trailing in their WHL Eastern Conference final's series with the Calgary Hitmen 2 games to 1 after getting spanked 5-1 Tuesday evening.

The game started out well for the Oil Kings as they grabbed a 1-0 lead on a power play goal at 6:29 of the 1st period. Reinhart had the secondary assist on the goal for his 7th point of the playoffs (3-4-7) but that lead was the only highlight of the game for the Oil Kings.

Calgary exploded for 5 goals in the 2nd period and Edmonton had really no answer for what had happened. St. Croix was held scoreless and hasn't scored a goal since game 3 of the series against Medicine Hat.

Now it is the Oil Kings who are trailing in the series 2-1 and they don't have much time to solve the Hitmen if they wish to defend their WHL title. Game 4 is Wednesday and Edmonton does not want to fall behind 3-1 in this series.

Ponies over Bulls

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:33:00 +0000

Mitchell Theoret (OHL Images)

Just one game on Monday as we have reached the halfway portion of the conference finals/QMJHL semifinals and it was Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th) and his Barrie Colts hosting the Belleville Bulls in game 3 of their OHL Eastern Conference finals.

With the series tied at 1-1, the Colts were looking to keep the home ice advantage they were able to wrestle away from the Bulls in game 2. It took an extra 19:55 but Barrie came away with a 5-4 win and a 2-1 series lead with game 4 set for Wednesday in Barrie.

Game 3 of this season had a little of everything starting with plenty of offense from both teams. Belleville jumped out first scoring an even strength goal to grab a 1-0 lead at 8:21 but it didn't last long

Barrie tied the game just 2:20 later while on a power play at 10:41 and it looked as if the period would end even until Mitchell Theoret changed things. Theoret picked up a puck behind the Belleville goal and came out from behind firing the puck past a surprised a Belleville goalie.

The even strength goal at 18:31 gave the Colts a 2-1 lead on Theoret's 10th goal of the playoffs. Theoret now leads the OHL in playoff goal scoring with his 10 goal.

Not bad for a guy who entering this year's playoffs had a total of 11 points in 36 career playoff games. Now Theoret is 10-3-13 in 10 playoff games this season and he is getting to play while the Islander AHL team in Bridgeport missed making the playoffs (as did the CT Whale).

Theoret gave Barrie a lead going into the second period but both teams would wind up tied 4-4 after the 2nd period. Barrie despite a 10-3 advantage in shots in the 3rd period failed to score sending the game into overtime.

Overtime seemed to favor Belleville as they had the edge in play but with the clock winding down on the first overtime, Anthony Camara found a loose puck and fired it under the glove of Belleville's Malcom Subban for the game winner.

This despite game 2's score has been an almost dead even series and Barrie has to play game 4 as if they are trailing in the series. They might catch a break if the OHL decides to suspend 2 of Belleville players for match penalties received in game 3.

Tuesday should be fun as just about everyone is playing.