The Prospect Park

Cuylle And Rempe Key Game One Upset Wins

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 09:21:00 +0000

Will Cuylle (OHL Images)

Friday night was more than just the New York Rangers game two win as the last two Rangers prospects got their league finals underway with upset wins on the road. When the OHL and WHL league finals got underway both Windsor and Seattle were underdogs and not expected to offer serious challenges.

Someone forgot to tell that to Windsor and Seattle as they came out and played like Rangers clones. Both teams were coming off a tough game seven conference finals while their opposition had sailed through their playoff runs.

Captain Will Cuylle and his Windsor Spitfires were facing the Hamilton Bulldogs, the OHL's Eastern Conference Champions who went 12-0 in their playoff run to reach the finals. Hamilton had the best overall record in the OHL and was the CHL's top-ranked team.

Game one started off with a scoreless first period and Hamilton scored first with a power-play goal. Cuylle got the equalizer 49 seconds later when linemate Wyatt Johnson hit Cuylle coming down the slot and Cuylle fired a snap shot to tie the game.

Hamilton would regain the lead late in the second and then add another goal midway in the third to take a 3-1 lead. But it was Cuylle who started the comeback with his team on the power-play, Cuylle scored his second goal of the game.

The Windsor captain found a loose puck and took it to the net firing a shot over the stick side of the Hamilton goalie to cut the Hamilton lead to 3-2. Windsor would tie the game and force overtime where they would score the game-winner at 9:30 of the first overtime.

The win gives Windsor a 1-0 series lead and stole home-ice advantage away from Hamilton. Cuylle was named the game's second star for his two goals on six shots with a +1 and a 7-5 mark on his faceoffs.

For Cuylle the two goals improved his playoff numbers to 12-11-23. Game two will be Sunday starting at 2 PM EDT.

Matthew Rempe (Andy Devlin)

In Edmonton, Matthew Rempe and his Seattle Thunderbirds were facing an Edmonton Oil Kings team that only had one loss in their playoff run through the WHL's Eastern Conference playoffs. The Oil Kings were coming off knocking off the Winnipeg Ice who were the favorites in the WHL.

Seattle is so many ways is having a playoff run just like the Rangers, down 3-1 and coming back to defeat the Portland Winterhawks. Winning a second road game seven against the Kamloops Blazers.

And Edmonton is considered the heavy favorite to win this series but Seattle has other plans. A scoreless first period saw Edmonton dominate Seattle. Edmonton outshot Seattle 21-7 and only Seattle's goalie Thomas Milic kept the game tied at 0-0.

In the second period, Matthew Rempe got his Thunderbirds on the scoreboard with an even-strength goal at 1:59. Rempe picked up a rebound of linemate Reid Schaefer and backhanded a shot into an open net.

🎥HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT🎥

It was a big night for the big fella.@SeattleTbirds | @NYRangers | #WHLChampionship | #WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/4jVfLlxz8e
— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 4, 2022

It was Rempe's sixth goal of the playoffs and Seattle never looked back. They would score a second goal and then hold off the Oil Kings in the third period. That is where Rempe stood out to me.

More than his goal, it was Rempe's defensive play in the third period that was the difference-maker. In the final minutes of the game, Seattle sent Rempe out to take the defensive zone faceoffs and he held his own.

For the game, Rempe was 11-6 on his faceoffs which might not seem like a lot but most of them were in those final minutes. And there was a moment that stood out for me the most, Seattle's goalie Thomas Milic had just made a save in the final minute.

As an Edmonton player was skating towards Milic, Rempe stepped in front of his goalie and made sure nobody was going to touch Milic. Seattle wins 2-1 to take a 1-0 series lead with game two on Sunday.

Here is Rempe in the post-game news conference

🎥 @SeattleTbirds forward Matthew Rempe speaks following Game 1 of the 2022 #WHLChampionship.@NYRangers | #EDMvsSEA pic.twitter.com/y82QeTEV0P
— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 4, 2022

And There Was Just Two Left

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 08:20:00 +0000

2021-2022 OHL Western Conference Champions (OHL Images)

Wednesday was more than just the New York Rangers game one win over Tampa in the NHL's Eastern Conference Finals. Will Cuylle and his Windsor Spitfires shut out Brennan Othmann's Flint Firebirds 4-0 in game seven to win the OHL's Western Conference Championship and the Wayne Gretzky Trophy that goes with it.

The Spitfires advance to the OHL finals where they will face the Hamilton Bulldogs for the OHL championship and the right to go to the 2022 Memorial Cup. Hamilton had the best record in the OHL and will be heavy favorites to knock out Windsor but the Spitfires are a battle-tested franchise that has been here before.

In game seven, Will Cuylle was scoreless on six shots but he was excellent on the defensive side helping to keep Brennan Othmann off the scoresheet in the biggest of games. Cuylle a case can be made scored the biggest of points when he set up the game-winning goal in overtime of game six.

His play in game six in my view set the stage for Windsor to come back from facing elimination in game six on Tuesday night to win in game seven.on Wednesday. The Firebirds never had a chance in game seven as while they tried, two first-period goals by Windsor took away any hope they had left in them.

Brennan Othmann finished his playoff run 9-15-24 which is nothing at all to feel bad about; he tried his best. He led his team with six shots and in the third period was double and triple shifting trying to get his team back into the game to no avail.

In a crazy way losing was a good thing for Othmann as he has responded really well to slights and heartbreaking losses like this. It will light a fire under him to work his butt off during the off-season in his second bid to force his way onto the Rangers roster next fall.

From going 50-47-97 during the regular season there is nothing left for Othmann to do in the OHL, so sending him back to Flint next season will do almost nothing to help advance his development. He is just 19 (his birthday of 1/5 is what hurt him) so he can't play in Hartford next season since he only has two OHL seasons under his belt.

See him on Broadway next season.

Back to Cuylle as he is 10-11-21 and the Windsor captain knows what it is like to play in the big game having played for Team Canada in international competition. The more I watch him play the more I see a bigger Chris Kreider as he makes the same power moves, he leads not just with his vocal skills but his play, and when you need him the most, he shows up to play.

Windsor starts its final push for the OHL title on Friday in Hamilton.

Dylan Garand

The WHL announced their annual awards and goalie Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers was named the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as WHL Goaltender of the Year. Garand the Rangers' fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft was at top of the WHL leader board in both the regular season as well as the playoffs.

With this selection, Garand becomes eligible to win the CHL goaltender of the year award going up against the OHL and QMJHL goalies of the year.

2021-2022 WHL Western Conference Champions (Allen Douglas)

Matthew Rempe

If you would have asked me which Ranger prospects would be playing for their league championship, Matthew Rempe's name would not have made the top five. His Seattle Thunderbirds were too young, lacked depth, and most importantly had too many more talented teams ahead of them in their own division and conference.

Surprise, Rempe, and his Seattle Thunderbirds continued their "Rangersish" run in the WHL playoffs after knocking off Dylan Garand and his Kamloops Blazers in their game 7 at home on Tuesday. They are a carbon copy of how they have twice come from behind in two playoff series to win game sevens on the road.

Rempe has been the ideal defensive center, stopping the other team's offense in key moments and providing a screen on the power-play units. Pretty sure that Dylan Garand is going to be very happy to not have Rempe screening him on offense.

Rempe and the T-birds are going to face the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL finals. Just like how the Rangers are the underdogs in their series against Tampa, the T-birds will be against the Oil Kings.

Don't bet against these Birds.

Draft Pick Signing Deadline

Wednesday was the annual deadline for NHL teams to sign draft picks from both North America (2020) and Europe (2018). In the case of the Rangers, it means Evan Vierling of the Barrie Colts (5th round 2020) and Jakob Ragnarsson (3rd round 2018).

Not every draft pick develops to where the Rangers decide to offer them an entry-level contract. Vierling was hurt by Covid and injuries which disrupted his playing career while Ragnarsson simply never got out of playing in the second division of Sweden's hockey leagues.

Just Four Prospects Left In The CHL Playoffs

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 22 May 2022 07:15:00 +0000

Matt Rempe (Seattle Thunderbirds)

As play began in the conference finals of the three CHL leagues, there are four New York Ranger prospects still active in the playoffs. Brennan Othmann and his Flint Firebirds are facing Will Cuylle's Windsor Spitfires in the OHL's Western Conference finals.

Out west in the WHL Dylan Garand and his Kamloops Blazers are taking on Matthew Rempe's Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL's Western Conference finals. Both matchups will lead to two of them playing for their respective league championship.

Windsor vs Flint Game One

First period- Brennan Othmann gets everyone's attention when a one-timer of a shot shatters the skate blade of a Windsor defender who has to crawl to his bench to get off the ice. Wish there was a video of this as Othmann took the defender off his feet like he was shot.

Both teams exchanged goals as the period ended in a 1-1 tie. Othmann and Cuylle faced each other when their teams had power plays but barely when at even strength.

Second Period- Cuylle helps Windsor take a 2-1 lead just 25 seconds into the period when he sets up linemate Wyatt Johnston for a power-play goal. Cuylle finds Johnston to the left of the right faceoff circle with a touch pass that Johnston one-times for a goal.

The point machine that is Wyatt Johnston gets his first of the series❗️

📺 | https://t.co/E0Cl58BwZU #RoadtoMemorialCup pic.twitter.com/hGvcnIphIQ
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 22, 2022

That was pretty much the highlight for the Spitfires as Flint would score three unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead. Othmann did not figure in any of the scorings as Windsor coach former Ranger Marc Savard put Windsor defenseman Andrew Perrott as a shadow on Othmann.

Perrott is the same height as Othmann but has a 32 lb. advantage over him. Every time Othmann touched the puck, Perrott hit him, sometimes hard but most times just to let Othmann know he was there.

Give Savard credit as Perrott limited Othmann to just one shot for the entire game. It was so effective that Flint coach Ted Dent took Othmann off his top line to free his other linemates and it worked.

Windsor scored in the last minute of the period to make it a 4-3 game.

Third Period- Cuylle had five shots on goal as Windsor tried to score the game-tying goal but with no success. Nobody scored in the third and Flint steals home ice with a 4-3 win and a 1-0 series lead.

Cuylle 0-1-1 eight shots with a -2 and 2-5 on his faceoffs while Othmann was scoreless on just one shot. Game two will be on Monday in Windsor.

Seattle Vs Kamloops Game 2

First period: Kamloops was looking to take a 2-0 series lead on the Seattle Thunderbirds as this game began. And it did not hurt that Kamloops would score first at 1:39 of the first period. That would be it for Kamloops offense as even though Kamloops would out shoot 15-7 in the period, it would end as a 1-1 tie.

Garand would have 6 saves while Rempe was scoreless and was pretty much used as a third line center. Could not blame Garand for Seattle's goal as it came off a rebound and Kamloops defense was no where to be found.

Second period- Kamloops was dominated play and scoring chances but it was Seattle who cashed in with what proved to be a game-winning goal. Garand stopped eight of nine shots in the period but it was a "2-on-1" that did the damage.

Rempe saw his ice time increased in the second as he was doing a strong job with his faceoffs especially those in the defensive end.

Third period- It was the center who was supposed to be the defensive stopper who provided the dagger. Rempe took an offensive zone face-off and it directly led to Seattle's third goal.

The @SeattleTbirds extend their lead in period three!#WHLPlayoffs | #KAMvsSEA pic.twitter.com/u1YahaCMhA
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 22, 2022

The assist was Rempe's first point since game one of the previous series against Portland (seven games) but it came at the right time 5:25 of the period and gave Seattle a two-goal lead. Garand would stop nine of ten shots but it wasn't enough.

Seattle added an empty-net goal for a final score of 4-1 as they evened the series at 1-1 and steal away Kamloops home ice advantage. Garand suffers his second loss of the playoffs as he falls to 9-2.

The Kamloops goalie saw his numbers fall to a goals against of 1.67 and a save percentage of 0.937. Rempe's assist was part of a 0-1-1 +1 on two shots and 12-5 on his faceoffs.

Overall Rempe is 4-2-6 with a 54% faceoff win percentage. The series shifts to Seattle for game three on Tuesday evening.

Othmann and Cuylle Advance While Rempe And Team Force A Game Six

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 15 May 2022 09:03:00 +0000

Brennan Othmann (Todd Boone)

It was another three New York Rangers in action on Saturday evening. Will Cuylle of Windsor and Brennan Othmann of Flint are looking to eliminate the Soo Greyhounds and Kitchener Rangers. Matthew Rempe and his Seattle Thunderbirds are looking to duplicate what the Rangers have done as they are down 3-1 to the Portland Winterhawks.

It is hard to describe a Flint Firebirds game without mentioning their captain Brennan Othmann. For the first time in franchise history, the Firebirds are going to the OHL Western Conference Finals. In-game five, the Firebirds destroyed the Soo Greyhounds 7-1 to win their playoff series 4-1.

Othmann had three assists in the second period, all coming on the power play, and was part of a 7-0 run that left no doubt about who was winning this series. First Othmann set up Garvin Hayes for a power-play goal that made it 2-0.

2:25 later Othmann earned a secondary assist on Zacharie Giroux's goal to make it 3-0. Just 1:38 with Flint still on the power play, Othmann set up Zacharie Giroux for the third goal at 15:24 and this one was pretty much over.

Othmann finished 0-3-3 on just two shots as he improved his playoff numbers to 8-9-17 which is good for fifth place among the top OHL scorers. Flint advances to face the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL's Western Conference Finals.

Will Cuylle and his Windsor Spitfires are going to play for the right to earn a shot at the OHL championship after they eliminated the Kitchener Rangers 3-2 to win their series 4-1. It wasn't easy as the Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Windsor started their comeback in the second period.

Windsor scored three unanswered goals to finish off the Rangers in five games and advance to the OHL Western Conference Finals to face Flint. Cuylle has had himself a good playoff run of his own. He is 6-8-14 (12th best OHL) and an OHL leading +16.

Then there was Matthew Rempe and his Seattle Thunderbirds who were facing elimination in game five of their series against the Portland Winterhawks. Rempe was barely used in this game and while I couldn't get anyone from Seattle to confirm or deny this, it was believed to be a coach's decision as Seattle shortened their bench.

It looked like just two centers took the majority of the faceoff but if this was a coach's decision then it worked as Seattle forced a game six back home on Monday. Can the T-birds pull a "Rangers" and bounce back to force a game seven this Tuesday?

Three Ranger Prospects Saw Their Teams Lose

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 14 May 2022 07:03:00 +0000

Ryder Korczak (Moose Jaw Warriors)

Three New York Ranger prospects saw action on Friday night but unlike Thursday when the three prospects led their teams to wins, the three in action saw their teams lose. A frustrating night to be sure but these nights do happen.

Ryder Korczak saw his career as a Moose Jaw Warrior most likely come to an end as his team was eliminated by the Winnipeg Ice 6-3 in game five. The Ice won the series 4-1 and are advancing to the WHL's Eastern Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Korczak didn't play bad scoring a goal and adding a secondary assist while going 14-6 on his faceoffs. He was however a -3.

Korczak opened the scoring with his third goal of the playoffs just 46 seconds into the contest.

The @MJWARRIORS get a more than ideal start to Game Five at the hands of @NYRangers prospect, Ryder Korczak!#WHLPlayoffs | #WPGvsMJ pic.twitter.com/RETYTKFi6U
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 14, 2022

In the second with his team on a power play but trailing 4-2, Korczak earned a secondary assist to cut the Ice lead to 4-3. But that was as close as the Warriors would get as their season comes to a close.

Korczak who was signed to his Entry-Level-contract by the Rangers last week finished his season with career bests in goals, assists, and points with a 25-54-79 season. He also won 56.4% of his faceoffs which increased his value to the Rangers.

During the playoffs, Korczak was 3-10-13 but he won 139 out of 210 faceoffs a very nice 66.2%. Any other year and I would say Korczak should be spending another year in the WHL improving his entire body as Korczak is a smaller-sized player.

But the Rangers lack depth in Hartford and Korczak's face-off skills are badly needed.

Matthew Rempe and his Seattle Thunderbirds find themselves on the brink of elimination after they dropped a 5-1 decision to the Portland Winterhawks. The Winterhawks lead the series 3-1 after the game four win.

Rempe was scoreless on just one shot and a -1. He was 8-2 on his faceoffs but he needs to be much more active on the offensive end. One shot isn't enough and if the Thunderbirds want to extend the series then they need Rempe to use his size and brute strength against the smaller Winterhawks.

Game five will be in Portland on Saturday night.

Dylan Garand and his Kamloops Blazers blew their chance to finish off the Vancouver Giants as they let a 2-1 third period lead disappear and lost game five 5-2. Garand stopped 21 out of 24 shots as the game turned in a 59 second span in the third period.

The Blazers acted like they expected the Giants to just roll over in the third period but the opposite happened. So now the series goes back to Vancouver for game six on Sunday.

Garand's record falls to 7-2 with a 2.16 goals against and a 0.925 save percentage.

Othmann, Cuylle, And Garand All Come Up Big To Help Teams Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Fri, 13 May 2022 06:47:00 +0000

While there were only three New York Rangers prospects in action on Thursday evening, all three were key reasons why their teams won. The three Brennan Othmann, Will Cuylle, and Dylan Garand have been the top prospects all season long and their play is why their teams are just one win away from advancing to the next round.

Brennan Othmann has been "THE PROSPECT" all season long, from his outstanding offensive numbers to his solid work on the defensive end. Othmann has been my pick to make the jump directly to the Rangers next season.

The game's second star did what he does best scoring the big goals when his team needed it the most and he did exactly that in-game four against the Soo Greyhounds. Othmann scored at 8:37 of overtime to give his Firebirds a 3-2 win and a commanding 3-1 series lead.

The @NYRangers prospect with the OT heroics! 🤯

Brennan Othmann (@BOthmann78) notched his 8th of the #OHLPlayoffs for the overtime-winner, as the captain comes up big for the @FlintFirebirds to take a commanding 3-1 series lead #FLNTvsSOO pic.twitter.com/Upe2sR4x4d
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) May 13, 2022

It was his eighth goal of the playoffs and just an FYI, five of those eight goals were the game-winning goals. When you think about how Flint has won just seven playoff games and Othmann has the game-winner in five of them then you know you have a special player.

In addition to the goal scored, Othmann set up the game-tying goal with his sixth playoff assist to give him a total of 14 points so far in this playoff season. By the numbers, Othmann is eighth in overall scoring, his eight goals are fourth-best in the OHL, and his five game-winners are tops in the OHL.

The series heads back to Flint for game five on Saturday as the Firebirds are looking to advance to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history.

Will Cuylle also earned a "second star" with his play as his Windsor Spitfires rallied from two goals down to defeat the Kitchener Rangers 6-3 to take a 3-1 series lead. Cuylle had three assists along with a +4 as the Spitfires took a commanding lead in their playoff series.

The Windsor captain earned his first point of the night when he set up Alex Christopoulos for Winsor's third goal of the game and first lead at 12:17 of the second period. Just 1:40 later at 14:57, Cuylle earned a secondary assist on Windsor's fourth goal (and eventual game-winner) to give his team a 4-2 lead.

In the third period with Kitchener trying to make a comeback, it was Cuylle once again with the primary assist on Alex Christopoulos's second goal of the game. The goal put Windsor up 5-3 as they went on to win 6-3.

This series shifts back to Windsor as they took will play on Saturday evening. If both Windsor and Flint win on Saturday, they will face each other in the OHL's Western Conference Finals.

Dylan Garand, the scoresheet said only made 18 saves on 20 shots but it was enough to help his Kamloops Blazers defeat the Vancouver Giants 4-2. In this one, it wasn't about the number of saves that Garand had to make but rather the quality as seen in this highlight.

🎥 SAVE OF THE NIGHT 🎥@NYRangers prospect Dylan Garand shows off some quick reflexes as he backstops @blazerhockey to a Game 4 win. #WHLPlayoffs @RealCdnSS | #SaveoftheNight pic.twitter.com/xf6WGF1zmL
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 13, 2022

Now while that save wasn't bad, I think Garand made an even bigger save in the third period when he stopped a breakaway. Garand was really good when he had to be and he is the reason why his Blazers will be looking to finish off the Giants Friday night back in Kamloops.

By his numbers, Garand is 7-1 with a 2.16 goals against (second-best WHL), a 0.925 save percentage (also second WHL), and his seven wins are also second-best in WHL. Garand and the Blazers are one win away from a trip to the WHL's Western Conference finals.

Not A Pretty Night For Ranger Prospects

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 12 May 2022 10:46:00 +0000

Just three New York Ranger prospects were in action on Wednesday evening all of them in the WHL but the results weren't all that great. Matthew Rempe may not have scored but he made sure his 6'9 presence was felt for his Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds were in Portland for game three of their WHL playoff series and this was a must-win game for the T-Birds, it was exactly what they got as T-Bird goalie Thomas Milic was fantastic stopping all 28 shots that the Winterhawks fired on him earning a 5-0 win.

Rempe was scoreless but that doesn't mean he wasn't effective, the 6'9 forward was used on all three penalty kills as the four Seattle power plays. It was interesting how he was used as he only played seven shifts apiece over the first two periods but in the third, he was out there on 12 different shits and was 4-4 on faceoffs.

Several Winterhawks stepped away rather than be hit by the 6'9 240lb forward and I just loved his poise in the third when the game was getting out of hand and the Winterhawks were trying to goad him into a fight. Rempe did not take the bait to keep his team off the penalty kill.

He does however deserve "check of the night" as Rempe wiped out both a Winterhawk and a linesman with a hit at the blueline. And kudos to him for being aware of the forecheck as he almost forced the Winterhawks to put the puck into their own goal during a power play.

Game four will be in Seattle on Friday with game five right back in Portland on Saturday.

Felt really bad for Ryder Korczak of the Moose Jaw Warriors as he showed up ready to play game four against the Winnipeg Ice. His teammates not so much as Korczak had assists on all three Moose Jaw goals as the Warriors dropped game four 5-3 and trail in the series 3-1.

Korczak set up the Warriors' first goal at 19:57 of the first period as he sent his teammates into the first intermission tied at 1-1. It was a primary assist for the young center and his seventh of the playoffs.

In the second period with the Warriors trailing by two at 3-1, Korczak set up the Warriors' second goal of the game, a power-play marker that cut the lead to 3-2.

But it wasn't enough as Korczak's final point was a secondary assist on Moose Jaws' third goal of the game in the third cutting the Ice's lead to 5-3. The Ice takes a commanding 3-1 series lead into Friday's game five back in Winnipeg.

Korczak thanks to the 0-3-3 improved his season numbers to 2-9-11 and he was 22-6 on his faceoffs improving his playoff totals to a very nice 65.8%

But we have to bid a fond farewell to Jayden Grubbe and his Red Deer Rebels after they were eliminated from the playoffs in four straight after a 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings. Don't let the score fool you, the Rebels who struggled to finish the season never really had a serious chance in this series.

Grubbe was scoreless in the final game as he was 2-2-4 in the playoffs and 14-21-35 during the regular season. Sorry I just don't see a Ranger's ELC at this point in time but he will have one last chance next season.

Cuylle's Sixth Goal Is Game Three Winner For Windsor

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Wed, 11 May 2022 08:36:00 +0000

Will Cuylle (OHL Images)

A Tuesday evening with four New York Rangers prospects in action and the prospects saw their teams go 2-2 on the evening. If you think NHL officiating is bad then I really don't think you will care for the officiating at the junior level.

One thing is very much for sure and that is the NHL, NCAA, USHL, and the three CHL leagues need to sit down and develop a strong solid developmental program that will train on-ice officials to call a level and consistent game everywhere. What is badly hurting the NHL and the rest of hockey is that you can't find the consistency among the refs in the game.

Game three of the series between Will Cuylle's Windsor Spitfires and the Kitchener Rangers got off to a bad start for the Spitfires as they took a five-minute major penalty just 14 seconds into the contest. They were lucky to only have given up one goal during the major penalty.

But that was pretty much it for the Rangers as the Spitfires would score a shorthanded then a power play goal to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Cuylle would make it 3-1 with his sixth goal of the playoffs at 2:06 of the second period, a goal that would wind up being the winner as the Spitfires scored six unanswered goals to earn a 6-2 win.

The tides are turning @SpitsHockey, they've taken flight in Kitchener! 🛩️

Four straight goals including this one, a perfect pass from @DallasStars prospect Wyatt Johnston to @NYRangers prospect Will Cuylle in the second period #WSRvsKIT pic.twitter.com/pzkNLl808Z
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) May 11, 2022

The Windsor captain would add an assist on the Spitfires fifth goal for his fourth multi-point game in the playoffs and earned the game's second star for his play. Cuylle was 1-1-2 +3 on four shots while going 2-5 on faceoffs.

The Spitfires regained the home ice advantage as they take a 2-1 lead in the series. Cuylle is 6-4-10 in nine playoff games to go along with a +11 (fourth in the OHL), his two game-winners are fifth best, and his 18 penalty minutes are the fourth highest so far.

Game four of this series is set for Thursday in Kitchener.

I write this moment after the Vancouver Giants defeated Dylan Garand and his Kamloops Blazers 3-2 in game three of their WHL playoff series. I really have to question if it is legal for a defending player to be inside his own goal and be able to use his hand and leg to prevent the puck from going in.

Never ever saw a situation like that before in all the years I have watched hockey but the Blazers in my eyes got robbed by the refs tonight. Yes, it was a home game for the Giants who came into this series trailing 2-0 and now are down just 2-1.

Garand stopped 29 out of 32 shots took his first loss of the playoffs and saw his numbers drop to 6-1 with a 1.41 goals against and a 0.945 save percentage. It wasn't a bad effort by the Kamloops goalie but his teammates could be accused of taking the eighth-seeded Giants way too lightly, especially on Vancouver's ice.

Game four will be Thursday night in Vancouver.

Ryder Korczak and his Moose Jaw Warriors looked bad in their losses in games one and two against the Winnipeg Ice. But home-ice proved to be the cure as they held off the Ice for a 3-2 win to cut the Ice's lead to 2-1 in their WHL playoff series.

Korczak it turns out was signed to his Rangers ELC last week and had two assists for the night. His first was a primary assist on Jagger Firkus's goal.

Hey Siri, play 'Moves like Jagger' by Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera.@MJWARRIORS | #NHLDraft #WHLPlayoffs | #WPGvsMJ pic.twitter.com/ajIaThIQHS
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 11, 2022

It was the kind of play we have gotten used to seeing out of Korczak this entire season. The best comparison I can make for Korczak is Ryan Callahan. Every time the Warriors need a faceoff won, they send out Korczak.

Korczak earned a secondary assist on the Warriors' second goal of the game which gave the Warriors their first lead of the series. Even better about the young future Ranger was that with his team clinging to a one-goal lead, Korczak was out on the ice for the final 1:47 taking six faceoffs and just missing an empty-net goal

The line for Korczak was 0-2-2 +1 on four shots with a double minor for high-sticking and a very nice 17-8 record on his faceoffs. Game four will be Wednesday evening in Moose Jaw.

Brennan Othmann was held scoreless as his Flint Firebirds dropped game three of their OHL playoff series 3-2 to the Soo Greyhounds. The Firebirds lead the series 2-1 as they fell behind 3-0 before their rally was one goal short.

Othmann was held to four shots as he had a three-game goal-scoring streak stopped. Game four will be in Saute Ste Marie, the home of the Soo.

Othmann's Two Goals Help Flint Open A 2-0 Series Lead Over The Soo

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 09 May 2022 09:45:00 +0000

Mother's Day saw just three New York Rangers prospects in action and to be honest, these afternoons games after evening games do not make for the best hockey. Unless you are inhuman like Brennan Othmann is.

Othmann had a 2-1-3 effort as his Flint Firebirds regained the home-ice advantage after a 5-3 win over the Soo Greyhounds in game three of their OHL playoff series. Othmann was a factor all night long.

It started with the game's second star, Othmann setting up Gavin Hayes for Flint's first goal which tied the game up at 1-1. Othmann would give his team a 2-1 lead at 19:18 of the period when he scored the first of his two goals.

You think Brennan Othmann is fired up with a 2-0 series lead?!

That's his 10th goal in 7 games against the Hounds this season as the @NYRangers prospect's second of the game serves as the game-winner as the @FlintFirebirds will head to the Soo with a 2-0 series lead! #FLNTvsSOO pic.twitter.com/y404YgZVqz
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) May 8, 2022

It was Othmann's sixth goal of the playoffs, an even-strength goal at 19:18 of the first period giving Flint a 2-1 lead heading into the intermission. The second period saw the Greyhounds rally to tie the game at 3-3 as they headed into the second intermission.

In the third, Othmann put the Firebirds ahead for good with his seventh goal of the playoffs. At 7-5-12, Othmann is fourth in OHL goals and ninth in overall scoring

What a stick lift, what a shot! 🎯@NYRangers prospect and @FlintFirebirds captain Brennan Othmann steals the puck off the face-off and wires it past Ivanov to give the home crowd in Flint a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes! #FLNTvsSOO pic.twitter.com/PMmkwvKNXA

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) May 8, 2022

Let's face it the Firebirds will go as far as their captain can lead them and right now it is a 2-0 series lead over the Greyhounds. Game three will be Tuesday at the home of the Soo Greyhounds.

Will Cuylle was held scoreless as his Windsor Spitfires dropped game 2 of their OHL series with the Kitchener Rangers 4-2. Give the credit to Kitchener goalie Jackson Parsons as he stopped 37 out of 39 shots to earn the win.

The only thing really wrong was that Windsor could not solve Parsons as they outplayed the Rangers. Cuylle was credited with four shots and despite the -2 was also 4-0 on faceoffs and a minor penalty for tripping.

Game 3 will be Tuesday in Kitchener.

Portland's Veterans Memorial Coliseum

So I got to spend my Sunday evening at the Portland Veterans Memorial Coliseum watching Matthew Rempeand his Seattle Thunderbirds take on the host Portland Winterhawks in Game two of their WHL playoff series.

And yes I had the best seat being on the centerline from the press box. Even better was there was Dean "Scooter" Vrooman on my left and Paul Danzer of the Portland Tribune on my right just like in the old days.

And credit to both teams for an entertaining game that was very close in pretty much every possible way. Portland earned a 2-1 win thanks to a late shorthanded goal with just 3:38 in regulation.

Matthew Rempe again pulled a new surprise for me as he drew two offensive zone power plays while he stayed out of the penalty box. He is learning how to be physical and not getting called for it as he was in the past.

And even better was seeing how much Rempe was used by the Seattle coaching staff. Every kind of shift, every specialty unit, and in the third when Seattle shortened their bench, there was Rempe taking shifts.

It has been mentioned here before that Rempe is a project player but he isn't waiting until the next training camp to make those improvements. And finally can't forget that Rempe has been using his size to score as he is 4-1-5 in six games. You folks will love Rempe when he shows up in New York.

Game three will be Wednesday evening in Portland with Portland up 2-0

Cuylle's Two Helpers Help Windsor Earn Game One Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 08 May 2022 09:55:00 +0000

Will Cuylle (OHL Images)

Saturday night saw five New York Rangers prospects in action as the playoffs are in the second round for the three junior leagues. Saw some good efforts but also saw that some of the prospects need to do more if they want their teams to advance past the second round.

Will Cuylle and his Windsor Spitfires may have won the battle for game one against the Kitchener Rangers 6-5 but the Rangers showed that they don't plan on going quietly. The Windsor captain earned two assists in the win to go along with a +4 on four shots while going 3-3 on faceoffs.

Kitchener scored the only goal in the first period and Windsor responded with three goals in the second. Cuylle earned a secondary assist on Windsor's second goal of the game for his second assist and seventh point.

Kitchener would rally to tie the game early in the third period and after Windsor regained the lead at 4-3, Cuylle would earn his second point of the night when he set up Alex Christopoulos' hat trick goal at 8:34 of the third period and a 5-3 Windsor lead.

Cullye is now 5-3-8 with a +10 after seven playoff games. Windsor takes a 1-0 series lead with game two on Sunday in Windsor.

It wasn't a perfect game but Dylan Garand made the saves when his Kamloops Blazers needed them the most in game two of their playoff series with the Vancouver Giants. Garand stopped 23 out of 26 shots to help his Blazers hold off the Giants 4-3 and take a 2-0 series lead.

Garand did however come up with the WHL's "Save Of The Night" as he showed off a glove hand.

🎥SAVE OF THE NIGHT🎥

It's getting real windy in Kamloops. @RealCdnSS | @blazerhockey | @NYRangers | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/djrSOOeGQq
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 8, 2022

The Blazers goalie gave up two goals in the first on ten shots faced. Another goal in the second on only eight shots face before shutting out the Giants in the third facing eight more shots. The third period stood out the most because Kamloops started the period down two players due to penalties.

In fact, this game was pretty much dominated by the number of power plays as both teams combined for 14 of them. Garand stopped the Giants on the five power plays they had but Kamloops wasn't able to take advantage of the nine power plays they were given.

The Kamloops goalie is now 6-0 with a 1.17 goals against and a 0.954 save percentage. Hartford Wolfpack fans are looking at next year's starting goalie for their team in Garand.

Game three of this series will be played Monday night in Vancouver.

If the referees called too many penalties in the Vancouver/Kamloops game then the Seattle Thunderbirds were thinking that they didn't call enough on the Portland Winterhawks. The Winterhawks were called for just one penalty as they earned a 4-2 win over the Thunderbirds.

Matthew Rempe scored his fourth goal in five playoff games in the loss which is nice but the Winterhawks were able to limit him to just one shot. He was also a -1 and was 4-6 on his faceoffs but it is becoming really clear that any NHL future will be as a right wing.

And for heaven's sake can the Thunderbirds and WHL please find a better nickname for Rempe besides "Ranger Rempe". Here is his goal from the game

Ranger Rempe, reporting for duty.@SeattleTbirds | @NYRangers #WHLPlayoffs | #PORvsSEA pic.twitter.com/lLtDT0aDqA
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 8, 2022

The Winterhawks grab a 1-0 series lead with game two scheduled for Sunday evening in Portland.

Jayden Grubbe and his Red Deer Rebels got shut out by the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-0 in game two of their WHL playoff series and trail 2-0 in the series. The Rebels were in the game for the first period but weren't able to solve Edmonton's goalie Sebastian Cossa.

Grubbe was 15-7 on his faceoffs but only took one shot, something he has to be more active on. The Rebels head back to Red Deer for game three on Monday but this series doesn't look like it will go more than four games.

Ryder Korczak and his Moose Jaw Warriors were just no match for the Winnipeg Ice in game two. The Warriors were blown out 7-0 to give the Ice a 2-0 series lead.

Korczak was a -2 on two shots with an "unsportsmanlike conduct" minor and 7-7 on faceoffs. The series now shifts to Moose Jaw where the Warriors need to at least look competitive as they get swept out.

Othmann's Four Point Night Leads Firebirds To Game One Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 07 May 2022 09:15:00 +0000

Just three New York Rangers prospects were in action as the second round of the three league's playoffs got underway. And it is not a bad night when two of the prospects were named their games "first star" for their performances.

Brennan Othmann had a rather quiet first round but he made sure that didn't happen in the second round. The Flint captain almost doubled the number of points he recorded in the first round as he went 1-3-4 to lead his Flint Firebirds to a 5-3 win over the Soo Greyhound in game one of their OHL playoff series.

The OHL's "First Star" of the night earned his first point of the game as a secondary assist as the Firebirds cashed in on a power play at 5:58 of the first period giving Flint a 1-0 lead. Still in the first and back on the power play, Othmann scored his only goal of the game when he fired a wrist shot that beat the Soo goalie low and on the left side.

It was a rare goal for Othmann coming on the left side but at 19:34 of the first, it gave the Firebirds a 2-0 lead as they went into the first intermission. The lead would last through the second period but in the third, the Greyhounds would tie the game on two quick goals.

The tie would last 52 seconds as Othmann teamed up with linemate Riley Piercy for the go-ahead goal. The two worked a "2-on-1" with Othmann drawing both the defender and the Soo goalie towards him and then hitting Piercy with a pass for a wide-open goal at 7:16.

That was Othmann's third point of the game and he finished up his scoring by showing how unselfish he can be. The Soo net was empty and Othmann could have scored but he gave up the puck to linemate Coulson Pitre for the easy goal and final score of the game.

Othmann was 1-3-4 with a +1 on four shots to bring his playoff totals to 5-4-9 as Flint takes a 1-0 series lead over the Greyhounds. Game two will be Sunday in Flint.

In Kamloops the WHL's second seed Dylan Garand's Kamloops Blazers opened their series against eighth seed Vancouver Giants fresh off their upset win of top-seeded Everett. The Blazers behind Garand's 30 saves defeated the Giants 3-1 to grab a 1-0 series lead.

Dylan Garand (Kamloops Blazers)

Don't let the score fool you, this game was closer than that as the Blazers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two periods and then went to sleep in the third period. Garand who earned "First Star" honors kept the Blazers at bay allowing just the one goal at 7:04 of the third period.

Give the Giants a lot of credit as they played with no pressure at all and it almost paid off. They didn't have Garand in goal for them and he was the difference maker. Garand stopped all nine shots in the first period and then 13 more in the second.

He lost his bid for a shutout in the third but kept the Giants from getting any closer after they made it a 3-1 game. Garand improves to 5-0 with a 0.80 goals against, a 0.968 save percentage, and two shutouts.

He has allowed only four goals while face 125 shots and leads the WHL goalies in every area accept shutouts where he is second. Game two will be Saturday night in Kamloops.

Ryder Korczak and his Moose Jaw Warriors are facing the top team in all of the CHL leagues in the Winnipeg Ice for their second round WHL playoff opponent. And in game one of this series, the Ice just spanked the Warriors 6-1.

The Warriors were dominated in every area of the game as the Ice would out-shoot them 13-3, and 16-4 in the first two periods alone. This game was pretty much over by halfway of the second period when the Ice had scored their fifth goal of the game.

Korczak was decent on his faceoffs going 11-6 and he earned the primary assist on Moose Jaw's only goal. But lowly Vancouver had much more fight in them than the Warriors did in their game.

This series won't go more than five games if that. Game two will be Saturday in Winnipeg.

Captain Grubbe's Triple Overtime Goal Sends Red Deer To Second Round

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 02 May 2022 08:06:00 +0000

The 2021-2022 New York Rangers prospect's regular season was really good; the playoffs so far have been even better. Three prospects saw action on Sunday and each was a huge factor in why their teams won their games.

Jayden Grubbe is the captain of the Red Deer Rebels, and while he doesn't have the big numbers that other Ranger prospects have, he has still been a major factor in the success that his Rebels have had this season.

On Sunday, Grubbe scored what might have been the biggest goal of his WHL career when he fired a shot past the Brandon Wheat Kings goalie at 7:41 of the third overtime to give his Rebels a 5-4 win and advance them into the second round of the WHL playoffs.

📽️ HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT 📽️

Need safe passage through to the Second Round of the #WHLPlayoffs?

Call on the captain.@Rebelshockey | @NYRangers | #WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/csUEndX8nD
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 2, 2022

What a great finish by the Red Deer captain as he becomes the second Rangers prospect to score a series-winning goal this year joining Matthew Rempe of Seattle. Grubbe, who has been used mostly as a defensive center this year and his linemates used a strong forecheck and Grubbe found himself wide open for a shot in the slot to advance his team to the WHL's second round.

But there was more to Grubbe's game than just the goal, as he took pretty much every defensive zone faceoff during the overtime periods and wound up going 20-21 for the game. That he scored the game-winner seemed to be very fair after the way his defense had been a huge factor in this series.

Red Deer will face the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL's Eastern Conference second round starting on Thursday. The Oil Kings will have the home-ice advantage.

Brennan Othmann scored the game-winner as his Flint Firebirds took game five from the Owen Sound Attack 5-1 to take a 3-2 series lead. The Attack have done a good job swarming Othmann during this series, limiting his scoring chances, but Othmann found a way to score his third goal of the playoffs.

After a scoreless first period, the Firebirds scored twice in the first 68 seconds of the second period and never trailed after that. Othmann got an excellent feed from his linemate who found him all alone in front of the Attack goal.

All the Flint captain had to do was wait for the Attack goalie to make a move and he had an empty net to drop a soft backhand into.

An electric second period start from the @FlintFirebirds 🔥

First it was Coulson Pitre, and moments later it was @NYRangers prospect Brennan Othmann (@BOthmann78) as the Firebirds score two quick ones to open the second period #FLNTvsOS pic.twitter.com/0M6SA3B4O9
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) May 1, 2022

Othmann only took three shots as he scored for the first time since game two of this series as the goal was enough to send the series back to Owen Sound with a chance to end the series for Flint. Game Six will be on Tuesday night.

Will Cuylle and his Windsor Spitfires advanced to the OHL's Western Conference second round after a 3-1 win over the Sarnia Sting in game six eliminated the Sting 4-2. Cuylle scored the dagger goal, an empty net goal, at 19:55 of regulation for his fifth goal of the playoffs.

Cuylle had a pretty quiet game with just two shots on goal including the goal for the entire game. Give the Sting a lot of credit; the eighth seed gave the Spitfires a much tougher battle than anyone expected.

Windsor has to wait to find out who they face next because of the Flint/Owen Sound series.

Rempe's OT Winner Advances Seattle To Second Round

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 09:17:00 +0000

Matt Rempe (Brian Liesse)

There were five New York Rangers prospects playing in the WHL playoffs on Friday evening (OHL took the day off). There was a bit of everything as three teams punched their tickets into the second round with the other taking a 3-2 series lead.

Returning to the Seattle Thunderbird lineup after missing game four; Matthew Rempe earned the game's first star with a two-goal effort including the game-winner coming at 1:20 of the first overtime for a 4-3 win over Talyn Bokyo and his Kelowna Rockets. The Thunderbirds eliminated the Rockets in five games 4-1.

We got to start with Rempe's first goal of the night. With the game tied at 1-1 in the third period, Rempe put the puck past Boyko in the five-hole and video review could not disprove that it wasn't a goal.

The @SeattleTbirds have the lead in the third period of Game 5!@NYRangers | #WHLPlayoffs | #SEAvsKEL pic.twitter.com/dJ0WwAHo17
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 30, 2022

The goal at 7:24 of the third period was Rempe's second of the playoffs and gave Seattle a 2-1 lead. Less than three minutes later, Seattle scored again to take a two-goal lead, and at that point it looked like the game was over.

Kelowna wouldn't quit and fought back, scoring twice in 10 seconds to tie the game back at 3-3. The two teams would wind up tied at the end of regulation and headed to the first overtime.

It would take just 1:20 for Rempe to score and end the series. Seattle would force a turnover at center ice which led to a "2-on-1" breakaway, and Rempe would snap a shot that beat Boyko for the winner.

WHOA-vertime winner from Matthew Rempe!

The @SeattleTbirds are headed to the Second Round of the #WHLPlayoffs!@NYRangers | #SEAvsKEL pic.twitter.com/dN22kRqXWP
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 30, 2022

Rempe was 2-0-2 on a game-high six shots with a +2 and was 3-4 on faceoffs. But his "Ranger Rempe" nickname has to go as there has to be a better name for him.

Feel bad for Talyn Boyko and how his season ended, but despite giving up the four goals, the Rockets never even made it to overtime if not for his play. Seattle outshot the Rockets 44-21 as they dominated most of the play.

Boyko, who struggled in the first two games of this series, rediscovered his game in games four and five. He still has a promising future as a Rangers prospect.

The game's third star Dylan Garand continued his sparking play with his second shutout of the playoffs stopping 20 shots as his Kamloops Blazers defeated the Spokane Chiefs 3-0. The win gave the Blazers a 4-0 sweep of the Chiefs, who advanced to the WHL's Western Conference's second round.

Got to give Garand's teammates a lot of the credit as they smothered the Chiefs all night long. The Chiefs never reached double digits in shots in any of the three periods allowing them just six in the first, five in the second, and nine shots in the third.

Garand was barely challenged in this one and the shots that the Chiefs did get, Garand was more than up to the task of stopping them. Garand finished this series 4-0 with a 0.75 goals against, a 0.968 save percentage and two shutouts.

It is not a sure thing, but it looks like the Blazers will face the Portland Winterhawks.

Ryder Korczak and his Moose Jaw Warriors earned a 6-3 win over the Saskatoon Blades in game five of their WHL Eastern Conference playoff series. The win eliminated the Blades as the Warriors won the series 4-1.

Korczak had a secondary assist on the Warriors second goal of the game putting the Warriors up 2-0 at the time as the Warriors would never trail in the game. The Warriors center was credited with three shots on goal, a +2 and a very impressive 21-7 on his faceoffs.

The Warriors will wait to see who they will face in the WHL's second round.

Jayden Grubbe and his Red Deer Rebels defeated the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-1 in game five of their WHL Eastern Conference playoff series. The win gives the Rebels a 3-2 series lead as the series heads back to Brandon for game six on Sunday.

Grubbe was scoreless on three shots while going 13-9 on his faceoffs.

Boyko Keeps His Rocket's Season Alive With Huge Overtime Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 08:10:00 +0000

Talyn Boyko (Steven Dunmoor)

Wednesday night saw five New York Rangers prospects take the ice for their respective teams as we entered day seven of the CHL playoffs. For all of them it was game four of their respective series, with one team facing possible elimination and one looking to be the eliminator.

Talyn Boyko struggled during games one and two for his Kelowna Rockets giving up over seven goals a game. It helped put his Rockets in a 0-3 hole as they faced Matthew Rempe's Seattle Thunderbirds in game four.

Well game four comes and Seattle scratches Rempe giving no word as to why the 6'9 forward was not going to play. The Rockets on the other hand, decided to give Talyn Boyko the start after his benching in game three.

Boyko responded with his best performance of the playoffs stopping 36 of 38 shots as his Rockets stayed alive thanks to a 3-2 overtime win over Seattle in game four. The game's first star, Boyko was a very clear 180 from the mistake-prone goalie from the first two games.

(Boyko was involved with the WHL Highlight of the Night.)

🎥 HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT 🎥

Talyn Boyko with a timely save at one end, a pretty passing play back the other way finds the stick of Noah Dorey! #WHLPlayoffs @Kelowna_Rockets | #WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/N7RnJgJtxd
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 28, 2022

Boyko kept his Rockets alive even after they dug themselves into a 2-0 hole by the early second period. Seattle dominated the first period outshooting the Rockets 12-4 while scoring the game's first goal.

In the second, after Seattle made it 2-0 at just 3:16 things were looking very bleak for the Rockets. But that was the last goal Seattle would score as Boyko slammed the door shut. He stopped seven shots for the rest of the period, then 11 in the third and finally another seven in the first overtime as his Rockets fought their way back into the game and eventually won it at 15:55 of the first overtime.

Boyko stopped Seattle's final 25 shots as Kelowna earns their first win of the series 3-2, forcing a trip back to Seattle for game five on Friday.

(Late word is it is unconfirmed that Rempe is injured, but no other details are available)

Evan Vierling and his Barrie Colts saw their home ice advantage disappear when they lost game four in double overtime to the Mississauga Steelheads 3-2. This was a heartbreaking loss for the Colts as it was such a defensive battle that neither team was able to muster double digits in any of the five periods played.

It was fitting the guy who scored the game-winner while the goalies split the second and third stars as they both put on a great show for the fans in attendance. Vierling had one point on the night as he was credited with the primary assist on the Colt's game-tying goal in the second period.

Vierling handed off the puck to linemate Tyson Foerster on the power play and Foerster took a couple of steps and fired a blast that blasts the Steelheads goalie, tying the game at 2-2, setting up the overtimes. It was a nice shot that the goalie had no chance on.

Overall Vierling was 0-1-1 on 1 shot with a minor for tripping in the second overtime that led to the game-winner. Vierling was also 12-13 on faceoffs as this series is now tied 2-2 and headed back to Mississauga for game five on Saturday.

Call Brennan Othmann "snakebit" as he can't buy any offense in the series between his Flint Firebirds and the Owen Sound Attack. Owen Sound has been playing a swarming and trapping defense that has taken away any space Othmann would normally have to make his plays.

Not making excuses for Othmann, quite the opposite as it is up to Othmann to figure out how he can create space as well as offense or else his Firebirds will be knocked out. Game four saw Flint muster 44 shots, but that number is very misleading since they only could score twice.

Othmann had five of those shots but it would be very hard to see them as legit tough scoring chances. Give the Attack their due as they rallied with two goals in the third while rendering Othmann a non-factor to win 3-2 and tie this series at 2-2.

The Attack have held Othmann to points in the first two games and none in games three and four. Game five is back in Flint on Sunday.

Jayden Grubbe and his Red Deer Rebels face the Brandon Wheat Kings looking to take a 3-1 lead in their series, but the Wheat Kings fought to earn a 3-1 win and a 2-2 tie in the series. Grubbe had a secondary assist on the Rebels only goal; was credited with four shots and was a +1 while going 9-9 on faceoffs.

Game five will be Friday night in Red Deer.

Ryder Korczak had the first goal for the Ranger prospects in three days, but it wasn't enough as his Moose Jaw Warriors fell to the Saskatoon Blades 5-3. The Blades were fighting for their playoff lives trailing in the series 3-0 before game four.

But the Blades outplayed the Warriors, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after one. Moose Jaw made it a 2-1 lead midway through the second, only to see the Blades make it 3-1 minutes later.

The Warriors would score late in the second to cut the lead to 3-2 and then Korczak would tie the game with his second goal of the playoffs coming early in the third to tie the game at 3-3.

Ryder Korczak ties it up early in the third!@MJWARRIORS | @NYRangers #WHLPlayoffs | #MJvsSAS pic.twitter.com/t3KZWrotib
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 28, 2022

The Blades would score twice more to make it 5-3 and force the series back to Moose Jaw for game five on Friday.

Quiet Night Doesn't Mean A Losing Night

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 08:42:00 +0000

Jayden Grubbe (Red Deer Rebels)

It was a super quiet evening on Tuesday for the four New York Rangers prospects who saw action in game three of their respective series. No goals or assists, but three of the four prospects saw their teams win.

The scoresheet is going to show that Jayden Grubbe was scoreless, but he did have an impact for his Red Deer Rebels as they defeated the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-1 in game three of their WHL playoff series. Grubbe was used as the defensive center taking the faceoffs in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill.

The Rebel's captain was 11-9 on his faceoffs but was a part of the penalty kill that blanked Brandon on all six of their power plays. Red Deer takes a 2-1 lead in the series as they regain home ice advantage.

Game four will be Wednesday night in Brandon.

Ryder Korczak was scoreless as his Moose Jaw Warriors needed overtime to defeat the Saskatoon Blades 3-2 in game three of their WHL playoffs. Korczak was pretty quiet offensively with just one shot on goal and he was 8-10 on his faceoffs.

Moose Jaw takes a commanding 3-0 series lead with game four scheduled for Wednesday night in Saskatoon.

Will Cuylle was scoreless as his Windsor Spitfires dropped game three of their OHL playoff series 5-2 to the Sarnia Sting. The Spitfires lead the series 2-1, with game four scheduled for Thursday in Sarnia.

Cuylle and his teammates pretty much dominated play, but Sarnia's goalie Benjamin Gaudreau (game's first star) was just outstanding. The Spitfires threw everything they could at Gaudreau, but other than the two goals, they couldn't 't solve him.

Game four will be Thursday night in Sarnia.

Matthew Rempe was scoreless as his Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Kelowna Rockets 5-1 in game three of their WHL playoff series. Seattle takes a 3-0 series lead as Kelowna hasn't been able to find any offense.

Rempe wasn't credited with any shots and lost the only faceoff he took. Seattle and Kelowna were tied going into the third period and broke the game open with four goals.

Game four is Wednesday night in Kelowna.

Did Not Play

Talyn Boyko did not get the start for the Kelowna Rockets as they hosted game three of their WHL playoff series. It is hard to blame the Rockets as Boyko has a 7.68 goals against in the first two games and Kelowna is trailing in the series 2-0.

Third Star Garand Stops 25 In Kamloops Game Three Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 08:10:00 +0000

Dylan Garand (Kamloops Blazers)

Just three New York Rangers prospects were in action on Monday evening as their teams were playing game three in their respective league playoff series. It was a night with mixed results, but one player, Dylan Garand saw his team win to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Garand and his Kamloops Blazers got a tougher battle in game three against the Spokane Chiefs. In the end, the Blazers were able to pull away and earn a 5-1 win to move one game away from advancing to the second round.

The game's third star, Garand prevented Spokane from getting off to a good start but blanking the Chiefs in the first period. Spokane appeared to have caught Kamloops off guard, taking the game to them. It also didn't help matters, with Kamloops taking three minor penalties to give the Chiefs three power plays.

Garand stopped all 12 shots that he faced in the first period as his team weathered the storm and was able to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Kamloops would score twice in the second period as Garand did surrender a goal, but the fourth goal did put the game away.

Garand only faced five shots as his teammates took control of the game. In the third, Garand stopped all nine shots that he faced to give him 25 saves on 26 shots in the win.

Garand is 3-0 with a 1.01 goals against and a 0.959 save percentage as the series shifts to Spokane for game four on Friday night. If needed games five and six will also be played in Spokane after the first three were played in Kamloops due to scheduling issues in Spokane.

Brennan Othman was held scoreless as his Flint Firebirds dropped game three of their OHL playoff series 2-1 to the Owen Sound Attack. Give the Attack some serious credit as they played as close to the old New Jersey Devils trap defense as you will see today.

They swarmed Othman, giving him very little time or space to get his shot or offense going. The real stars of this game were the two goalies, Flint's Luke Cavallin and Owen Sound's Nick Chenard, as they combined to stop 74 out of 77 shots in tonight's game.

Game four will be in Owen Sound on Wednesday evening with the Attack up 2-1 in the series.

Evan Vierling was scoreless on just one shot as his Barrie Colts earned a 3-1 win over the Mississauga Steelheads in game three of their OHL playoff series. The win at home gives the Colts a 2-1 series lead as they have stolen home ice advantage from the Steelheads.

Vierling struggled on his faceoffs, going 5-7 in the contest. Game four will be played in Barrie Wednesday.

Cuylle's Two Goals Lead To Spitfire's Game Two Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 24 Apr 2022 09:19:00 +0000

Day three of the CHL playoffs saw seven New York Rangers prospects in action, and while it wasn't as exciting as Friday evening, it did see the top prospects show up. Will Cuylle and Brennan Othmann weren't factors in their respective teams' game one efforts but made up for it in game two.

Will Cuylle was ejected from his Windsor Spitfires first playoff game for fighting and was a non-factor. Game two was a totally different story as the game's first star was the factor as his Windsor Spitfires defeated Sarnia Sting 4-1 to take a 2-0 series lead.

Cuylle scored twice and led everyone with a game-high nine shots to go along with a +2 to lead the way for the Spitfires. The captain of the Spitfires got his team going, scoring the game's first goal and Windsor never looked back.

The even-strength goal was a beauty as Cuylle took a feed right off an offensive zone faceoff and fired a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle for a goal at 14:18 of the first period.

Captain Cuylle opens the scoring! 🚨@DallasStars prospect Wyatt Johnston (@johnston0055) finds @NYRangers prospect Will Cuylle (@willcuylle) who scores off the draw to put @SpitsHockey on the board. #WSRvsSAR pic.twitter.com/51dcxdJ2T2
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) April 23, 2022

The poor Sarnia goalie never had a chance to stop that shot, but it was what Windsor needed to get going. And it would be Cuylle who finished the scoring as he added an empty-net goal to seal the win for his team.

There was a clear difference in how Windsor played from game one to game two and it started with better team discipline. Windsor only had three minor penalties for the entire game as compared to 11 in game one.

The series shifts to Sarnia for the next two games starting on Tuesday.

Brennan Othmann and his Flint Firebirds rebounded from their game one loss to the Owen Sound Attack by winning game two 6-3. The game's third star, Othmann scored what proved to be the game-winning goal as part of a three-goal -a-minute outburst in the third period by the Firebirds.

Othmann cashed in a rebound on linemate Riley Piercey's shot at 11:19 of the third period. Somehow the puck wound up on his stick while Othmann was in the middle of four Attack players and he just fired the puck in.

In the video, Othmann's goal is the second one in the video clip:

The @FlintFirebirds exploded with three goals in a minute from Tag Bertuzzi, Brennan Othmann and Ethan Keppen to tie the series at one. #FLNTvsOS pic.twitter.com/XKuofAxD3Z
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) April 24, 2022

The Firebird's captain also earned a primary assist on the game's first goal when his shot rebounded to linemate Zacharie Giroux's stick and Giroux wasted no time cashing it in just 41 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead.

The Firebirds, who lost game one 6-3, scored twice in the game's first 90 seconds to even the series at 1-1 as it shifts to Owen Sound for game's three and four. Othmann was 1-1-2 +2 on five shots to go 2-1-3 after two games.

Dylan Garand stopped 21 of 23 shots as his Kamloops Blazers defeated the Spokane Chiefs 6-2 in game two of their WHL playoff series. Garand was pretty solid outside of the two goals; neither really could be viewed as "bad" goals.

Spokane scored twice in a matter of 1:17 in the third period running Garand's bid for a second straight shutout, but up until that moment Garand had shut the Chiefs out for over 109 minutes. Super-chippy game that saw the teams both have 10 power plays and a scrum in the last minute that had a ref get accidentally punched in the head as he was trying to separate the two players.

The two teams combined for 79 PIMs, not including two ten minute misconducts, and there is going to be some extra discipline coming to both teams because of some of the on-ice behaviors. Garand and his Blazers are 2-0 in the series, with game three scheduled for Kamloops on Monday.

Spokane's arena is not available, so this series is being played using a 3-3-1 format. It turns out to be a Paul McCartney concert that is keeping the Chiefs from hosting Game Three.

Ryder Korczak had a primary assist on two shots as his Moose Jaw Warriors took game two of their WHL playoff series 5-3 over the Saskatoon Blades. The Warriors take a 2-0 series lead as the series heads to Saskatoon for game's three and four.

Korczak was 18-10 on his faceoffs, but he missed on a couple of solid scoring chances; otherwise we would have more to say about his performance. Got to remember Korczak is the first line center for the Warriors so he does have a tough matchup on every shift.

Jayden Grubbe was scoreless as his Red Deer Rebels fell 2-1 in the first overtime to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Grubbe was credited with two shots, but he was also a -2 and went 16-8 on his faceoffs.

The loss means the series is tied at 1-1 as it shifts to Brandon for the next two games.

Talyn Boyko had a nightmare of a game as his Kelowna Rockets were looking to even their WHL playoff series against Matthew Rempe's Seattle Thunderbirds. Boyko surrendered seven goals while facing 40 shots as his Rockets got spanked 7-3 in game two.

Not all the goals were Boyko's fault as he lacked support from his teammates, but still seven goals is too much. Rempe was pretty quiet in game two, going scoreless on one shot with a -1 and going 5-8 on his faceoffs.

Seattle takes a 2-0 series lead as the series shifts to Kelowna for games three and four, but if Boyko can't play better, this will be a short one.

USHL

Brody Lamb ended his 2021-2022 USHL season with a scoreless game as his Green Bay Gamblers defeated the Madison Capitols 4-2. The Gamblers finished eighth in the USHL's Eastern Conference and did not qualify for the USHL playoffs.

Lamb, who is expected to attend Minnesota of the Big Ten next season, was credited with three shots and was a +1. For the season, Lamb was 19-22-41 in 62 games with 29 PIMs, a -19, and three game-winning goals.

Evan Vierling Scores OT Winner To Give Barrie A Game One Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 09:10:00 +0000

Evan Vierling (Barrie Colts)

Day two of the CHL playoffs saw seven New York Rangers prospects opening their playoff series with their respective teams. And as it tends to happen in the playoffs, it was the guys who had the quieter regular seasons who were the stars of the game for their teams.

Two first star performances, a total of five goals, and a shutout highlighted a very entertaining night of playoff hockey. It has to start with a prospect who is pretty much fighting for a shot at a professional contract, if not with the Rangers, then with someone else.

If we had a pool to pick who would score the first game-winning goal of the playoffs among Ranger prospects, then odds are good, Evan Vierling would not be the first prospect who came to mind. Yet it was the Barrie Colts center who scored at 16:24 of the first overtime to give his Barrie Colts a 2-1 win over the Mississauga Steelheads in game one of their OHL playoff series.

Vierling scored on the only shot that he took in the entire game to give his Colts an improbable win and steal away home ice advantage from the Steelheads.

It was a "feel good" moment for both the Rangers prospect and his team as they struggled down the stretch finishing the regular season 3-6-1, who struggled at times to find his offense during the regular season. But for his Colts, it could be a major difference-maker as they look to knock off the Steelheads and advance in the playoffs.

First OT winner of the 2022 #OHLPlayoffs comes off the stick of @NYRangers prospect Evan Vierling (@evan_vierling) as the @OHLBarrieColts take Game 1 in Mississauga. #MISSvsBAR pic.twitter.com/hT8FNcMNg6
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) April 23, 2022

Game two will be Sunday afternoon in Mississauga.

Jayden Grubbe (Red Deer Rebels)

Captain Jayden Grubbe led by example earning the game's first star as his Red Deer Rebels shutout the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-0 to grab a 1-0 series lead in their WHL playoff series. The Rebels came into this series as the number three seed in the WHL's Eastern Conference having struggled during their final regular season games, making coming out with a good effort in game one very important for their playoff chances.

Grubbe did more than his part as he went 1-1-2 on two shots with a +2 while being called for unsportsmanlike conduct and tripping to go along with a 7-12 mark on his faceoffs. It was one of Grubbe's best efforts of the year.

Grubbe got his team going while on the penalty kill in the first period, he followed a loose puck in the offensive zone, grabbed it and fired it towards the Brandon net. From there, teammate Jace Isley was wide open and stuffed the puck into the net and that was the game-winner just 9:34 into the first period.

Grubbe would add to the scoring when he carried the puck into the offensive zone, skated around the Brandon net, then stuffed the puck in for Red Deer's third goal of the game.

We're feelin' Grubbe-y on Night Two of the #WHLPlayoffs, how about you?@Rebelshockey | @NYRangers | #RDvsBDN pic.twitter.com/rvwpLKazk4
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 23, 2022

Red Deer takes a 1-0 series lead in game two, which will be Saturday night in Red Deer.

Ryder Korczak and his Moose Jaw Warriors jumped all over the Saskatoon Blades to earn a 5-1 win and grab a 1-0 series lead. Korczak had a 1-1-2 night to help his Warriors earn a first game win and go up in the series 1-0.

With his team already up 2-1 in the second period, Korczak set up teammate Maximus Wanner for an even-strength goal to give his team a two-goal lead. In the third period, Korczak registered his first goal of the playoffs when he scored from the high slot area to give his team a 5-1 lead.

"Ryder Korczak – Playoff Edition" has been unleashed.@MJWARRIORS | @NYRangers #WHLPlayoffs | #MJvsSAS pic.twitter.com/rWmIkiZzfb
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 23, 2022

For the night, Korczak was 1-1-2 on four shots with a +2 and a 9-6 record on faceoffs. Game two will be Saturday night in Moose Jaw.

In the only matchup featuring two Rangers prospects facing each other, Matthew Rempe's Seattle Thunderbirds dominated Talyn Boyko's Kelowna Rockets 6-0 in game one of the WHL Western Conference playoffs. Rempe had a very good game with a goal and an assist, but he also set up two screens that directly led to Kelowna goals.

Rempe earned a secondary assist on Seattle's first goal as they jumped on Kelowna with a power-play goal just 1:37 into the game. Rempe set up a nice screen as Boyko never saw the shot that beat him.

In the second period, with his team already up 3-0, Rempe took the puck to the net, got his own rebound and put back the rebound for his first ever playoff goal. It was also a power-play goal, as Kelowna just didn't have any kind of answer for Rempe or Seattle.

Get up early. Go to the gym. Put in your Remps.@NYRangers | @SeattleTbirds #WHLPlayoffs | #SEAvsKEL pic.twitter.com/lTSVs5699Z
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 23, 2022

Rempe also set a sweet screen on Seattle's fourth power-play goal, as Kelowna's goalie never had a chance to even see the puck until it was past him. Overall Rempe was 1-1-2 on three shots and was 5-5 on faceoffs.

As for Talyn Boyko, his teammates were never there for him, whether it was leaving players wide open for shots to not being able to deal with Rempe in the slot area. Seattle scored three of the five goals that Boyko surrendered on the power play.

After the first goal, it really looked as if Boyko struggled with his game after the first goal and never was able to settle into the game. Game two will be Saturday night in Seattle.

Dylan Garand stopped 25 shots to earn his first WHL Playoff shutout as his Kamloops Blazers had no problem with the Spokane Chiefs earning a 9-0 win. The Chiefs were out-everything as the Blazers controlled this game from the opening puck drop.

Garand had very few tough saves to make as his teammates controlled everything about this game from tempo to shot count. He faced eight shots in the first, seven in the second and ten in the third.

Game two of this series will be Saturday night.

Brennan Othmann and his Flint Firebirds hosted their first ever playoff game hosting the Owen Sound Attack in game one of their OHL playoff series. The Firebirds were perhaps too good a host as the Attack upset the Firebirds 6-3 and stole home ice advantage.

Othmann had a power-play goal for his only highlight of the game as the Attack scored four times in the third period to earn the upset win. It wasn't the best of playoff debuts for the 2022 first round pick of the Rangers.

Othmann was a -4 on 5 shots with two separate "checking to the head" minors as this was a totally out-of character game for Othmann and his teammates. Game two now becomes "must win" for Othmann and his Firebirds on Saturday evening.

Non-Playoffs

Brody Lamb was scoreless on two shots as his Green Bay Gamblers played to a 2-2 tie with the Madison Capitols in USHL action. Lamb and his teammates have one game remaining as they were eliminated from playoff contention a couple of weeks ago.

Brennan Othmann Four Goal Night Sets Flint Record With 50 Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 17 Apr 2022 09:54:00 +0000

On the second to last day of the 2021-22 CHL season, two Ranger prospects stood out so well that they were named the OHL's first and third stars of the night. 2021-22 is by far the best overall season that New York Ranger prospects have had in decades.

Brennan Othmann (first star) and Evan Vierling (third star) combined for six goals and one assist to lead their respective teams to wins in their regular season finales. It is the first time two Ranger prospects earned their league stars on the same night.

Brennan Othmann started Saturday night needing four goals to reach 50, something that had never before happened in the history of the Flint Firebirds franchise. His night started innocently enough when he scored goal number 47 just 1:43 into the contest against the Soo Greyhounds, giving the Firebirds a 1-0 lead.

The first period would end with the Firebirds up 2-1, but the Greyhounds would score twice in the second period's first six minutes to take a 3-2 lead. The game was looking as if the Greyhounds would take that 3-2 lead into the second intermission.

The game would totally change when at 18:51 of the second, two fights would break out prior to a puck drop. That was key as the Greyhounds would find themselves hit with two minor penalties that would give Flint a two-man advantage for a full two minutes.

It took Brennan Othmann just 13 seconds to score to tie the game at 3-3 with goal number 48; then just 17 more seconds to score goal number 49 at 19:21 for a 4-3 Flint lead. It set up a third period where the Firebirds did everything they could to get Othmann his 50th goal.

Othmann had several chances to score but it just didn't seem to work out. The Flint fans were going nuts in the stands and Othmann was on the ice at every opportunity.

Finally, the moment happened with Flint on the power-play and the Firebirds feeding Othmann the puck not even trying to hide what they were doing. At 16:11 Brennan Othmann became the first player in Flint Firebird's history to score 50 goals.

Othmann rewrote the Flint Firebirds record book this season in both goals and overall points thanks to his 50-47-97.

And if that wasn't enough for you then let's finish this off with what was announced as the OHL's "Best of OHL" play for Saturday night. All four of Brennan Othman's goals.

Hey @NYRangers Twitter, is this good? 👀

Brennan Othmann's (@BOthmann78) four-goal night to hit 50 goals in the @FlintFirebirds' final regular-season game earns Saturday's #BestOfOHL honours 📽️ pic.twitter.com/U71fkedXCn
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) April 17, 2022

Evan Vierling saved his best performance for his regular season finale as he had a 2-1-3 night to help his Barrie Colts earn a 6-3 win over the Niagara IceDogs. The game's first star, Vierling, also was 11-5 on his faceoffs as his Colts stopped a seven-game winless streak.

Pay close attention to Evan Vierling (#41) and what he does to score the first of his two goals:

A massive night for @NYRangers #OHL prospects 🤩

Evan Vierling (@Evan_Vierling) first of two goals on the night was the eventual game-winner, giving the @OHLBarrieColts two points in their final regular-season game 📽️ pic.twitter.com/gpvo240Mfu
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) April 17, 2022

Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Evan Vierling earned the primary assist on Barrie's first goal of the game, a power-play goal that cut Niagara's lead to 2-1. His other goal was an empty-net goal at 19:21 of the third and Barrie's sixth goal of the game.

It gave Vierling a 20-27-47 line for the season, but the bigger question is was it enough to convince the Rangers to offer him an NHL Entry-Level contract. As a fifth round draft pick from the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Rangers will need to decide soon whether or not to offer him a contract.

Past history has taught me that by now the franchise has already informed Vierling as to whether or not to make such an offer. As a fifth-round pick, Vierling needed to show a lot more than 20 goals, so I would be surprised if he is signed.

Barrie finished fifth in the OHL's Eastern Conference and they will face the Mississauga Steelheads in the first round of the OHL playoffs.

Dylan Garand stopped 37 of 39 shots to help his Kamloops Blazers defeat the Vancouver Giants 5-2 in their regular season finale. Garand, who earlier this week was named the Co-MVP and Co-Most Dedicated player by the

It was a solid performance by the Kamloops netminder as he flashed a sharp glove hand. One could not fault Garand on either of the goals that he gave up, one a power-play goal that bounced right on a Giants stick.

Garand stopped all 12 shots he faced in the first period, 12 of 13 shots in the second and 13 of 14 shots in the third in earning his 34th win of the season. Overall Grand finishes his regular season with a 34-9-1 record; a 2.16 goals against that is a new Kamloops record and second best in the WHL.

Garand earned a 0.925 save percentage that also was second best in the WHL and tied a career best with four shutouts. The Blazers finished second in the WHL's Western Conference and are guaranteed home ice advantage for the first two rounds of the WHL playoffs.

Because of the win over the Giants, the Blazers will face these same Giants in the first round of the WHL Western Conference playoffs.

Jayden Grubbe was scoreless as his Red Deer Rebels finished their regular season with a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings. Grubbe was credited with two shots and hit with minors for holding and high-sticking while going 16-6 on faceoffs.

The Rangers first third-round pick last year; Grubbe who missed most of last season due to a torn ACL, started slowly this season but finished the season with a 14-21-35 stat line. The Rebels finished third in the WHL's Eastern Conference and will face the Brandon Wheat Kings in the first round of the WHL's Eastern Conference playoffs.

Brody Lamb was scoreless and a -1 as his Green Bay Gamblers got spanked 7-2 by the Dubuque Fighting Saints in USHL action. The Gamblers have been eliminated from USHL playoff contention.

Did Not Play

The Windsor Spitfires gave team captain Will Cuylle the night off as he finishes his regular season with a 43-37-80 mark. In addition, Cuylle had 13 power-play goals, 2 shorthanded goals, and an OHL best 9 game-winners.

Windsor still doesn't know who they will be facing in the first round of the OHL's Western Conference playoffs. The only thing for certain is they will enter as the top seed in the OHL's Western Conference.

Goalie Talyn Boyko was used as the backup goalie for his Kelowna Rockets in their final regular season game. The Rockets already know they are facing Matthew Rempe and his Seattle Thunderbirds in the first round of the WHL's Western Conference playoffs.

Boyko was rescued by the Rockets from the Tri-City Americans, where he started 1-6-1 with a 4.49 goals against and a 0.887 save percentage. For the Kelowna Rockets, Boyko was 28-12-1-3 with a 2.79 goals against and the 0.913 save percentage.

If you ignore Boyko's numbers with the Americans, then Boyko's stats would be top ten in the WHL in wins, goals against, and save percentage.

Rempe's 17th Helps Seattle Finish Regular Season With Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 16 Apr 2022 08:42:00 +0000

Matthew Rempe (Brian Liesse)

It is the final weekend of the regular season for the New York Rangers prospects playing in the Canadian juniors. Seven prospects saw action on Friday night and two possible future teammates on next year's Hartford Wolfpack team led the way.

6'9 Matthew Rempe of the Seattle Thunderbirds is by all rights a project player for the New York Rangers, but the more you see of him in action, the more you realize he offers more than just muscle. Like his goal that he scored Friday night against the Tri-City Americans.

In the second period, with Seattle already up 2-1, Rempe took a pass from a teammate just inside the Americans' defensive zone, then did his best Chris Kreider imitation and took the puck right to the Americans' goal. Somehow Rempe was able to get the puck to trickle in the "five-hole" and into the net for a goal.

It was Rempe's career-best 17th goal of the season and it came on a night when Seattle was resting most of their older players. Rempe played like a leader tied for the game high with seven shots and going 10-5 on his faceoffs.

It was most likely his final regular season game in the WHL and he came a long way this season. Going 17-6-23 with four power-play goals and one shorthanded goal offers the possibility of his developing into a power-play specialist who, with his 6'9 240 frame, is almost impossible to move out of the crease area.

And those 240 lbs? Rempe looks like he can add another 15-20 lbs to his upper body and if he does then he just might become the most popular teammate. Seattle will face Talyn Boyko and his Kelowna Rockets in the WHL's first round; this is really a series that is looking like a seven game series.

Ryder Korczak (Marc Smith)

Center Ryder Korczak and his Moose Jaw Warriors played a strange but very entertaining game despite suffering a 5-4 overtime loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Lethbridge would score a goal early in the first period but after that both teams would trade scoring two straight goals to tie then take a one-goal lead.

Whatever issues he had been having with his faceoffs, Korczak appeared to have fixed them as he was 19-15 for the night. His 34 faceoff chances were more than the second and third line Moose Jaw centers combined (18+13=31).

Korczak continued his late season push scoring a goal for the third straight game while improving his current scoring streak to four games (3-5-8) as he improved to 25-54-79. With this being Korczak's fourth full season in the WHL, he is eligible to play in the AHL next season despite having a late October birthday.

Talyn Boyko (Kelowna Rockets)

Talyn Boyko stopped 27 of 29 shots as his Kelowna Rockets rallied to earn a 3-2 overtime win over the Vancouver Giants. Boyko kept the Rockets in this game as his teammates had trouble scoring on Vancouver's goalie.

The Rockets goalie earned his fifth straight win; he hasn't looked as dominant as he was earlier in the season, but he is finding ways to earn wins. Boyko improved to 29-18-2-3 with a 3.03 goals against and a 0.908 save percentage.

Dylan Garand gave up three goals while facing 29 shots as his Kamloops Blazers lost to the Prince George Cougars 4-2. Garand just didn't look sharp as his teammates limited the Cougars to just two shots in the first period.

In the second, the Blazers were outplayed by the Cougars, allowing them 19 shots and two goals that put them in a hole. The Blazers found a way to rally to tie the game in the third period, but Garand surrendered the game-winning goal just 26 seconds after the Blazers had tied it.

For Garand, the loss drops his record to 33-9-1 on the season. His goals against fell to 2.17 while his save percentage rose to 0.924. He might regret this loss as he fell back in several goalie categories.

The Blazers still don't know who they are facing in the first round of the WHL playoffs, but it could wind up being these very Cougars who are currently seventh in the WHL's Western Conference. The Blazers will play the Vancouver Giants on Saturday, with the outcome of that game possibly determining who they face.

Will Cuylle and his Windsor Spitfires just could never finish off the Erie Otters and it cost them a chance to win their 14th-straight game 3-2 in overtime. Cuylle was scoreless on three shots but was called for a "player-safety foul from behind" that led to a penalty shot that Erie cashed in for the win with just 43 seconds remaining in overtime.

It was an ugly game as far as Windsor was concerned as they had scoring chance after scoring chance but missed on wide open nets or hit the posts. Erie was fighting to stay alive for the last place spot in the OHL's Western Conference found a way to earn the win.

Windsor has one last game on Saturday against the Niagara IceDogs, already have home ice advantage for all of the OHL's Western Conference wrapped up. They might regret giving Erie a chance to face them in the first round.

Brennan Othmann was scoreless as his Flint Firebirds dropped a 6-3 decision to the Soo Greyhounds. With the Firebirds locked into the third seed in the OHL's Western Conference playoff race, the Firebirds had little to play for.

Othmann had a quiet game by his standards, four shots with a -1; a slashing minor and a ten-minute misconduct in the third period. The Flint captain is 46-47-93 with one game remaining in the OHL regular season.

Brody Lamb is the only Rangers' prospect whose team will not make the playoffs, but it is hard to complain about his play this season. Lamb recorded his 19th goal of the season in a losing effort as his Green Bay Gamblers were eliminated from postseason contention after a 9-3 loss to the Dubuque Fighting Saints in USHL action.

Lamb scored his Gamblers first goal of the game, a power-play marker coming at 6:09 of the first period. At the time, it tied the game up at 1-1, which was pretty much the only highlight of the game for the Gamblers.

Lamb is 19-22-41 with two games left on his season. Not to worry as Lamb is heading to Minnesota of the Big Ten so the Rangers will have five years to decide whether or not Lamb is NHL material.

Captain Cuylle Leads His Spitfires To Their 13th Straight Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 08:43:00 +0000

Ryder Korczak (Marc Smith)

Captain Will Cuylle continued his hot play with a goal as his Windsor Spitfires defeated the Saginaw Spirit 5-3 for their 13th straight win. Cuylle scored his 43rd goal of the season on a pinball shot that hit the Saginaw goalie, then off a Saginaw defender before bouncing into the goal.

The Spitfires have already clinched the OHL's Western Championship and are just waiting to see who they will face in the first round of the OHL playoffs. Cuylle has been on fire with 14 goals in his last 15 games to tie Brennan Othmann for the prospect's lead in goal scoring.

Overall Cuylle is 43-37-90 on the season.

Ryder Korczak was 1-1-2 for his Moose Jaw Warriors, but it wasn't enough as they dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Korczak was the key for both goals that the Warriors scored, starting with setting up Eric Alaire for the game's first score.

In the first period, Korczak deked two Wheat Kings before hitting Alaire in the slot and Alaire converted to give Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead. In the second, Korczak recorded his 23rd goal of the season when he followed up his own shot and put the rebound in for his 23rd goal of the season and a 2-0 Moose Jaw lead.

📺| @FordJaw highlights from Saturday night's 3-2 shootout loss in Brandon.

Ryder Korczak had a goal and two points in the loss.#AllInTogether | #MJvsBDN pic.twitter.com/ThGzf7NLlv
— x - Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) April 10, 2022

The Wheat Kings would score twice to tie the game, eventually forcing overtime and then the shootout. Korczak would miss on his shootout attempt and finished the game 1-1-2 on four shots with a +2 and was 13-13 on his faceoffs.

For the season, Korczak is 23-51-74, which are career bests for the Rangers third round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Despite the loss, the Warriors picked up a point to move into a tie for fourth place in the WHL's Eastern Conference with three games remaining in the regular season.

Brennan Othmann and his Flint Firebirds defeated the Erie Otters 4-1 to remain in third place in the OHL's Western Conference. The Firebirds hold a two-point lead over the Soo Greyhounds for the third seed, but they also have a game in hand over the Soo.

Othmann was credited with a secondary assist on Flint's fourth goal as he improved his season totals to 43-47-90, which is tops among all New York Rangers prospects.

It wasn't pretty, but Talyn Boyko and his Kelowna Rockets doubled up the Vancouver Giants 8-4 for their sixth straight win. Boyko stopped 30 of the 34 shots that he faced in improving his record to 28-18-2-3 as he won his fourth straight start.

The Rocket's goalie saw his season's numbers fall to a goals-against of 3.05 and a save percentage of 0.908. The Rockets are still chasing the Seattle Thunderbirds for the third seed in the WHL's Western Conference playoffs.

Speaking of Seattle, it may be April, but that doesn't' mean snow can still affect travel plans. The Spokane Chiefs ran into travel issues along the Snoqualmie Pass, which pushed back the start time of the game from 7:05 to 9:00.

The wait was worth it for Thunderbird fans as their team pulled away with three goals in the third period for a 6-2 win. The win keeps the Thunderbirds two points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets in the race for the fourth seed in the WHL's Western Conference, with Seattle having three games remaining on their regular season schedule.

Rempe was scoreless on two shots with a -1 and a minor penalty for tripping. He was also 6-8 on his faceoffs.

Dylan Garand and his Kamloops Blazers dropped a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime decision to the Portland Winterhawks. The loss pretty much ended the Blazers hopes of winning the WHL's Western Conference championship as they trail the Everett Silvertips by three points with just two games left in their regular season.

Garand stopped 37 out of 42 shots that the Winterhawks fired at him, but it wasn't enough to prevent the loss. The Kamloops goalie saw his record fall to 33-8-1 with a 2.15 goals-against and a 0.925 save percentage.

Jayden Grubbe and his Red Deer Rebels saw their hopes for the WHL's Central Division Championship end when the Edmonton Oil Kings defeated them 6-4. The win gives the Oil Kings the Division title as they have an eight-point lead over Red Deer with Red Deer only having two games left in the regular season.

Grubbe was scoreless ending a four-game scoring streak (4-1-5) as he was held to four shots. The Red Deer captain was 14-14 on his faceoffs. Red Deer will finish third in the WHL's Eastern Conference and will host a first round playoff series.

Evan Vierling and his Barrie Colts saw their winless streak extend to four games (0-3-1) after getting spanked 6-1 by the North Bay Battalion in OHL action. Vierling was scoreless on two shots and was a -2 while going 13-7 on their faceoffs.

Brody Lamb and his Green Bay Gamblers saw their winless streak extend to five games (0-4-1) after they were blown out 10-3 by the Chicago Steel. Lamb recorded his 18th goal of the season in the second period while they were still in the game.

The Gamblers are nine points out of the last USHL playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with just five games left in their season. They will be the only team with a Rangers prospect not to make the playoffs this season.

Lamb improves to 18-22-40 on the season.

Grubbe's Goal Helps Red Deer Earn OT Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 09 Apr 2022 09:30:00 +0000

Jayden Grubbe (Red Deer Rebels)

The New York Rangers prospects playing at the junior level are into the final two weeks of regular season play and all but one prospect is playoff bound. Five prospects saw action on Friday with some mixed results.

Jayden Grubbe and his Red Deer Rebels have quietly made a late-season run at the WHL's Central Division title. Friday night they had to rally twice before earning a 5-4 overtime win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Red Deer captain, Grubbe had a goal on two shots and was 17-9 on faceoffs to help the Rebels extend their unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-0-1). Grubbe's goal was a blistering one-timer off a centering pass just 40 seconds into the third period, which tied the game at 3-3.

It was the 14th goal of the season for Grubbe and extended his scoring streak to four games (4-1-5) as he improved his season totals to 14-20-34. The Rebels are four points behind the Edmonton Oil Kings for the WHL's Central Division title with three games left in the regular season.

Dylan Garand and his Kamloops Blazers got more than they bargained for from the Victoria Royals as the teams traded goals all game until Kamloops scored the game-winner with just four seconds left in regulation to earn a 4-3 win. The win kept the Blazers mathematically alive for the WHL's Western Conference championship with three games left.

Garand stopped 17 of 20 shots to earn his WHL-leading 33rd win as he improved to 33-8 with a 2.08 goals against and a 0.929 save percentage. The Kamloops goalie is second in the WHL for goals against and save percentage.

Will Cuylle earned a secondary assist on his Windsor Spitfires first goal as they cruised to a 7-1 win over the Guelph Storm. The win was the 12th straight for the Spitfires as they have clinched the OHL's Western Conference Championship as well as the West Division title.

Cuylle was credited with four shots as his secondary assist improved his season totals to 42-37-79 as he has set new career highs in goals, assists, points, power -play goals and game-winning goals, a category that he leads the OHL with nine game-winners.

Evan Vierling was scoreless on three shots as his Barrie Colts were spanked by the Kingston Frontenacs 9-3. The only area that Vierling stood out was on his faceoffs as he was 14-2. The Colts are locked into the fifth seed in the OHL's Eastern Conference.

Brody Lamb had the primary assists on both of his Green Bay Gambler's goals, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Gamblers from losing 5-2 to the Chicago Steel. The loss drops Green Bay seven points out of sixth place and the final playoff spot in the USHL's Eastern Conference with just six games left to play.

Lamb improved to 17-22-39 on the season, which aren't bad numbers as he heads to Minnesota of the Big Ten conference next season.

Captain Cuylle's 41st Helps Windsor Earn 10th Straight Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 07:40:00 +0000

Will Cuylle (OHL Images)

It was a Saturday night with six New York Rangers in action, teams fighting for playoff positions and individuals showing why the Rangers drafted them. There were some entertaining games as well as a couple of "statement" games played by a couple of teams.

Will Cuylle and his Windsor Spitfires were in Owen Sound to face the Attack, but in the end, the Attack were forced to retreat after a 6-3 loss.

The win was Windsor's 10th straight and with just five games left in the OHL's regular season, the race for the OHL's Western Conference crown is just about over. Windsor has an eight -point lead over second-placed London Knights.

Cuylle recorded his 41st goal of the season on five shots and a minor for "unsportsmanlike conduct" as Windsor is but a game or two away from clinching the OHL's Western Conference championship. The Windsor captain is now 41-35-76 on the season.

So I was in Portland to see Matthew Rempe and his Seattle Thunderbirds take on the Portland Winterhawks in their final meeting of the season. To say that these two teams don't like each other would be an understatement.

They call this the "I-5 War" (think the Rangers and Islanders with a ton of gas poured on top of it) and it lived up to its name and reputation. These two teams were chipping at each other. They were adding a little extra to all of their checks. And it of course ended with one last skirmish after the final buzzer.

Matthew Rempe (Brian Liesse)

The game was a lot like the typical Rangers effort at times. Portland scored the game's first four goals over the first and part of the second periods. Seattle would rally to force a 4-4 tie midway through the third period.

The Thunderbirds would eventually lose 5-4, but they showed Portland that they could hang with them.

Now if you look at the stat sheet, you will find that Matthew Rempe didn't score any points. But what the stat sheet won't tell you is the kind of contribution that Rempe made.

For starters, Seattle used Rempe at all three forward positions and he got the job done at all three of them. He was driving Portland's goalie nuts because there he was all night in the crease setting screens for his linemates.

It got so bad that after the final buzzer, Portland's goalie Taylor Gauthier earned a roughing minor when he attacked Rempe as part of the final buzzer scrum. Gauthier is known as a cool customer, but Rempe got under his skin.

In the third period, while Seattle was mounting their comeback, there was Rempe being sent out every other shift as Seattle was looking for the tying goal they never could score. It was awesome to see such a different player at this point in the season than the one I saw at the beginning.

He was watching the entire ice; his passing skills were superb, and add that to his self-discipline and you have a player who is going to be worth the investment in him. Talking to him postgame showed an intelligent and very mature young man whose response showed a disciplined young man.

I did have one criticism of him, that I waited until he was on the bus waiting to go home. Shoot the puck more, use the power of that 6'9 240 lb. frame on his shots. Not going to kid anyone as yes, he remains a project, but the clay is there and all it needs is someone good to mold his talents together.

Even better was watching Rempe maintain personal self-discipline no matter how many times he was cheap shotted or goaded. He did not hurt his team by taking bad penalties as it is expected he might do.

Jayden Grubbe scored his 13th goal of the season as his Red Deer Rebels came from behind to defeat the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-3.The game's third star, Grubbe scored his goal as part of a wild first period as both teams traded goals to end the period 2-2.

Streeetttttchhh it around!#RDREBELS #WHL pic.twitter.com/wdIEk9e6nP
— x - Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) April 3, 2022

The Red Deer captain had a good game besides scoring his 13th.Grubbe was credited with two shots, 11-6 on faceoffs and was called for a double minor for high-sticking. Grubbe is 13-19-32 on the season, career bests in goals, assists, and points.

Ryder Korczak and his Moose Jaw Warriors sent a message to the WHL's Eastern Conference about not taking them lightly. The Warriors scored twice in the final minute of the third period to knock off the Winnipeg Ice 3-1.

The win snapped the Ice's nine-game winning streak and was just their 10th regulation loss this season. Korczak had just one assist and that was on the dagger goal coming at 19:53 of the third, clinching the win for his team.

The win opens up a three-point lead for the fourth seed in the WHL's Eastern Conference with eight games left in the regular season. The assist was a new career best of 50 assists to go along with 22 goals (also a career best).

Korczak also was 18-10 on faceoffs for the game.

Brennan Othmann recorded his 43rd goal of the season but it wasn't enough as his Flint Firebirds got spanked 5-1 by the Guelph Storm. Othmann blasted a one-timer past the Storm goalie for Flint's only goal.

The Flint captain recorded eight shots as he improved to 43-46-89, which is one point from tying the all-time team record for points.

Pretty sure Brody Lamb and his Green Bay Gamblers are out of the playoff picture after dropping a 6-2 decision to the Team USA NTDP team. The loss puts the Gamblers five points behind Team USA and Cedar Rapids with just seven games left in the USHL regular season.

Did Not Play

Evan Vierling missed his third straight game with an undisclosed injury. This comes at the worst possible time for Vierling and his Barrie Colts this close to the playoffs. Not to mention his chances of earning that NHL ELC are slim as it is.

Tayln Boyko got the night off as his Kelowna Rockets played the Victoria Royals. His team did well without him shutting out the Victoria Royals

Othmann's "Swipe" Keys Flint's Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 02 Apr 2022 08:52:00 +0000

With the Canadian juniors and USHL coming down to their last three weeks of the regular season, six New York Ranger prospects took to the ice on Friday night. Most of the teams have already clinched playoff spots, so now the battle that remains is for seeding.

This has been the best season in the 18 years that I have covered Rangers prospects. Two prospects with 40 or more goals; three goalies showing promise into becoming NHL goaltenders, and a couple who still have room for development that still could turn out to be NHL players.

Brennan Othmann recorded his 42nd goal of the season as his Flint Firebirds defeated the London Knights 3-1. While his goal was a nice play, it was Othmann's swipe of his stick that set up the game-winning goal.

Othmann was 1-1-2 to improve to 42-46-88, all career bests for the future Rangers forward. The Flint captain is seventh in OHL scoring and third in goal scoring.

You have to look quickly as they only show this one once, but watch Othmann make a diving swipe to knock the puck out of the defensive zone.

Big shorthanded swipe from @NYRangers prospect Brennan Othmann (@BOthmann78) sends Sahil Panwar in alone for the game winner in London as the @FlintFirebirds take their third straight win 🎥 pic.twitter.com/ei1cGxkbR8
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) April 2, 2022

Will Cuylle's 40th goal of the season was also the game-winner as his Windsor Spitfires knocked off the Kitchener Rangers 5-3. It was Windsor's ninth straight win as they are starting to pull away from the pack to earn the OHL's Western Conference championship.

The Windsor captain finished off a "two-on-one" breakaway for the goal. It was part of an eight shot game for Cullye

His 40th goal in @SpitsHockey's 40th win! 🎉

The Johnston-Cuylle connection clicks as the @NYRangers prospect scores the game winner in his club's ninth straight victory 🎥 pic.twitter.com/cPlWcu5U4M
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) April 2, 2022

Cuylle improves to 40-35-75 with his 40 goals as the sixth best in the OHL. It was also Cuylle's ninth game-winner of the season, which leads the OHL.

Talyn Boyko earned his 26th win of the season as his Kelowna Rockets blew out the Prince George Cougars 9-2. Boyko stopped 22 of 24 shots for the win as he started out slowly and improved as the game wore on.

Boyko improved his season totals to 26-18-2-3 with a 3.10 save percentage and a 0.907 save percentage. Kelowa is chasing Seattle for fourth in the WHL's Western Conference but trails by eight points in the standings.

Matthew Rempe and his Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Tri-City Americans 6-4 on Friday night. Rempe was scoreless on one shot and was 7-7 on his faceoffs.

Seattle jumped out to a 5-0 lead in this game, then were a bit guilty of scoreboard watching and let the Americans back into the contest. Seattle has won four straight and will have a huge showdown Saturday in Portland with the Winterhawks.

Ryder Korczak and the Moose Jaw Warriors dropped a 4-1 decision to the Saskatoon Blades. Korczak was scoreless on just two shots and was 5-10 on his faceoffs.

Saskatoon and Moose Jaw are fighting for the fourth seed in the WHL's Eastern Conference. The Blades' win pulled them to within one point of Moose Jaw in the standings, with both teams having five games left in the regular season.

Brody Lamb and his Green Bay Gamblers dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Team USA NTDP in USHL action. Lamb was scoreless on one shot as his team fell three points behind Cedar Rapids and Team USA NTDP in the battle for the last playoff spot in the USHL's Eastern Conference.

Did Not Play

Dylan Garand did not dress for his Kamloops Blazers as they faced the Spokane Chiefs. The Blazers have already clinched the WHL's BC Division, so they gave Garand the night off. They might regret it as they got spanked by Spokane and missed a chance to pull even with Everett for first place in the WHL's Western Conference.

Rempe's Two Assists Lifts Thunderbirds To Win

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 09:19:00 +0000

Matthew Rempe (Brian Liesse)

With just four New York Ranger prospects playing on Sunday, it was the least likely of the group who recorded the points. Matthew Rempe had two primary assists to help his Seattle Thunderbirds defeat the Tri-City Americans.

Rempe, who entered Sunday's game with just four assists this season, made the offensive plays that he isn't known for. With the game tied at 1-1 in the second period; Rempe found Connor Roulette cutting into the offensive zone and Roulette finished the play to give the Thunderbirds the lead for good.

In the third period with Seattle up 3-1, Rempe won a puck battle deep in the Tri-City defensive zone and gave the puck to Roulette, who scored into an empty net for the final score of the game. It was a good overall game for the 6'9 center as he finished 0-2-2 on one shot with a +1 and went 12-6 on faceoffs.

🚨 FOUR CONNOR / CONOR / CONNER DAY 🚨@SeattleTbirds | @DallasStars pic.twitter.com/7Ul1pVBZLQ
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 28, 2022

Rempe improved to 15-6-21 on the season as his Thunderbirds won their third straight game and pulled to within three points of the Portland Winterhawks for third place in the WHL's Western Conference.

Brennan Othmann saw his seven-game scoring streak end as his Flint Firebirds defeated the Kitchener Rangers 3-1. Othmann was scoreless on seven shots with a -1 and a minor penalty for roughing.

The Flint captain had gone 5-7-12 during his scoring streak.

Will Cuylle saw his 12-game scoring streak end as his Windsor Spitfires defeated the Soo Greyhounds 5-4. The Windsor captain was scoreless on just one shot with a +1, and a minor for tripping.

Cuylle, who had gone 10-12-22 during the streak, was held scoreless for the first time since March 4th. The Spitfires won their seventh straight game and lead the OHL's Western Conference.

Brody Lamb and his Green Bay Gamblers were badly beaten by Team USA's NTDP team 10-1 in USHL action. Lamb was scoreless on three shots as the Gamblers were never in this game, giving up four goals in the first period.

The Gamblers, who are fighting with Team USA and Cedar Rapids for the sixth and final playoff spot in the USHL's Eastern Conference, are eighth place, two points behind both teams with just nine games left in their season.

Evan Vierling was not in the Barrie Colts' lineup as they defeated the Ottawa 67's 2-1. No word as to why Vierling did not play but he did finish Saturday's game.