Down the Frozen River

Tag: A.J. Greer

  • New Jersey Devils 2021-22 Season Preview

    New Jersey Devils 2021-22 Season Preview

    2020-21 record 19-30-7, 45 points

    7th in the MassMutual NHL East Division

    Missed the postseason for the third-straight year

    Additions: F Tomas Tatar, D Ryan Graves (acquired from COL), D Dougie Hamilton, D Christian Jaros (acquired from SJS), G Jonathan Bernier

    Subtractions: F Nathan Bastian (expansion, SEA), F Christoph Bertschy (NL), F Brandon Gignac (signed with Laval, AHL), F Mason Jobst (signed with Rochester, AHL), F Mikhail Maltsev (traded to COL), F Nicholas Merkley (traded to SJS), F Brett Seney (signed with TOR), F Ben Street (DEL), D Will Butcher (traded to BUF), D Connor Carrick (signed with SEA), D Josh Jacobs (signed with CAR), D Ryan Murray (signed with COL), D David Quenneville (SHL), D Colby Sissons (HockeyAllsvenskan), D Matt Tennyson (signed with NSH), G Corey Crawford (retired), G Aaron Dell (signed with BUF)

    Still Unsigned: G Gilles Senn (NL, NJD reserve list), G Evan Cormier

    Re-signed: F A.J. Greer, F Janne Kuokkanen, F Yegor Sharangovich, F Marian Studenic

    Offseason Analysis: The Devils, like Chicago, turned some heads in the first half of the 2020-21 season. Unlike Chicago, New Jersey wasn’t really anywhere near the top of the standings in their division, but at least Yegor Sharangovich’s emergence and Ty Smith’s performance was a welcome reception for a team that’s yearning for more.

    Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Pavel Zacha and Miles Wood are all growing in their roles and looking for supporting cast members that haven’t been traded in recent years (think Blake Coleman, Kyle Palmieri and others) as the winds of change sweep through the Devils organization.

    Now, it appears, is the time for New Jersey to blossom into something. What that something might be remains to be seen, however.

    Sharangovich signed a two-year extension worth $2.000 million per season as a solid bridge contract after putting up 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists) in 54 games in his first NHL season after starting the 2020-21 calendar in the Kontinental Hockey League with Dinamo Minsk, where he had 17-8–25 totals in 34 games.

    His speed is impressive, but his hands and quick shot might be even more so.

    Zacha may have led the team in scoring with 35 points last season, while Hughes trailed with 31 points, but Sharangovich was tied with Jesper Bratt for the third-most points on the roster. Few people outside of New Jersey could’ve seen that coming.

    On defense, Smith was a welcome addition to re-igniting some semblance of an offense from the backend.

    That said, P.K. Subban managed to score 19 points in 44 games and was on pace for about 27 points in a regular 82-game schedule.

    After bottoming out with 18 points in 68 games in 2019-20, Subban’s rise back to relevance times out pretty well entering a contract year for 2021-22– and with Dougie Hamilton locked up via free agency to a seven-year deal at Subban’s $9.000 million cap hit, a little healthy competition might just be the thing that he needs.

    Hamilton had 42 points (10 goals, 32 assists) in 55 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, which was down from his .852 points-per-game production in 2019-20, when he had 14-26–40 totals in 47 games prior to injury.

    At .764 points-per-game in 2020-21, though, and being only 28-years-old, Hamilton is in the peak of his defensive prime and should be a power play specialist– quarterbacking New Jersey’s defense for a long time in the new-age era of two-way defenders.

    Plus Hamilton is four years younger than Subban, so there’s less risk of things backfiring up front in Hamilton’s tenure with the Devils than Subban’s tumultuous drop in production from Nashville to New Jersey.

    It’s a risk worth taking for a team that’s looking to get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018, when Taylor Hall went on his Hart Memorial Trophy winning MVP of the regular season run prior to being eliminated in five games in the 2018 First Round by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Hall is a member of the Boston Bruins these days– a team the Devils went 5-1-2 against last season.

    The additions of Tomas Tatar and Jonathan Bernier via free agency should shore up depth in the middle-six and in the crease where Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood looked fine, but in desperate need of veteran leadership– especially as Blackwood continues to emerge in the league.

    New Jersey General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald, shouldn’t have to worry about any unexpected retirements like how Corey Crawford signed with the Devils before retiring prior to the 2020-21 season getting underway.

    Offseason Grade: A-

    Fitzgerald added one of the better free agents in the market to his roster and still has about $12.100 million in cap space to work with, which is the only reason why the Devils didn’t get an “A” since it seems like they could’ve done a little more.

    Nobody’s really expecting New Jersey to make a deep run, but they should align themselves with better chances at playoff contention given the moves made this offseason.

    For a team that’s been out of a serious run since making the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, it’s about time that the Devils get back into the playoff picture and adding Hamilton to New Jersey’s core certainly speeds things up by making the Devils a desirable destination at least.

    Whereas other teams in the highly competitive Metropolitan Division are expected to falter, New Jersey’s stock is starting to rise so right about now would be the perfect time to buy in.

    Ideally, they should be in wild card contention.

  • Rask, Bruins, shutout Devils, 3-0, clinch playoff berth

    Rask, Bruins, shutout Devils, 3-0, clinch playoff berth

    For the fifth consecutive season, the Boston Bruins are heading to the Stanley Cup Playoffs– this time, thanks to their, 3-0, shutout over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Monday night.

    Tuukka Rask (14-4-2, 2.16 goals-against average, .919 save percentage in 22 games played) stopped all 20 shots that he faced en route to his second shutout of the season for Boston. Monday’s win was the 52nd shutout of Rask’s career, as well.

    New Jersey goaltender, Scott Wedgewood (3-7-3, 3.04 goals-against average, .902 save percentage in 15 games played), made 39 saves on 42 shots against in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 31-14-6 (68 points) on the season and jumped ahead of the New York Islanders for 3rd place in the MassMutual NHL East Division standings as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Islanders, 4-2, on Monday night.

    The B’s clinched a playoff berth thanks to having won in New Jersey, regardless of the outcome of the New York Rangers’ matchup with the Washington Capitals (the Caps won, 6-3, for the record).

    The Devils, meanwhile, fell to 17-28-7 (41 points) and remained in 7th place in the division.

    Boston also improved to 3-3-1 against New Jersey this season, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, led the Bruins to a playoff berth for his fifth time in as many years since taking over the reigns behind the bench after Claude Julien was fired in Feb. 2017.

    The Bruins were without the services of Ondrej Kase (upper body), John Moore (hip), Brandon Carlo (oblique) and Mike Reilly (maintenance) on Monday.

    Cassidy told reporters ahead of Monday night’s game against the Devils that Kevan Miller would be in the lineup on Monday, but out of the lineup on Tuesday– with the expectation that Carlo returns to the B’s blue line Tuesday night while Miller is out.

    With Reilly out of the lineup, Jakub Zboril returned to Boston’s defense on the third pairing with Connor Clifton.

    There were no other lineup changes, while Brad Marchand suited up in his 800th career National Hockey League game (all with Boston)– becoming the 13th player in franchise history to appear in 800 games with the club in the process.

    Jeremy Swayman, Reilly, Trent Frederic, Chris Wagner, Greg McKegg, Carlo, Moore, Kase, Steven Kampfer, Callum Booth, Anton Blidh and Jarred Tinordi made up Boston’s long list of healthy scratches, taxi squad members and injured players on Monday.

    Not much happened in the first period except for a barrage of shots on net from the Bruins that Wedgewood turned aside with ease as the ice appeared to be tilted after 20 minutes.

    Though the scoreboard read, 0-0, Boston held an advantage in shots on goal, 17-4, entering the first intermission.

    New Jersey led in blocked shots (5-3), takeaways (6-5) and giveaways (5-3), while the B’s led in hits (5-2) and faceoff win percentage (69-31) after one period.

    Neither team had seen any action on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    Nick Ritchie (14) sent a one-timer from the faceoff dot to the left of Wedgewood just under the glove of the Devils netminder to give Boston the game’s first goal at 9:08 of the second period.

    Zboril (9) and Sean Kuraly (5) tallied the assists as the Bruins jumped out to a, 1-0, lead.

    Late in the period, Patrice Bergeron (20) sent a one-timer into the back of the twine from the low slot and reached the 20-goal plateau for the eighth year in-a-row and 12th time in his career (the 2nd most 20-goal seasons in Bruins franchise history, trailing Johnny Bucyk’s 16 seasons with 20 or more goals).

    Marchand (35) had the only assist on Bergeron’s goal as the B’s extended their lead to, 2-0, at 17:54 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action in New Jersey, Boston led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 37-9, in shots on goal, including a, 20-5, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Devils held the advantage in blocked shots (7-6), takeaways (12-6) and giveaways (8-4), while the Bruins led in hits (15-6) entering the second intermission.

    Both teams were 50-50 in faceoff win% and had yet to see any action on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Early in the final frame, A.J. Greer boarded Zboril along the wall and received a minor infraction as a result, but first exchanged fisticuffs with Clifton as the Bruins defender expressed displeasure in Greer’s actions that led to Zboril briefly exiting the ice down the tunnel before returning to the bench.

    Clifton and Greer each received five-minute major penalties for fighting, while Miles Wood served Greer’s initial minor for boarding– yielding the first power play of the night to Boston at 6:43 of the third period.

    The Bruins did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    In fact, after dominating the first 40 minutes of play, the B’s were caught in their own zone defending against New Jersey’s onslaught while Rask stood tall.

    Midway through the period, Zboril held Janne Kuokkanen and pulled the Devils forward down, yielding a power play to New Jersey as Zboril was assessed a minor infraction at 11:25.

    The Devils couldn’t muster anything on the skater advantage as the B’s penalty kill successfully avoided giving up a power-play goal against.

    Late in the period, Matt Grzelcyk (5) blasted a shot from the point that bounced off the ice, then off of New Jersey defender, Ryan Murray, and made its way into the net to give Boston a three-goal lead.

    Marchand (36) and Bergeron (25) had the assists on Grzelcyk’s goal as the Bruins led, 3-0, at 17:17 of the third period.

    At the final horn, Boston sealed the deal on a, 3-0, victory and clinched the final playoff berth in the MassMutual NHL East Division as a result.

    The Bruins finished Monday night’s action leading in shots on goal, 42-20, despite trailing, 11-5, in the third period alone.

    New Jersey wrapped up the effort with the lead in giveaways (12-5) and faceoff win% (51-49), while Boston finished the night leading in blocked shots (12-9) and hits (18-7).

    Both teams went 0/1 on the power play as the B’s improved to to 8-6-2 (5-3-0 on the road) when tied after the first period, 23-5-3 (12-5-1 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal and 22-0-2 (9-0-0 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

    New Jersey fell to 3-9-3 (0-8-1 at home) when tied after one period, 3-18-5 (0-10-3 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal and 1-22-2 (0-13-1 at home) when trailing after two periods in 2020-21.

    The Bruins face the Devils again on Tuesday in New Jersey before returning home to host the New York Rangers on Thursday and Saturday.

    Boston’s last home game of the regular season is May 10th against the New York Islanders and the B’s will finish the regular season on May 11th in Washington, D.C. against the Capitals.

  • Analysis: Isles are all-in on deep run with Palmieri, Zajac trade

    Wednesday night, the New York Islanders dealt forwards, AJ Greer and Mason Jobst, a 2021 1st round pick and a conditional 2022 4th round pick to the New Jersey Devils for forwards, Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac.

    Zajac had been on the radar of Islanders General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, since last season when New York nearly brought in Zajac from the Devils and Zach Parise from the Minnesota Wild at the 2020 trade deadline.

    This year, Zajac waived his no-trade clause to go to the Islanders.

    Palmieri, meanwhile, adds a significant component to New York’s scoring prowess with captain, Anders Lee, out for the rest of the regular season (at least) due to injury.

    New Jersey retained 50% of both Palmieri and Zajac’s salary in the transaction.

    If the Islanders advance to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, the 4th round pick becomes a 3rd round pick in either 2022 or 2023, with New York having the choice between the two to send to the Devils.

    New Jersey General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald, in the meantime, hopes both now former Devils players (Palmieri and Zajac) will go on to win Stanley Cup rings with the Islanders in 2021, and that he’ll receive the 32nd overall pick in this year’s first round in the process.

    New York is in “win-now” mode, while New Jersey is looking to sell expendable parts and build around their youth in Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Ty Smith and Mackenzie Blackwood.

    Palmieri, 30, had 8-9–17 totals in 34 games for the Devils this season prior to being traded on Wednesday and has 183-172–355 totals in 595 career NHL games for the Anaheim Ducks and Devils since being drafted in the 1st round (26th overall) by Anaheim in 2009, and making his league debut in 2010-11.

    The 5-foot-11, 185-pound, Smithtown, New York native carries a $2.325 million cap hit for the Islanders and is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

    He set career-highs in goals, assists and points in 2015-16 with the Devils with 30-27–57 totals in 82 games and had a career-high tying 27 assists the following season in 80 games with New Jersey.

    Since reaching the 30-goal plateau, Palmieri has had four consecutive seasons with at least 20 goals (five if you include the 30-goal season) entering 2020-21.

    In 38 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, Palmieri has 8-7–15 totals, including three points (one goal, two assists) in five games with New Jersey in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Zajac, 35, had 7-11–18 totals in 33 games with the Devils this season prior to being traded to the Islanders and has 202-348–550 totals in 1,024 career NHL games since making his debut in the 2006-07 season.

    A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Zajac was drafted by the Devils in the 1st round (20th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

    The 6-foot-2, 185-pound center has reached the 20-goal plateau twice in his career, establishing career-highs in goals (25), assists (42) and points (67) in 82 games with the Devils in 2009-10, and had 19 goals in 80 games in 2018-19, including 12 points on the power play.

    Zajac carries a $2.875 million cap hit through season’s end for New York and has 11-17–28 totals in 57 career postseason games, including 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 24 games en route to New Jersey’s 2012 Stanley Cup Final appearance.

    He most recently had a goal and an assist (two points) in five games in the 2018 First Round with the Devils in their 4-1 series loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Greer, 24, has not played in the NHL since the 2018-19 season with the Colorado Avalanche, in which he had 1-1–2 totals in 15 games.

    Drafted in the 2nd round (39th overall) by the Avs in 2015, Greer made his league debut with Colorado in 2016-17, and has 1-5–6 totals in 37 career NHL games (all with the Avalanche).

    He was traded to the Islanders on Oct. 11th last fall for Kyle Burroughs and has spent parts of the last five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) for San Antonio, Colorado and Bridgeport, where he had 1-1–2 totals in 10 games for the Sound Tigers thus far in 2020-21 at the time of the trade.

    The 6-foot-3, 210-pound native of Joliette, Québec is a pending-restricted free agent at season’s end and has a $700,000 cap hit.

    Jobst, 27, has yet to appear in an NHL game in his professional playing days and was undrafted.

    After four seasons at Ohio State (NCAA-Big Ten), he signed a two-year deal with the Islanders on April 2, 2019, and has spent the last two seasons with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL).

    He had two assists in six games with Bridgeport this season prior to being traded to New Jersey and 5-8–13 totals in 44 games for the Sound Tigers last season.

    The 5-foot-8, 185-pound native of Speedway, Indiana is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end and carries a $792,500 cap hit.

    Both Greer and Jobst are expected to report to the Binghamton Devils (AHL).

  • Colorado Avalanche 2019-20 Season Preview

    Colorado Avalanche

    38-30-14, 90 points, 5th in the Central Division

    Eliminated in the Second Round by San Jose

    Additions: F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, F Andre Burakovsky (acquired from WSH, then re-signed), F Joonas Donskoi, F Nazem Kadri (acquired from TOR), F Jayson Megna, F Valeri Nichushkin, F T.J. Tynan, D Kevin Connauton (acquired from ARI), D Jacob MacDonald (acquired from FLA), D Dan Renouf, D Calle Rosen (acquired from TOR)

    Subtractions: F Andrew Agozzino (signed with PIT), F Sven Andrighetto (KHL), F Gabriel Bourque (signed with WPG), F Derick Brassard (signed with NYI), F Alexander Kerfoot (traded to TOR), F Scott Kosmachuk (traded to WSH), F Max McCormick (signed with CAR), F Julien Nantel (signed with Colorado, AHL), F Carl Soderberg (traded to ARI), F Dominic Toninato (traded to FLA), D Tyson Barrie (traded to TOR), D Mason Geertsen (signed to a PTO with NYR), D Patrik Nemeth (signed with DET), D David Warsofsky (signed with PIT), G Joe Cannata (Sweden), G Spencer Martin (signed with TBL), G Semyon Varlamov (signed with NYI)

    Still Unsigned: F Mikko Rantanen

    Re-signed: F J.T. Compher, F Sheldon Dries, F A.J. Greer, F Vladislav Kamenev, F Colin Wilson, D Ryan Graves, D Anton Lindholm, D Nikita Zadorov

    Offseason Analysis: Pencil in Joe Sakic for General Manager of the Year 2019-20, because the Colorado Avalanche are a legit team on paper.

    Sakic still has about $15.615 million in cap space, but even that should be enough to satisfy– current restricted free agent– Mikko Rantanen’s needs and then some.

    Regardless, Sakic went to work on improving a roster that was one win away from the franchise’s first Western Conference Final appearance since 2002.

    First, Colorado traded Carl Soderberg to the Arizona Coyotes for Kevin Connauton and a 2020 3rd round pick on June 25th.

    Then the Avs followed it up by acquiring Andre Burakovsky from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Scott Kosmachuk, a 2020 2nd round pick and the 2020 3rd round pick previously acquired in the Soderberg trade on June 28th.

    Burakovsky was quickly signed to a one-year deal worth $3.250 million as a “prove it” contract. The 24-year-old winger is finally free from the shadows of Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Co., but now he can’t hide anymore.

    It’s a make or break year as he’s never scored more than 38 points in a season.

    Sakic made a minor move with the Florida Panthers a day after the Burakovsky trade, then made a big splash on July 1st and it wasn’t of the free agent variety.

    Colorado shipped Tyson Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot and a 2020 6th round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosen and a 2020 3rd round pick.

    The Avalanche retained 50% of Barrie’s salary ($2.750 million) in the transaction, leaving Toronto with the uneasy task of balancing their checkbooks now that Mitch Marner is re-signed.

    Barrie is a versatile defender that will give the Maple Leafs some added flavor to their special teams, but he’s a pending unrestricted free agent at season’s end. That’s not Sakic’s problem, however.

    Instead, Sakic is focused on continuing to trust in Colorado’s head coach, Jared Bednar, and Bednar’s process.

    Bednar has a plethora of new faces that he’ll have to get onboard with his plan.

    For starters, Kadri won’t have to face the Boston Bruins in the First Round (assuming Colorado makes the playoffs in 2020, which is a pretty safe bet), so Bednar shouldn’t have too much of a problem reigning him in.

    Overall the Avs are relying on their youth, a revamped defense and a stronger top-nine presence with Joonas Donskoi having signed a four-year deal at $3.900 million per season in addition to Sakic’s trade work.

    Some experts are picking the Avalanche to win the Cup in 2020, but that might be too much of a stretch too soon.

    Colorado is starting to open a championship window, however, so it’d be a major disappointment if they don’t at least get to the Stanley Cup Final in the coming years.

    Offseason Grade: A

    If there’s a team that’s a dark horse to win the Cup this season out of all the playoff teams from last season, it’s the Avalanche, for sure. That said, Sakic’s moves in the offseason may take a full year to gel (a la Erik Karlsson’s transition from Ottawa to San Jose– East to West), so it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Colorado’s knocked out before the Final.

    But in terms of fixing holes and building off of what’s already on the roster, Sakic hit it out of the park. The Avs are good and should be good as long as they don’t have to rely solely on goaltending (Philipp Grubauer is one deep postseason run away from proving his legitimacy as a starting goaltender in the NHL).

  • Tkachuk’s overtime winner propels London Knights to 2016 Memorial Cup championship

    By: Nick Lanciani

    2016-Mastercard-Memorial-Cup-logo

    The 98th MasterCard Memorial Cup is in the books and the London Knights are your 2016 Memorial Cup Champions as the CHL’s top team.

    Matthew Tkachuk, son of NHL legend Keith Tkachuk, scored the game winning goal— his second of the game— at 7:49 of overtime on Sunday to lift the Knights to a 3-2 victory over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup Final.

    A packed crowd at ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, witnessed Tyler Parsons make 29 saves on 31 shots faced for the win in a spectacular 67:49 effort. Chase Marchand made 31 saves on 33 shots against for the Huskies in the loss.

    14Knights forward, Max Jones was denied by Marchand on a breakaway with 14:53 to go in the first period on a sequence of early transitions and end-to-end action. Shortly thereafter, Rouyn-Noranda amassed a few great chances on Tyler Parsons that led to save after save by Parsons as the first period rolled along.

    Mitch Marner led a furious two-on-one the other way for the London Knights with about 10 and a half minutes to go in the first period, but Marchand stood tall for the Huskies in goal and kept it a 0-0 game.

    At 13:33 of the first period, Gabriel Fontaine took the first penalty of the game— a minor for boarding— and gave the immensely successful London Knights’s power play their first opportunity of the afternoon. But the Knights’s special teams were no match for Rouyn-Noranda’s penalty kill, as the Huskies killed the penalty with ease.

    After twenty minutes, the game was scoreless. London was leading in shots on goal 11-6 and in faceoff wins 8-2 after the 1st.

    A.J. Greer was called for roughing just 4:55 into the 2nd period and gave the Knights their second man advantage of the afternoon. Rouyn-Noranda killed the penalty without harm.

    Tkachuk opened the game’s scoring with his 4th goal of the Memorial Cup tournament on a shot that he tipped in at 9:19 of the second period to give London a 1-0 lead. This year’s Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy winner as the Memorial Cup MVP, Mitch Marner, and his teammate Christian Dvorak picked up the assists on Tkachuk’s goal.

    About 15 seconds later, Francis Perron answered back in a hurry for the Huskies and tied the game at one on a redirection of his own just about in the crease, reminiscent of former Kamloops Blazer, Mark Recchi. Timo Meier notched the lone assist on Perron’s 2nd goal of the tournament at 9:34 of the second period.

    Meier would then receive a minor penalty for tripping at 12:49 of the 2nd and send the Knights on their third power play of the night. London was unable to convert on the man advantage.

    Rouyn-Noranda_Huskies.svgPhilippe Myers went down shortly thereafter with what appeared to be a knee injury, though no update was provided to the viewers watching on Sportsnet in Canada or on NHL Network in the United States.

    Jacob Graves took the first and only penalty for London at 18:49 of the 2nd period. Graves was sent to the box for tripping and Rouyn-Noranda’s power play would extend into the 3rd period.

    After forty minutes of play, the game was tied 1-1 and the Huskies were leading in shots on goal 22-21. London was in control of the faceoff circle, having dominated faceoff wins 18-12 after two periods. Rouyn-Noranda finished the second period without scoring on Graves’s penalty and would start the third period on the power play, while London went 0/3 on the man advantage heading into the second intermission.

    The Huskies were unable to take advantage of their man advantage to start the third period and the game rolled along tied at one. After a flurry of chances at both ends, both teams settled into a rhythm.

    Rouyn-Noranda took their first lead of the night a little after the nine-minute mark in the 3rd when Julien Nantel snapped a shot past Parsons to make it 2-1. The goal was Nantel’s 2nd of the Memorial Cup. Alexandre Fortin and Jeremy Lauzon picked up the primary and secondary assists at 9:13 of the period.

    The Huskies promptly took a penalty nearly forty seconds later, when Greer sent the puck over the glass for a delay of game minor. Rouyn-Noranda amassed a short 5-on-3 penalty kill at 11:38 of the period when Fontaine was penalized for high sticking one of London’s skaters in front of the benches. The Knights were unable to convert on either of the power play opportunities, both when they had a two-man advantage and when play resumed to a normal 5-on-4 power play.

    With time beginning to wind down in the third period, Christian Dvorak tied the game at 2-2 with his 7th goal of the tournament. Aaron Berisha was credited with the only assist on Dvorak’s wrist shot goal at 15:49 of the 3rd.

    Tied after sixty minutes of regulation, the London Knights and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies went to overtime in the 98th Memorial Cup. Over the course of the entire QMJHL season, the Huskies only lost nine games in regulation. Meanwhile the Knights had not lost in any game (Memorial Cup or OHL— regular season and playoff) since the last week of the NHL’s regular season.

    Early in overtime the Knights and Huskies exchanged quick transitions and a couple of shots that rang the post and squibbed through the crease.

    But it wasn’t until 7:49 into overtime that Tkachuk fired the game winner, his second of the night and 5th of the Memorial Cup. Aiden Jamieson and Olli Juolevi were awarded the assists on the goal and the London Knights defeated the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies by a score of 3-2.

    London outshot Rouyn-Noranda 33-31, but trailed in faceoff wins 32-31 at the end of the day. The Huskies finished 0/1 on the power play on the afternoon and the Knights went 0/5.

    Sunday was the first time in 30 years that the OHL and QMJHL champions met up in the Memorial Cup Final on WHL ice, as the host city Red Deer Rebels bowed out to Rouyn-Noranda on Friday in a 3-1 loss. The last time an OHL/QMJHL matchup on WHL ice occurred in 1986, the Guelph Platers defeated the Hull Olympiques, 6-2, in Portland, Oregon.

    The Knights won their 17th game in a row, including all their games prior to Sunday and finished 2-0 against the Huskies in the tournament, having defeated Rouyn-Noranda 5-2 in this year’s round robin action. London also outscored their opponents 23-7 in the entire Memorial Cup, en route to capturing just their second CHL title— and first since 2005.

    The Knights avenged the ghosts of their 2012, 2013 and 2014 Memorial Cup appearances with Sunday’s Memorial Cup title. As mentioned before, Toronto Maple Leaf’s prospect, Mitch Marner was awarded the Stafford Smyth Memorial Trophy as the MVP of the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

    Several talented Junior players await to be drafted at this June’s NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo at First Niagara Center. We’ll have more of an outlook for all seven rounds as the weekend of June 24th and 25th nears right here on Down the Frozen River, including another rendition of a mock draft or two of Round 1. For now, though, another CHL season is in the books and the London Knights are on top of the Junior world (well at least in North America).

  • Huskies Bite Back in Rematch With Rebels, Advance to Memorial Cup Final.

    2016-Mastercard-Memorial-Cup-logo

    Alright Down the Frozen River and hockey fans, we here are going to try something new for the first time! This subject, surprisingly, doesn’t have anything to do with the NHL! What?!? I am covering a junior game for the first time! What does this mean?!?! Well, tonight we will be recapping the 2016 Memorial Cup Hockey Semi-Final Game between the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and the Red Deer Rebels. The Memorial Cup is a junior hockey championship trophy awarded annually to the CHL (Canadian Hockey League) champion. It is awarded to a team following a round-robin tourney, between four teams, between a host team, and the champions of the CHL’s three leagues: the OHL which is the Ontario Hockey League, the QMJHL which is the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and WHL which is the Western Hockey League.

     

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    The teams involved in this year tournament are the London Knights of the OHL, Red Deer Rebels out of the WHL who are also the host team this year, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies from the QMJHL, and, last but not least, the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL.

     

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    (The Brandon Wheat Kings locked up the 2nd overall spot in the WHL going 48-18-4-2 with 102 points, only four points out of first. The Wheat Kings went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup, which is given to the playoff champion. Brandon winded up crushing the Seattle Thunderbirds in five games to capture the crown and a spot to the Memorial Cup. While the London Knights finished 2nd in their division going 51-14-2-1 with 105 points to end the regular season. They actually tied the Erie Otters in their division in points, but the reason why they finished 2nd was they had one less win then the Otters. So since they finished 2nd, ended up 5th overall behind the four regular season division champs. The Knights went on to capture the J. Ross Robertson Cup, which is also for the playoff champion. They only lost two games the entire playoffs, sweeping every round after the first round.)

    Tonight was the play in game for the Championship Game against the London Knights who earned an automatic bid to the Final game after going 3-0 in round robin play. The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies had a bye into the semifinal matchup and awaited the winner of the quarterfinal game between the Brandon Wheat Kinds and the Red Deer Rebels. The Wheat Kings jumped out to a 1-0 lead halfway through the middle period. The Rebels fought their way back into the contest tying the game with a little over five minutes remaining in the game. That’s when Red Deer tallied the game-winning goal in Over Time with a minute left in extra time to punch their ticket to the Semis aginst the Huskies.

    Red Deer finished 6th overall in the Western Hockey League during the regular season going 45-24-1-2 and 93 points and clinching a spot in the playoffs. The Rebels lost in the Eastern Conference Championship Series 4 games to 1 of the WHL playoffs against, believe it or not, the Wheat Kings. While the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies were the regular season champs finishing in 1st place with an impressive 54-9-3-2 record with 113 points! That was 20 points better than the second-place team! The Huskies went on to win the Presidents Cup, which is awarded to the playoff champion. They won the required 16 games in each of the four rounds, and only lost three total games! So clearly this game was going to be a battle.

    Coming into the game, the starting goaltender for each team were a little less than impressive with their stats. The Huskies goalie Chase Marchand had an amazing QMJHL playoff run appearing in all 19 games going 15-3 with an astounding 1.35 GAA and a .946 SV% and a marvelous shutout streak of 223:23. His numbers led all netminders in the playoffs (he also led all goalies in GAA in the regular season with 2.42). Coming into tonight’s game, Chase went 1-2 with a horrid 4.02 GAA and .883 SV% in his 3 Memorial Cup Games.

    While Red Deers goalie Rylan Toth played nine games in their playoffs. His record was a less impressive 3-5-1 with a .905 SV% and a 3.19 GAA. As well as his 2-1 record, a 2.94 GAA and a .904 SV%. So clearly Marchand was much better in his playoffs then Toth. When Toth has been much better in his three games in the MC (Memorial Cup).

    Red Deer is looking to become the first host team to advance and play in the Finals since 2012. The last team to do this were the Shawinigan Cataractes who beat the London Knights 2-1 in front of their home crowd to win it all. Now if the Huskies win, it will be their first time ever in the Final.

    Alright finally (now the fun part begins) let’s get to the game! Here’s what went down:

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    The game started off with a very quick pace. Both clubs combined for a total of six shots within the first four minutes of the game. Then with the seventh shot of the first period, just 4:50 into the opening frame we finally got the game’s first prime scoring chance. Huskies defender Allan Carron grabbed the loose puck along the left side boards. Carron skated to the bottom of the left side hash marks in the slot and let a sharp wrister on net. Rebel goalie Rylan Toth was up to the task and blockered the shot into the corner to keep the score at zero.

    Then a minute later, it was Red Deer’s turn to try and break the deadlock. Rebels center Jeff de Wit flew down the right-hand side into the attacking zone, taking on the defender. Wit made some nifty moves and found his way to the left side dot. Wit noticed a shot opportunity and took full advantage as he rifled a wrist shot that was pegged for the top left corner. Huskies goalie Chase Marchand somehow, some way was able to get his right shoulder in the way and deflected the puck into the corner for his best save of the game so far.

    Five minutes later, we would then get the games first penalty. Rebels D-man Austin Strand got a two minute trip to the sin bin for high sticking minor. This would send Rouyn-Noranda to their first manpower advantage of the game. It only took the Huskies 33 seconds to strike first for the games first goal. San Jose draftee and Huskies star Timo Meier would intercept a bad pass from a Rebels D in their own zone at the top of the left circle. Meier saw Senators draft pick Francis Perron wide open across the ice on the right circle. Meier hit Perron with a sweet pass right in his wheelhouse and Perron let a one-time clap bomb go. Perron’s heat-seeking shot beat Toth far side, back in the direction he came from, to open the scoring at 1-0. This was Perron’s first goal of the MC.

    It only took Rouyn-Noranda 1:07 later to double their score. Huskies winger and Colorado pick A.J. Greer fell over with the puck in the left corner of the attacking zone. Toronto draftee Martins Dzierkals picked up the puck in the corner and drove right to the front of the net. For some reason, Rebels defenders gave him all of the time and room that he wanted. Dzierkals took advantage of this and flipped a wimpy backhand shot on net that beat Toth between his legs. Dzierkals first goal of the MC and it increased his team’s lead to 2-0.

    At the 16:51 mark of the first period, the Huskies took their first penalty of the game. Bruins draftee and Huskies D-man Jeremy Lauzon got called for roughing on Rebels center Jeff de Wit. This now put the Rebels on their first PP of the game where they looked to cut into the two-goal deficit before the intermission. Unfortunately, thanks to stellar penalty killing and goaltending, the Huskies killed it off only giving up two shots.

    The first period ended with the Huskies up 2-0 thanks to goals 1:07 apart and solid goaltending from Chase Marchand.

    The second period opened up with the Rebels in on the attack. Just 20 seconds into the period Red Deer had an offensive zone faceoff. The Rebels won the faceoff and D-man Kyle Doetzel found himself with the puck at the point. Doetzel fired a slap shot right towards the net that was deflected on its way through. Goalie Marchand looked to glove the shot down, but since it was deflected, the puck hit the top of his glove and rang right off the crossbar and out! Red Deer was that close to scoring and cutting into the lead.

    Once again, a minute later, the Rebels had another prime chance to score. Other Bruins pick and Rebels winger Jake DeBrusk came speeding down the left-hand side and into the offensive zone. DeBrusk picked his head up at the bottom of the circle and lasered a pass over to captain Luke Philp in front of the net. Philp directed the pass on net and was stoned by Marchand with his glove again to keep the score at 2-0.

    Red Deer were all over the Huskies in the opening minutes of the second period. They held the puck in the attacking zone for a while and were relentless on the puck. They managed to get five shots within the first three minutes. All the shots were high-quality scoring chances but were turned away by Marchand.

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    Rouyn-Noranda went back on to the power play 3:46 into the middle frame. Red Deer defender Josh Mahura got caught for interfering with Huskies winger Martins Dzierkals. The Huskies looked to strike on the PP for another crushing goal. Well, the Huskies got just want they wanted and scored with 42 seconds left on the power play. With all the PP time being spent in the offensive zone on the prowl for a goal. Ottawa draft pick and Huskies winger Francis Perron had the puck at the top of the left-hand circle. Perron passed the puck up to D-man Nikolas Brouillard who unloaded a nasty one-time slapper that beat Rebel goalie Rylan Toth over his glove, off the post, and went into triple their lead at 3-0. This was Brouillard first goal of the MC and team’s second power-play goal of the game.

    With 7:31 left in period two Red Deer would get another chance to score on their second power play of the game. Rouyn-Noranda winger Mathieu Boucher got caught for slashing Rebels center Conner Bleackley. Finally, after all of Red Deer’s pressure, they were able to get one past “on point” (don’t worry, that means good) Chase Marchand after a flurry of shots (three in eight seconds). Rebels center Michael Spacek had the puck at the left circle looking for options to pass to. Spacek found fellow D-man and Hurricanes draft pick Hayden Fleury open in the middle of the ice at the top of the point with a pass. Fleury wasted no time and put a one-t slapshot on net in hopes for a rebound. His wish was granted when the puck was deflected in the slot and slid right to captain Luke Philp just above the crease off to the right. Philp grabbed the loose puck and slammed the puck into the open net right before Marchand could get his pad over to his right. This was Philp’s second goal of the MC and brought his team back in the game at 3-1.

    Three minutes later Red Deer would go right back on their third man advantage hoping to strike just like last time. Huskies D-man Jeremy Lauzon would make his second trip to the box, this time for holding Rebels winger Evan Polei. Sadly for Red Deer, they were held to just one shot thanks to stellar penalty killing from Rouyn-Noranda.

    Towards the end of the period, specifically 50 seconds left, Red Deer would get one last chance before the second period would come to a close. Rebel defender Colton Bobyk, who is well known for his slap shot, decided to change it up a bit. Bobyk would fancy his luck with the puck and try to take it upon his own to score a goal. Bobyk would move on into the offensive zone just above the left circle. Bobyk ripped a wrist shot on net, that was labeled for the top right corner. Huskies Chase Marchand had other ideas and reached out and robbed Bobyk with a heavenly glove save to keep his team’s two-goal lead at 3-1 going into the second intermission.

    As the third period started, Red Deer’s players and fans realized their season was coming to an end and were pushing to get a goal.

    Five minutes into the final period, Rouyn-Noranda would get their third PP of the contest. Rebels winger Grayson Pawlenchuk got tacked with an infraction for cross checking on Huskies Mathieu Boucher. Red Deer kept their composure, only gave up one shot, and killed off the penalty with poise. Things did not get any better for Red Deer as they took another penalty four minutes later. This time, it was D-man Kyle Doetzel hauling down Huskies winger Timo Meier with a hook and sent Rouyn-Noranda to their fourth power play. Once again, Red Deer were ecstatic on the PK and killed it off.

    Then with 6:50 left in the final frame, the Huskies were looking to tack on another insurance goal. Huskies winger Timo Meier was in a battle on the left point blue line into the attacking zone. Meier made a fantastic play and tipped the puck to Av’s draft pick and streaking center Julien Nantel to send him in on a breakaway. Nantel tried fooling Rebel goalie Rylan Toth with a couple fake moves and put a little wrister on net from the slot. Toth made a confident and easy right pad save and pushed the puck into the right corner to keep the game tied and give the Rebels a little glimmer of hope.

    Red Deer tried another common tactic with 2:21 remaining. They pulled their goalie to get an extra attacker on the ice and play some 6 on 5 hockey. Well, this did not work at all one bit! Thanks to some stunning defense from Rouyn-Noranda in their own zone, they didn’t allow a single shot. This usually doesn’t happen with a man advantage, especially with the goalie is pulled, but the Huskies were up to the challenge and shut the Rebels down.

    The game ended with the Huskies pulling out the win 3-1. Rebels goalie Rylan Toth stopped 24 out of 27 shots for a .889 SV% while Huskies goalie Chase Marchand stopped a whopping 36 out of 37 shots for a .973 SV %.

    The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will now face the RED HOT London Knights and Mitch Marner in the Championship Game on Sunday afternoon at 4:30. The game can be seen on NHL Network.