By Kris Baker – SabresProspects.com
Sam Reinhart (2014, first round) scored a pair of goals Friday including the game-winner as the Kootenay ICE remained in control of the top wildcard spot for the WHL’s Eastern Conference playoffs with a 4-1 victory over Edmonton.
Reinhart’s first marker, a power-play tally from the edge of the blue paint at 7:10 of the third period, was his 300th career point in the WHL, making him the first Kootenay player to ever reach the milestone.
Reinhart began the week with an assist on the game-winning goal in Tuesday’s 5-2 triumph at Lethbridge. On Saturday, the Kootenay captain collected a pair of helpers to extend his point streak to four games as the ICE blanked Spokane 5-0.
Entering the final week of February, Reinhart has contributed 15 goals and 34 assists while collecting at least one point in 30 of 35 games.
NCAA
Cal Petersen made a career-high 44 saves Saturday as Notre Dame held on for a 3-2 victory at No. 2 Boston University. The performance was the continuation of an excellent effort the night before, when the freshman goaltender stopped 34 of shots in a 2-2 tie with the Terriers. Petersen, who entered the weekend with back-to-back Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors, has lost just one of his last five starts for the Fighting Irish to improve his season record to 9-12-3 with a 2.46 GAA and .918 save%.
Freshman center Connor Hurley logged a plus-one rating in Notre Dame’s tie with Boston University on Friday, and recorded a team-high four shots on goal in Saturday’s victory over the Terriers. Hurley has three goals and 12 points in his first 33 collegiate contests, but he’s connected for just one assist in his last 13 games.
J.T. Compher (2013, second round) picked up an assist to end a career-long five-game point drought Friday as Michigan Ohio State. Compher recorded two shots and a roughing minor in the game’s final minute as Wolverines closed the week with a 5-2 win over the Buckeyes. Compher has four goals and 14 points this season with six games remaining on the Big Ten schedule.
Hudson Fasching posted one assist Saturday as No. 15 Minnesota dropped a 4-3 overtime decision at Penn State. With 39.6 seconds left in regulation, the budding power forward sent a quick pass down low to Sam Warning for the game-tying tally. On Friday, Fasching registered two shots on goal in a 2-1 win over the Nittany Lions. Fasching is tied for ninth in team scoring with 16 points (8+8) in 29 games played.
Christian Isackson (2010, seventh round) scored his third goal of the season and eighth of his four-year career in Minnesota’s Friday triumph at Penn State. The senior forward played in his 100th NCAA contest on Saturday, finishing with a minus-one rating in a limited fourth line role.
Anthony Florentino (2013, fifth round) manned one half of the third defensive pair over the weekend as Providence won 3-2 and lost 2-1, both in overtime, to Massachusetts. The second-year man was kept out of the scoring in the conference set, extending his dry spell to six games without a point. He has two goals, nine assists and a plus-11 rating in 31 games.
Fifth-year defender Mark Adams came away empty as Providence split the pair of overtime decisions with Massachusetts. The stay-at-home senior has one goal and three points in 25 appearances for the Friars.
Maxwell Willman (2014, fifth round) snapped a 20-game point drought Friday with one assist as Brown downed Princeton 4-1. Willman was unable to make it points in two straight games on Saturday in the Bears 2-2 tie with Quinnipiac. The second-line winger has one goal, two assists, and 33 shots on goal in 26 games.
Sean Malone (2013, sixth round) produced a team-high four shots on goal Friday as Harvard was bested by St. Lawrence 5-1. The sophomore centerman was kept off the scoresheet for a third consecutive game on Saturday as the Crimson rebounded with a 3-2 victory at Clarkson. In 10 appearances this season, Malone has captured four goals, nine points and 30 shots on goal.
Jason Kasdorf stood tall with 29 saves Friday as RPI battled to a 2-2 tie at Cornell. The Engineers held a 2-1 lead in the final minute of regulation before the Big Red struck with an extra attacker with 32 seconds left on the clock. Kasdorf, who returned Saturday with 25 saves in a 4-2 loss at Colgate, has amassed a 9-16-1 record, 3.05 GAA and .896 save% while starting the last 15 games for RPI.
Brad Navin (2011, seventh round) posted two shots on goal Friday as Wisconsin earned consecutive victories for the first time all season with a 2-1 win over Michigan State. Navin was kept off the scoresheet for the sixth straight game on Saturday as the Badgers fell to the Spartans 3-0. The senior winger has five points (1+4) and 50 shots on goal in 28 games. He has recorded just one point, an assist, in his last 13 outings.
Judd Petersen (2012, seventh round) did not factor Friday as St. Cloud State edged Nebraska-Omaha 4-3. The freshman winger did not dress on Saturday as the Huskies earned the sweep with a 2-0 shutout of the Mavericks.
OHL
Justin Bailey (2013, second round) scored with a quick-rising wrist shot off a face-off win Monday as Sault Ste. Marie rolled past Sarnia 6-0. Bailey kept at it Wednesday with two more goals plus an assist to earn the game’s first star in an 8-3 hammering of Sudbury. The big winger would come up empty as the Greyhounds capped the week with wins over North Bay and Kitchener, leaving him with 34 goals and 67 points through 55 games. The Greyhounds have won seven straight games and 18 of 20 since acquiring Bailey from Kitchener.
Nicholas Baptiste (2013, third round) scored a goal in each the week’s three games as Erie skated their way to two victories and one defeat. Baptiste, who posted singles in a 4-0 win at Mississauga on Monday and a 4-3 loss at Guelph on Friday, finished the week with a power play goal plus two assists on Saturday as Erie pounded Peterborough 8-2. The three-point night boosted Baptiste to 23 goals and 46 points through 42 games.
Eric Cornel (2014, second round) notched one assist in all four games played last week as Peterborough won twice to remain in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. Cornel’s highlight of the week came on Saturday when he won a corner battle and earned an assist from his knees as part of a solid overall effort in the Petes’ lopsided loss to Erie. Cornel has points in five straight games to elevate him to a total of 47 (13+34) for the season.
Sault Ste. Marie forward Jean Dupuy notched a pair of assists in Monday’s shellacking of Sarnia, and then scored in back-to-back games on Wednesday and Friday as the Greyhounds earned home wins over Sudbury and North Bay. Dupuy, who saw his three-game point streak end in Saturday’s triumph over Kitchener, has 13 goals and 33 points in 45 games.
WHL
Brycen Martin (2014, third round) set a new career high Saturday with his seventh goal of the year as Saskatoon was thumped by Brandon 7-3. On Wednesday, Martin saw his 11-game point streak come to an end in a 5-4 loss to Red Deer. The top-pair defender has posted 21 points (5+16) in 19 games since his trade to the Blades.
QMJHL
Vaclav Karabacek (2014, second round) collected one goal and one assist Tuesday as Baie-Comeau was outgunned 6-4 by Quebec. The Czech winger was held pointless in a 4-0 shutout of Sherbrooke on Saturday. Karabacek has 37 points (16+21) in 51 games this season, including five goals and seven assists in 20 tilts since joining the Drakkar.
USHL
Christopher Brown (2014, sixth round) was shut out of Friday and Saturday losses to Chicago and Youngstown, but returned Sunday with two assists as Green Bay suffered another to defeat to Youngstown, 8-5. Brown remains the team leader with 13 goals and 32 points. He has marked just once in his last 16 games for the Gamblers, who have lost six in row.
Sweden
Linus Ullmark (2012, sixth round) stopped 30 of 31 shots Wednesday to earn his 11th win of the year as MODO claimed a 4-1 victory over Leksands IF. Ullmark was challenged in next two starts, with the bulky goaltender allowing three goals on nine shots before getting the early hook in Friday’s 6-1 loss to Linkoping HC, and then surrendering another four on 19 shots Saturday in a 4-2 defeat to Lulea HF. Ullmark has appeared in 32 games this season, along the way compiling a 3.14 GAA and a .905 save%.
Gustav Possler returned to the MODO lineup Saturday following a two-game absence, finishing with one shot on goal and a minus-one rating in the loss to Lulea HF. Through 42 tilts, the 20-year-old winger is tied for second in team scoring with 20 points (9+11). He has gone without a goal in his last 10 games.
In Wednesday action, Jonas Johansson (2014, third round) made 28 saves Wednesday as Almtuna IS was defeated by IF Bjorkloven 4-0. Johansson again earned the nod on Friday, stopping 20 of 22 shots to backstop a 3-2 win over IK Oskarshamn. Johansson is 3-3 with a 2.72 GAA and .893 save% since his loan to the Allsvenskan club.
Victor Olofsson (2014, seventh round) was unable to connect on a team-high four shots on goal as Timra IK pitched a 2-0 shutout of Sodertalje SK on Wednesday. Olofsson, who was again blanked in Friday’s 3-0 loss to Asploven HC, has scored two goals on 11 shots in four Allsvenskan appearances.
Reprinted With Permission of the Buffalo Sabres
