It's a Saturday Night And We Ain't Got No Stars

Just like it has been for the last couple of years, New York Ranger prospects will have strong Friday games and then struggle on Saturday.

Tonight's Star

On Friday Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) showed us his unexpected offensive side and on Saturday we saw the defensive side that we were expecting out of Maggio. Maggio was part of a pretty good penalty kill that held the Belleville Bulls to just 1 for 10 as the Wolves just whipped on the Belleville Bulls 7-1.

Maggio had an assist as he set up Daniel Lombardi 1st goal of the season at 19:20 of the second period for Sudbury's 6th goal of the game. What stood out besides the penalty kill was Maggio's +3 for the game which is what we have been expecting to see from him.

Maggio also had a fight with Luke Judson of the Bulls in a fight that we will call a draw because it depends on who you asked on how the outcome was.

To describe what we know of Maggio's skills as a fighter, it more like Brandon Dubinsky in his Ranger fights. He is a game customer but as we will show in this video, his balance is bad and leaves him wide open for a one shot punch.



Still it also gives you an idea of the evening Ranger prospects had.

Rest of the Prospects

Luke Walker (Traverse City) scored his 4th goal in 2 games as his Portland Winterhawks exploded for 5 goals in the 3rd period as they blew out the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-1. Walker's goal came at 7:22 of the 3rd period to give the Winterhawks a 3-1 lead and gives him a 4-2-6 on the season in just 3 games.

We will get to talk to Walker tomorrow as Walker and his Winterhawks will be facing off against Brett Connolly and the Prince George Cougars. It will be a good test for the young Winterhawk team as Connolly will be one of the top contenders for becoming the first pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.

We mentioned Connolly as he had a hat trick as his Cougars jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Roman Horak (2009 5th) and his Chilliwack Bruins but then had to hold on for a 7-6 win. Horak had 2 assists as Chilliwack made a game of it in the 3rd period.

Horak is doing a good job in adjusting to the North American game as he has already earned playing time on the Chilliwack special teams. Horak is now 1-3-4 +4 after 4 games.

Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) scored his 2nd goal of the season in the 3rd period as his Kingston Frontenacs edged the Peterborough Petes 4-3. Werek's goal at the time gave the Frontenacs a 3-2 lead as they evened their record at 2-2.

Werek is now 2-1-3 +1 in the 3 games he has appeared in.

It was a rough way to start the season but Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) finished off their season opening 5 game road trip with a 6-4 win over the Saginaw Spirit. Gaulton assisted on Erie's 2nd goal of the game for his 3rd assist of the season.

Gaulton is now 1-3-4, even and we have noticed that Gaulton's points are coming early in games so we would like to see him show us something in the 3rd period too.

Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) had a rough night in nets as he gave up 5 goals as his Owen Sound Attack lost to the defending Memorial Cup Champions Windsor Spitfires 6-3. Stajcer stopped 25 of 30 shots but the Attack downfall was their penalty kill as they gave up 3 goals on 5 power play attempts by the Spitfires as well as 1 more on their own power play.

It was a learning game for the young Attack team as they fell to 1-3-1 on the season. Stajcer is now 1-2-1, 3.23 GAA with 0.909 Save Percentage. If the Attack can improve their penalty kill then their results will greatly improve as at even strength they have been playing well.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) was scoreless, limited to just 3 shots and was a -2 as his Prince Edward Island Rocket lost to the Victoriaville Tigres 3-1. It was the Rocket's first loss in regulation as they are 3-1-0-2.

Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) had his 3rd straight quiet game as his Quebec Remparts lost their 2nd straight game this time to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens 4-3 in the shootout. Bourque had 4 shots in regulation but did not get a chance in the shootout when the Sangueneens scored on all 3 attempts while the Remparts missed on their 2nd shot to end the game.

Craig Cunningham (Traverse City) had an assist but missed on his shoot out attempt as his Vancouver Giants lost to the Everett Silvertips 4-3. Cunningham is 2-5-7, a -2 in 5 games and has been playing well as one of the veterans for coach Don Hay.

(Dan Maggio courtesy of the Sudbury Wolves)