Tricked to Earn The Treat

Halloween lived up to it's name for the New York Ranger prospects as some got tricked while others of course gave us some very nice treats with their play.

Tonight's Star

If Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) asked us for a suggestion as for who he should be on Halloween then we would say Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde as that would be the ideal choice to describe how his season has gone. It has been a season of ups and downs for the Owen Sound Attack goalie but on Saturday he gave us quite a treat.

Stajcer followed up his win from last night over the Plymouth Whalers with an even better performance against the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors on Saturday evening. Stajcer earned the game's "First Star" after he stopped 43 out of 44 shots to lead Owen Sound to a 4-1 win.

Stajcer had a shut out for most of the game before losing it in the game's last 3 minutes thanks to a video review; actually there were 2 different video reviews on Major's scoring chances. The first was overturned but not the second costing Stajcer what would have been his first shutout in his OHL career.

Still Stajcer has to be happy with back to back wins that improve his record to 6-8-1-1 while lowering his goals against to 3.61. Stajcer also raised his save percentage to 0.904.

The Rest of the Ranger Prospects

It has been a strange week for Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers. Kundratek missed 3 games due to the flu but his teammates did not miss him winning 2 of the games by a combined score of 16-3. Kundratek returns and the Tigers lose 3 straight by a combined score of 17-4.

Of course you know for Halloween, the Tigers return home and blow out the Seattle Thunderbirds 11-2. Kundratek had 2 assists on the evening as he is now 0-9-9 for the season.

Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) set up what proved to be the game winning goal with his 3rd assist of the season as the 5th Michigan Wolverines made it a weekend sweep over the Lake Superior State Lakers 6-3. Hagelin is 3-3-6 for the 4-2 Wolverines

The Badger Brothers Ryan McDonagh (2009 Trade) and Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) both had strong games as the Wisconsin Badgers whipped the University of New Hampshire 6-1. McDonagh had an assist on Wisconsin's first goal for his 4th assist of the season while Stepan was scoreless but a +2.

Roman Horak (2009 5th) had a secondary assist on Chilliwack's last goal of the game to extend his scoring streak to 6 games as his Bruins extended their winning streak to 3 games with a 4-2 win over the Calgary Hitmen. Horak during his streak has gone 4-3-7 to improve his season numbers to 5-10-15.

Sam Klassen (UFA 2009) did not score but was a +2 for his 4th straight "plus" game as his Saskatoon Blades won their 4th straight 4-3 over the Moose Jaw Warriors. Klassen ended the month of October with an impressive +17 in 13 games with just one "minus" game the entire month.

One can make a direct link to Saskatoon's record and Klassen's elevated play as going back to October 7th when Klassen scored his first points of the season; the Blades have gone 10-1 since then. The Blades have the 2nd best record in the entire WHL at 12-3-0-2.

Also hot is Luke Walker's (Traverse City) Portland Winterhawks as they won their 5th straight game 2-0 over the Spokane Chiefs. Walker was scoreless as his Winterhawks have the 4th best record in the WHL.

Mitch Gaulton (2007 6th) was scoreless as his Erie Otters spotted the Plymouth Whalers a 3-0 lead and could not finish their rally as they lost 4-3. Those who have asked or saw the tape on You Tube, the latest we have is that Kitchener defender Ben Fanelli is in stable but critical condition.

Like everyone else we are hoping that Fanelli makes a full recovery but we will reserve judgment on Michael Liambas until the OHL takes action. For those interested about what happened to Kitchener defenseman Ben Fanelli is right here.

Luke Pither (Traverse City) was held scoreless but his Barrie Colts were able to edge the Niagara Ice Dogs 2-1.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) and his Prince Edward Island Rocket were shut out by the Montreal Juniors 3-0.

Daniel Hobbs (2007 7th) and his UMass Minutemen saw their unbeaten streak end at 4 as they lost to the Providence Friars 2-1. The stats make it look like UMass played decently but most reports say that their effort was weak at best.

Max Campbell (2007 5th) and his Western Michigan Broncos lost to Michigan State 5-3 to wind up being swept for the weekend series. Campbell was held scoreless for the weekend.

(Stajcer courtesy of the Owen Sound Attack)