Something about "3's"

Not sure what is causing all the 3 point efforts from the New York Ranger prospects as of late; but whatever it is please let them keep it up. Add Tomas Kundratek to the list as Kundratek's 3 assists helped his Medicine Hat Tigers hold off the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-3.

The game which was originally scheduled for ironically Saturday night was made up on Monday evening in Lethbridge and the Tigers almost gave this game away. The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and then had to hold on for dear life as the Hurricanes almost came all the way back in the 3rd period.

Kundratrek got his night going when he fed Tristian King for a power play goal at 13:37 of the first period for a 1-0 Medicine Hat lead. It was Kundratek's 14th assist on the season and 6th on the power play.

Kundratek then had a secondary assist on an even strength goal at 7:58 of the second period for a 2-0 Medicine Hat lead. It was assist #15 for the young defender from the Czech Republic.

And then Kundratek earned his 3rd assist of the night when he fed rookie sensation Emerson Etem for Etem's 21st goal of the season. It was Kundratek's 16th assist and 7th on the power play and a Medicine Hat 3-0 lead.

The 3rd period belonged to the Hurricanes as they fought to get back into the game but Medicine Hat was able to hang on for the win.

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Normally we take Monday's off since nobody has been playing but since we had a game why not a quick look at the latest college poll. For us the main poll is the USA Today/USA Hockey version which is not a slight against the USCHO.com poll but both polls tend to mirror each other.

This week turns out to be a rather interesting poll as Ranger prospects are represented by 3 teams in this week's poll. Maybe it is because of which teams are moving towards the top of the poll that we wanted to bring the poll up.

Boston College with 2009 First Round pick Chris Kreider jumped from 14th to 10th in this week's poll. When people want to bring up Kreider's lack of big numbers, we want to point out that (a) Kreider is only a freshman but has been playing on the Eagle's top line and (b) the Eagles have been playing against some of the better programs in college hockey and Kreider has held his own.

Do we wish he had big numbers? Yes of course we would. Did we like the pick in the first place? No but this is not Hugh Jessiman at Dartmouth as Boston College is a top program in the USA.

Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) and Ryan McDonagh (2009 Trade) saw their Wisconsin Badgers jump from unranked to 11th in this week's poll after 2 weeks of some very solid hockey. Wisconsin is one of the best defensive teams in college hockey and toss in now that Derek Stepan with 11 points in his last 4 games in on fire.

The Badgers only give up 2 goals a game and score almost double that themselves; we mention this because Stepan and McDonagh are going to make ideal additions to the Ranger system.

Danny Hobbs (2007 7th) and his UMass Minutemen on the other hand have been the surprise team early in the season but the last 2 weeks have fallen back to Earth. UMass has dropped from 9th in the polls to 15th after losing their last 3 straight games.

The difference though has been that the losses have come to 3 teams ranked in this poll (#8 Quinnipac, #9 UMass Lowell, and #10 Boston College) so it is not as if the Minutemen are playing weak opposition.

(Kundratek courtesy of the Medicine Hat Tigers, Kreider courtesy of Dennis Pause)

This Kind of Zero We Like

Tonight's Star Scott Stajcer

It was just the other night when we thought that Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) deserved a better fate after playing what we thought was his best effort against the Ottawa 67s on Friday. On Sunday Stajcer got his just reward as he earned his first OHL career shutout over Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) and the Kingston Frontenacs 2-0.

Stajcer stopped all 36 shots he faced as his Owen Sound Attack won their 2nd straight game and 4th win in their last 5 games. Stajcer himself has gone now 4-1 in his own last 5 starts.

The Scott Stajcer we have been seeing as of late is the one we were talking about during training camp. It is also ironic that Stajcer earned his shutout while facing the same goalie who's job he took in Tyler Beskorowany.

Our friends with the Frontenacs put up their game highlights and most of them center around Ethan Werek getting robbed by Stajcer than it is how well Stajcer played here. Still you will see a couple of very good saves by Stajcer on Werek as well as a couple of other Frontenacs.



With the win and shutout, Stajcer improves to 11-12-1-1, new career bests in Goals Against 3.35 and Save Percentage 0.911. We said it during the preseason and will repeat it here; Scott Stajcer has the potential to become the best Ranger goalie prospect and we expect to see more nights like this.

As you also saw from the highlights here, Ethan Werek did not play a bad game of his own. Give credit to Stajcer for most of it but in a couple of cases, Werek tried to rush his own offense which helped stop himself.

There was one moment when the 2 Ranger prospects actually exchanged some heated words with each other as in the 6 seasons of Prospect Park; it reminded us that we have never seen 2 Ranger prospects fight each other in a game.

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) did not score but was a +2 as his Sudbury Wolves won their 3rd straight game 3-1 over the Brampton Battalion. Maggio's game has settled down over the last week as it looks like the Wolves are wanting him to play the offensive minded role for them.

In the QMJHL, Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) was scoreless as his Quebec Remparts won in the shootout 6-5 over the Rimouski Oceanic. We hate sounding like a broken record but when Bourque plays center we believe his offense suffers.

Bourque just 1 shot on goal, went 4-10 on his face offs and registered just 1 good hit on the night. Bourque is a better winger than he is a center and that is where the Remparts will get the best out of him.

In the WHL, Roman Horak (2009 5th) did not score but his Chilliwack Bruins shut out Craig Cunningham (Traverse City) and the Vancouver Giants 4-0. The Bruins earned their 2nd straight win over the Giants but we expect both teams to be writing a couple of checks to the WHL to cover some fines we expect to see levied on both teams.

This game got out of hand late in the contest as when all was said and done both teams combined for 104 PIMs. The score also could have been worse if the Bruins had been better than 3 for 12 on the power play.

Finally Luke Walker (Traverse City) had 2 primary assists but his Portland Winterhawks could not hold a late 4-3 lead and eventually lost in the shootout 5-4 to the Spokane Chiefs. Walker registered his 14th and 15th assists on the season as he is now 15-15-30 +13 for the season.

As a reminder the Seattle Thunderbirds will be donating 100% of the proceeds from online ticket sales on Wednesday Dec 9th from 9 Am - 9 Pm to the Lakewood Police Independent Guild.

In case you have forgotten, the Lakewood Police Department had 4 officers murdered last Sunday. For more information please check here.

We also want to salute those who attended Saturday's game between the T-Birds and Everett Silvertips. Those fans donated over $10,000 to the Lakewood Police Independent Guild.

(Stajcer courtesy of OHL Images/Terry Wilson)

Triple Threes

We thought that Friday night was a pretty good night for the New York Ranger prospects but the prospects went out and topped that with a very good Saturday night.

First Star Chris Doyle

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) came one assist away from becoming the first New York Ranger prospect in the time we have been doing Prospect Park to record a Gordie Howe Hat Trick with an actual Hat Trick.

Doyle's first hat trick of the 2009-10 season powered the Prince Edward Island Rocket to a 5-3 road win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. It was Doyle's second career Hat Trick in the QMJHL.

Doyle also had his second fight of the season as he took on Vincent Arseneau in a bout that depending on which team you rooted for that player won. We did not see the video on the fight so we have no idea which way it went.

Doyle got his night going when he scored his 12th goal of the season at 3:28 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1. In the second period, Doyle gave the Rocket a short lived 3-2 lead when he cashed in a feed from Adam Polasek for his 13th goal of the season (4th on the power play) at 12:23.

Finally in the 3rd period, Doyle put the game away with his 14th goal of the year at 19:02 when he got the hat trick on an empty net goal off a feed from Jarrad Struthers. Doyle is now 14-14-28 as he was awarded the game's second star by the local Titan media.

Doyle overall had a solid line for the night 3-0-3, +1, 5 PIM, 8 shots, 5-3 on faceoffs 1 "good" hit.

Second Star Craig Cunningham

At the same time Craig Cunningham (Traverse City) came 1 fight away from being the first prospect to record a Gordie Howe with an actual Hat Trick as Cunningham recorded his second 4 point night of the season to lead his Vancouver Giants to a 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.

In scoring his first WHL career Hat Trick, Cunningham scored first at 17:35 for his 15th goal of the season on the power play and a 1-0 Giant's lead. Cunningham made it 2-0 when he scored his 16th at 10:24 at even strength.

Cunningham then turned playmaker and set up linemate Brendan Gallagher's 20th goal of the season and the eventual game winner at 15:58 of the 2nd period. Gallagher had set up Cunnigham's first 2 goals in the game and eventually also wound up with a 4 point night too.

After Edmonton had cut the Giant's lead to 3-1, Cunningham and Gallagher teamed up again to put the game away with his hat trick goal (# 17) at 3:45 of the 3rd period. Cunningham wound up 3-1-4, +4 and the game's first star.

Cunningham at 17-30-47 not only leads Ranger prospects in scoring but is now 3rd overall in the WHL.

Third Star Derek Stepan

OK we can say it now, Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) is not just hot, he is on fire. Give the sophomore from Hastings Minnesota 3 more assists as Stepan has a 4 game scoring streak (2-9-11) after his Wisconsin Badgers blew out Michigan Tech 6-0 for the weekend sweep.

Stepan's 3 assists were all primary assists including one highlight reel pass to Brendan Smith left Smith so wide open he had no trouble scoring. That also was the first assist and goal of the game as Stepan and his Badgers took advantage of a 5 minute power play to score 3 times on that power play.

Stepan had assists on Wisconsin's 1st, 3rd and 5th goals as they improved to 10-5-1 on the season. Stepan improves to 5-15-20 as the 2nd leading scorer on the Badgers and with those 20 points in 15 games is right on track to where we expected him to be.

The Rest of the Ranger Prospects

Ryan McDonagh (2009 Trade) in the same game did not score but took 3 shots and was an even for the evening. When people wonder why we get so excited about both McDonagh and Stepan's potential; it is because Wisconsin's coach Mike Eaves teaches team defense.

McDonagh is 2-7-9 +8 on the season (Stepan is a +4) but as a team Wisconsin has only 1 player who is a minus on the season (out of 24). In 16 games, the Badgers have only allowed 32 goals total and this is what we have to look forward too from these 2 prospects.

Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) had a secondary assist to extend his own scoring streak to a career high 5 games (4-3-7) as his Michigan Wolverines edged the Ohio State Buckeyes 2-1. Hagelin was also a key performer on a Michigan penalty kill that has now killed 23 straight power plays (over 5 games).

Hagelin shares the team lead in scoring with 8-7-15.

Luke Pither (Traverse City) set up what proved to be the game winning goal as his Barrie Colts won their 17th straight game 6-1 over the Niagara Ice Dogs. Pither's assist was his 21st on the season as he is now 21-21-42 and has his own 4 game scoring streak going (2-3-5).

Roman Horak (2009 5th) was scoreless but a +2 as his Chilliwack Bruins fell to the Calgary Hitmen 6-3. Horak was introduced to a North American tradition in this game as the Bruins held their annual Teddy Bear Toss (no word on how many Bears hit the ice).

Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) was scoreless as his Saskatoon Blades were whipped by the Red Deer Rebels 5-1. Klassen did take a roughing minor as he took exception to being interfered with and responded.

Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) was also scoreless but a -2 on 3 shots and 6-7 on faceoffs as his Quebec Remparts were beaten at home by the Val-d'Or Foreurs 5-2. We still do not think Bourque's NHL future is at center the more we see his play there.

Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) had a power play assist as his Erie Otters needed to go to the shoot out before edging the Sarnia Sting 3-2. For Gaulton it was his 12th assist which is a new career high for the young defenseman.

Chris Kreider (2009 1st) was scoreless but took 5 shots and was more active as his 14th ranked Boston College Eagles defeated Boston University 4-1. Kreider's potential should not be measured in how many points he has in his freshman season but how he is being used and so far Boston College is using him in all situations.

That alone is a good sign.

Max Campbell (2007 5th) was back in the Western Michigan lineup after being a healthy scratch as the Broncos went to a 4-4 overtime tie but lost in the shootout round to the Alaska Nanooks. Campbell was the 3rd line center and was scoreless despite 4 shots.

Danny Hobbs (2007 7th) had an assist but his 9th ranked UMass Amherst Minutemen lost to the 8th ranked UMass Lowell Riverhawks 5-3. For Hobbs it was his 5th assist of the season and 7th point as his Minutemen lost their 3rd straight game all to ranked teams.

Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) had the night off as his Owen Sound Attack defeated the Belleville Bulls 5-3.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers saw their game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes postponed due to bad weather.

Finally they may not have any Ranger prospects on their team but we are going to post this over the next few days because the Seattle Thunderbirds are going to donate 100% of the online ticket proceeds to the Lakewood Police Independent Guild during a 12 hour period on Wednesday December 9th for tickets to their game on Friday night.

I have one brother who is a police chief in a town in Oregon, another who just retired from the Federal Way (Wash) PD and a brother-in-law who is a homicide investigator in California. I am proud of all 3 but I am also thankful that I have never gotten that phone call that family members dread.

Please if you can read this and follow the instructions on Wednesday to help the T-Birds support the men and women of the Lakewood Police Department. Sell Out the Showare Center.

(Doyle courtesy of Katherine Ep, Cunningham courtesy of the Vancouver Giants, Stepan courtesy of Melody Hasse)

Pick A Star Any Star

Friday night was a pretty good night for the New York Ranger prospects as once again several of them put on the kind of performances that made them each worthy of being the our first star.

Tonight's First Star Daniel Maggio

Earlier this week we called upon the Ranger's 6th round pick to decide what kind of defenseman he was going to be. On Friday evening Daniel Maggio showed the offense that had disappeared from his game since early this season.

Maggio scored his first 2 goals since October 23rd as he set a new career high with his 6th and 7th goals in helping his Sudbury Wolves come from behind to defeat the Brampton Battalion 5-4 in the shootout. Maggio earned the game's first star for his play as the Wolves rallied from down 2 goals in the game's final minute of regulation.

Maggio's night got going when he scored off a blast from the point at 16:28 of the 2nd period to cut the Brampton lead to 3-1. The goal came 9 seconds after Brampton had scored for that 3-1 lead.

Then with the Wolves down 4-2 and under a minute to play, the Wolves pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. Maggio scored what has to be his biggest goal of the season as he scored his 2nd of the game at 19:08 to cut the lead to just one.

28 seconds later, teammate Eric O'Dell scored the game tying goal to force overtime and then the shootout. Then O'Dell scored the only goal in the shootout to give the hometown Sudbury fans a very happy win.

Maggio is now 7-9-16 in just 31 games and he needs just 4 more points to tie his career high of 20 points.

Second Star Scott Stajcer

Sometimes we think Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) just deserves some better luck as he did on Friday night. Stajcer stopped 39 out of 40 shots but it just was not enough as his Owen Sound Attack lost a heartbreaker 2-0 to the Ottawa 67's.

Stajcer played in our eyes one of his best games of the season; for 53:13 Stajcer stopped shot after shot. But it was one of those nights where it was just not meant to be as Ottawa outshot the Attack 41-27.

Stajcer may have lost this game but he improved his numbers on the year to 10-12-1-1, new career bests in goal's against at 3.49 and save percentage 0.907. One has to wonder just what his numbers would be like if he was playing on a contender not a rebuilding team.

Credit to the 67's for awarding Stajcer the game's 3rd star on the road.

Third Star Carl Hagelin

There is no question that Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) is doing his best to try to carry the Michigan Wolverines as they struggle this season. Like Stajcer, Hagelin deserved a better fate as Hagelin scored a goal and an assist as Michigan lost 5-3 to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Hagelin's 8th goal of the season brought the Wolverines to within 4-3 with just 3:04 left in regulation but the Wolverines gave up an empty net goal and that was it. Hagelin also had a secondary assist on Michigan's 2nd goal which at the time tied the score at 2-2.

Hagelin has a 4 game scoring streak going (4-2-6) which ties his career best. With the points, Hagelin now is Michigan's leading scorer for the first time in his career as he leads with 14 points (8-6-14).

Hagelin also leads the Wolverines in goals with 8.

Fourth Star The Badger Brothers

This is one of those good news, bad news type of deals; if you are a Ranger fan this is good news but if you going to have to face the Wisconsin Badgers then it is bad news. We decided to award a 4th star because Ryan McDonagh (2009 Trade) had a goal and Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) 2 assists as the Wisconsin Badgers whipped on Michigan Tech 8-2.

For McDonagh it was his 2nd goal of the season as he is starting to look like he is getting healthy again after struggling with some minor injuries. But Stepan is now on a hot streak as he improves his season numbers to 5-12-17 thanks to a 3 game scoring streak of (2-6-8).

Now that is good news for Ranger fans as these 2 prospects are going to play important roles in the Ranger's future. McDonagh as the defensive stopper the Rangers lack on the blueline and Stepan teaming with his fellow American prospects Chris Kreider and Ryan Bourque to provide the offensive attack that is what John Tortorella wants to play.

Wisconsin now has 4 out of their last 6 games.

The Rest of the Ranger Prospects

Call it "Match Up Friday" as 3 different sets of prospects and their teams faced off with each other.

Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) and his Saskatoon Blades broke a 2 game losing streak when they came back to tie the game with 24 seconds left in regulation and then went on to win in the shootout over Tomas Kundratek's (2008 3rd) Medicine Hat Tigers. This was actually a pretty good defensive battle as both prospects played well even if neither scored in the game.

We are going to give the slight edge in this one to Kundratek as he and the Tiger penalty kill shut down the Blade power play 0 for 5 as Medicine Hat was 1 for 4 on theirs. It was one of the better defensive efforts by the Tigers we have seen this season which is saying a lot given their previous struggles on defense this season.

Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) returned from his lower body injury but really his Erie Otters were no match for the red hot Barrie Colts and Luke Pither (Traverse City). The Colts won their 16th straight game 6-3 as Pither earned a primary assist (20th assist, 41st point) on Barrie's 5th goal.

Barrie broke a 3-3 tie with 3 goals in the 3rd period for the win. Gaulton was a -3 but really the Colts right now are on one of those streaks where they can do no wrong.

Chris Kreider (2009 1st) did not score but his 14th ranked Boston College Eagles upset instate rivals 9th ranked UMass with Danny Hobbs (2007 7th) 3-1 on the road. Both Ranger prospects had rather quiet games in this one.

Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) had a secondary assist and was a +2 as his Kingston Frontenacs defeated the Mississauga St. Michael's Major's 3-1. Werek is now 15-16-31 +11 for the season.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) had a mostly quiet night as his Prince Edward Island Rocket defeated the Halifax Moosehead 8-5. Doyle was used as the 2nd line center did not score but was 9-9 on his faceoffs, -1 with 3 shots on goal and 1 "good" hit.

Luke Walker (Traverse City) did not score but his Portland Winterhawks came back with 4 third period goals to defeat the Everett Silvertips 5-3. In case you missed it Walker earned an invite to the Team USA World Under-20 Camp along with Stepan, Bourque and Kreider.

Craig Cunningham (Traverse City) had 2 assists (#'s 28 and 29) to increase his prospect leading point total to 43 but his Vancouver Giants lost to the visiting Calgary Hitmen 5-4. Cunningham is 6th in the WHL in scoring at 14-29-43.

If it is December then sadly then it is time for Max Campbell's (2007 5th) annual healthy scratch. Western Michigan scratched the junior center as they went out and defeated the Alaska Nanooks 3-1. "Soup" is one of our favorite prospects but while we hope this lights a fire under him as it did last year; he will not get to the NHL this way.

Campbell is a natural goal scorer but when his coach has to do this for the 2nd year in a row it is hard to not be critical of him.

(Maggio and Stajcer courtesy of OHL Images/Terry Wilson, Hagelin courtesy of Mlive.com, Stepan and McDonagh courtesy of Melody Hasse)

Things Were Just Ducky

OK so we will plead guilty to spending our evening following the 113th playing of the Civil War but if you watched the game you got to see a great game won by the Oregon Ducks 37-33.

The win sends the local Oregon Ducks to the a New Years Day date with Ohio State at the Rose Bowl but there were some things about the events leading up to and including the game that reminded us of days gone past at Madison Square Garden.



First off remember the days when they used to bring out the decibel meter to measure the sound of a Ranger playoff crowd? Well that is what it is like for a game at Autzen Stadium. The Duck fans sadly have the well earned rep as some of the worst behaved in the Pac-10 (unlike Ranger fans) but the noise factor is one of the best anywhere.

The other thing that gets us is this video from about as it also reminds us of days gone past when Ranger fans would have this kind of loyalty to the team. Thanks to the ownership of the Dolans, I am sorry to say the loyalty is not as strong as it once was.

It is a shame to because like attending a Duck game, the Ranger games win or lose used to be pure joy especially at playoff time. The Rangers have lost that touch with the fan base and it is a huge shame because the fun has disappeared.

Funny thing is that these kids who put this video together actually freaked the Oregon brass out because of the use of the Oregon Duck mascot. The mascot is Donald Duck and Disney licenses him to the U of O but since the students did not get permission to use the Duck, the school was afraid that Disney was going to pull their license to use him.

That part reminded us of the Dolan ownership with the petty nonsense that led to the Yanks and Mets starting their own channels and the rest of us getting to pay extra now for it.

But for a night it was a lot more fun to see happy folks both Ducks and Beavers at the Civil War, putting on a great show for the US to see and while we was pulling for Benny Beaver; it was not meant to be.

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Just 2 prospects in action on Thursday evening and in a way you can see that the players are now running out of gas just trying to make it to the annual holiday break on December 20th.

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) and his Sudbury Wolves played an entertaining game on the road against the Peterborough Petes winning in the shootout 5-4. While Maggio did not score, the game itself was a back and forth affair more like pond hockey than anything else.

The Wolves jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Petes stormed back with 4 unanswered goals of their own to take a 4-2 lead. The Wolves then responded with 2 in the 3rd period to tie the game and force it to overtime and then the shootout where they finally won.

Maggio as mentioned was scoreless but also a -1 and had a minor for tripping.

Got to hand it to Luke Pither (Traverse City) and his Barrie Colts as they went out and won their 15th straight game 5-3 over the Niagara Ice Dogs. Pither scored his 21st goal of the season (5th in the OHL) in the win as the Colts now have not lost in regulation since October 15th.

Imagine what it would be like to see a Ranger 15 game winning streak?

A Mixed Wednesday

Wednesday at least for the New York Ranger Prospects started out to be a very good day but sadly ended with the 3 prospects playing all on the losing end of the stick.

First though the good news as expected Chris Kreider (2009 1st), Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) and Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) all were named to the Team USA World Under-20 Championships preliminary roster.

It is the first time that anyone can recall 3 Ranger prospects all making it this far in the same year on an American team.

All 3 are deserving of this chance to try to make the final roster as they attend a pre-tournament camp in Grand Forks, North Dakota December 17-19th. We believe that Stepan and Bourque are heavy favorites to make the US roster while Kreider we believe is going to need a very strong camp to earn a spot.

What we did not expect to happen was that Luke Walker (Traverse City) of the Portland Winterhawks also received an invite to the US camp which gives the Ranger prospects 4 names on the roster. Walker is a huge long shot to make the team but that he received an invite says a lot about the Winterhawk forward featured in the current edition of the Blueshirt Bulletin.

Canada also released their invites to their camp and while no Ranger prospect is on the list at the moment, Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) remains a possible injury replacement or secondary invite. We hold out hope that Werek will be given a call based upon his 15-15-30 numbers with the Kingston Frontenacs.

The Czech Republic also invited Roman Horak (2009 5th) to take part in their pre-tournament camp which will be held we are told in Regina. Horak is a very deserving invite having a surprising season with the Chilliwack Bruins. Should Horak make the roster he will follow in the footsteps of his own father as a member of a Czech National Team.

Team Russia has invited Evgeny Grachev (2008 3rd) to try out for their team but the Russian Hockey Federation is claiming that the Rangers have refused to release Grachev so he can play for them. Laurie of Beyond the Blueshirts calls the Ranger refusal a mistake and we agree with her.

The Russians have appealed to the International Ice Hockey Federation to get the decision changed but we believe the Rangers will not change their mind. It would be a second mistake by the Rangers as Grachev is in the need of a confidence booster and if they are fearing that Grachev would return to Russia that would be still another mistake.

Grachev wants to play in the NHL and knows that his best chance is to develop at Hartford; going back to Russia would make his dream of playing in the NHL that much harder.

No other Ranger prospects are expected to take part in the 2010 Championship but even if 5 do make it then that would still be an acceptable number.

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The Prospect Game Report

It was Chris Doyle (2008 5th) and his Prince Edward Island Rocket's turn to try to beat the Saint John Sea Dogs and they failed 4-1 as the Sea Dogs won their 18th straight game. The Sea Dogs now own the 5th longest winning streak in QMJHL history (record is 25 games set back in 1973-74 by the Sorel, Éperviers)

Doyle set up the Rocket's only goal as he fed Jarrad Struthers for a power play goal in the 2nd period which at the time cut the Sea Dog's lead to 2-1. Doyle thought struggled the rest of the night finishing with a -2, 1-4 on his faceoff, and 2 PIMs.

Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) and his Saskatoon Blades were 4th in the CHL Weekly Rankings that came out on Wednesday. They then went out and proceeded to get whipped by the Brandon Wheat Kings 7-2 for a rare 2 game losing streak.

Klassen had an interesting evening in his own right; first he got a secondary assist on the Blades first goal of the game on the power play for his 13th point of the season. Then Klassen earned more PIMs in this game than he had in all of November (13-10).

Klassen took 3 cross checking penalties (including a rare double minor for it), a hooking call and his first fight of the season against Matt Calvert that was not much of a fight. Neither landed any serious blows as both were off balanced and fell down.

Honest call is that Calvert came to the aid of a teammate that Klassen had crosscrecked into the boards so give Calvert marks for defending a teammate.

Craig Cunningham (Traverse City) and his Vancouver Giants became the latest to lose to the Kootenay Ice on their British Columbia swing as the Ice won their 4th straight game 6-2. Cunningham was held scoreless and was a -1 with 2 PIMs.

An FYI for those living in the Northwest (thanks to Gregg Drinnan):

A note from the Seattle Thunderbirds, who are offering four free tickets to all police officers for Saturday’s game against the visiting Everett Silvertips:

The Seattle Thunderbirds organization appreciates all that the law enforcement community does to keep citizens safe and secure. The entire Thunderbirds organization was shocked and saddened by the tragic events that unfolded in Lakewood on Sunday.

The Lakewood Police Independent Guild will be in attendance at the game against the Everett Silvertips on Saturday at ShoWare Center accepting monetary donations for the Guild. All donations and proceeds that the Guild obtains go to the children of fallen officers in a trust.

(Bourque courtesy of Katherine Ep)

The Czechs Out

The only prospects to see action on Tuesday evening also happen to be the Rangers only 2 prospects from the Czech Republic. Both player's teams however struggled and lost at home.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) had a secondary assist on a power play goal as Medicine Hat lost to the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-1 at home. For Kundratek it was his 13th assist on the season but it was not enough.

Kundratek did take 2 roughing minors in the game but that does remind us that we need to give him some credit for.

We have been remiss in not giving Kundratek credit for this season has been his keeping the gloves on. Last season perhaps in part due to enjoying his jump to North America, Kundratek got into a few fights that maybe he should not have.

As talented a player as a Kundratek is, the lesson he needed to learn was when to drop the gloves and when not to. So far this season, Kundratek has heeded that lesson as the Tigers need his presence on the ice not in the penalty box.

Roman Horak (2009 5th) on the other hand has not experienced his first North American fight and with his talent we hope he doesn't experience it for a long time. Horak is quickly establishing himself as a solid 2 way forward for the Chilliwack Bruins and they can ill afford Horak spending a lot of time in the penalty box.

Horak was kind enough to take the time to talk to us over the phone for a profile that will be featured in the December Issue of the Blueshirt Bulletin today. His Bruin team then was an even more generous host as they lost to the Kootenay Ice 7-2.

Horak on the game was a -1 with a tripping minor but this was a matchup of a rebuilding team going up against a team on the rise. The Bruins fell to 2 games under 500 with the loss at 12-14-1-4 but are very much in the playoff hunt playing in a division where only one team has a winning record.

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Let us send our congrats to one time Ranger Tony Amonte as he was enshrined in the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Amonte was joined by Tom Barrasso, John LeClair, the late Frank Zamboni and the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team.