Friday Night Delight

Robbie Russo (Notre Dame)

The Friday night prospect report was for the most part full of exciting games involving New York Islander and New York Ranger prospects. That is until the prospects got to the west and then blowouts became rule.

The US college games were well worth the price of admission as 2 matchups featured storied US college hockey programs as part of the Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge.

First Star Robbie Russo Notre Dame

Before the season began, I was telling people that Robbie Russo (NYI 2011 4th) needed to have a breakout season offensively in order for 2nd ranked Notre Dame to have a successful first season in the Hockey East. 5 games into the season Notre Dame is 5-0 with Russo after Notre Dame's 3-2 win over Minnesota-Duluth at 2-4-6.

For the 2nd straight game Russo had 2 assists with both being primary assists as the junior defenseman is off to the best start in his Notre Dame career. First Russo set up Jeff Costello for Notre Dame's 1st goal of the game at 10:09 of the 2nd period. 4:29 later with the score tied at 1, Russo set up Mario Lucia for a power play goal at 14:38 giving Notre Dame a 2-1 lead. Russo was on ice for all of the Notre Dame goals as they earn the 3-2 win.

Check out this article on Russo from the Notre Dame website.

Adam Pelech (OHL Images)

Second Star Adam Pelech Erie Otters

In 3 seasons Adam Pelech (NYI 2012 3rd) never had a game winning goal or a 9 game scoring streak while with the Erie Otters. A goal in Erie's 5-1 win over the London Knights and Pelech has said streak (4-6-10) as well as 2 game winning goals in his last 8 games. The win not only extends the Otters winning streak to 9 straight games but at 11-2-1-0, the best record in the OHL.

Pelech came in from the point and fired a shot from the high slot at 2:46 of the 2nd period giving Erie a 2-1 lead. Pelech is on a tear but so are the Otters which after years of losing is a welcome sight in Erie. While Hockey Canada is wondering where they are going to find defensemen for their Under-20 team, Pelech is making one heck of a case to be included.

Taylor Cammarata (Monte Draper/Associated Press)

Third Star Taylor Cammarata Minnesota Golden Gophers

Getting a chance to watch 2 of the best hockey programs play each other is great, watching them play an exciting overtime game is a guilty pleasure. It was Taylor Cammarata (NYI 2013 3rd) and his top ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers hosting 5th ranked Boston College as part of the Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge and this one was why college hockey can be so entertaining to watch.

The game's 3rd star Taylor Cammarata scored the game tying goal and almost scored the game winner (which despite the review I question) in overtime. Cammarata's goal was a very nice wrister that Cammarata made look way too easy with his shot delivery. Cammarata clearly has a ton of offensive skill as well as some solid skating skills. In overtime, Cammarata broke in and beat the defense firing a shot that depending on your point of view went in or didn't. The replay review says that it didn't but my biggest question is how come they didn't get the Boston College defenseman for closing his hand on the puck while throwing it?

Sorry from the replays I saw, if the puck did not go in then how do you miss the throwing motion? I do not believe he slapped it as there was too much of a delay before the puck left the crease area. In any event the other thing that needs to be cleared up is the game was an OVERTIME TIE not a Boston College shoot out win. The shootout round was only a practice round designed to help Minnesota get ready for Big Ten play when the shootout will be a part of the game.

Cammarata is now 2-3-5 on the season.

The Rest of the Prospects

Brady Skjei (NYR 2012 1st) registered his 1st point of the season with a secondary assist on Minnesota's 1st goal of the game. Skjei also showed off his skating as while on a penalty kill, Skjei made a play to break up the rush then turned the speed on and almost scored on a breakaway attempt. It would have been nice to see Skjei score but seeing a solid consistent effort was a nice consolation prize.

Islander prospect Jake Bischoff (2012 6th) was a health scratch.

Steven Fogarty (NYR 2011 3rd) did not score in Notre Dame's win but he had 4 shots on the night and was the starting center for Notre Dame.

Victor Crus-Rydberg (NYI 2013 5th) had his 2nd 3 point game as a member of the Plymouth Whalers but it wasn't enough as the Whalers lost to the Owen Sound Attack 6-4. Crus-Rydberg had 2 secondary assists as well as a goal in the game's last minute to improve his stats to 3-9-12.

Griffin Reinhart (NYI 2012 1st) returned to the Edmonton Oil Kings lineup with a primary assist on Edmonton's 7th goal as the Oil Kings built up a 7-0 lead after 2 periods before cruising to a 7-2 win over Kyle Burrough's (NYI 2013 7th) Regina Pats. Burroughs had 2 secondary assists on Regina's goals but they were way too little and way too late to matter.

Reinhart improves to 1-4-5 while Burroughs is 0-13-13.

Mackenzie Skapski (NYR 2013 6th) had a rough night as he gave up 6 goals on 38 shots as his Kootenay Ice were defeated by the Portland Winterhawks 6-3. Skapski ran into a very hot Winterhawk team that the win extended their winning streak to 7 games. Pretty sure that even if Skapski stood on his head that Portland would not have been denied the win.

Skapski is 5-4-2-0 2.15 goals against and 0.899 save percentage.

Ryan Pulock (NYI 2013 1st) had the primary assist on the Brandon Wheat King's only goal as they were smoked 7-1 by the Spokane Chiefs. Pulock improves to 4-6-10 on the season. We will catch Pulock when he hits Portland on Wednesday.

Loic Leduc (NYI 2012 4th) and his Cape Breton Screaming Eagles despite a 37-23 advantage in shots on goal lost to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens 5-4. This game really came down to one stat which was Alex Bureau giving up 4 goals on 9 shots in 19:09 of playing time. Leduc was scoreless on 2 shots and 1 hit.

Cristoval Nieves (NYR 2012 2nd) was scoreless as his 4th ranked Michigan Wolverines came from behind to defeat Doyle Somerby (NYI 2012 5th) and his 14th ranked Boston University 2-1. This game was part of the Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge and Michigan should say they escaped with this win as they held a 44-19 advantage in shots but had to rally in the 3rd period to earn the win.

Neither Nieves or Somerby scored for their team.

Jesse Graham (NYI 2012 6th) and his Niagara Ice Dogs dug themselves a 3-0 hole that they just could not recover from as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Peterborough Petes. Graham was held scoreless for the Ice Dogs.

Eamon McAdam (NYI 2013 3rd) was a DNP for his Penn State Nittnay Lions as they tied RIT 3-3.

Doing the Donnay

Troy Donnay (OHL Images)

The "hump day" version of the New York Ranger and New York Islander prospect report focused in on the red hot Erie Otters who led by Islander prospect defenseman Adam Pelech (2012 3rd) and Ranger prospect defenseman Troy Donnay (2013 UFA) were looking for their 8th straight win. The Otters were hosting Islander prospect center Victor Crus-Rydberg (2013 5th) and his Plymouth Whalers.

What a difference a year makes as the Otters who won all of 19 games (out of 68) last season were looking for their 10th win playing in just their 13th game. The Otters didn't disappoint as they used goals by Donnay and Pelech to break a 2-2 tie to win 5-2.

Got a clip of the goals scored but you cannot blink or you will miss them. First up is Donnay's goal, his 1st of the season which broke a 2-2 tie at 15:04 of the 2nd period was a blast from the point. The goal was just the 3rd in Donnay's career in 154 games and was his 1st career game winner. Donnay is a 6'7 project that the Rangers signed to a NHL contract and as you can see offense is not his game.

The Rangers are hoping to get a more physical Donnay back from the Otters and so far no complaints on the play of one of the Otter alternate captains. Donnay's goal starts at the 24 second mark while Adam Pelech's goal was tge very next goal starting at the 32 second mark. Give Pelech some style points as he undresses a Plymouth defender by going outside then inside to deke his way past him and give Pelech a clear lane to the Plymouth goalie. One backhand later and Pelech has his 3rd goal of the season.



Pelech earned the game's 3rd star for his play is 3-8-11 on the season as he too is one of the Otter alternate captains. Pelech's play just might earn him a spot on Team Canada as that blueline could be made up of 3 Islanders (with Ryan Pulock of Brandon and Griffin Reinhart of Edmonton the other 2).

The win was Erie's 8th and gives them an OHL best 10-2-1 for the season.

Kyle Burroughs (NYI 2013 7th) and his Regina Pats were looking to take on the Prince Albert Raiders with 1st place in the WHL's East Division on the line. The Pats came into this game with a WHL best 6th game winning streak. On this night the Pats saw their streak come to an end 3-1 despite a great effort from the Pats.

The difference in this game was goaltending and power plays as Prince Albert got some outstanding play from their goalie Nick McBride (stopped 42 out of 43) while Regina's Mac Engel stopped 17 out of 20. On the power play, it was Prince Albert going 2 for 4 while Prince Albert was 0 for 6. No need to say anymore except that Burroughs was scoreless.

Loic Leduc (NYI 2012 4th) and his Cape Breton Screaming Eagles earned a 5-2 win over the Moncton Wildcats in QMJHL play. Leduc was scoreless and just a +1 to show for his night.

Ryan Graves (NYR 2013 4th) and his Charlottetown Islanders dropped a 4-2 decision to the Saint John Sea Dogs. Graves was scoreless on 1 shot and a -1. It was just the 3rd regulation loss on the season for the Islanders who are 10-3-0-1.

Griffin Reinhart (NYI 2012 1st) was not in the Edmonton Oil King lineup Tuesday night missing the game with an "undisclosed injury." Reinhart is listed as "day to day" by the Oil Kings who are already missing 2 other starting defensemen.

The Wild Wild Wacky West

When they said that the WHL was going to be wide open in terms of no clear cut favorite to win the league championship, they were not kidding. It may still be early but in the WHL's Eastern Conference after Wednesday's games; the standing had 5 points separating 2nd place from 11th place.

Even better was how the 4 teams in that conference that had Ranger or Islander prospects were 4th-7th.

4th Edmonton (Griffin Reinhart), 7-6-0-1 15 points

5th Brandon Wheat Kings (Ryan Pulock), 7-5-0-0 14 points

6th Regina Pats (Ryan Burroughs), 7-6-0-0 14 points

7th Kootenay Ice (Mackenzie Skapski), 6-5-2-0 14 points

Sunday Fun Day

Robbie Russo (NYI 2011 4th)

Four games on the Sunday prospect schedule with a mixed bag of results but at least there was some entertaining hockey to watch thanks to the various matchups. The New York Ranger and New York Islanders both saw 3 of their prospects in action on Sunday and only 1 did not have an effect on the outcome of his team's game.

A rare Sunday college hockey matchup saw 4th ranked Notre Dame hosting Michigan Tech in the 2nd game of their weekend series and while Friday's game was a close game that was not the case on Sunday as Notre Dame took advantage of power play chances (going 4 for 12) to defeat Michigan Tech 7-3 to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Notre Dame got 2 assists from junior Robbie Russo (NYI 2011 4th) and 1 assist from sophomore Steven Fogarty (NYR 2011 3rd) to help with their attack. All of these assists came on different power plays even if they were secondary assists.

Russo got the first assist as part of Notre Dame's 1st goal of the game at 16:48 of the first period giving Notre Dame a 1-0 lead that they would take into the intermission. In the 2nd period with the score tied 2-2, Steven Fogarty registered his assist on Jeff Costello's goal at 11:11 which broke the tie giving Notre Dame a 3-2 lead. Just 18 seconds later at 11:29 with Notre Dame still on the power play, Russo would earn his 2nd assist on Mario Lucia's goal which made it 4-2 and would prove to be the game winner.

Russo earned the game's 3rd star for his play as he is now 2-2-4 after 4 games all wins for Notre Dame. Steven Fogarty earned his first assist of the season to improve to 1-1-2.

Anthony Duclair (NYR 2013 3rd) had a mixed game for his Quebec Remparts as they lost to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 5-4 in the shootout. Duclair had a goal and an assist but was a -2 on 2 shots with 1 hit, a minor for cross checking and 1-0 on his faceoffs. There is no question that Duclair has offensive skill as in 10 games Duclair is 10-6-16 (20th in QMJHL points, 6th in QMJHL goals and 12th in QMJHL power play goals).

It is in the other areas such as defense, on ice discipline and consistency which is where Duclair needs improvement.

Game 2 of the back to back series between Griffin Reinhart's (NYI 2012 1st) Edmonton Oil Kings and Mackenzie Skapski's (NYR 2013 6th) Kootenay Ice went to the Oil Kings when Reinhart setup Henrik Samuelsson for the game winning goal 41 seconds into overtime giving the Oil Kings a 3-2 overtime win.

The Oil Kings earned a split in the series with the win. Reinhart's assist was his 3rd of the season giving a 1-3-4 mark since returning to the Oil Kings from the Islanders. Skapski let his emotions get the better of him as he took a costly slashing minor at 18:37 of the 3rd period which helped the Oil Kings cash in a goal 4 seconds after the penalty expired in overtime. Skapski saw his numbers go to 5-3-2, a 2.87 goals against and a 0.906 save percentage.

Finnally Loic Leduc (NYI 2012 4th) and his Cape Breton Screaming Eagles dropped their 3rd straight game falling 7-3 to the Val-d'Or Foreurs. Leduc took a costly minor that the Foreurs cashed in for a 2 goal lead and the Screaming Eagles could never catch up after that.

Weekend Update

Adam Pelech (OHL Images)

The blog crashed on me late last night and it wasn't until Saturday afternoon that I was able to repair it so my apologies for a very lengthy post as I try to play catch up on all the action. I just combined the Friday and Saturday report so my apologies for an extremely lengthy post. It would be confusing to try to hand out stars so the report is being done in order of how well his team did.

That means that Adam Pelech (NYI 2012 3rd) and Troy Donnay (NYR 2013 UFA) get to lead things off as their Erie Otters after wins on Friday and Saturday night have a 7 game winning streak going. The Erie Otters with the best record in the entire OHL at 9-2-1-0 earned wins over the Belleville Bulls (4-3) and the Ottawa 67's (6-2).

Troy Donnay (OHL Images)

Pelech has picked up his game as of late and while it may be just a coincidence but a 7 game scoring streak (2-6-8) while the Otters are on a 7 game winning streak has to be acknowledged. Pelech on Friday against the Belleville Bulls posting a secondary assist while playing a solid game on defense. It wasn't perfect as Pelech took a 3rd period minor for "hooking" that led to Belleville's 2nd goal of the game.

On Saturday, Pelech recorded his 2nd goal of the season which was also Erie's 2nd goal of the game in the win over Ottawa. His teammate Troy Donnay recorded a secondary assist on Erie's 3rd goal which was the game winning goal but also played a strong game on defense helping Erie to record 7 kills on the power play.

Taylor Cammarata (Minnesota Golden Gophers)

The closest anyone came to earning a star was Taylor Cammarata (NYI 2013 3rd) as he had a 1-3-4 +5 weekend as his 3rd ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers swept the Bemidji State Beavers 6-3 on Friday followed by a 5-1 spanking on Saturday evening.

Cammarata recorded his first points as a member of the Golden Gophers on Friday evening when he had a secondary assist on Minnesota's 5th goal then had the only assist on Minnesota's 6th goal an empty net goal. On Saturday, Cammarata made his first NCAA goal an impact goal as it was Minnesota's 2nd goal of the game and turned out to be the game winner in their 5-1 win. Cammarata added another secondary assist on Minnesota's 5th goal of the game.

In the video, Cammarata wears number 13 and his goal starts at the 37 second mark.



Teammate Jake Bischoff (NYI 2012 7th) recorded his 1st NCAA point in Saturday's game, a secondary assist on Minnesota's 3rd goal of the game. Bischoff was a health scratch for Friday's game, played a pretty good game on Saturday. Brady Skjei (NYR 2012 1st) played in both games and was scoreless but a +1 on 3 shots.

Minnesota should move up to 1st in the next college poll thanks to losses to teams with prospects on it.

Anthony Duclair (Quebec Remparts)

Anthony Duclair (NYR 2013 3rd) had a quiet Friday evening as his Quebec Remparts defeated the Moncton Wildcats 3-0 going scoreless on 2 shots and a minor for "delay of game". Saturday was a different story as Duclair was the game's 1st start after a 1-1-2 5 shot +1 led Quebec to a 5-2 win over the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Duclair had the primary assist on Quebec's 4th goal and his goal was the Rempart's 5th goal but it came less than 2 minutes after Saint John had scored to pull within 2 goals. Duclair's goal ended any hope of a comeback as Duclair improves to 9-5-14 on the season.

The win gives Quebec a 6th game unbeaten streak as the Remparts improve to 6-5-3-0 on the year.

Sophomore center Steven Fogarty (NYR 2011 3rd) and junior defenseman Robbie Russo (NYI 2011 4th) as both were perfect examples of each having good times as well as the not so good times. The good times were that they scored first period goals as part of 4th ranked Notre Dame's win over Michigan Tech 3-2.



As you saw on the video, Fogarty scored on the rush to give Notre Dame an early 1-0 lead . It was Fogarty's first of the season as he scored the goal as part of his 4 shots,+1 and a 6-7 on his faceoffs. Fogarty also took a tripping minor just 13 seconds into the game.

For Russo, he lead the Fighting Irish with 7 shots on goal but as you saw his goal you also saw his almost disastrous play on the blueline as he coughed up the puck leading to a shorthanded breakaway chance for Michigan Tech. Notre Dame improves to 3-0 on the season,

Notre Dame will play Michigan Tech again on Sunday.

Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton Oil Kings)

Friday night it was Griffin Reinhart (NYI 2012 1st) scoring his first goal of the season as part of his Edmonton Oil Kings' 4-0 white wash of the Red Deer Rebels." This one was a story of dominance as the Oil Kings just got better as this game wore on. The Oil Kings put up a game high 21 shots to seal the game during the 3rd period.

Saturday night was a different story for Reinhart as the Edmonton Oil Kings faced Reinhart's kid brother Sam and New York Ranger prospect goalie Mackenzie Skapski (NYR 2013 6th) of the Kootenay Ice part of a Saturday/Sunday series. Griffin Reinhart set up what was the game tying goal in the 3rd period but Edmonton gave up a power play goal which gave Kootenay a 4-3 win in the first game of this mini series.

The game's 3rd star Skapski got the start in net after sitting on Friday but despite giving up 3 goals on 31 shots, Skapski earned his 5th win of the season. Skapski improved to 5-3-1 with a 2.86 goals against and a 0.908 save percentage. Skapski is expected to also get the start Sunday afternoon.

Cristoval Nieves (NYR 2012 2nd) was scoreless on Friday but had 2 assists on Saturday evening as his 5th ranked Michigan Wolverines had to settle for a 1-1 overtime tie on Friday and a 3-2 overtime win over 13th ranked New Hampshire. Nieves had a primary assist on Michigan's 1st goal on Saturday and then a secondary on Michigan's 2nd goal.

Nieves needs to get more active on offense as he had 1 shot for the entire weekend and that simply doesn't move you up the depth charts or get you a 2nd invite by Team USA for the World Under-20 squad.

Goalie Stephon Williams (NYI 2013 4th) was able to even his record to 2-2 after 2 really easy games against Connecticut as his Minnesota State Mavericks swept Connecticut 2-1 on Friday and then 6-1 on Saturday.

Williams face only 16 shots on Friday and 13 on Saturday over a team that really is more power puff than NCAA Division 1.

Ryan Pulock (NYI 2013 1st) scored his 4th goal of the season as his Brandon Wheat Kings knocked off the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-3. Pulock's goal was Brandon's 1st of the game and came on the power play. Pulock is now 4-5-9 on the season.

Ryan Graves (NYR 2013 4th) was scoreless on 2 shots but recorded 3 hits as his Charlottetown Islanders defeated the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. The Islanders won their 3rd straight game and remain in 2nd place in the QMJHL with a record of 10-2-0-1.

Kyle Burroughs (NYI 2013 7th) had an assist a game as his Regina Pats earned wins over the Medicine Hat Tigers (3-2 OT) and the Moose Jaw Warriors (4-2). The captain of the Pats had the primary assist on Regina's 1st goal against Medicine Hat and a secondary assist on their 2nd goal. Burroughs is now 0-11-11 as Regina has won 6 straight to improve to 7-5 on the season.

Jesse Graham (NYI 2012 6th) saw his Niagara IceDogs earn a point in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Guelph Storm on Friday and a secondary assist during the IceDogs' 4-1 win over the Belleville Bulls on Saturday. The points improve Graham to 3-8-11 on the season.

Adam Tambellini (NYR 2013 3rd) was scoreless this weekend as his 8th ranked North Dakota team handed Miami a rare home loss on Friday 4-2 but were spanked on Saturday 6-2. Tambellini at least on Friday evening just did not look good to me as he was caught up ice twice on Miami goals and just was not looking to make plays.

He needs to use that size to his advantage at both ends of the ice.

Victor Crus-Rydberg (NYI 2013 5th) had the secondary assist on the game winning goal as his Plymouth Whalers earned a 3-2 win over the Sudbury Wolves on Friday. Saturday, Crus-Rydberg was scoreless as the Barrie Colts defeated the Whalers 4-2. For Crus-Rydberg, the assist improved his stats to 2-6-8 on the season.

Doyle Somerby (NYI 2012 5th) was scoreless in both games as his Boston University Terriers lost to RPI 3-1 on Friday. On Saturday, Boston University upset 2nd ranked Wisconsin 7-3. Somerby was 3rd pair defenseman.

Goalie Eamon McAdam (NYI 2013 3rd) made his NCAA debut for Penn State as they took on the Air Force Academy on Friday. McAdam had a rough go of it dropping a 5-1 decision to the Air Force as he gave up 5 goals on 27 shots. McAdam was the backup on Saturday for Penn State.