Jiri Jakes has been hot as of late. In the last 5 games, the rugged Czech winger has tallied 3 goals, 2 assists, and 14 penalty minutes. The Brandon Wheat Kings are currently tied with the Regina Pats for first place in the WHL’s eastern division heading into the final week of the regular season.
It looks as though the injury bug has once again bitten Seattle Thunderbird winger Darren McLachlan. The rugged forward appears to be out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury. The second last place Thunderbirds will oppose either the Portland Winter Hawks or Spokane Chiefs in a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL playoffs.
Shaone Morrisonn ended the Kamloops Blazers 0-29 Power play drought,scoring on a 5-on-3 opportunity against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Morrisonn,who missed action with a concussion after taking a stiff check from Tri-City RW Scott Kelman back in January, was selected to play in the WHL all-star game but was replaced by Seattle Thunderbird rearguard Matt Spiller.
Blazers tough guy Colton Orr has yet to return to action after breaking his hand during his first game of the season. The Blazers have lost four straight games for the first time this season.
NCAA
University of Denver winger Greg Barber entered the WCHA post-season play on a 5 game scoring streak. Denver advanced to the second round of the WCHA playoffs with a sweep over Michigan Tech. In the two games against the Huskies, Barber scored 1 goal and received 1 minor roughing penalty. The 2001-02 Pioneer squad becomes only the fourth team in Denver’s 52-year history to record 30 wins in a season and is four shy of the school record (34) set by the 1985-86 team.
John Cronin assisted on goals by Freddy Meyer and Jack Baker as the Boston University Terriers closed out the regular season against the Maine Black Bears on March 2. In the first game of its best-of-three quarterfinal series against Providence College, the Terriersskated to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory.
Brett Nowak scored in the third period to send the Harvard Crimson into overtime against Brown in the ECAC quarterfinals. Dominic Moore scored in the second overtime for Harvard to sweep the series against Brown. For the second consecutive season, the Harvard Crimson has advanced to the conference semifinals in Lake Placid, New York.
Jordan Sigalet stopped 31 shots as the Bowling Green Falcons closed out the regular season with a 4-1 loss against Notre-Dame on March 2. Bowling Green lost the second game in a best-of-three series at Michigan State. The loss ends Bowling Green’s hockey season in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Tyler Masters was in goal for both playoff losses for the Falcons.
Matti Kaltiainen earned Hockey East Rookie of the Week on March 4 after his performance in the Boston College Eagles 2-1 loss to third-ranked New Hampshire on Sunday, March 3. He made 25 saves, including two one-on-none breakaways in the third period to preserve a one-goal deficit. This is Kaltiainen’s third honor as the rookie of the week. He was honored in November after his back-to-back victories over Providence and then-undefeated Boston University. He also shared the award on Jan. 2 after stopping 50 shots in the Eagles’ 5-1 championship game of the Silverado Shootout against Minnesota-Duluth.
Dave Spina pulled the Eagles within one goal of the third period when he knocked in an Andrew Alberts rebound right at the doorstep. Ben Eaves also assisted on the goal, setting up Alberts’ shot from the left boards. Alberts has earned 2 assists in last 5 games for the Eagles.
Boston College entered the 2002 Hockey East Tournament as defending champions. The Eagles have won three of the last four league tournament titles; unfortunately, the Maine Black Bears eliminated them in back to back games.
OHL
Chris Berti is having a career year with the Erie Otters both offensively and physically. In his last ten games, Berti has scored 3 goals. The Erie Otters have been included in the CHL Bank of Montreal MasterCard Top 10 rankings of the favorites to win the Memorial Cup.
QMJHL
Milan Jurcina has had a breakthrough campaign with the Halifax Mooseheads this season, currently second on the defensive squad with a +/- of +30. A member of team Slovakia at the World Junior Championships, Jurcina was tied for 4th in points for Defensemen. With the win against the Moncton Wildcats on March 13, Halifax ended a five-game home stand with a 3-2-0 record and, more importantly, closed to within two points of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The two teams are battling for the third playoff seed in the Dilio Conference.
Stat Central
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