In the calm before the weekend storm, Drew Schiestel went pointless as the IceDogs rode a pair of hat tricks by linemates Luca Caputi and Michael Swift to an 8-2 romp over Kingston. Niagara, who showed zero rust after a week-long break, will travel to streaking London tonight before hosting Missisauga-St. Mike's in a Sunday division match-up.
The weekend will feature 21 games for Sabres prospects, highlighted by a QMJHL set between league-leading Baie-Comeau Drakkar (Benjamin Breault), and host St. John's (T.J. Brennan and Jean-Simon Allard). At 37-14-1-4, Baie-Comeau is currently #7 in the CHL Mosaik Mastercard Top 10 Rankings.
Other Friday slap shots:
- Chris Butler and the Denver Pioneers had an up and down week heading into their weekend with Minneosta. First, they gained a commitment from David Carle, brother of former Pio captain and Hobey winner, Matthew Carle. Carle is an offensive minded defenseman, and should arrive in Denver just in time to take the reigns from Butler as it's expected the St. Louis native will forego his senior season and join Buffalo's training camp in the fall.
With that out of the way, news started to trickle down regarding the uncertain situation regarding their leading scorer, Brock Trotter. You may recall that Trotter did not travel with the team in a pair of weekend losses at Mankato due to "unspecified reasons". Rumors that he was hoping to catch on with Kelowna of the WHL were debunked when it was learned that he was signing a deal with the Montreal Canadiens. It's expected that he'll immediately report to Hamilton of the AHL.
Trotter was a key to a young Denver squad, and now even more of the onus is on guys like Butler and Senior captain Andrew Thomas to guide the team into the WCHA playoffs and a a spot in a Frozen Four that they will be hosting.
- It's still difficult to understand how Nathan Gerbe, despite moving up a spot to #2, is still without a first-place vote in CSTV's Hobey Watch. Gerbe not winning the Hobey could be the best thing that happens to his professional career.
- Junior Tim Kennedy leads a balanced Michigan State team in scoring (13-16-29) heading into the weekend against Northern Michigan. 2007 third-rounder Corey Tropp, coming off his best game of the season last week, leads all Spartans freshmen in scoring with six goals and 15 total points.
- The Sabres AHL affiliate in Rochester will look to prevent another losing streak as they welcome San Antonio and Grand Rapids to the BCA on Saturday and Sunday.
