Saturday, February 5, 2011

2/4 Recap: Foligno injured; MacKenzie strikes for Cats

Marcus Foligno goes mid-air for goal #21. Photo by John Lappa
Marcus Foligno scored his 21st goal of the season before being injured Friday as Sudbury whooped Saginaw, 8-2. Foligno's power play gem, a breakaway tally scored in mid-air after being hacked at from behind, created a 2-0 lead at 12:22 of the first period as the Wolves would go on to rattle off the first five goals of the game. Later in the period, Foligno fell to the ice with what appeared to be a left knee injury and did not return. It sounds like Foligno was walking around after the game, but I still wouldn't be surprised if he was held out of Saturday's contest at Peterborough depending on how sore he was in the morning.

In Hockey East, Drew MacKenzie scored his second goal of the season as Vermont played to a 1-1 tie with Providence. A crashing MacKenzie broke a scoreless tie on the power play at 4:07 of the second period when he jumped to towards the front of the Friars net to bury a backhand rebound. Providence freshman Mark Adams contributed three shots on goal. The clubs will play it back on Saturday. MacKenzie's goal comes early in the clip below:





Elsewhere, Gregg Sutch finished +1 as Mississauga dominated Sarnia, 6-3. The grinding forward has been hampered of late, and has not recorded a point in his last five games. Nail Yakupov ('12) had a goal and two assists and Alex Galchenyuk ('12) had two assists to pace the losing Sting.

In the QMJHL, Jerome Gauthier-Leduc registered four shots on goal as Rimouski was shut out by Val-d'Or, 2-1. The Oceanic and Foreurs will rematch on Sunday.

Out west, Corey Fienhage was -1 while seeing quite a bit of ice as Kamloops defeated Chilliwack, 2-1. Kevin Sundher, who continued to center the Bruins' #2 line, did not get on the sheet to keep his season line at 17-30-47. The recently-fueled rivalry will continue with a Saturday night rematch.

Matt MacKenzie finished +2 as Tri-City toppled Spokane, 5-2. The Americans will catch a bus to Portland for a key Saturday match-up.

Riley Boychuk (-1, 2 PIM) did not score as Portland closed out Edmonton, 5-2. Mark Pysyk finished -1 for the Oil Kings, who will complete their four-game U.S. road trip Saturday night at Everett.

In WCHA play, Justin Jokinen punched five shots on goal as Minnesota State edged Bemidji State, 2-1. It was a pretty solid all-around effort from the junior right wing, blocking shots in his own end while using his speed to gather loose pucks to create offensive opportunities.

Nick Eno did not play as Bowling Green ground out a 1-1 tie with #16 Western Michigan. BGSU coach Chris Bergeron announced this week that he'd be abandoning the "Eno on Friday/Andrew Hammond on Saturday" goalie rotation, instead opting to ride the hotter hand for the rest of the schedule. As a result, Eno sat for the series opener and may have to wait some additional time before getting back between the Falcons pipes after Hammond's 31-save #1 star performance.

Connor Knapp did not play as #13 Miami downed #8 Michigan, 4-2. Given a strong week of practice, it's fair to think that Knapp gets the nod on Saturday as Cody Reichard made good stops as needed but wasn't "stellar" in the RedHawks victory.

In the USHL, Christian Isackson had three shots on goal as Sioux Falls lost to Lincoln, 2-1. Buffalo native and Niagara commit Sal Alfieri scored his sixth goal of the season for the Stars. The two clubs will go at it again on Saturday.