Saturday, January 28, 2012

1/27 Recap: Cat pounces for pair, Armia streak at eight

Dan Catenacci scored a pair of goals Friday, his 22nd and 23rd of the year, as Owen Sound dropped a 5-4 decision to Kitchener. The speedy center, who now has five two-goal games this season, is currently tied for 17th in OHL scoring with 53 points (23+30) in 47 games.



Jerome Gauthier-Leduc scored his 22nd goal of the year as Rimouski defeated Gatineau, 5-2. The goal, Leduc's second game winner of the year, snaps his six-game scoring drought. Crafty 2011 eligible Tomas Hyka notched a goal and an assist for the Olympiques.



Colin Jacobs picked up an assist and then scored the only goal in the shootout as Seattle edged Kelowna, 2-1. The shootout goal was Jacobs' third in three tries in the tiebreaker, nearly matching his regulation/OT output of four in 19 games since returning from injury. One of those goals was a penalty shot.



Gregg Sutch recorded two assists for his third multi-point game of the year as Barrie downed Brampton, 6-2. Alex Lepkowski, who was on the ice for a short-handed goal for and two goals against (one on a 5x3 PP), finished even for the Colts.

Mark Pysyk picked up an assist as Edmonton spanked Brandon, 6-2. Kevin Sundher finished the night at -2, giving him two goals and four assists in his first 10 games in Brandon uniform. Pysyk, meanwhile, has two goals and seven assists in 10 games since returning from the World Junior Championships.

Cedrick Henley finished -1 as Val-d'Or lost at home to Chicoutimi, 7-6. The 6'5 forward has 10 goals and 26 points in 35 games this season after having the bulk of his 2010-11 washed out due to wrist surgery.

Steven Shipley upped his goalless stretch to eight games as Niagara was blanked by Guelph, 3-0. The 6'3 Shipley, who has collected 29 points through 43 games, is amidst his longest stretch without a goal since his nine-game drought back in 2008-09 as an OHL rookie.

Nathan Lieuwen allowed five goals on 17 shots before getting pulled late in the second period as Kootenay lost in a shootout to Prince Albert, 7-6. The 20-year old netminder has allowed 12 goals in his last three outings - all ICE losses.

In NCAA, Drew MacKenzie saw his nine-game point streak come to an end as Vermont was thumped by Northeastern, 8-3. The 6'2 defender is currently the sixth leading scoring among Hockey East defensemen with 16 points (6+10) in 22 games.

Connor Knapp stopped 11 of 13 shots but Miami scored just once on 41 shots in a 2-1 loss to Northern Michigan. Knapp, who entered the game with six straight wins including a 0.60 goals against average and .977 save percentage in the month of January, moves to 8-5 on the year.

Brad Navin continued to bring a physical element to to the third line as Wisconsin lost to North Dakota, 5-3. Brad Eidsness served as backup for UND.

Justin Jokinen did not factor as Minnesota State lost to Bemidji State, 2-1. The 6'3 senior has three goals and nine points in 27 games.

Christian Isackson was scratched for the 20th time this season in Minnesota's 2-1 win over St. Cloud State. The freshman, who has bounced between center and wing, is +1 with 14 shots on goal in eight appearances.

***

In the AHL, the Amerks continued their recent offensive woes with a 4-0 defeat at Syracuse. The Amerks coughed up two goals in the game's first three minutes en route to being shut out for the first time all year.

The Rundown:
Kassian: -2, 6 SOG
Crawford: 5 SOG
Foligno: 2 SOG
Szydlowski: -2, 1 SOG
Schiestel: -1
Lagace: -1
Biega: -1, 4 SOG
Fienhage: 2 PIM
Persson: -2
Parker: -2

Drew MacIntyre stopped 29 shots to fall to 6-11-0-2 on the year. Losers of two straight, the Amerks will travel to Toronto on Saturday before heading to the AHL All-Star break.

***

On Thursday, Joel Armia continued to ride his renewed confidence with a pair of assists in Assat's 6-1 win over the Blues. The 6'3 wing is red hot with points in eight straight games, including all six since returning from the World Junior Championship. He has gathered nine goals and eight assists in his last 15 overall.



In other Thursday games, Shipley failed to get in on the fun as Niagara smoked Belleville, 6-0.

Henley registered two hits in his return from a two-game absence as Val-d'Or lost to Drummondville, 3-1.

Sutch (-2) and Lepkowski (-3) were stifled as Barrie dropped a 4-1 home ice decision to Plymouth.