12/13 Recap: Schiestel loving PP; Eidsness wins again

In a sold-out barn in St. Kitts, Drew Schiestel had a pair of assists as Niagara lost to Mississauga, 4-3. Both helpers came on the power play, upping Schiestel's total to 15 assists this season with the man advantage, good for fifth in the O. The Hamilton native continued to display his superior feet and ability to get the puck to the net, but with a -2 for the third straight game, has sunk to -18 on the season which ranks last in the league. John Cullen ('09, Hamburg, NY) got the call for the Dogs, having a solid first period before getting beaten four times in the final 40:00 including twice through the five-hole on a pair of short-handed breakaways. Cullen did not fare well one-on-one, and will need to be more crisp with his movement in the crease in order to improve his draft position. He sometimes goes down prematurely, rewarding a patient puck carrier. Mississauga forward Casey Cizikas ('09) showed excellent skating ability and nice set of hands with two goals and an assist, while Andrew Shaw ('09) of the Dogs put forth a spirited effort with a goal and assist. Add 15-20 pounds of beef to his 5'11 frame and you have yourself an intriguing 17-year-old. Also from the OHL, Nick Crawford was even as Saginaw posted a 3-2 home-ice win over Erie. In the NCAA, Brad Eidsness made 19 saves to win his fourth straight start, 7-4 over St. Cloud State. The weekend wins over the Huskies represent the first WCHA sweep of the season for the Sioux. Corey Fienhage was again a scratch as Ben Blood saw action as the #6. The Sioux are playing confidently in front of their freshman keeper, using a more open style en route to a 9-5-1 record after dropping their first three games. Matt Generous was even as a Jared Keller goal with less than :01 remaining pushed St. Lawrence to a 4-3 upset of #11 Vermont. The senior defenseman closes the semester with six points (3+3) and a +2 through 16 games. Freshman Drew MacKenzie was +1 for the Catamounts in the loss. Justin Jokinen was even in limited action as #14 Minnesota State was swept by #5 Denver, 5-2. The Pios won their seventh straight without the services of free-agent prospect Tyler Bozak, who was injured in Friday's win. The Mavericks lost their fourth in a row. In the QMJHL, J.S. Allard (+1) garnered an assist for Quebec in their 2-1 win over Acadie-Bathurst. The Alma, QC product picked up the primary on Kelsey Tessier's 10th of the season in the first period for his first point in three games, and 24th on the year. Dennis Persson was even over 16:09 of icetime as Timra got shutout by Farjestad, 3-0. The game was Persson's second in a row on the middle defensive unit while the rotating door into the Eagles infirmary stays active. Mikko Lehtonen returned to the Timra lineup, while Robin Jonsson and Par Styf remain sidelined.