4/5 Recap: Ennis ups ante with five-point night

In a wild western shootout, Tyler Ennis (+2) had a whopping five assists as Medicine Hat lost to Brandon, 8-6. Ennis' five-point night gives him 19 in nine games to lead all WHL playoff scorers, and comes one night after fellow prospect Paul Byron collected three helpers in a Gatineau win. Looking poised to even the series with a 5-3 lead after 20-minutes, the Tigers had trouble matching the Wheat Kings the rest of the way thanks in part to '09's Brayden Schenn (one goal, one assist) and Scott Glennie (three assists). Zdenek Okal had a hat trick and an assist for the Tigers. Series: Wheat Kings 2, Tigers 0. In the QMJHL,J.S. Allard finished -2 as Quebec lost to Cape Breton, 5-3. After marking in all four games of the Remparts' first round sweep, Allard has failed to hit the sheet in the two games of the QMJHL quarterfinal. Series: Cape Breton 2, Quebec 1. In the OHL, Drew Schiestel was +2 as Niagara shut out Belleville, 2-0. Jeremy Smith stopped all 50 shots the Bulls fired to get the Dogs on the board with a W. Series: Belleville 2, Niagara 1. Nick Crawford was even in Saginaw's 4-1 loss to London. Crawford and the Spirit will look to extend their seasons and avoid the Knights sweep on Tuesday. Series: London 3, Saginaw 0.

Pirates split weekend, remain in third

Tim Kennedy had a goal and two assists, and Nathan Gerbe and Mark Mancari each had a goal and an assist as Portland upended Springfield, 6-4. Jhonas Enroth made 33 saves to improve his record to 25-22-0-6 on the season. Going 5-1-0-1 in their last seven games, the victory moves the Pirates (37-30-3-7 - 84 points) one point ahead of Worcester for third place in the Atlantic Division. The two teams will square off on Wednesday. The Rundown: Kennedy: 1G, 2A, +2 Gerbe: 1G, 1A, +3 Mancari: 1G, 1A Zagrapan: 6 SOG Generous: 4 SOG, 6 PIM Schutz: 2 SOG Gragnani: -1 Turnbull: 1 SOG Persson: 2 SOG Kostka: +1 Enroth: 33 saves, W On Saturday, Enroth made 30 saves but the Pirates lost a 3-2 shootout to Providence. Gerbe and Marc-Andre Gragnani drew assists for the Pirates on goals by Mathieu Darche and Colton Fretter. Matt Generous finished +1 in his first appearance in a Portland sweater. Kennedy, Mancari, Zagrapan, and Gerbe could not beat Tuukka Rask in the shootout. The Rundown: Gerbe: 1A, +1, 6 SOG Gragnani: 1A, -1 Kennedy: -1 Mancari: -1 Zagrapan: -1 Generous: +1 Schutz: 1 SOG Kostka: -1 Persson: -1 Whitmore: 2 SOG Enroth: 30 saves, SOL

4/4 Recap: Byron helps thrice as Piques pull even

In the QMJHL, Paul Byron had three assists as Gatineau downed Shawinigan, 5-3. The 5'9 wing now has 13 points (1+12) in seven playoff games. The win evens the second round series at one game apiece. T.J. Brennan was +2 with a team-best three shots on goal as Montreal lost to Drummondville in overtime, 4-3. The teams will travel back to Montreal where the Juniors will try to a halve a 2-0 series deficit on Tuesday. Nick Crawford (+1) had an assist as Saginaw fell to London, 4-3. Entering the playoffs with three career postseason points, the 6'1 defender how has four points over his current three-game point streak. The loss puts the Spirit in a 2-0 hole against the stacked Knights. Tyler Myers was even as Kelowna dropped a 3-2 decision to Tri-City. The Rockets held a 2-0 lead entering the third period, but 20:00 breakdown yielded three goals against to fall behind 2-0 in the series. Tyler Ennis (-4) had an assist as Medicine Hat got doubled up by Brandon, 6-3. The Ennis-Bosch-Okal line was flat, combining for a -13 as its motor (Ennis) looks to have his hands full facing 6'6 Wheaties defenseman Keith Aulie (CAL) all series long. 2009 eligible Brayden Schenn had an assist for the Wheat Kings. The two teams will play it back on Sunday for game two.

Biega picked as New England All Star

Harvard defenseman Alex Biega has been named to the New England Division I All-Star Team.

Biega, who had previously been named to the All-Ivy League second team and All-ECAC Hockey third team, is one of four defensemen on the New England squad. They will be honored, along with the rest of the All-Stars and New England award-winners, at the New England Hockey Writers annual awards banquet Monday, April 13 at the Prince Restaurant in Saugus, Mass. Biega led the Crimson with 16 assists and ranked second on the team with 20 points this season. He served as an assistant captain and skated on the team’s top defensive pair, as well as on the power play and penalty kill. Harvard had the top power play in the ECAC Hockey regular season, converting at a 19.2-percent rate. The Montreal native tied for second in league scoring by defensemen with 16 points on three goals and 13 assists in ECAC games. Biega had a goal and eight assists and was a team-high +6 in the Crimson’s one-loss run through the final nine game of league play. He led Harvard at +8 for the season in ECAC Hockey play.

Pirates dump Devils

On Friday, Portland got a pair of goals from Mathieu Darche and 35 saves from Jhonas Enroth to defeat Lowell, 3-1. Marek Zagrapan sealed the win with an empty net goal, his 21st of the season, while Mike Kostka had a power-play assist on the first Darche goal. Portland's leading scorer among defensemen, Marc-Andre Gragnani, skated as a left-wing on the Pirates fourth line with Derek Whitmore at center. The Rundown: Zagrapan: 1G Kostka: 1A, +2 Gerbe: +1 Mancari: +1 Kennedy: +1 Schutz: -1 Persson: 1 SOG Whitmore: 2 SOG Gragnani: even Enroth: 35 saves, W

Sabres sign former Wolverine Turnbull

University of Michigan product Travis Turnbull has signed a two-year entry level contract with the Buffalo Sabres. A potential checking line center and son of former NHLer Perry, the 6'0, 193-pound Turnbull enters the pro ranks after a 166 game NCAA career that saw him pot 40 goals and 90 total points with the powerhouse Wolverines. The Sabres never had Turnbull in for a development camp, but they had a good read on him outside of their own viewings. A native of St. Louis, Turnbull, 22, was a teammate of defensemen Chris Butler with the Jr. Blues organization before the pair played together with the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) from 2003-2005. Another member of those Musketeers clubs? Current Portland forward Tim Kennedy, who went on to face Turnbull for three seasons with the rival Michigan State Spartans. Turnbull and recently-inked Matt Generous both reported to the Portland in time for their Friday contest at Lowell but did not play.

4/3 Recap: Losses across the board in the prospectsphere

In the OHL, Drew Schiestel (-1) had a pair of assists in Niagara's 5-4 OT loss to Belleville. The Dogs surrendered three goals within the first 2:49 before scoring four straight to take a 4-3 lead in the third period. The Bulls scored with 2:27 left to force OT, where P.K. Subban's power play goal gave the Bulls a 2-0 series lead. The assists, his sixth and seventh points of the postseason, push Schiestel's career playoff point total to 20 in 24 games. On Thursday, Schiestel was +1 as Niagara opened the quarterfinal with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Bulls. Also from Thursday, Nick Crawford (+1) had a pair of assists as Saginaw was doninated at London, 7-3. 2009 eligible Nazem Zadri had two goals and three assists to pace the winners, while fellow '09 John Tavares added an assist. The Spirit trail the Knights 1-0 with game two on Saturday. In Friday's WHL second round action, Tyler Myers had an assist as Kelowna started their series with a 4-3 loss to Tri-City. An aggressive Myers boarded the 6'0, 174-pound Mitch Fadden late in the third to set up the Ams game winner with 1:57 to go. In the QMJHL quarterfinal opener, Paul Byron had an assist as Gatineau lost to Shawinigan, 4-3. Former Pique Matthew Pistilli scored the game winner midway through the third period to give the Cataractes a 1-0 series lead. Byron has goal and nine assists on his five-game playoff point streak. The streak extends to 12 games total when combining the seven-gamer he ended the season with. T.J. Brennan (+1) had a late assist in Montreal's 7-1 loss to top-ranked Drummondville. The helper was Brennan's 11th playoff point. In a 4OT thriller, J.S. Allard had five shots on goal as Quebec lost 3-2 to Cape Breton. Allard has eight points in five postseason games.

Byron earns Q honors

After missing the century mark by one point (33+66), Paul Byron has been named to QMJHL Second All-Star Team. First Team All-Stars G – Nicola Riopel (Moncton Wildcats) D – Dmitry Kulikov (Drummondville Voltigeurs) D – Marc-André Bourdon (Rimouski Océanic) C – Cédric Lalonde-McNicoll (Shawinigan Cataractes) A – Mike Hoffman (Drummondville Voltigeurs) A – Yannick Riendeau (Drummondville Voltigeurs) Second Team All-Stars G – Charles Lavigne (Quebec Remparts) D – Charles-Olivier Roussel (Shawinigan Cataractes) D – Sébastien Piché (Rimouski Océanic) C – Dany Massé (Drummondville Voltigeurs) A – Paul Byron (Gatineau Olympiques) A – Nicholas Petersen (Shawinigan Cataractes) All-Rookie Team G – Christopher Holden (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) D – Dmitry Kulikov (Drummondville Voltigeurs) D – Brandon Gormley (Moncton Wildcats) C – Ben Duffy (P.E.I. Rocket) A – Sergey Ostapchuk (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) A – Dmitri Kugryshev (Quebec Remparts)

4/1 Recap: Gerbe, Kennedy named All-Rookie; Zagrapan hits 20

On Wednesday, Marek Zagrapan scored his 20th of the season and added an assist as Portland lost to Hartford, 5-3. Zagrapan hits the 20-goal barrier for the first time in his young career after years of 17 and 18 goals. Tim Kennedy notched his 17th goal, while defensemen Dennis Persson, Mike Kostka, and Marc-Andre Gragnani had assists in the loss. Jhonas Enroth made 26 saves to move his record to 23-22-0-5. The Rundown: Zagrapan: 1G, 1A, 5 SOG Kennedy: 1G Persson: 1A, -1 Kostka: 1A, -1 Gragnani: 1A, -3 Gerbe: 6 SOG Mancari: 8 SOG Whitmore: -2 Schutz: -1 Enroth: 26 saves Earlier in the day, Gerbe and Kennedy were both named to the AHL All-Rookie Team. 2008-09 AHL All-Rookie Team Tim Kennedy, Forward (Portland Pirates): A teammate of Justin Abdelkader's on Michigan State's 2007 national championship team, Tim Kennedy stormed out of the gate by registering a point in his first nine professional games for Portland this season. He leads all AHL rookies with 43 assists and 59 points in 66 games overall and has registered 14 multiple-point efforts. The 22-year-old made his NHL debut for the Sabres in his hometown of Buffalo on Dec. 27 and was named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week on Feb. 15 with five goals and 10 points in a four-game span. Nathan Gerbe, Forward (Portland Pirates): Nathan Gerbe has torn up the AHL for 26 goals and 50 points in just 50 games for Portland this season, including seven multiple-goal efforts and a hat trick. Drafted by Buffalo in 2005, Gerbe made his National Hockey League debut with the Sabres in December and has contributed one assist in 10 NHL games this year. A native of Oxford, Mich., the 21-year-old Gerbe reached the NCAA title game in each of his three seasons at Boston College and led the nation in scoring en route to winning the national championship in 2007-08. 2008-09 AHL All-Rookie Team Goaltender: Nathan Lawson, Bridgeport Sound Tigers (30gp, 18-9-2, 2.13gaa, .929sv%, 2so) Defenseman: Mattias Karlsson, Binghamton Senators (67gp, 8+41=49pts.) Defenseman: Yannick Weber, Hamilton Bulldogs (66gp, 14+27=41pts.) Forward: Justin Abdelkader, Grand Rapids Griffins (71gp, 22+27=49pts.) Forward: Nathan Gerbe, Portland Pirates (50gp, 26+24=50pts.) Forward: Tim Kennedy, Portland Pirates (66gp, 16+43=59pts.)

Sabres sign Generous

We all know about Miller Time, but perhaps you'd like a Genny instead. The Sabres today announced that D Matt Generous has been inked to a one-year deal for the 2009-10 season. A four-year starter who was never a healthy scratch while at St. Lawrence, Generous was named the 2009 Outstanding Defensive Defenseman after his senior season. From the Sabres:

Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have signed defenseman Matt Generous to a one-year entry level contract. Generous was Buffalo’s seventh-round selection (208th overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft. Generous will finish this season with the Portland Pirates on an AHL ATO, and his NHL contract will begin next season.