Goalie wins seven of eight starts, named Springfield's player of the month; 2022 first-round pick extended goal, point streak to six helping Minnesota sweep Wisconsin
Goalie wins seven of eight starts, named Springfield's player of the month; 2022 first-round pick extended goal, point streak to six helping Minnesota sweep Wisconsin
Colten Ellis and Jimmy Snuggerud may play different positions, but each St. Louis Blues prospect maintained a common level of similar success in January.
For Ellis, he won his third straight start on Friday for Springfield of the American Hockey League, stopping 27 of 28 shots in a 4-1 win against Iowa.
It was the third straight win for Ellis, who allowed two or fewer goals in each, and fifth time in eight starts in which the goalie allowed two or fewer goals in January and earned the Thunderbirds' player of the month honors:
Ellis, a third-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, is now 15-6-2 on the season with a 2.51 goals-against average and .924 save percentage; his wins and save percentage rank fifth in the AHL.
Of Ellis' 24 appearances, this season, which includes one relief appearance, he has allowed two or fewer goals in 14 of them.
* Jimmy Snuggerud -- The 2022 first-round pick extended his torrid goal-scoring and point streak to six games on Friday when he had two goals and two assists helping No. 4 Minnesota overcome a two-goal deficit with five unanswered goals in a 5-2 win over No. 17 Wisconsin.
Although the streaks ended on Saturday in a 4-1 win over the Badgers as Snuggerud was held without a goal or point for the first time since Jan. 10 at Ohio State, he extended his goal streak (eight in total) with this beauty that began the comeback:
And then the insurance tally in the third period:
Snuggerud's point streak ended with 13 (eight goals, five assists) as did his run of points in 12 of 13 games on Saturday, but the junior now leads all NCAA Division I players with 41 points (20 goals, 21 assists) in 30 games.
* Vadim Zherenko -- The Springfield goalie hasn't been mentioned this season because it's been an up-and-down one for the 2019 seventh-round pick, but the 23-year-old had a season-high 48 saves on Saturday enabling Springfield to sweep Iowa, 7-2, on Saturday.
It's now back-to-back starts in which Zherenko has allowed three or fewer goals after allowing four or more in three straight (all losses).
* Samuel Johannessen -- The Springfield defenseman, drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the sixth round in 2020 who signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Blues this past off-season, has quietly put together a solid season with the Thunderbirds.
He extended his assist streak to three games with two on Friday and one on Saturday to give him 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) in 42 games this season.
His point streak is second-best this season to the five-game point streak (one goal, four assists) he had from Nov. 10-23.
* Dalibor Dvorsky -- The No. 10 pick in the 2023 draft had a goal and an assist on Friday and an assist on Saturday to help Springfield run its point streak to five games (4-0-1) and wins in eight of 11 (8-2-1).
Dvorsky, who is now up to 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) and will represent the Thunderbirds at the AHL All-Star Game, ended an eight-game goal drought on Friday:
Dvorsky is participating in the skills competition on Sunday night:
* Aleksanteri Kaskimaki -- The 2022 third-round pick scored in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday to give him 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in 41 games for Springfield.
The forward opened the scoring on Friday with this power-play goal:
And then closes out a seven-goal outburst Saturday:
* Tomas Mrsic -- The 2024 fourth-round pick keeps motoring along, extending his point streak to eight games with a goal and two assists in two wins for Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League, 5-2 against Regina on Wednesday and a come-from-behind 5-2 win against Wenatchee on Saturday.
The Raiders were trailing Saturday 2-1 in the third period, but Mrsic's goal held up as the game-winner in a four-goal third period:
Mrsic has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) during his point streak and now has 68 points (29 goals, 39 assists) in 43 games on the season.
* Quinton Burns -- The 2023 third-round pick picked up an assist Sunday for Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League and the Frontenacs' 4-2 win against Sarnia, and the defenseman had a goal and four assists in three games this week that ran his point streak to five games (two goals, six assists):
* Lukas Fischer -- The 2024 second-round pick is on fire offensively after picking up another goal Sunday for Sarnia against Burns and Kingston to extend his point streak to six games (seven goals, three assists) and his goal streak to three games.
That's now 12 goals on the season (26 points in 31 games), with seven coming in the past six games, including goals on Friday, Saturday and now Sunday. His goal Friday with just over five minutes remaining was the eventual game-winner in a 4-3 win at Guelph:
* Juraj Pekarcik update -- The 2023 third-round pick, who is having a solid season in his first with Moncton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Hockey League with 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 37 games, has missed each of the Wildcats' past three games with an undisclosed injury.
Pekarcik has not played for Moncton since a 7-1 rout of Acadie-Bathurst, so something worth monitoring.