Thought I would check in with some of the former Americans players to see how things are going with them and their teams. I want to start and end with a couple of other items.
- It was a long bus ride home for the team yesterday including a drive through some snow packed areas but both Richard Matvichuk and Darryl Bootland escaped the trip by hitching a ride on the Other Side Landscaping private jet back to McKinney. Nice touch to give new dad Booter a ride home to be with his wife and baby.
- Brett Skinner had two assists (yes they were both on the power play) yesterday as his Grand Rapid Griffins (AHL) beat Hamilton 4-1. The Griffins won all three games this weekend and will win their division. Brett has two goals and eight assists in the 16 games he has played with the Griffins since being called up.
- Scott Howes who had been injured and did not play the last half of February played all three games last weekend (March 1,2,3) and had a goal and two assists but did not play this weekend. Not sure if he has another injury or not. His Springfield Falcons (AHL) will also win their division.
- Colton Yellow Horn has slowed down a bit in scoring and did not play for Manchester (AHL) Friday night. He was back in the line up yesterday and did not score in a shoot out loss to Wilkes-Barre. Yellow Horn missed his opportunity to score in the shoot out. Colton has done great since being called up with four goals and six assists in twelve games. Manchester is on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs are concerned but they still have a chance if they play well.
- Ryley Grantham had assists in both games this weekend as Houston (AHL) split with Charlotte. Ryley has only one minus game in the fifteen he has played for the Aeros and is a plus 4 overall. Houston is in third place in the division but will most likely make the playoffs.
- Nino Musitelli and his Toledo Walleye (ECHL) had a tough weekend with two losses and are 3-4-3 in their last ten games. They are still in the playoff hunt. Nino had no goals this weekend but had three goals last weekend. In his 23 games with Toledo Nino has ten goals and eight assists.
- Bruce Graham and his Nottingham Panthers (EIHL) are on a nine game winning streak and continue to lead the league with 38 victories in 48 games. Bruce has 34 goals which leads his team and is third in the league.
- Scott Langdon who is now the captain of the San Francisco Bulls (ECHL), has one of the more impressive statistics I have seen. Scott leads his team in plus/minus with a +10. There are 12 guys who have been on the roster that are double digit minus and the team is a minus 199 for the year. In spite of their poor record (22-34-1-6) they will probably make the playoffs as eight of nine teams in the conference make the playoffs.
- Judd Blackwater had two goals and three assists this weekend as his Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL) won one game and lost two. They are third place in their division but have already clinched a playoff spot.
- Justin Bowers had no points this weekend as his Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL) split two games with the Idaho Steelheads. Since being traded to Gwinnett by San Francisco in the middle of January Justin has 5 goals and 18 assists in 25 games. His team is currently leading their division in a close race.
- Chris Whitley and his Cardiff Devils (EIHL) have had a tough March as they are winless for the month going 0-5 including two losses this weekend. Chris has a GAA for the month of 4.43 and a save percentage of .861.
- Mike Salekin played in both games this weekend for the Fort Worth Brahmas (CHL) as they split with Arizona. Mike had one penalty (two minutes) to show for his effort.
- Josh Hepditch played in his first three games this weekend as his Missouri Mavericks (CHL) lost all three games. Josh had an assist, was a minus two, had six minutes in penalties and eight shots in the three games.
- Finally, I wanted to close out this post with the results of the best tournament of the weekend which was the Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament. Congratulations to St. Thomas Academy who beat Hermantown 5-4 for the Class A title and to Edina who beat Hill-Murray 4-2 in a clash of perennial power houses for the Class AA title. In addition to the statewide television audience the finals had a crowd of 17,739. Here is a brief recap of both games:
Sophomore Tommy Novak of St. Thomas Academy scored on a slap shot from
the top of the left face-off circle, on a power play, to break a 4-4 tie
with: 06 left and give the Cadet’s their third consecutive Class A
State Championship, with a 5-4 triumph over Hermantown. The Hawks have
met the Cadet’s each of the past three years and had to settle for
runners-up honors.
It was a game of two championship quality teams, and the Edina Hornets
(25-6) in their 35 tournament appearance won their 11th championship,
this time with a winning performance against Hill-Murray (27-3-1) in
their 26th appearance, the final score was 4-2.
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