Welcome back to the eighth weekly installment of the Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Recap.
Happy Veterans Day and happy Remembrance Day to all of our readers out there who have served or who have had family and friends in the armed forces. I am not sure if Veterans Day is a statutory holiday in the United States (Remembrance Day is not one in Canada), but our gratitude to the valiant men and women who serve our respective nations should never be limited to just one day. Be that as it may, take the time to reach out to someone who served and acknowledge their duty of service and observe the 2 minutes of silence at 11AM to commemorate the silence of the artillery guns to end World War I.
With Halloween in the rearview mirror; fall is in full swing with the leaves changing colors before they drop down to the ground and Daylight Savings giving us an extra hour of sleep. Well rest assured that when following the busy schedule of Junior Hockey that there is no extra sleep for yours truly. The action is really starting to heat up as teams begin to jockey for position, rivalries are in full swing, and players try to separate themselves from the pack (especially if they are in their draft year).
Some of the Flyers related storylines from the Junior Hockey universe that are that we will be following up on in this week’s edition include:
Will Egor Zamula break out of his 3 game pointless skid and return to earlier form for the Calgary Hitmen?
Can Egor Serdyuk snap his 4 game pointless streak for the Victoriaville Tigres?
Will Jay O’Brien’s point streak and the Penticton Vees winning streak continue to march on together past the five game mark?
This weeks edition covers the week that was in the CHL and the BCHL from Tuesday November 4th – Sunday November 10th.
WHL (Western Hockey League)
Wyatte Wylie #29 (D) – Everett Silvertips (WHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 17 | +9 | 64 | 17 |
- Friday night had the Everett Silvertips hit the road to face the Spokane Chiefs. Tied 1-1 just past the midway point of the first period, Everett proceeded to score three consecutive goals to take a 4-1 lead early in the third period. Spokane would attempt to mount a comeback scoring two goals, but ultimately came up short as the Silvertips took this game by a score of 4-3. Wyatte Wylie was held off the scoresheet but finished the game with a +1 rating, 2 shots on goal, and was assessed a 2 minute minor penalty for roughing at after the horn sounded to end the first period.
- On Saturday night, the Everett Silvertips travelled to Seattle to face off against the Thunderbirds. Everett scored 2 goals in the second period to pace them to a 2-0 lead entering the third period. Wyatte Wylie picked up a powerplay assist on Everett’s game winning third goal of the game at 9:32 of the final period. Wylie also scored an empty net goal to give the Silvertips a 4-1 lead before Seattle pulled a goal back with under 2 minutes to play. Everett won the game by a final score of 4-2. Wylie finished the game with 1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points, a +3 rating, and 3 shots on goal. Wylie completed the Gordie Howe hat trick by receiving a 5 minute major penalty for fighting Seattle’s Simon Kubicek. Wylie also received a 10 minute game misconduct.
The Everett Silvertips continue to lead the U.S. Division with 26 points in 17 games. They are in 1st place in the Western Conference and have the 4th most points in the entire WHL.
Egor Zamula #9 (D) – Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 17 | +18 | 49 | 6 |
- Wednesday night saw the Calgary Hitmen welcome the Prince Albert Raiders to the Saddledome. One of the top prospects in the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft, Kaiden Guhle notched a powerplay assist to put Prince Albert up 2-1 after two periods of play. But Calgary pushed play in the third period with a 13-6 shot advantage to grab a 3-2 lead. Egor Zamula iced the game at 19:33 of the third period with an empty net goal to secure a 4-2 victory for the Hitmen. The goal was Zamula’s 5th goal of the season. In addition to the goal, Zamula finished the game with a +2 rating and 1 shot on goal.
- On Friday night, Egor Zamula and the Calgary Hitmen hosted the Tri-City Americans. Zamula opened the scoring with his 6th goal of the season at 10:34 of the first period. Tri-City tied the game in the second period and both teams traded goals in the third period to end regulation time tied 3-3. Overtime solved nothing, and Tri-City scored the only goal in the shootout to take the game 4-3. Zamula finished the game with 1 goal, an even rating, and 5 shots on goal.
- Saturday night saw the Calgary Hitmen travel to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings. Calgary started the game slowly only registering 2 shots on goal in the opening period. Calgary was very undisciplined in the game, gifting the Oil Kings nine powerplays in the game (Edmonton only converted once). Calgary was outshot in every period to the tune of 39-15 and lost this contest by a score of 4-2. Egor Zamula was held pointless and finished with an even rating. He is credited with 2 shots on goal and took a 2 minute minor penalty for tripping at 7:40 of the third period.
The Calgary Hitmen currently sit in 4th place in the Central division with 20 points in 17 games. They are 10 points back of the Edmonton Oil Kings for the division lead with 2 games in hand. In the Eastern Conference, Calgary sits in 7th place and is holding on to the first wild card playoff spot.
Roddy Ross #1 (G) – Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
| SEASON | GP | W | L | SO | MINS | SH | SAV | GAA | SAV% |
| 2019-2020 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 822 | 485 | 441 | 3.21 | 0.909 |
- On Friday night the Kamloops Blazers travelled to Seattle to take on the Thunderbirds. Roddy Ross got the start in net looking to continue his recent form over the last two weeks. Kamloops had other ideas. The Blazers scored 3 goals in the first period and three goals in the third on their way to a 7-4 victory over Seattle. Ross was in net for the entire game and allowed 7 goals on 37 shots on goal (30 saves). Ross did allow some juicy rebounds that were taken advantage of by the Blazers, but overall did not receive enough defensive support from his teammates. One of the highlights for Ross included stopping a 2 on 0 break when the game was already pretty much decided in favor of Kamloops. Special teams helped to make this a lopsided affair as the Blazers were very efficient with the man advantage going 3 for 6 in the game.
- Saturday night saw the Seattle Thunderbirds host the Western Conference leading Everett Silvertips. Despite allowing all 7 goals in Friday night’s game, Seattle went right back to Roddy Ross in goal against one of the WHL’s best teams. Ross enjoyed a much better game allowing 3 goals on 37 shots (34 saves). Ross was on the bench when Wyatte Wylie scored Everett’s fourth goal and took the loss as the Thunderbirds lost to the Silvertips by a score of 4-2.
The Seattle Thunderbirds continue to be in 5th place out of the 5 teams in the U.S. Division with 13 points from 17 games. They are 9th in the Western Conference, 5 points back of the Spokane Chiefs for the second playoff wild card spot.
OHL (Ontario Hockey League)
Mason Millman #12 (D) – Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 Saginaw Spirit | 19 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -4 | 36 | 10 |
- On Saturday night, the Saginaw Spirit welcomed the visiting Mississauga Steelheads to town. It was a low scoring affair, with both teams combining for a dreadful 0 for 13 with the man advantage with Saginaw taking the victory with a shutout by a score of 2-0. Mason Millman did not score a point in the contest, but finished the game with a +1 rating and 3 shots on goal.
- Sunday night saw the Saginaw Spirit travel to Windsor to take on the Spitfires in some matinee action. The game ended up being a wild affair in contrast to the prior evening’s game. The game started normally enough with both teams trading goals to end the first period. After 40 minutes, the Spirit took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission looking to close out the game. The third period ended up being a wild ride, with Windsor scoring 4 goals between 7:14 and 16:49 to take a 6-3 lead. Unbelievably, Saginaw stormed back scoring 3 goals in the final 2 minutes of regulation to force overtime (the last goal coming with 2 seconds left in the game). Once in the extra period, Saginaw completed the miraculous comeback as defenceman Reilly Webb scored the winner at 2:26 of overtime. Mason Millman registered an assist and finished the game with a +2 rating and no shots on goal.
Here is a link to the highlights for this crazy game:
The Saginaw Spirit sit 3rd in the West Division with 22 points. They are 2 point back of the division leading Flint Firebirds with 1 more game played. They sit in 4th place in the Western Conference.
QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
Egor Serdyuk #18 (RW) – Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 Victoriaville Tigres | 18 | 8 | 5 | 13 | -9 | 37 | 10 |
- Friday night saw the Victoriaville Tigres travel to Chicoutimi to take on the Sagueneens. Egor Serdyuk was once again held off the scoresheet as Victoriaville won the game by a score of 4-1. The Tigres powerplay was effective in the game, going 2 for 4 on the night. Serdyuk has now been without a point for 5 consecutive games. In addition to being pointless in the game, Serdyuk had an even rating and 2 shots on goal. Serdyuk was also assessed a 2 minute minor penalty for hooking at 13:56 of the second period.
- On Saturday night, the Victoriaville Tigres hosted the Shawinigan Cataractes. The Tigres enjoyed a fantastic start and jumped out to huge lead scoring 4 goals in the first period. The deficit was too massive for Shawinigan to overcome as Victoriaville won this game by a score of 7-3. Egor Serdyuk ended his 5 game pointless streak by notching 2 even strength assists. For the game, Serdyuk had a +1 rating and did not manage to get any shots on goal.
- Sunday afternoon’s matinee had the Victoriaville Tigres host the Saint John Sea Dogs. The Tigres enjoyed a 37-28 shot advantage (including a dominating 11-4 in the third period), however regulation time ended with the match tied 2-2. In the overtime period, Saint John outshot Victoriaville by a 4-2 margin and scored the winner through Jeremie Poirier at 4:35 of the extra frame. Egor Serdyuk was held pointless in this game; finishing with an even rating and 2 shots on goal.
The extra point was important for Victoriaville as they climbed out of last place and into 7th place in the Western Conference (tied with Shawinigan with 16 points).
BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League)
Jay O’Brien #9 (RW) – Penticton Vees (BCHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
| 2019-2020 Penticton Vees | 23 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 31 |
- On Wednesday night, the Penticton Vees faced off against the Trail Smoke Eaters looking to add to their 5 game winning streak. The Vees did not get off to the star that they wanted in the game and could not convert on powerplay opportunities as the Smoke Eaters led 2-0 after the second period. Jay O’Brien extended his points streak to six games as he picked up an assist at 3:06 of the third period to narrow Trail’s lead to 2-1. Although Penticton peppered 22 shots on the Trail goal in the final frame, the Smoke Eaters scored twice to win the game by a final score of 4-1 to end Penticton’s winning streak. Although for the game the Vees outshot the Smoke Eaters 42-29, they could not capitalize with the man advantage with no goals on 5 attempts.
Here are the highlights of the Vees game versus the Trail Smoke Eaters:
- Friday night was the first half of a home and home series between the Penticton Vees and the Wenatchee Wild. Jay O’Brien of the Vees extended his points streak to seven consecutive games by scoring 2 goals and adding 1 assist for 3 points as Penticton prevailed by a score of 4-1. O’Brien’s goals were the 12th and 13th goals of the season, with the first being the game winner and the second being the insurance marker that the Vees needed to win the game. Both goals were scored at even strength during the second period. O’Brien added an assist on Penticton’s fourth goal of the game and was penalized 2 minutes for roughing with 0:24 seconds remaining in the game.
- The return match of the back to back contests between the Penticton Vees and the Wenatchee Wild took place on Saturday night. The Vees began the game on the right note by scoring two goals in the opening period. Jay O’Brien assisted on the Vees second goal at 14:58 while with the man advantage. With the game tied 3-3 in the third period, Jay O’Brien scored the go ahead goal on the powerplay at 15:03 of the third period. The goal would end up as the game winner and the Vees added an empty net goal to win the game by a score of 5-3. O’Brien now enjoys an eight game points streak (6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points) and looks to continue to stay hot as the Vees play three games this upcoming week.
Jay O’Brien now has 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 23 games. He sits 3rd in BCHL scoring and trails Kent Johnson by 12 points and Michael Colella by 2 points with 2 games in hand). O’Brien sits 2nd in the league in points per game with 1.52.
The Penticton Vees are currently on top of the Interior Division with 37 points from 23 games. In both the Coastal Conference as well as the league wide BCHL standings, the Vees sit in 2nd place only 1 point back of the Coquitlam Express with a game in hand.
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Hope you enjoyed this early November edition of the Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Recap.
Feel free to leave any comments or feedback via twitter or at www.brotherlypuck.com .
Until next time from BrotherlyPuck.com,
I remain,
Manny Benevides
photo credit: haroldnet.com
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