Bridgeport and Prospect Roundup 1/3

The Josh Bailey Express finished in Bridgeport with a 3-1 win over Connecticut. Micheal Haley [Robin Figren, David Ullstrom] Jeremy Colliton [Bailey, Rhett Rakhshani] and Brandon Svendsen [Bailey] scored for BP. Kevin Poulin was named 2nd star of the night with 26 saves. The not Josh Bailey era didn't start off on the right foot. A 4-0 loss to Connecticut in which they gave up 3 PP goals. Poulin had a rough night with only 21 saves on 25 shots.

After falling behind by 2 goals against Albany, BP came back behind goals by Svendsen [Ullstrom, Rob Hisey] Colliton [Hisey, Mark Wotton] and Micheal Haley to force overtime and a shootout. Mikko Kosikinen had a strong outing with 25 saves on 28 shots and stopped all but one shooter in the shootout. Jesse Joensuu was named first star for scoring the winning shootout goal. BP defeated Worcester 2-1 behind a first star performance by Nathan Lawson who had 32 saves on 33 shots. Figren [Tomas Marcinko, Haley] and Oliver Labelle [Tony Romano, Wes O'Neil] had the goals with Labelle being named the 2nd star on the night.

Although Rhett's point streak had been broken, he came out with a strong night against Worcester. Colliton [Mark Katic, Brett Motherwell] Wotton [Rakhshani, Dustin Friesen] and Friesen [Colliton, Rakhshani] helped to lead BP to a 3 -2 victory. Poulin had 31 saves on 33 shots. Friesen was named first star of the night and Colliton was named second star. BP dropped the final game of what can be considered the 2 week holiday run 2-1 against Providence. Haley [Ullstrom, Figren] scored the lone goal and was named 2nd star of the night. Kosikinen had 19 saves on 21 shots starting the new year off on the right foot with a .905 SV%. There's a lot of hope that Lawson being kicked up stairs will help the long term development of both Mikko and Poulin, so let's hope this is a sign of that.

World Junior Championships 2011

The Islanders had four players at the WJCs this year, Brock Nelson (USA), Calvin DeHaan (Canada), Casey Cizikas (Canada) and Nino Niederreiter (Switzerland). It should be noted that just making the Junior teams was a surprise for both Nelson and Cizikas. People had been projecting that Brock wouldn't be invited to camp. Meanwhile in the great white north it was thought that since Cizikas' St Majors coach was coaching the Canadian squad, Cizikas would be made an example of and bounced out of camp to show there was no favoritism.

Cizikas has had an incredible tournament including one of the best one person penalty kills you have ever seen. [Video here, s/t BC]. In 5 games he has 2 goals and 1 assist with a +2 and 14 shots. Also don't miss this incredible goal, as the Goalie cheats an inch and Cizikas buries it. [video s/t Dom]

Nino captained Team Switzerland again. In 5 games he has 2 goals and an assist on 22 shots and an even. Canada did a good job keeping him in check. [interview]

Calvin DeHaan suffered an injury, but thankfully no long term injury and he has continued to play. He missed a game but has 3 assists in 4 games so far and is a +1. Known for his offense, many people have noted his shutdown play during the tourney. [interview]

For those who questioned the Brock Nelson pick given his current college stats, his play at the tournament is refreshing. He has been applauded for his defensive play and has been strong in the faceoff circle. He's got an assist and a +1 in 4 games so far.

Natural Born Kirills

Kirill Petrov continues his cold streak as he was held pointless in 4 straight games and has 5 Goals, 6 Assists for 11 points in 30 games.

Kirill Kabanov continues to get himself in interesting situations. He apparently got stuck in London due to the weather and missed both games for Lewiston. Don't worry, Andrey Makarov was also stuck in London, so it wasn't a Kirill thing.

WHL, OHL, NCAA and Europe

Good news for Tony DeHart fans. While it looked like DeHart would be the odd man out as Oshawa had too many 20 year olds, the trade of 20 year old Jeff Brown appears to have opened a spot for him. In 4 games he had 3 assists but finished -2. On the year he has 2 goals, 17 assists for 19 points and a +8.

The Brandon Wheat Kings continue to struggle as they have dropped their last three. In those games David Toews is a -3 with 1 goal. For the year he has 9 goals, 11 assists for 20 points in 29 games.

Anders Lee finished the year out strong as Notre Dame routed Canisus (I swear I'm not making this up) and Lee had a goal and assist. He was a -1 and pointless in ND's loss to Minnesota State.

Notre Dame (Anders Lee) played Boston U (Corey Trivino) in a 3-3 tie (which went to an NHL Skills competition ND won). Both Islander prospects had great games as Lee had a goal and an assist with a +2. Corey Trivino had assists on every Boston goal and finished the night +2.

In two games Matt Donovan had a goal and an assist for Denver. He has 6 goals, 10 assists for 16 points in 22 games this year.

Jason Clark did not play this week for Wisconsin.

Minnesota lost both games this weekend, but Aaron Ness did add an assist to his totals. He has 8 assists in 20 games.

In Boston U's other game over the weekend Corey Trivino did not get on the scoresheet.  He has 3 Goals, 9 Assists for 12 points in 20 games.

Blake Kessel was held scoreless in UNH's lone game over the weekend. He has 3 Goals, 9 Assists for 12 points in 17 games.

In two games this week Brian Day did not score but was a +1. This year he has 8 Goals, 5 Assists for 13 points in 18 games.

Anders Nilsson appears to have won back the starting job. In three games this week he faced 77 shots and only allowed 3 goals. David Rautio who was pushing for the job played only once and gave up 2 goals on 21 shots.
[Highlights 1, Highlights 2, Highlights 3]

Clarkson does not resume play till tonight, so that's your Cody Rosen update.