Major Junior
Peyton Kettles, Kelowna Rockets Fail To Advance Past Round Robin Play In Memorial Cup Tournament.
The Kelowna Rockets ended the Memorial Cup Tournament with a 4-0 loss to the Everett Silvertips. Kettles went without a point in the tournament but showed good progress by returning from injury in time to play in the tournament.
AHL
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Drops Games 1 And 2 Of Eastern Conference Final, Battle Back In Games 3 And 4
Despite outshooting the Toronto Marlies 36-16, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost 4-2 in Game 1 on Wednesday night. Alex Alexeyev scored and added a helper. Rutger McGroarty scored the other Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goal. Mikhail Ilyin, Harrison Brunicke, and Tristan Broz all finished with assists. Sergei Murashov surrendered three goals on 15 shots.
The Penguins dropped Game 2 in overtime on Friday night, 2-1. Tanner Howe scored the lone Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goal off Chase Pietila and McGroarty assists. Murashov stopped 37 shots in the loss.
The Penguins battled back on Monday night with a 5-2 win over the Marlies. Aidan McDonough and Bill Zonnon both scored and added helpers. Ville Koivunen, Atley Calvert, and Howe scored the other Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goals. Gabe Klassen, McGroarty, Broz, Scooter Brickey, and Joona Koppannen all recorded assists. Murashov stopped 36 shots in the win.
The Penguins evened the series with a 4-3 win in Game 4 on Wednesday night. Brickey and Klassen both scored and recorded assists. Pietila and McGroarty scored the other Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goals. Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Hayes, Koivunen, and Owen Pickering all finished with assists. Murashov stopped 32 shots in the win.
ECHL
Wheeling Nailers Avoid Eastern Conference Final Sweep With Game 4 Win, Lose In Game 5
The Wheeling Nailers lost 5-2 in Game 3 and slipped to 0-3 in the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Everblades. Tiernan Shoudy and Brayden Edwards scored. Mike Posma, Max Graham, and Ryan McAllister all finished with assists. Taylor Gauthier surrendered five goals on 33 shots.
The Nailers managed to avoid the sweep with a 3-2 overtime win on Friday night Matthew Quercia and Craig Armstrong scored in regulation, and Graham scored the overtime winner. Emil Pieniniemi, Black Bennett, David Breazeale, Nolan Renwick, Edwards, and Shoudy all finished with assists. Gauthier stopped 32 shots in the win.
The wheels fell off in Wheeling on Saturday night in a 6-1 loss to the Everblades, ending the season for the Nailers. Renwick scored the lone Wheeling goal to tie the score 1-1 in the first period off Mathieu De St. Phalle and Armstrong assists, but the Everblades scored five unanswered goals to take the series and advance to the Kelly Cup Final. Gauthier surrendered six goals on 27 shots.
Among players signed with or with rights owned by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Emil Pienieniemi led blueliners on the team through the postseason with eight points in 15 games, and Max Graham led the team with 42 penalty minutes. Daniel Laatsch returned for Game 5 and finished the postseason with two points in seven games. Gauthier finishes the postseason with a 9-8-0 record, a .930 save percentage and 2.01 goals against average. Gabriel D’Aigle appeared in only half a game in relief, finishing with a .917 save percentage and 2.06 goals against average.