By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department
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THREE STAR SELECTIONS FOR THE WEEK ENDING 11-24-12
Some old familiar faces, and a couple of brand new ones, have earned spots in this week's "Fab Five."
Yannick Veilleux and the Moncton Wildcats played just two games this week, and Veilleux scored twice -- both game-winners -- while adding three assists to pace the 'Cats to victories over Cape Breton (4-2 on Nov. 21) and Baie-Comeau (6-5 on Nov. 24).
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BREAKING: Veilleux picked up another game-winner today, and sandwiched a second goal around Dmitri Jaskin's second-period tally as Moncton whitewashed major junior powerhouse Halifax 3-0 in Moncton this afternoon.
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OHL'er Jordan "Binnasty" Binnington put together a shutout streak of 212:20 over five games in the last nine days. After surrendering a goal at 13:34 of the third period on Nov. 16, Binnington turned aside over 110 consecutive shots, posting wins over Kitchener (4-0), Windsor (1-0), and Barrie (1-0), and shutting down all 14 London shots in the first period on Nov. 24 before allowing the Knights to break through at 5:54 of the second on their way to a 3-0 win.
Blueliner Ian Cole was tabbed to start the 2012-13 season in St. Louis, auditioning as the defensive conscience and protector of Alex Pietrangelo. The lockout sent Cole to Peoria, and he has responded by rounding into perhaps the Rivs' top defender this season. This week, Cole's offensive game came to the fore as he tallied a pair of goals -- including the game-tying marker with less than 30 seconds to play, sending the game vs. Milwaukee into overtime -- and added two helpers for a four-point week.
Honorable Mentions this week go to a pair of forward prospects, both of whom are natives of the wild, wild West. RW Ty Rattie continues to put the lie to statements by fans and "experts" alike that he can't succeed without last year's linemate (and Calgary prospect) Sven Bärtschi. Rattie scored just once this week, a GWG vs. Vancouver on Nov. 21, but racked up six assists as Portland stayed hot in the WHL. And in Peoria, rookie Cody Beach has slotted in as an effective winger on the Rivs' third line with C Chris Bruton and LW Sergey Andronov. The big RW assisted on goals by Bruton, Cole, and Jaden Schwartz in the last week, and was a plus-3 for the Rivermen.
Top Russian-born prospects Dmitri Jaskin (2 GP, 1 G, 3 A, plus-1, 2 PM) and Vladimir Tarasenko (3 GP, 1 G, 2 A, plus-2) had solid weeks, but fell just short of making the cut this week, in light of multiple-goal performances and/or notable standout play by other prospects. Collegian Sam Kurker, who tallied his first NCAA goal this week, also just missed out on selection for that accomplishment.
Once again just missing out on selection this week was Peoria blueliner Mark Cundari. The Ontario native has been an offensive catalyst for Peoria in the last two weeks, with assists on seven of the 20 total goals (not counting the GWG in the shootout with Milwaukee) scored by Peoria in their last six games.
*** FIRST Star *** | ** SECOND Star ** | * THIRD Star * |
Yannick VEILLEUX | Jordan BINNINGTON | Ian COLE |
Moncton (QMJHL) | Owen Sound (OHL) | Peoria (AHL) |
** 2 games played this week | ** 3 games played this week | ** 3 games played this week |
** 2 G, 3 A, plus-1 | ** 180 mins, 3 GA, 2-1-0, 2 SO | ** 2 G, 2 A, even |
** 0 PM, 1 PP, 0 SH, 2 GW | ** 1.00 GAA, 97.1 save % | ** 2 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW |
HONORABLE MENTION:
TY RATTIE, RW, Portland (WHL): 3 GP, 1-6-7, plus-5, 0 PP, 0 SH, 1 GW.
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CODY BEACH, RW, Peoria (AHL): 3 GP, 0-3-3, plus-3, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW.
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THREE STAR POINT STANDINGS FOR THE WEEK ENDING 11-17-12
Players receive four points for being named First Star, three points for Second Star, two points for Third Star, and one point for Honorable Mention. The top ten prospects in the Three Star point standings for this week are as follows:
PLAYER | CLUB | POINTS |
Dmitri Jaskin | Moncton, QMJHL | 17 |
Ty Rattie | Portland, WHL | 14 |
Yannick Veilleux | Moncton, QMJHL | 11 |
Vladimir Tarasenko | SKA St Petersburg, KHL | 10 |
Jordan Binnington | Owen Sound, OHL | 9 |
Ryan Tesink | Saint John, QMJHL | 9 |
Jake Allen | Peoria, AHL | 8 |
Teemu Eronen | Jokerit, SM-Liiga | 3 |
Mackenzie Maceachern | Chicago, USHL | 3 |
Phil McRae | Peoria, AHL | 3 |
Francois Tremblay | Val-d'Or, QMJHL | 3 |