I got a feelingThat tonight’s gonna be a good nightThat tonight’s gonna be a good nightThat tonight’s gonna be a good, good night
Just Two New York Ranger Prospects were in action on this Wednesday night. and as the Black Eyed Peas like to sing about tonight going to be a good night, it was one. Two teams badly in need of wins got them.
Bryce McConnell-Barker had a rough start to his season as he simply could not get going. When he finally found his game, disaster struck and he was out injured with a bad concussion.
Even when he returned to the Soo Greyhounds lineup there was a bit of inconsistency to his game and things were just not looking right for the captain of the Soo Greyhounds. It was game four of the OHL’s Western Conference playoff semi-finals between the Greyhounds and the Saginaw Spirit.
The Spirit having regained home ice advantage after a very dominant 7-2 win in game three to take a 2-1 series lead. The last thing the Greyhounds could afford was to drop game four and fall behind 3-1 in the series.
Captains are expected to rise to the occasion in the biggest of games in game four, that is exactly what Bryce McConnell-Barker did. McConnell-Barker with a 2-1-3 night earned the games second star as the Greyhounds got right back into this series with a 4-0 blanking of the Spirit.
The player they call Da BoMB came through for his teammates scoring the first and second goals of the game for the Greyhounds and lifted his team right back into the series with it now all tied up at 2-2. It started with a power play goal at 15:17 of the first period, a play they called the “play of the night” and rightly so.
McConnell-Barker started by standing off to the side of the Saginaw goal but as his teammates fired the puck on goal from the point, McConnell-Barker was right there to grab the rebound and slam it into the Saginaw net for the goal.
Tonight’s play of the game is @DeltaSSM pic.twitter.com/hU3JDUjSWt
— Soo Greyhounds (@OHLHoundPower) April 18, 2024
It was his third goal of the playoffs, and the Greyhounds were off to the races. It was the only goal of the first period and the lead carried through to the second period with the teams at even strength. I’m not sure this was a set play, but the Greyhounds carried the puck into the offensive zone with what looked like McConnell-Barker going for a stroll when the puck wound up on his stick and he fired it past the Saginaw goalie for a 2-0 lead.
But McConnell-Barker beat three Saginaw players to the puck and caught them napping as he earned his fourth goal of the playoffs.
🚨HOUNDS GOAL🚨
Oh Captain, My Captain, Bryce McConnell-Barker AGAIN🫡 pic.twitter.com/YA1GSxS7vn
— Soo Greyhounds (@OHLHoundPower) April 18, 2024
The Greyhounds would add a third goal in the third before with the Spirit net empty, McConnell-Barker would earn his third point of the night with a secondary assist on his team’s fourth goal of the game. A rock-solid night for the leader of the Soo who came through big time when his team needed it the most.
McConnell-Barker with the 2-1-3 on two shots with a +2 and a super 11-3 faceoff record after going 12-5 in game three. The captain of the Soo is 4-8-12 which is good for ninth in the OHL playoffs and game five will be Thursday in Saginaw.
In Green Bay, Rasmus Larsson and his Green Bay Gamblers were facing elimination in a best of three series against the Chicago Steel. Having to play their third game in three nights and fifth game in the six nights, the Gamblers and Steel still managed to put on a heck of a game despite being exhausted.
Regulation time did not decide a winner, so they played into the first overtime where it still took 16:10 before the Gamblers got one into the net to defeat the Steel and advance to the second round of the USHL Eastern Conference playoffs.
Larsson was scoreless on one shot while he was playing on the top defensive pairing for his Gamblers. The win advances the Gamblers to the second round of the Clark Cup and they will be facing Ty Henricks and his Muskegon Lumberjacks in a “best of five” series.
The schedule did neither team any favors as the series will open with game one in Muskegon on Saturday night but turn around and play game two also in Muskegon but a 3:19 PM start. Game three and four will be in Green Bay on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and if needed game five will be back in Muskegon a week from Friday.
I missed it
Imagine my surprise to be looking at the Hartford Wolfpack roster and there is Maxim Barbashev’s name on it. I really didn’t think the Rangers were going to bring him to Hartford after the weak season that he had but there he is on an Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO).
Barbashev has yet to appear in a game for the Wolfpack but that the Rangers are giving him a look says a lot considering that last year they didn’t do that with Jayden Grubbe whose rights they eventually traded to Edmonton.
