It was a combination last day of the Canadian Junior’s regular season and the NCAA Tournament selection announcements on Sunday. Just three prospects saw playing action so lets deal with this first.
Dylan Roobroeck and his Oshawa Generals had a lot on the line on Sunday; a win would give them the OHL’s Eastern Conference Title (and the East Division title too) along with the home ice advantage that went along with it. The Generals were already riding an 11-game win streak as they lineup to face the Sudbury Wolves who were looking to earn the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Roobroeck would have a 2-1-3 performance to lead his Generals to a 5-1 win and the OHL’s Eastern Conference title. The Generals will face the eighth-seed Barrie Colts when the playoffs begin on Friday.
A scoreless first period gave way to the Generals striking first with an even-strength goal at 6:19 of the second. The Generals would then add a power play goal which would prove to be the game-winner and Roobroeck’s first point of the game when he was credited with a secondary assist to make it 2-0 at 15:07.
The assist was Roobroeck’s prospects leading 46th and 70th point and this one was pretty much over. The Generals would add another goal early in the third to make it 3-0 before Sudbury would score to break the shutout.
That would lead to Roobroeck’s first goal an empty net score at 17:29 to make it 4-1 with Roobroeck’s 25th goal. Roobroeck would make it 5-1 2:26 later with a second empty net goal to finish the scoring with his Ranger prospect best 26th goal at 19:55.
Sorry we don’t have video of the two empty net goals but Dylan’s kid brother Ryan who plays for the Niagara IceDogs broke their rookie scoring record with his 28th goal (also a Niagara record). Ryan is not draft eligible until the 2026 NHL Entry Draft but he has been a pleasure to watch play this season so here is his goal for a very happy Roobroeck family.
49 POINTS. A NEW FRANCHISE RECORD 👏
Ryan Roobroeck makes @OHLIceDogs history! pic.twitter.com/r4xYwD4fPj
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) March 22, 2024
As for big brother Dylan, he finished with a 2-1-3 on two shots with a +3 and a roughing minor and a unsportsmanlike conduct minor. Roobroeck ends his regular season with a 26-46-72 mark along with a very nice +23, seven power play goals, two game winning goals and Roobroeck was also the leader in PIMS with 101. The Generals finished their regular season with a 12-game winning streak, an excellent feat for a team that was in last place in October.
Bryce McConnell-Barker and his Soo Greyhounds did not play on Sunday but learned they will face the Guelph Storm in the first round of the OHL Western Conference playoffs starting on Thursday.
Ty Henricks and his Muskegon Lumberjacks jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the USNTDP team and then had to hold on for a 4-3 win in USHL action. Henricks broke a six-game goalless streak with his 16th goal of the season as he recorded the Lumberjacks second goal of the game in the first period.
The goal came on the only shot that Henricks took and he finished a +2. The win clinched a playoff spot for the Lumberjacks as they remain just one point behind second place Green Bay in the USHL’s Eastern Conference standings.
Rasmus Larsson was scoreless on one shot as his Green Bay Gamblers held off the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in USHL play. The win clinched a playoff spot for the Gamblers as well as they are trying to hold off the Lumberjacks for second place and the first round bye that goes with it.
The NCAA Selections
No surprises when they announced the brackets for the NCAA Tournament other than a disappointment that Brody Lamb and his Minnesota Golden Gophers will be taking on Victor Mancini’s Omaha Mavericks in the opening round of the Sioux Falls region.
For some reason the Omaha Mavericks who hail from Omaha Nebraska are the host of the Sioux Falls region despite there being 181 miles of distance from Omaha. It makes little sense to me so I won’t try to explain it to you.
Boston College as expected was named the number one overall seed for the entire tournament. Depending on how you look at it, it will be either a blessing or a curse but Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortescue and CO. will take on the last seed in the tournament Michigan Tech.
On paper this is a mismatch but when you are in a single elimination tournament, every team needs just one good game to eliminate you. Boston College may be playing in their backyard of Providence Rhode Island but Michigan Tech has nothing to lose.
Hank Kempf and his Cornell Big Red will be traveling to Springfield Mass to face Maine in the already named region. Maine is having a comeback year and isn’t very far from home so expect them to show up with a good number of fans.
I like Cornell in this matchup mainly because Cornell is one of the best defensive teams in the NCAAs.
I just wish there had been a way for Noah Laba and his Colorado College Tigers to have earned a spot. Losing out on an invite by 0.0004 of a point has to be very heartbreaking.
