Three New York Rangers prospects kept making noise across the CHL and USHL last week, with Darian Anderson, Spencer Bowes and goalie Danai Shaiikov once again turning in the kind of weekends that stand out early in a season.
Anderson delivered the biggest splash by far. The Flint Firebirds forward opened with a shootout winner in a 4-3 victory over the Saginaw Spirit on Friday, then followed that up with a career night Saturday, piling up four points in a 6-2 win over Saginaw.
He finished that game with two goals and two assists, including a slick setup to Ryland Cunningham after Flint fell behind 1-0 in the first period. Later in the opening frame, he helped spring Martins Klaucans for what became the game-winner, then took over in the third period with two more goals.
One came on a backhand after Cooper Williams fed him driving to the net, and the other was a short-handed empty-netter from center ice while Saginaw had pulled its goalie on the power play. Anderson was named the game’s first star after finishing with five shots and a plus-2 rating.
He wrapped the weekend scoreless in a 1-0 win over the Soo Greyhounds on Sunday, but still led Flint with six shots on goal.
That Sunday result extended Flint’s run without a regulation loss to eight games at 7-0-1. Anderson now has nine goals and nine assists for 18 points, which is the most among Rangers prospects. He also leads the Firebirds and is tied for eighth in the OHL with nine goals.
Bowes kept his own scoring streak rolling for Ottawa. In Friday’s 4-2 loss to Kingston, he stayed productive with a goal and an assist, extending both his goal streak and point streak to four games.
He was even more central on Sunday, when he scored Ottawa’s only goal in a 6-1 loss to the Frontenacs. That first-period power-play strike gave him 11 goals on the season, the most among Rangers prospects and tied for fourth in the OHL.
Shaiikov had a mixed weekend in net for Gatineau. The Olympiques beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-3 on Friday, but it was not one of his cleaner outings.
He was beaten on Saint John’s first goal after traffic wasn’t cleared from the crease, then got caught on a puck-handling mistake that led to an open-net goal, and later allowed a third goal on a clean shot. Still, Gatineau got the win behind the offense.
On Sunday, Shaiikov was named the game’s third star even in a 2-0 loss to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He stopped 23 shots and allowed only one goal, with the second marker going into an empty net.
The 19-year-old is now 5-2-2 with a 2.68 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage. Among QMJHL goalies, he ranks second in games played with 11, is tied for fifth in wins, tied for eighth in save percentage and ninth in GAA.
Elsewhere, Andre Mondoux picked up an assist in Kingston’s 6-1 win over Ottawa on Sunday after going scoreless in Friday’s 4-2 victory. He finished that weekend with four goals, four assists and a plus-4 rating in 14 games.
Felix Farhammar, wearing an alternate captain’s “A,” was held off the board in Muskegon’s 3-0 loss to Lincoln on Friday and again in Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Stars. He had one shot in the first game and two in the second.
Zeb Lindgren was scoreless in both of Red Deer’s games, a 4-2 loss to Penticton on Friday and a 4-3 overtime defeat to Lethbridge on Saturday. He had one shot Friday and finished minus-1.
Artem Gonchar went without a point in Thursday’s 4-3 Sudbury win over North Bay and again in Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Battalion, but he bounced back Sunday in a big way. On his 20th birthday, Gonchar recorded the primary assist on Sudbury’s first goal and scored the only goal in the shootout in the sixth round, giving the Wolves a 3-2 win. He now has six assists in six games.
Evan Passmore and Barrie managed one win this week, a 4-3 overtime result over Owen Sound on Thursday, but the Colts dropped their next two and slipped to an OHL-worst 2-10-2. Passmore was held without a point in all three games, including Saturday’s 7-4 loss to North Bay and Sunday’s 5-4 overtime defeat to Owen Sound.
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