This Week in Avalanche Prospects

On time and for your reading pleasure; this week's edition of TWIAP! It was an ugly week for the Lake Erie Monsters...to say the least. Kent Patterson continues an impressive start for the Minnesota Gophers. All Calvin Pickard needs is a little bit of defense. Jonos Holos getting ice time and enjoying life in Sweden.

Getting their number one goaltender back hasn't fixed all that ails the Lake Erie Monsters. Inconsistent scoring and a putrid power play continues to haunt the club. The Monsters lost all three of their games this past week and were shut out twice. Lake Erie's power play is currently running at a 11.1 percent clip, which is third worst in the AHL.

It's difficult to overlook the injuries down the middle. Mike Carman has just returned to the lineup, but Patrick Rissmiller is out until December and the status of Joey Hishon and Mark Olver is unknown, as both players are recovering from concussions. Still, more production is needed from the likes of Ryan Stoa, Luke Walker, Justin Mercier and Greg Mauldin; none of which have more than six points after 14 games played.

The Monsters will look to turn this around next weekend as they host a two game set with the San Antonio Rampage.

From Cleveland, we head to Minnesota where Kent Patterson is putting together a special season in net and the Golden Gophers are off to a 9-1 start after an impressive sweep over North Dakota. Patterson recorded his fifth shut out of the season, tying a school record, after blanking the Sioux 2-0 on Friday night.

For his efforts thusfar, he was named the Hockey Commissioners' Association National Division I Player of the Month for the month of October. Patterson will carry his 0.942 save percentage and 1.60 goals against average into Wisconsin next weekend.

Boston College, who entered the weekend as the top ranked club in the nation, lost their second game of the season on Saturday to Massachusetts. Paul Carey had an assist in the loss. Kieran Millan had a forgettable effort against UMass-Lowell on Saturday as he was pulled at the end of the second period when he allowed six goals on 30 shots.

After missing most of his freshman campaign due to various injuries, Gus Young has suited up for all four games this season for the Yale Bulldogs. He has yet to record a point, but his club is off to a 2-1-1 start.

In Michigan, the Wolverines are sporting a 7-2-1 record after splitting a weekend set with the Western Michigan Broncos. Luke Moffatt has found himself on the fourth line for the majority of the season. He went pointless this past weekend, but overall has five points in nine games.

The Seattle Thunderbirds find themselves at the bottom of the US Division in the Western Hockey League. A four game losing steak can do that to a club. Calvin Pickard was pulled early in the second period of Friday night's game against Red Deer after he gave up five goals on 22 shots. On Saturday, he had a 40 save performance against Edmonton, but it was another loss for the Thunderbirds. On average, Pickard has seen 35 shots per game.

The Saskatoon Blades are carrying a 11-6-0-1 record, which is good enough for second place in the East Division. Their captain, Duncan Siemens, has 14 points in 17 games. Troy Rutkowski and the Portland Winterhawks are 11-7-1-1 after 20 games. Rutkowski's offensive struggles continue. He has only three goals and four assists in those 20 games.

Over in Sweden, Jonas Holos is settling in well with the Växjö Lakers HC (Elitserien). After seven games, he has two goals. Most importantly he is getting the ice time; averaging around 20 minutes per game. In Finland, Sami Aittokallio has four starts for Ilves (SM-Liiga), with a 1-1-2 record, goals against average of 2.77, and save percentage of 0.918.

Next week, a recap of the Monsters two game set with San Antonio. Also, a look at the college hockey landscape and a check-in on some more Canadian junior prospects.