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Colorado Avalanche prospect report: Playoff Cale Makar has arrived

Everyone’s playing playoff games now — and seasons are ending just like that.

By LaurenKelly24
Jon Asgeirsson - The Daily Collegian

I think I’ll let this tweet summarize the week up:

Ontario Hockey League

#17 - Brandon Saigeon (C)
Oshawa Generals (44-20-4)

Saigeon exploded for four assists in Oshawa’s season finale and his final OHL game, finishing 12th in OHL scoring with 92 points.

He also set a new milestone that game:

The Generals finished third in the Eastern Conference, setting up a first-round matchup with the Peterborough Petes. The series begins Friday.

Western Hockey League

#21 - Nick Henry (RW)
Lethbridge Hurricanes (40-18-10)

Henry wrapped up his season with two goals and one assist in two games. That brought him up to 94 points in 69 games, good for seventh in WHL scoring. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes twitter account stopped live-tweeting for those last two games. Lethbridge will head into the playoffs having finished second in their division, and will take on the Calgary Hitmen in the first round on Friday.

NCAA

#16 - Cale Makar (D)
UMass Minutemen (26-8-0)
vs. New Hampshire: series won 2-0

If you thought regular season Makar was good, well, playoff Cale has arrived in full force:

Makar bade farewell to the Minutemen faithful after what was likely his last game at the Mullins Center:

And to top off his four point performance in the first round, he was once again named the conference’s player of the week:

UMass will take on Boston College in the semi-finals on Friday at T.D. Garden.

#15 - Shane Bowers (C)
Boston University Terriers (14-16-4)
vs. UMass Lowell: series won 2-1

It was a quiet weekend for Bowers, having only registered one assist in three games. The Terriers went the distance in their series against the Lowell River Hawks, but solidified their semi-final berth with a statement 4-1 win in Game 3. Their semi-final game will be against the Northeastern Huskies on Friday.

#26 - Cam Morrison (LW), #4 - Nick Leivermann (D), #2 - Nate Clurman (D)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-13-3)
vs. Minnesota: won 4-3 (OT)

Unlike the quarter-finals, he semi-finals are always a one-and-done game. Cam Morrison, who has been a key playoff performer for the Irish, opened the scoring:

Nate Clurman played but didn’t register any points, while Nick Leivermann sat out this one. Notre Dame will host Penn State in the Big Ten championship on Saturday night.

#58 - Sampo Ranta (RW) - ELIMINATED
Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-15-4)
vs. Notre Dame: lost 4-3 (OT)

A soft penalty call in overtime less than 20 seconds in was a bitterly disappointing way to end the Gophers season. Ranta scored the team’s lone goal of the game:

#25 - Denis Smirnov (RW)
Penn State Nittany Lions (19-13-2)
vs. Ohio State: won 5-1

This was a huge upset, as the Lions came out with a roar (I have no regrets) and took down the top-ranked Buckeyes. Smirnov didn’t contribute on the scoresheet, but he will get another opportunity to put up points in the conference final against Notre Dame.

#40 - Tyler Weiss (LW) — ELIMINATED
Nebraska Omaha Mavericks (9-22-3)
vs. Minnesota-Duluth: series lost 2-0

Not surprising here that Minnesota-Duluth swept Omaha, but the Mavericks made a go of it in Game 1, tying the game with less than a minute to go and falling in overtime. Weiss assisted on that lone goal, but went pointless in the second game, marking the end of his and Omaha’s season.

Europe

#51 - Nikolai Kovalenko (RW)
KHL - Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (40-16-6)
vs. St. Petersburg: down 3-1

Kovalenko finally played in Game 3, which ended up being a huge win for a Lokomotiv team down 2-0 in the series. He registered one assist. Kovalenko dressed for Game 4 as well, but went pointless as Lokomotive lost and now face elimination in Game 5.

#2 - Danila Zhuravlyov (D) — ELIMINATED
VHL - Bars Kazan (27-22-7)

#19 - Gustav Olhaver (RW) — ELIMINATED
Allsvenskan (SWE) - Tingsryds AIF (19-25-8)