Opening statement
Sophomore slide much? After spending all of the 2009-10 campaign in the AHL, second-year pro Alain Goulet played the better part of last season with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. Although after his demotion following the P-Bruins season opener, he made good of a recall in March and ultimately saw action in 15 more AHL games.
2010-11 Highlights (With Reading and Providence)
· Started the month of January with a five-game point-getting streak (two goals, three assists).
· Nailed two assists in a single game on three occasions with the Royals, all of them at the expense of the Trenton Devils.
· Inserted the eventual clincher in his first game back with Providence on March 4, snapping a 2-2 tie on a power play en route to a 4-2 home win over the Charlotte Checkers.
· Assisted on three goals, including two of the team’s three power play strikes, in the P-Bruins’ 6-0 romp over Bridgeport March 6.
2010-11 Lowlights
· Was on the ice for three opposing goals in Reading’s 7-2 loss to the Elmira Jackals Oct. 23.
· Held pointless in 14 consecutive ECHL games between Nov. 14 and Dec. 19.
· Pitched in only three points within 20 games during the months of November and December.
· Finished the evening with a minus-1 rating in four consecutive appearances with the P-Bruins (March 9-13).
· Endured a minus-3 rating in Game 1 of the Kelly Cup semifinals, an 8-3 loss to the Kalamazoo Wings.
2011-12 Outlook
Of the non-NHL defensemen in the Bruins family, Goulet figures to rank somewhere between seventh and ninth on the depth chart. Another split ECHL/AHL season is likely in store, if only due to the traffic that has hustled ahead of him. But if he can pick up his performance and build upon his March-long call-up, Goulet will likely garner more regular appearances in Providence than last season.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
P-Bruins Player Puckbag: Craig Cunningham
Opening statement
How long has winger Craig Cunningham been fostering his game in the Western Hockey League? Well, as a rookie, he was a teammate of Milan Lucic as part of the Vancouver Giants’ journey to the 2007 Memorial Cup.
After five seasons at the major junior level, complete with 330 regular-season games, 79 playoff twirls and 128 goals and 322 points in those 409 cumulative games, Cunningham is raring to enter Boston’s system as a fairly mature, seasoned kind of rookie.
2010-11 Highlights (With two WHL teams)
· Traded from Vancouver Giants to the Portland Winterhawks at midseason. Had a point-per-game productivity rate in the postseason as Portland reached the WHL’s President’s Cup finals.
· Placed fourth on Vancouver’s regular-season scoring chart and third in the playmaking department despite playing only half of the season with the Giants before the transaction.
· Went on a 10-game point-getting streak between Oct. 8 and Oct. 27. Within that span, he logged four goals, 21 assists and nine multipoint outings.
· Assisted on five goals in Vancouver’s 7-5 win over the Kelowna Rockets Oct. 20.
· Scored a hat trick in his third game with Portland, pumping in all three goals in a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds on New Year’s Eve.
· Logged four playmaker hat tricks during the regular season.
· Held pointless in only four out of 21 WHL playoff games. Had one assist in all five President’s Cup championship games.
2010-11 Lowlights
· Went on a four-game pointless streak during his last three appearances with the Giants and carrying over to his Portland debut Dec. 28. He finished with a negative plus/minus in each of those outings for a cumulative minus-9 dip.
· Rating for the month of December fell to minus-11 upon going minus-3 in his Portland debut.
· Was on the ice for none of five Portland goals, but both of the opposing Kamloops Blazers’ strikes in a 5-2 win Jan. 15.
2011-12 Outlook
A fourth-round choice in the 2010 NHL Draft, Cunningham should have enough in him to become an AHL mainstay while patiently waiting for an opening in Boston’s tight system. How swiftly and smoothly he translates his rich resume from major junior to minor professional will decide how much of an impact he makes as a Providence rookie.
How long has winger Craig Cunningham been fostering his game in the Western Hockey League? Well, as a rookie, he was a teammate of Milan Lucic as part of the Vancouver Giants’ journey to the 2007 Memorial Cup.
After five seasons at the major junior level, complete with 330 regular-season games, 79 playoff twirls and 128 goals and 322 points in those 409 cumulative games, Cunningham is raring to enter Boston’s system as a fairly mature, seasoned kind of rookie.
2010-11 Highlights (With two WHL teams)
· Traded from Vancouver Giants to the Portland Winterhawks at midseason. Had a point-per-game productivity rate in the postseason as Portland reached the WHL’s President’s Cup finals.
· Placed fourth on Vancouver’s regular-season scoring chart and third in the playmaking department despite playing only half of the season with the Giants before the transaction.
· Went on a 10-game point-getting streak between Oct. 8 and Oct. 27. Within that span, he logged four goals, 21 assists and nine multipoint outings.
· Assisted on five goals in Vancouver’s 7-5 win over the Kelowna Rockets Oct. 20.
· Scored a hat trick in his third game with Portland, pumping in all three goals in a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds on New Year’s Eve.
· Logged four playmaker hat tricks during the regular season.
· Held pointless in only four out of 21 WHL playoff games. Had one assist in all five President’s Cup championship games.
2010-11 Lowlights
· Went on a four-game pointless streak during his last three appearances with the Giants and carrying over to his Portland debut Dec. 28. He finished with a negative plus/minus in each of those outings for a cumulative minus-9 dip.
· Rating for the month of December fell to minus-11 upon going minus-3 in his Portland debut.
· Was on the ice for none of five Portland goals, but both of the opposing Kamloops Blazers’ strikes in a 5-2 win Jan. 15.
2011-12 Outlook
A fourth-round choice in the 2010 NHL Draft, Cunningham should have enough in him to become an AHL mainstay while patiently waiting for an opening in Boston’s tight system. How swiftly and smoothly he translates his rich resume from major junior to minor professional will decide how much of an impact he makes as a Providence rookie.
P-Bruins Player Puckbag: Adam Courchaine
Opening statement
It has been two full seasons since goaltender Adam Courchaine put in his last of four cameo appearances in the AHL, all of them with the P-Bruins. He enters his second year as a full-time professional on the heels of backing up league-leader Gerald Coleman and the Alaska Aces en route to an ECHL Kelly Cup championship.
2010-11 Highlights (With Reading and Alaska)
· Ranked No. 5 among all ECHL backstops with a 2.52 goals-against average in 29 games-played.
· Tied colleague Gerald Coleman for the league lead with four shutouts.
· Posted a 33-save shutout in his Alaska debut, blanking the host Bakersfield Condors, 3-0, on Oct. 30.
· Improved to 4-1-0 on the year upon laying his second goose-egg, a 23-save performance in a 3-0 win over the Idaho Steelheads Dec. 3.
· Went unbeaten (7-0-1) in nine total appearances in the month of February, which featured a personal seven-game winning streak.
· Won each of his last five regular-season decisions, including two more shutouts.
· Won his only playoff start for the Aces, stopping 35 out of 37 shots, including all 16 in the second period, to win Game 3 of the Kelly Cup semifinals, 6-2, at Victoria.
2010-11 Lowlights
· Chased from his only appearance with the Reading Royals after giving up four goals on nine shots in a mere 7:13 of clock time. He eventually received a no-decision as Reading compensated the 4-0 deficit, but lost to the Trenton Devils, 6-4, on Oct. 17.
· Lost five consecutive decisions, including four straight in regulation, during the month of January. Courchaine gave up 16 goals on 97 shots in that span for an acrid .835 save percentage.
· Forked out at the 3:43 mark of the second period in a Feb. 4 game at Victoria. He had given up two goals on only nine shots.
2011-12 Outlook
Never in their first 19 years of existence have the P-Bruins gone the full length of a regular season with any fewer than three goaltenders seeing crease time. And even with the schedule shaved from 80 to 76 games, that trend has next to no chance of ending.
With Matt Dalton out of the equation, this leaves Courchaine as the most likely candidate to periodically step in, especially if and when presumptive starter Anton Khudobin is summoned to Boston.
It has been two full seasons since goaltender Adam Courchaine put in his last of four cameo appearances in the AHL, all of them with the P-Bruins. He enters his second year as a full-time professional on the heels of backing up league-leader Gerald Coleman and the Alaska Aces en route to an ECHL Kelly Cup championship.
2010-11 Highlights (With Reading and Alaska)
· Ranked No. 5 among all ECHL backstops with a 2.52 goals-against average in 29 games-played.
· Tied colleague Gerald Coleman for the league lead with four shutouts.
· Posted a 33-save shutout in his Alaska debut, blanking the host Bakersfield Condors, 3-0, on Oct. 30.
· Improved to 4-1-0 on the year upon laying his second goose-egg, a 23-save performance in a 3-0 win over the Idaho Steelheads Dec. 3.
· Went unbeaten (7-0-1) in nine total appearances in the month of February, which featured a personal seven-game winning streak.
· Won each of his last five regular-season decisions, including two more shutouts.
· Won his only playoff start for the Aces, stopping 35 out of 37 shots, including all 16 in the second period, to win Game 3 of the Kelly Cup semifinals, 6-2, at Victoria.
2010-11 Lowlights
· Chased from his only appearance with the Reading Royals after giving up four goals on nine shots in a mere 7:13 of clock time. He eventually received a no-decision as Reading compensated the 4-0 deficit, but lost to the Trenton Devils, 6-4, on Oct. 17.
· Lost five consecutive decisions, including four straight in regulation, during the month of January. Courchaine gave up 16 goals on 97 shots in that span for an acrid .835 save percentage.
· Forked out at the 3:43 mark of the second period in a Feb. 4 game at Victoria. He had given up two goals on only nine shots.
2011-12 Outlook
Never in their first 19 years of existence have the P-Bruins gone the full length of a regular season with any fewer than three goaltenders seeing crease time. And even with the schedule shaved from 80 to 76 games, that trend has next to no chance of ending.
With Matt Dalton out of the equation, this leaves Courchaine as the most likely candidate to periodically step in, especially if and when presumptive starter Anton Khudobin is summoned to Boston.
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