Avalanche Farm Report - March 6

San Antonio Rampage

The Rampage closed the trip on Wednesday with a 3-2 overtime loss at the Ontario Reign. J.C. Beaudin and Andrew Agozzino scored for San Antonio in the loss. Trailing 2-0 in the second frame, Beaudin got the Rampage within one after he tallied his second of the season off a pass from Jesse Graham. Agozzino tied the contest at 2-2 with a power-play goal at 12:26 of the third period, but the Reign picked up the win in the extra frame after scoring at 2:28.
On Friday, the Rampage returned home for the first time in nearly a month to take on the Chicago Wolves but lost 3-0 on Military Appreciation Night.

San Antonio finished a busy week on Sunday with a 2-1 loss in overtime to the Texas Stars. Beaudin tallied another point in the loss with an assist on the lone Rampage goal, bringing his AHL point total to seven (two goals, five assists) in 25 contests.
The Rampage owns a 27-23-9 record after going 3-3-3 in its last nine games. San Antonio is currently sixth in the Pacific Division and 12th in the Western Conference with a points percentage of .534. The club only trails Ontario (.577) by .043 percentage points for the last playoff spot in the conference.
Colorado made a couple transactions with the Rampage this past week. The Avs reassigned defenseman David Warsofsky on Wednesday and recalled goaltender Spencer Martin last Tuesday. Martin backed up starter Semyon Varlamov for three NHL games last week before being sent back to San Antonio on Monday.
Upcoming Games:
March 6 vs. Chicago Wolves
March 9 vs. Iowa Wild
March 11 at Ontario Reign

Colorado Eagles (ECHL)

The Colorado Eagles hosted the Tulsa Oilers in a three-game series in Loveland last week.
The Eagles took Wednesday's contest with a 4-3 shootout victory and then continued their winning ways against the Oilers with 4-1 victory on Friday. In the final game of the set on Saturday, Tulsa picked up a 5-3 win.
Colorado owns the No. 1 spot in the Mountain Division with a record of 37-15-6 (80 points) and is third overall in the Western Conference.

OHL

Travis Barron (Ottawa 67's): The Ottawa 67's battled the North Bay Battalion on Thursday and went home victorious, 4-2. Travis Barron recorded his 15th goal of the season and added a helper in the win. Barron followed up that performance by scoring the lone 67's goal in a 3-1 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday. In a high-scoring affair on Sunday, Ottawa fell 7-5 to the London Knights. Barron found the scoresheet in the game, recording a goal and adding a helper. Those two points gave the 67's captain 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) on the season, good for third on the team. With only a handful of games left in the regular season, Ottawa still clinched a playoff spot despite Sunday's loss. The 67's are 28-26-5 and the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
Conor Timmins (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds): Conor Timmins made a big step toward his professional career on Friday, as he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Avalanche that starts next season. The defenseman is still out with a lower-body injury that has forced him to miss 21 straight games, but Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds head coach Drew Bannister told the Sault Star newspaper that he expects Timmins to play this upcoming weekend. Timmins last dressed on Jan. 10 and has 35 points (six goals and 29 assists) in 30 contests this year. His team had another successful week with three wins. With its a 4-1 victory over the Saginaw Spirit on Wednesday, the Greyhounds won their 50th game of the campaign and clinched the top overall seed for the OHL playoffs. The club won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy as regular season champions, earning home-ice advantage throughout the postseason. Sault Ste. Marie won a close match on Friday, defeating the Sarnia Sting 6-5 in a shootout. The Soo took on Windsor on Sunday and sent the Spitfires home with a 5-2 loss to close the week.

WHL

Josh Anderson (Swift Current Broncos): The Swift Current Broncos bucked the Calgary Hitmen by a score of 6-4 on Tuesday at Scotiabank Saddledome, home of the NHL's Calgary Flames. On Friday, the Broncos fell 5-4 in a shootout to the Prince Albert Raiders. Josh Anderson racked up 17 minutes of penalties in the game after instigating a fight with Raiders' defenseman Zack Hayes, who sparked the altercation after delivering an illegal check from behind. Swift Current battled the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday to finish the week's games and took home a 3-1 decision. Anderson has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 48 contests. His team has the second-most wins in the WHL and owns an impressive 46-14-6 record heading into the final stretch before the playoffs begin. Swift Current has already clinched a spot in the postseason and is guaranteed to continue playing after its regular-season ends on March 17. The Broncos are currently second in the East Division.
Nick Henry (Regina Pats): The Regina Pats resumed play this week by taking on the Calgary Hitmen and eking out a 3-2 win in overtime. On Sunday, the Pats paid a visit to the Edmonton Oil Kings and won 7-4. Nick Henry found the back of the net for his 12th goal of the campaign. The winger has 26 points (12 goals and 14 assists) in 47 games this year. With only six games remaining in the regular season, the Pats own a 35-25-6 record and are in third place in the East Division.
Ty Lewis (Brandon Wheat Kings): Ty Lewis had a big week for the Brandon Wheat Kings as he scored five of the team's seven goals in three games, including tallying three in the club's 4-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday. Lewis began the week on Tuesday by tallying both of Brandon's goals in a 6-2 loss versus the Prince Albert Raiders, earning the game's third-star honors as a result. After his hat trick performance on Friday versus the Warriors, Lewis was held off the scoresheet in a 3-1 loss to the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday. The Wheat Kings' assistant captain has 89 points (39 goals, 50 assists) in 63 games this season, tied for eighth place in the WHL in scoring. As the playoffs approach, the Wheat Kings have a record of 34-26-3 and presently own the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

NCAA

Shane Bowers (Boston University): The No. 4-seed Boston University Terriers wrapped up their regular season on Feb. 24 and begins its Hockey East Tournament on Friday with a best-of-three series against the No. 5-seed Connecticut Huskies in Boston. The Terriers' fourth-place finish in the conference earned them home-ice advantage heading into their matchup against UConn. BU closed the regular season with a record of 17-13-4, including a 1-0-1 record and a tie against the Huskies. Shane Bowers ended his regular season tied for the second-most points on the Terriers roster with 27 (16 goals, 11 assists). Bowers also led the team in plus/minus rating (plus-14).
Cale Makar (UMass): UMass finished its regular season on Feb. 24 with an overall record of 15-17-2. The UMass Minutemen entered the Hockey East Tournament facing off against the No. 9-seed Vermont Catamounts, a team they played twice during the regular season, winning once and tying the other. Cale Makar closed out the regular season with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 29 games. UMass opened the series with a 3-2 overtime victory. Makar tallied the equalizer to force the game into overtime on a spectacular individual effort, taking the puck end-to-end before scoring. Makar also assisted on the Minutemen's first goal of the game. The second outing of the series also went to overtime, but this time Vermont had the upper hand and edged UMass 4-3. Makar was held off the scoresheet in Game 2 but did record a team-high five shots on goal (tied) in the effort. Game 3 on Sunday was not as close as the first two matchups of the series, as the Minutemen finished off the Catamounts in a 5-1 victory. UMass moves on to face No. 2-seed Northeastern in the conference quarterfinals starting on Friday.

Cam Morrison (Notre Dame): Notre Dame closed out its regular season on Feb. 24 and enters the Big Ten Tournament with a record of 23-9-2 and ranked as No. 4 team in the country in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. Also the top school in the Big Ten, the Fighting Irish earned a first-round bye and immediately advanced to the single-elimination semifinals. They will play Penn State on Saturday in the semis. Cam Morrison finished the regular season with 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 34 games.
Denis Smirnov (Penn State): Denis Smirnov and Penn State opened their Big Ten Conference Tournament against the school they finished the regular season against a week earlier, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Smirnov recorded a goal and added a helper in Penn State's 5-3 series-opening win on Friday. The Nittany Lions went on to sweep the Gophers in the best-of-three series on Saturday, winning a tightly-contested Game 2 by a score of 6-5. Smirnov finished the series with two points (one goal, one assist) and now has 16 goals and 11 assists on the year. PSU will face the top-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a single-elimination semifinal contest on Saturday.

USHL

Nate Clurman (Sioux City Musketeers): After being traded for the second time this season, Nate Clurman has found an early groove with the Sioux City Musketeers, having now recorded four points in his first six games with the team. The Musketeers began the week on Tuesday by taking on the Waterloo Black Hawks but fell 2-1 in a close contest. The Black Hawks then skated into Sioux City on Saturday for a rematch and again edged the Musketeers in a tightly-contested matchup, this time winning 4-3. Clurman found the scoresheet on Saturday, recording his third assist with the Musketeers. On Sunday, Sioux City took on one of Clurman's former teams, the Tri-City Storm, and won 3-2 in a shootout. The D-man recorded yet another assist in the win and now has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 44 contests during the 2017-18 USHL campaign.

BCHL

Nick Leivermann (Penticton Vees): The Vees ended the regular season with a record of 40-12-3-3 and a league-best 86 points, earning Penticton the title of regular season champions. The Vees triumphant season earned them a first-round matchup against the Coquitlam Express, a team they went undefeated against during the campaign (2-0). The series opened in the Vees' favor, taking Games 1 and 2 by scores of 2-1 and 9-2 on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Nick Leivermann was quiet in Game 1 but recorded four assists in Game 2's rout. The series shifts to Coquitlam for Games 3 and 4 starting on Tuesday. Leivermann finished the regular season with 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 43 games despite missing a handful of contests with an injury. Those numbers earned him a top-10 finish in D-man scoring in the BCHL and the most points by any rookie defenseman in the league.

KHL

Igor Shvyrev (Metallurg Magnitogorsk): Metallurg Magnitogorsk returned to action after a month-long break and shutout Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk 4-0 on Tuesday. On Thursday, Metallurg built on its current win streak by defeating Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3-2 to close the regular season. Metallurg finished fourth in its division and fifth overall in the East Conference with 32 wins and 24 losses. The club opened the KHL Playoffs on Sunday against Avtomobilist and won 3-2 in Game 1 of its quarterfinal matchup. Metallurg lost the second contest of the best-of-seven series on Monday by a 2-1 score. Igor Shvyrev dressed but didn't play in the first game, but he did see 4:34 of ice time in the second contest of the postseason. He scored one goal in 32 KHL contests during the regular season. The young Russian center has also played in 10 games with Metallurg's junior club, Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk, and has recorded 17 points (five goals, 12 assists).

Sweden (Allsvenskan)

Gustav Olhaver (IK Oskarshamn): Gustav Olhaver was held off the scoresheet in all three IK Oskarshamn games this past week. Oskarshamn took on Vasterviks IK on Tuesday and edged out a 4-3 win, but the squad fell 4-1 to BIK Karlskoga on Friday. IK Oskarshamn rounded out it week of play by defeating Troja-Ljungby 5-4 in the shootout. In 47 contests this season, the Swedish center has recorded 13 points (six goals, seven assists).
Adam Werner (IF Bjorkloven): IF Bjorkloven began its week of play on Tuesday by falling 5-2 to Tingsryds AIF. Adam Werner was in net for the matchup and made 33 saves in the effort. Bjorkloven churned out a better game against AIK on Friday, winning 4-2 behind an impressive 44-save performance by Werner. Sunday's matchup against Vasterviks IK would require a shootout to determine the winner, and Bjorkloven came out on top, 2-1. Werner made 24 stops and turned aside two-of-three Vasterviks skaters in the shootout to secure the victory. The netminder now owns a 25-21-0 record with a 2.35 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and three shutouts in 46 games this season.

Czech Republic

Petr Kvaca (HC Ceske Budejovice): Petr Kvaca and HC Ceske Budejovice began their quarterfinal series with AZ Residomo Havirov on Tuesday by shutting them out by a score of 5-0. Kvaca stopped all 27 shots in victory and was even involved in the scoring, recording an assist in the match. Kvaca was between the pipes again on Wednesday and earned another win, this time stopping 26 shots in the 4-2 victory. The series shifted to Havirov for Games 3 and 4, with Ceske Budejovice coming out on top in Game 3 on Saturday by a score of 4-1. Kvaca turned in another solid performance, stopping 29 of 30 Havirov shots. Havirov hung on in Game 4 on Sunday and stayed alive in the series by topping Ceske Budejovice 3-1. Kvaca made 22 saves in the loss and now has a 3-1-0 record, 1.50 goals-against average, .946 save percentage and a shutout this postseason. Kvaca also ended his regular season with solid numbers, going 22-10 while posting a 1.76 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and five shutouts in 32 contests.

Slovakia

Maximilian Pajpach (HK Spisska Nova Ves): HK Spisska Nova Ves' season is over after it lost in three games to Dukla Ingema Michalovce in its quarterfinal series. Maximillian Pajpach ended the regular season with a 6-13-3 record, 3.98 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. He saw action in each of the three playoff contests and had a 7.41 goals-against average and .840 save percentage. Pajpach also appeared in seven games during the year with Michalovce and had a 2.73 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.