Avalanche Farm Report: Dec. 11

Spotlight On: A.J. Greer

Since signing with the Avalanche on July 1, 2016, Greer has registered 72 points (32 goals, 40 assists) in the AHL over 118 games played. His 38-point performance in 2016-17 earned him a spot at the AHL All-Star Game and his off-ice involvement led him to be awarded the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year.
The previous season, the forward spent the first part of the 2015-16 season with Boston University before joining the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Greer was with fellow Avs prospects Julien Nantel and J.C. Beaudin on the Huskies, who went on to win the President's Cup as the champions of the QMJHL.
Greer has played in 23 games with Colorado and has registered four assists in that time. He was recalled by the Avalanche on Monday afternoon for the third time this season.

Colorado Eagles

Pavel Francouz earned his first AHL shutout this weekend as turned away all 29 shots he faced in Friday's 2-0 victory over the San Diego Gulls. The Eagles won again on Saturday to extend their point streak to seven games (6-0-1).
After 40 minutes of scoreless action, Anton Lindholm registered his fourth assist of the season, at 9:32 of the third period on a backhanded goal from Travis Barron, his second tally of the year. Exactly 10 minutes later, Nicolas Meloche and Ryan Graves assisted on A.J. Greer's empty-net goal to seal the win.
The next day, the Eagles and Gulls faced off in Loveland in front of a crowd armed with teddy bears. The ice was covered with stuffed animals early into the Eagles' 4-3 victory, as fans threw more than 10,000 bears over the glass after Andrew Agozzino notched his twelfth helper of the campaign on Michael Joly's marker.
Agozzino added his team-leading 10th goal of the campaign in the third stanza, sparking a string of Colorado tallies. Lindholm added another assist to his record, helping Dominic Toninato net his third marker this year, while Martin Kaut notched the game winner with 10 minutes left in the contest. A.J. Greer extended his point streak to four games with an apple on the final score while Francouz made 33 saves in his 12th win in net.
With points in their last seven outings, the Eagles are now third in the Pacific Division with 28 points on the season.
Upcoming Games:
Dec. 11 at Tucson Roadrunners
Dec. 12 at Tucson Roadrunners
Dec. 15 at Ontario Reign

Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)

The Avalanche's ECHL affiliate split a back-to-back set with the Idaho Steelheads at CenturyLink Arena starting on Friday. Josh Dickinson recorded three shots on goal in Friday's outing, a 4-2 loss to the Steelheads, while Joe Cannata served as backup goaltender. The Grizzlies turned the tide on Saturday, coming back to defeat Idaho 5-1. Dickinson registered two assists of the year to increase his points in the ECHL to seven (two goals, five assists). Cannata made 30 saves in the victory and has earned eight wins this season, which includes three shutout victories, the most of any goaltender in the league. Utah is back in action on Wednesday to begin a three-game series with the Rapid City Rush.

NCAA

University of Notre Dame: Cam Morrison extended his point streak to five games (four goals, three assists) this weekend after scoring in both Fighting Irish outings. During Friday's 5-4 win over Penn State, Morrison recorded his third multi-point night of the season after notching a goal and an assist. Saturday's game was less successful for Notre Dame and saw the team falling 9-1 to Denis Smirnov and the Nittany Lions. Morrison netted the lone Fighting Irish goal in the contest. Nate Clurman and Nick Leivermann skated in both games. The team does not return to the game action until Dec. 31 against Boston College.
Shane Bowers (Boston University): The Terriers traded victories with UMass Lowell this weekend, with both teams winning on the road. Shane Bowers registered a power-play assist in the third period in Boston University's 5-3 loss on Friday. However, Bowers posted an even stronger showing on Saturday, notching a pair of markers to help lift his team to a 5-2 victory over UMass. It was the second multi-point night of the season for the sophomore. The Terriers will face off against Dartmouth on Friday before taking a break until Jan. 8.
Cale Makar (University of Massachusetts): After a 4-0 loss on Friday against the Quinnipiac Bobcats, Cale Makar and the Minutemen came out strong on Saturday. The team beat the Bobcats 3-1 during UMass' annual Teddy Bear Toss game. Makar added two shots in both contests, and the defenseman has 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 15 clashes so far this season. On Tuesday, UMass takes on the Yale Bulldogs in the team's last outing of 2018.
Sampo Ranta (University of Minnesota): Fresh off an invite to the Finnish World Juniors training camp, Sampo Ranta helped his team to a 1-0-1 record against the University of Michigan this weekend. On Friday, the freshman tallied four shots in a 2-2 tie. He found the back of the net on Saturday, lightning the lamp for the fourth time this campaign to give the Gophers a 2-0 lead early in the first period. Michigan rallied, but it was matched and exceeded by Minnesota, who beat its opponent 4-3 at the end of the night. The Gophers next play Ferris State University on Dec. 28 and 29.
Denis Smirnov (Penn State University): Denis Smirnov generated a point-per-game this weekend, scoring his fourth tally of the year in Friday's 5-4 loss against Notre Dame. Smirnov and his squad exploded to a 9-1 win the following night, dominating the Fighting Irish and adding an assist on a power-play marker. The junior has now recorded 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 15 games. He and his team battle the Princeton Tigers on Saturday.
Tyler Weiss (University of Nebraska Omaha): Tyler Weiss notched an assist on Saturday in his sixth game of the season, his first collegiate point. It came in the second period against St. Cloud State, a game that eventually saw the Mavericks falling 7-1. UNO went 0-2-0 against St. Cloud over the weekend after losing 2-0 on Friday. The team next hosts Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 29.

OHL

Brandon Saigeon (Hamilton Bulldogs): Brandon Saigeon continued to rack up the points this weekend and extended his personal streak to eight games as the Bulldogs earned points in all three outings (2-0-1). On Thursday, Saigeon registered helpers on two power-play goals but Hamilton eventually lost 4-3 to the Peterborough Petes 1:42 into overtime. On Saturday, Saigeon found the back of the net a power play and assisted on an empty-net goal, aiding in the Bulldogs' 4-2 victory over the Flint Firebirds. Saigeon registered two more assists on Sunday in a 5-1 win over the North Bay Battalion. He has now recorded multiple points in six out of his last eight games and has posted 18 multi-point performances in 31 games this campaign. With 52 points (21 goals, 31 assists) this season, Saigeon ranks fifth in the OHL in scoring and third for helpers. The Bulldogs will take on the Niagara IceDogs on the road on Thursday.

WHL

Nick Henry (Lethbridge Hurricanes): The Hurricanes went 1-1-1 on a three-game road trip this week. On Wednesday, Lethbridge took on the Kootenay Ice, battling into extra minutes before eventually winning 3-2 1:17 into overtime. Nick Henry added an apple in the team's next outing against the Spokane Chiefs on Friday, helping on a power-play goal but the team fell 6-2. Lethbridge then played its third game in four days on Saturday, a high-scoring outing that resulted in a 8-7 overtime loss for the Hurricanes. Henry added an assist in the clash, bringing his season point total to 44 (15 goals 29 assists), tied for seventh best in the WHL. Lethbridge returns home on Wednesday to host the Kelowna Rockets.

Russia

Nikolai Kovalenko (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, KHL): Nikolai Kovalenko skated in his team's 3-0 win on Wednesday. He logged 10:24 of ice time and ended the evening with a plus-1 rating in the shutout over Amur Khabarovsk. On Friday, Kovalenko was named to Team Russia's training camp roster for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Danila Zhuravlyov (Bars Kazan, VHL): Danila Zhuravlyov was a plus-2 in one outing this week, a 2-1 victory over Chelmet. He then joined Kovalenko in Moscow as he was also named to Team Russia's training camp roster for the World Juniors. His team won 3-1 over Tseng Tou on Monday. He has skated in 24 games with Bars Kazan this season.
Shamil Shmakov (Sibirskie Snaipery, MHL): Sibirskie Snaipery played four contests in five days, going 1-3-0 in that time. Shamil Shmakov started on Wednesday and made 31 saves on 35 shots as his team fell 4-3 to Ladya. Sibirskie Snaipery played Ladya again the next night, this time with Shmakov serving as backup in a 3-1 defeat. He was back between the pipes on Sunday and stopped 24-of-27 pucks as Sibirskie Snaipery lost to Irbis Kazan by a score of 4-0. Continuing to alternate, Shmakov backed up his fellow teammate in goal on Monday and Sibirskie Snaipery picked up a 3-0 win. He owns a .933 save percentage and 1.96 goals-against average through 11 games this campaign. The team is back in action on Saturday against the Belye Medvedi.

Czech Republic

Petr Kvaca (HC Ocelari Trinec): Petr Kvaca split time this week with HC Ocelari Trinec and HC Ceske Budejovice in the second-tier Czech league. He served as the backup netminder in Trinec's 4-2 loss on Tuesday to Mountfield HK and on Friday in the 4-1 win over Pirati Chomutov. He played on Saturday with Ceske Budejovice and stopped all 26 shots in a 2-0 victory over Dukla Jihlava. He was back with Ocelari on Sunday as the second goaltender in the club's 4-1 win over BK Mlada Boleslav. Kvaca has now earned eight wins over 12 contests with three different teams this season. He holds a 1.48 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.

Finland

Justus Annunen (Hermes, Mestis): Hermes soared this week, scoring 15 goals in two games to earn two wins. Justus Annunen served as backup in Fridays 8-1 victory over Jokipojat Joensuu. The goaltender started on Saturday, allowing only one goal as Hermes dominated Lisalmi with a 9-1 score. Annunen has six wins this season over 10 outings and owns a .874 save percentage accompanied by a 3.00 goals-against average. Hermes is back on the ice on Wednesday.

Sweden

Adam Werner (Farjestad BK, SHL): Adam Werner served as backup in both of Farjestad contests this week as the team won both of its games with a 1-0 score on Thursday and Saturday. Werner owns a 5-2-1 record this season and has a 1.90 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage over nine games.
Gustav Olhaver (Tinsgryds, AIF, Allsvenskan): After gaining points for five straight games (4-0-1), Tingsryds AIF fell on Wednesday against Vasteras. While Gustav Olhaver did not dress in the outing, he returned to the ice on Sunday and notched his third assist of the season in a 5-3 win over Karlskoga. He now holds six points (three goals, three assists) in the current campaign. Next up, Tingsryds will play Modo on Wednesday.