Avalanche Farm Report: Oct. 9

Spotlight On: Sampo Ranta (University of Minnesota)

The 18-year-old has played the past two seasons in the United States Hockey League with the Sioux City Musketeers totaling 46 points (29 goals, 17 assists) in 83 career games.

Colorado Eagles

The Colorado Eagles made their American Hockey League debut on Friday night in front of a raucous Budweiser Events Center crowd, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Chicago Wolves. A.J. Greer recorded the first AHL goal in franchise history while and Igor Shvryev tallied late in the third to send the contest to extra time. Spencer Martin made 14 saves on 17 shots in his Colorado debut.
The following night, the Eagles fell to the Wolves 5-1in the second game of a back-to-back series to open the AHL season. The penalty kill held Chicago scoreless on nine chances with the man advantage but Colorado's power play could not convert on seven opportunities.
Defenseman Nicholas Meloche tallied the lone goal on assists from Andrew Agozzino and Vladislav Kamenev. Martin got the start in net for Colorado for the second straight night and made 26 saves on 31 shots.

Utah Grizzlies

The Utah Grizzlies fell 5-1 in a preseason contest against the Idaho Steelheads on Friday but defeated the Steelheads 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday. The Grizzlies open their 2018-19 season on Friday against the Rapid City Rush.

NCAA

Notre Dame: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell by a score of 4-1 to the U.S. National Team Development Program in an exhibition matchup on Sunday. Cam Morrison, Nate Clurman and Nick Leivermann each played in the game with freshmen Clurman and Leiverman both recording two shots on goal to help Notre Dame to a 37-29 advantage in shots. The Fighting Irish open their season on Friday against Mercyhurst in the Icebreaker Tournament in Erie, Penn.
Shane Bowers (Boston University): Shane Bowers recorded a shorthanded assist in a 7-1 exhibition victory for the No. 8 ranked Boston University Terriers against the Acadia University Axemen on Saturday. BU opens the regular season with a two-game series against No. 10 Minnesota State this weekend.
Cale Makar (UMass): Cale Makar registered two assists as the UMass Minutemen defeated the Royal Military College of Canada 6-1 in a pre-season matchup. The Minutemen have one more exhibition game on Friday against Rensselaer before the 2018-19 campaign officially begins on Saturday.
Sampo Ranta (Minnesota): Sampo Ranta began his college career with a goal in the Minnesota Golden Gophers' season-opening contest against the University of Minnesota-Duluth. It was the Gophers' lone goal as they tied with the Bulldogs 1-1 on Saturday. The native of Naantali, Finland, matched his debut with another tally the following night in a 7-4 victory over UMD. Minnesota is now 1-0-1 with their next contest, an exhibition matchup, coming on Saturday against the US Men's National Team Development Program.
Denis Smirnov (Penn State): Denis Smirnov assisted on Penn State's first goal in a 3-2 exhibition victory against Brock on Saturday. The Nittany Lions will open the 2018-19 season at home against Clarkson University in a back-to-back set on Thursday and Friday.
Tyler Weiss (University of Nebraska-Omaha): The freshman forward notched a goal and an assist as the UNO Mavericks defeated Manitoba in a 6-1 preseason matcheup. The Raleigh, North Carolina, native was awarded the third star of the game. The Mavericks begin the 2018-19 campaign on Oct. 12-13 in a back-to-back against Union College in Schenectady, New York.

OHL

Brandon Saigeon (Hamilton Bulldogs): Saigeon saw his six-game point streak to open the season (four goals, nine assists) come to an end in a 5-2 win on Sunday for the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Bulldogs started the week with a 7-1 loss to the Oshawa Generals on Friday and defeated the Peterborough Petes 3-2 in extra time on Saturday. The Grimsby, Ontario, native netted the game-winning overtime goal and added a helper against the and was awarded the third star of the game. The forward leads the team and shares second in the OHL with 13 points (four goals, nine assists). The Bulldogs are tied for fourth in the East Division with a 4-2-1 record.

WHL

Nick Henry (Regina Pats): Henry registered a season-high three points (3 assists) in a 6-5 win over the Swift Current Broncos on Friday and added a goal the following night in a 7-3 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, native shares the team lead with seven points (one goal, six assists) and the Pats have a 1-5-0 record so far this season.

Russia

Nikolai Kovalenko (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, KHL): Kovalenko played in two games for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl this week, both wins for the KHL team. The 18-year-old scored the deciding goal in a 4-3 shootout win against Torpedo on Oct. 4 and registered 8:16 of ice time in a 2-1 victory over AK Bars. The team has a 9-5-1 record and sits in fourth place in the Western Conference.
Danila Zhuravlyov (Bars Kazan, VHL): The defenseman has played in 10 games for Bars Kazan, but has yet to record a point. The club owns a 9-4-2 record and ranks fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Shamil Shmakov (Sibirskie Snaipery, MHL): The Russian netminder did not appear in a game this week for Sibirskie Snaipery of the MHL, as the team has a record of 5-3-1. The club is tied for 11th in the Eastern Conference.

Czech Republic

Petr Kvaca (HC Ceske Budejovice): Kvaca played in two games this week, tallying a 1-0-1 record. The goaltender stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced on Saturday in a 4-3 shootout loss to SK Horacka Slavia Trebic and made 21-of-23 saves in a 4-2 win over Usti Nad Labem SRO. Kvaca now has a 1.29 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage through five appearances for Ceske Budejovice. The team is currently in first place with a 7-2-1 record.

Finland

Justus Annunen (Hermes, Mestis): The Finnish goaltender played in one game this week for Hermes and made 16 saves on 20 shots in a 5-4 overtime win against Peliitat. His club owns a 4-1-0 record and sits at second place in the Mestis League.

Sweden

Adam Werner (Farjestad BK, SHL): Werner made his season debut on Thursday in Farjestad BK's 3-0 loss to Lulea. He entered the game midway through the first period and stopped 16 of the 18 shots he faced in 48:08 of ice time. Farjestad BK is now 2-3-1 to begin the campaign.
Gustav Olhaver (Tingsryds AIF, Allsvenskan): Olhaver has played in all six games for Tingsyrds AIF, whose record now stands at 0-3-3 after dropping a 2-1 shootout decision to Vasterviks IK and a 4-3 regulation loss to MODO Hockey.