THE field of 16 teams is now set for the NCAA D-1 tournament, which will get underway this week and will see a trio of Thunder Bay products looking to advance to the Frozen Four April 7 and 9 in St. Paul, Minn.
The two players that are competing will square off against each in the opener of the east regional in Bridgeport, Conn., on Friday.
That is where Travis Oleksuk and his Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs will take on Luke Cain’s Union Dutchmen in a battle of Western Collegiate Hockey Association and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference schools.
The other individual in the NCAAs is definitely no stranger to it in George Gwozdecky.
The head coach of the University of Denver Pioneers will commence his quest for another national championship Saturday as his club takes on Western Michigan in one of the Midwest regional match-ups in Green Bay, Wis. He is the only person to win NCAA titles as a player, assistant and head coach.
Denver is coming off a tough 3-2 setback in double overtime to rival North Dakota in the WCHA playoff championship game on Saturday.
Gwozdecky may however get another crack at the UND as they are among the four teams in the Midwest bracket and could meet one more time.
AROUND THE AHL: Thunder Bay’s Robert Bortuzzo continues to have a solid season in the American Hockey League.
The second-year defenceman with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins has already surpassed his goal, assist and point totals from his rookie campaign of 2009-10.
Bortuzzo has also helped anchor the Penguins defensively as he is currently third among AHL blueliners in plus-minus with a solid plus-24 rating. His total also puts him in a tie for fifth overall.
Wilkes-Barre became the first AHL club to clinch a playoff spot over the weekend as the defeated Carter Hutton’s Worchester Sharks Saturday.
Hutton did not start that contest and is 4-1 in his last five appearances in his first season at the professional level with the San Jose Sharks top affiliate.
ACROSS THE POND: Playoff action in the DEL, the top league in Germany, is underway with a number of local products making contributions.
In the opening round it was Jason Jaspers and his Cologne Sharks side who came out on top over fellow Lakehead product Mike Kompon.
Each player had three points, but it Jasper’s team that prevailed winning the best-of-three series in straight games.
Cologne will now take on No. 1 Wolfsburg, who features Thunder Bay’s Paul Traynor in their line-up on defence, in quarter-final action.
Another city connection in DEL second round play will see Krefeld, coached by Rick Adduono, meeting Hannover in a best-of-five affair.
MOVING UP: Eric Staal continues to move up the all-time point parade in the NHL.
With 492 points to his credit the Carolina Hurricanes captain has slid into third spot in career scoring among players from Northwestern Ontario recently surpassing Steve Rucchin who amassed 489 point in his career.
Staal, who will soon move into the top 400 of all career NHL players, trails only Charlie Simmer of Terrace Bay and Hockey Hall of Fame honoured member Alex Delvecchio.
Simmer registered 711 points in his time in the NHL while Delvecchio racked up 1,281 goals and assists during his legendary 22-year career with the Detroit Red Wings. Of the 6,011 skaters who have suited up in the NHL over the years, Delvecchio is 33rd all-time in scoring.