Cale Makar showed back up on the ice for UMass following his whirlwind week in the news after winning gold at the World Junior Championship and subsequent alleged invitation and decline to the Canada’s Olympic team. Makar did his talking on the ice by scoring two goals and adding an assist in the two game set against Vermont. In this eventual 2-2 tie Makar opens the scoring showing off his wrist shot on the power play as seen below. In the 6-3 win the following night, Makar assisted on a shorthanded goal with a sharp stretch pass and then scored an empty net shorthanded goal to help seal the victory. For his efforts, a Makar was named Hockey East rookie of the week, his first NCAA individual honor but Makar is no stranger to recieving accolades. Makar looked like he took the confidence gained at the WJC to heart as he was electric every time he touched the puck, defended well and put up 12 shots on goal in the two games.

Here's a look at @cmakar16's second of the season – brings the the hot scoring touch back from #WJC2018 to give the Minutemen a 1-0 lead at UVM in the first period. pic.twitter.com/bKDJHNqoLR — UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) January 13, 2018

If the Avalanche have a plan for what they are doing with JC Beaudin it’s not clear as he was assigned to the Colorado Eagles for three games before getting the call back to San Antonio at the end of the weekend. While with the Eagles in this stint Beaudin chipped in a goal and an assist as the Eagles continue to lead the ECHL with a 28-5-4 record. The sweet shot for a goal was an insurance marker in Colorado’s 4-2 victory over Rapid City as seen below. Burgundy Rainbow also caught up with Beaudin following his first game back in Colorado.

How about a ripper from JC?

LOVE IT.#EaglesHFC pic.twitter.com/XxVBBW8BNV — Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) January 13, 2018

Travis Barron had the toughest week of all possibly. First of all by playing in a three in three over the weekend with the Ottawa 67s going 1-1-1 as they try to hang on to one of the last spots in the OHL’s eastern conference. The win was a 5-0 shutout against the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques to close out their cross-league series. Second, Barron was cut in a fight he instigated after a bad hit on a teammate in Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Peterbourough. Then on Sunday’s loss to Guelph, in between scoring a goal and an assist Barron took a nasty cross check to the back of the head and then a high hit shortly after, which left him bleeding all over the ice for the second consecutive game . Not much can stop the captain though as he returned to the game in both occasions and tried his best to lead his team to victory. Below is a crafty assist from that 5-4 overtime loss to Guelph.

News!

A crazy trading period wasn’t just limited to the CHL, another Avalanche prospect saw his address change in Nate Clurman who went from Tri-City to Des Moines in the USHL. Hopefully this sparks more ice time for Clurman and gets him on track to head to the NCAA in the fall.

Denis Smirnov was nominated for the Hobey Baker, his second straight nomination. Smirnov has scored 19 points including 10 goals in just 16 games despite missing a month due to an illness. Penn State is ranked 12th in the country and poised for a big second half.

Conor Timmins left the Sault Ste. Marie 3-1 win over Saginaw on Wednesday after falling awkwardly into the boards and suffering a lower body injury. Word is that the injury is not considered serious but he will be evaluated week to week and there’s no rush to bring him back. After an emotional and taxing WJC tournament, the worst thing wouldn’t be for Timmins to get some rest. The Greyhounds basically have top seed in the OHL wrapped up with their ridiculous 37-3-3 record so there won’t be much to play for until late March.

For Your Viewing Pleasure:

Watch Cale Makar do his thing in a rare weekday game as UMass takes on Maine on Tuesday, January 16th at 7pm ET via the Maine team online stream. UMass will also broadcast on Eleven Sports (check your dish) and TSN Go against Northeastern on Friday, January 19th at 7pm ET. And finally, check out the Northeastern home stream for Saturday’s rematch at 7pm ET.

Penn State takes on Michigan at 8pm ET on Friday, January 19th. That contest can be seen on the Big 10 Network.

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