Sointu, Matias

With the June 1 signing deadline for 2008 draftees now come and gone, the Lightning have relinquished the rights to prospects Kyle DeCoste (Belleville, OHL) and Matias Sointu (Sudbury, OHL).

There was some question about Sointu's rights as he was drafted out of Finland, but Bolt Prospects confirmed with the Lightning that Sointu did indeed need to be signed by June 1 to retain his rights.

OHL

East-8 Sudbury Wolves 2 @ East-1 Barrie Colts 6
Conference Quarterfinals, Game 3. Barrie leads Best of 7 Series 3-0
LW/C Alex Hutchings, BAR: 0-1-1, -1, 4 PIM (delay of game, delay of game)
Playoff Totals: 3 GP, 1-4-5, +3, 8 PIM
Season Totals: 68 GP, 47-34-81, +44, 58 PIM
W Matias Sointu, SBY: 0-0-0, E, 0 PIM
Playoff Totals: 3 GP, 0-3-3, E, 0 PIM [/i]
Season Totals (OTT, SBY): 51 GP, 8-21-29, -3, 24 PIM

Hutchings extended his point streak to seven games. He took two delay of game penalties in the game's first five minutes. Barrie can close out the series Wednesday in Sudbury.

QMJHL

Atlantic-3 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 0 @ Atlantic-2 Moncton Wildcats 6
First Round, Game 2. Moncton leads Best of 7 Series 2-0
D Mark Barberio, MCT: 1-0-1, +1, 0 PIM, 2 SOG
Playoff Totals: 2 GP, 1-2-3, +1, 0 PIM
Season Totals: 65 GP, 17-43-60, +39, 72 PIM

Barberio’s power play goal in the third period gave the Wildcats a 5-0 lead. It was his first career playoff goal. Game 3 is Tuesday in Sydney.

OHL

East-1 Barrie Colts 2 @ East-8 Sudbury Wolves 1
Conference Quarterfinals, Game 2. Barrie leads Best of 7 Series 2-0
LW/C Alex Hutchings, BAR: 0-1-1, E, 4 PIM (slashing, slashing)
Playoff Totals: 2 GP, 1-3-4, +4, 4 PIM
Season Totals: 68 GP, 47-34-81, +44, 58 PIM
W Matias Sointu, SBY: 0-0-0, E, 0 PIM
Playoff Totals: 2 GP, 0-3-3, E, 0 PIM [/i]
Season Totals (OTT, SBY): 51 GP, 8-21-29, -3, 24 PIM

Barrie’s Bryan Cameron (Kings 3/07) scored the tie-breaking goal early in the third period and the Colts held on for the win. Game 3 is Sunday in Barrie. Going back to the regular season, Hutchings has points in six consecutive games.

WHL

West-7 Kamloops Blazers 3 @ West-2 Vancouver Giants 6
Conference Quarterfinals, Game 2. Vancouver leads Best of 7 Series 2-0
C/W/D James Wright, VAN: 0-0-0, -1, 0 PIM
Playoff Totals: 2 GP, 0-0-0, +1, 2 PIM
Season Totals: 21 GP, 6-13-19, -3, 17 PIM
With Tampa Bay: 43 GP, 2-3-5, -9, 18 PIM

This was a convincing win for Vancouver, led by Craig Cunningham's (undrafted) two goals and three assists. The 5-9 forward had 97 points during the season and has seven already in two playoff games. Game 3 is Tuesday in Kamloops.

In other WHL news, East No.8 seed Moose Jaw has taken both early games from No.1 Calgary in Calgary.

OHL

Sudbury Wolves 4 @ Barrie Colts 11
OHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 1. Barrie leads Best of 7 Series 1-0
LW/C Alex Hutchings, BAR: 1-2-3, +4, 0 PIM, *Second Star*
Season Totals: 68 GP, 47-34-81, +44, 58 PIM
W Matias Sointu, SBY: 0-3-3, E, 0 PIM
Season Totals (OTT, SBY): 51 GP, 8-21-29, -3, 24 PIM

Sudbury scored first in the game when Sointu set up John McFarland on the power play at 1:13. From there, it was all Barrie as the Colts scored the game’s next eight goals. They had a snowman on the scoreboard at the 11-minute mark of the second period. Sudbury clawed back to 8-4 early in the third before Barrie scored three more times. Alex Burmistrov, who is expected to go in the top-10 in this summer’s draft, was First Star for Barrie with two goals and two assists. Hutchings and Barrie were knocked out of the first round last year, with Hutchings registering seven points (three goals) in five games. This was Sointu’s OHL playoff debut – and a good one statistically, especially considering he was even despite 11 goals against. Sointu now has 12 points in his last eight games.

QMJHL

St. John Sea Dogs 2 @ Moncton Wildcats 5
D Mark Barberio, MCT: 2-0-2, +2, 2 PIM, 2 SOG
Season Totals: 65 GP, 17-43-60, +39, 72 PIM

In a game broadcast on NHL Network, Barberio and Moncton defeated top-seeded St. John to end the regular season on a winning note. Barberio scored twice, the first on the power play when he pinched in from the point and buried a cross-crease pass. The second came while shorthanded into an empty net. Moncton finishes with the league’s third-best point total at 102, two points behind Drummondville and seven behind St. John. They’ll play Cape Breton in the first round. After a slow start to the season in the goal department, Barberio finished with a bang, scoring 14 times after Christmas. Barberio set career highs in goals (+1), assists (+12), points (+14), and plus/minus (+31). He finished fifth in the Q in points among defensemen, sixth in goals, fifth in assists, and seventh in plus/minus. Barberio and Moncton should have a long playoff season ahead, at least until the conference finals, which should be vs. the same Sea Dogs they defeated Sunday night.

OHL

Sudbury Wolves 2 @ Ottawa 67’s 3 (OT)
W Matias Sointu, SBY: 0-1-1, +1, 0 PIM
Season Totals: 51 GP, 8-21-29, -3, 24 PIM
With Sudbury: 29 GP, 5-14-19, -8, 18 PIM
With Ottawa: 21 GP, 3-7-10, +5, 6 PIM

With Niagara’s loss, Sudbury was a second point away from avoiding Barrie in the East’s first round, but it was not to be as Sointu’s former team scored in overtime. The Wolves, who had 59 points on the year, will indeed play Alex Hutchings and Barrie, who finished the year 57 points better than Sudbury. Sointu finished the regular season very strong, scoring nine points in his last seven games.

OHL Scoring Race

Speaking of Hutchings, he finished the year fourth in the OHL in goals (tie - 47), 14th in points (81), first in shorthanded goals (11; 7 more than anyone else), first in game winning goals (tie – 11), second in insurance goals (tie – 7), and fifth in plus/minus (+44). Overall, Plymouth’s Tyler Seguin (48-58-106) and Windsor’s Taylor Hall (40-66-106), who will battle for the No.1 draft spot this summer, finished tied for the league lead in points.

WHL

Vancouver Giants 3 @ Seattle Thunderbirds 4 (OT)
C/W/D James Wright, VAN: 0-0-0, -2, 4 PIM (boarding, roughing)
Season Totals: 21 GP, 6-13-19, -3, 17 PIM
With Tampa Bay: 43 GP, 2-3-5, -9, 18 PIM

The Giants, who have struggled the last two weeks, played ninth place Seattle for a chance to enter the playoffs on a win streak, but were foiled by T-Birds goalie Calvin Pickard (2010 eligible), who stopped 51 shots in a First Star performance. Wright, a noted two-way player who skated for Tampa Bay of the NHL for most of the season because of his two-way abilities, finished his regular season with Vancouver with a surprising minus-3 rating. Wright and Vancouver will have to regroup as they enter the playoffs against seventh-seeded Kamloops. In other WHL news, Calgary’s Brandon Kozon (Kings 6/09) won the league scoring title by one point over Regina’s Jordan Eberle (Oilers 1/08), 107-106.