Bruins prospect Fraser Minten shows he’s ready for training camp
After being held to one goal and losing in the final minute in their first game on Friday, the Bruins’ prospects exploded for a half dozen goals and finished off a 6-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils at the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo on Sunday. To make matters better for the B’s, some of the players they’d like to succeed showed up on Sunday. Fraser Minten had a goal and an assist, Dans Locemelis had a pretty tally, Brett Harrison had a couple of assists and Riley Duran powered through a blue line check to notch the empty-netter to seal the victory. “I thought the guys did a real good job and it was good to see a couple of guys that we’re expecting to score score, so it’s good,” said Providence coach Ryan Mougenel. “Some of our players who are going to push, the Fraser Mintens, the Durans, it’s good to see the puck go in the net for them and I hope it builds some confidence for them going into main camp.” As was anticipated, Minten was highly noticeable in both games. “He’s always in the right spots,” said Mougenel. “Like I said to the guys the other day, the fish don’t just jump into the boat when you go fishing. It’s great that you guys put the work in, but now it’s time to execute and I think he’s in a real good frame of mind for what he’s got to do going to camp. He’s been through it now. He’s got a certain presence to him now. He’s a leader. I think we’ve done a real good job recognizing the person and the player. I’m excited for him.” Main camp opens with physicals on Wednesday and the first on-ice sessions on Thursday. “From Game One to Game Two, you feel a lot more comfortable just getting reps and playing 5-on-5, intense hockey with some contact, so I feel a lot better than I did at the start of the weekend,” said Minten, who instantly became one of the B’s top prospects when he was acquired from Toronto in the Brandon Carlo deal at the March trade deadline The B’s played better as the game went on but they lost two one-goal leads and another two-goal before finally prevailing. Locemelis gave the B’s a 4-2 lead in the second period on the power play, taking a feed from Minten down low, cutting across the crease and beating Devils goalie Trenten Bennett with a nice backhander. But after the Devils got one back on Matyas Melovsky’s second goal of the game, Locmelis took a bad neutral zone penalty with seconds left in the second period and, early in the third, Nathan LeCompte beat Bruin goalie Ben Hrebik to tie it at 4-4. But at 12:32, B’s defenseman Jackson Edward, in his second pro season, circled behind the Devils net, came out to the low right circle and beat Bennett with a far corner wrist shot. Duran then made it hold up as the winner as the Woburn native salted it away with the empty netter with 17 seconds left.
