Five Blackhawks prospects have advanced to the second round in their respective league’s playoffs in the Canadian Hockey League.
The Ontario, Quebec and Western hockey league winners along with host Halifax will play in the round-robin Memorial Cup in May. Goaltender Alexis Gravel and defenseman Jake Ryzcek play for Halifax and are already guaranteed a spot in the tournament.
OHL
Defenseman Adam Boqvist tallied six goals and an assist in London’s first-round sweep over Windsor. Forward Mackenzie Entwistle had two goals and three helpers in Guelph’s first-round sweep against Kitchener.
Boqvist, a 2018 first-rounder, and Entwistle will meet in the second round. Second City Hockey’s Ian McLaren will have on-site coverage for the series.
QMJHL
Gravel and Ryczek (Halifax) defeated center Philipp Kurashev (Quebec) in a seven-game first round series to advance.
Gravel, a 2018 sixth-rounder, went 4-2 and allowed 18 goals in the series. In Games 3, 6 and 7 he held Quebec to only one goal. He holds a 2.72 goals-against average and .908 save percentage in the playoffs. Ryczek dished out five assists.
Kurashev scored a goal and four assists in the series against Halifax. The 2018 fourth-rounder had 29 goals and 65 points in 59 games during the regular season.
Defenseman Nicolas Beaudin tallied two goals and two assists in Drummondville’s five-game series win over Gatineau. He had a multi-point game with a goal and an assist in the Voltigeurs’ 7-4 win in Game 3.
Second-round matchups
No. 1 Halifax vs. No. 7 Moncton — East
No. 2 Drummondville vs. No. 3 Sherbrooke — West
WHL
Winger Brandon Hagel and center Reese Johnson were eliminated when Red Deer was swept by top seed Prince Albert. Hagel led Red Deer with four goals and two assists, while Johnson added a goal and an assist and won 61 percent of his faceoffs.
Hagel and Johnson have since joined the Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate. Hagel recorded his first pro point with an assist in Rockford’s 5-3 win over San Antonio on Tuesday.