Detroit News staff and wires
Sebastian Cossa made 26 saves in the Griffins’ 2-1 loss at home against the Checkers.
Sebastian Cossa made 26 saves in the Griffins’ 2-1 loss at home against the Checkers.
Alpena goalie Cooper Black made 40 saves for the Charlotte Checkers in a 2-1 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
The Griffins were the last remaining team in North American professional hockey without a regulation loss after a 11-0-0-1 record to start the season.
The six-foot-eight Black was playing high school hockey in Alpena just six years ago.
Named team MVP and Michigan Hockey Goalie of the Year with Division 3 all-state first-team honors in 2019, Black posted a 19-2-1 record with a 0.87 goals against average and a .964 save percentage in his senior season at Alpena High School.
Grand Rapids’ only goal on Black was scored by Tyler Angel, his first of the season.
The two teams will meet again Saturday at 7 p.m.
Michigan 5, Ohio State 2
T.J. Hughes had a goal and two assists for No. 2-ranked Michigan in a 5-2 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor.
Josh Eernisse, Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen, Malcolm Spence and Luca Fantilli also scored goals, Jayden Perron added two assists and Jack Ivankovic made 20 saves.
Wisconsin 5, Michigan State 4
No. 1 Michigan State lost 5-4 to No. 7 Wisconsin on Friday at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing.
Porter Martone scored two goals, Daniel Russell and Lee Ryder each had a goal and Trey Augustine made 24 saves for the Spartans, who lost for the first time in 10 games.
Friday’s NHL
Carolina 4, (at) Winnipeg 3: Jordan Staal scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes beat Winnipeg 4-3 on Friday night in the Jets’ first game since learning star goalie Connor Hellebuyck will be sidelined four to six weeks after arthroscopic surgery for a knee problem.
Seth Jarvis scored short-handed for Carolina and Andrei Svechnikov added a goal. Backup goalie Brandon Bussi stopped 24 shots. The Hurricanes are 3-0-2 in their last five games, scoring three or more goals in each game.
Gabriel Vilardi scored twice and defenseman Josh Morrissey added a goal for Winnipeg, extending his points streak to seven games.
Minnesota 5, (at) Pittsburgh 0: Filip Gustavsson made 19 saves for his second shutout of the season, Matt Boldy had two goals and an assist and Minnesota beat Pittsburgh for its fourth straight victory.
The Wild have three shutouts in their last six games and have eight victories and only one regulation loss in 10 games in November. Pittsburgh played its first game since beating Nashville on Sunday in Sweden to split Global Series games.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov each had a goal and an assist and Marcus Johansson also scored. The Wild led 3-0 11:42 in.
(At) Buffalo 9, Chicago 3: Josh Doan scored twice for his second multi-goal game of the season, Alex Tuch had a career-high four assists and Buffalo routed Chicago.
Jason Zucker, Bowen Byram, Ryan McLeod, Mattias Samuelsson, Tage Thompson, Jack Quinn and Jacob Bryson also scored to help Buffalo win for the third time in four games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 20 saves.
Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice for Chicago and Alex Vlasic also scored. The Blackhawks have lost two in a row.
Hellebuyck to undergo arthroscopic procedure
Winnipeg, Manitoba – Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce Township) will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his knee and be out four to six weeks, the team said Friday.
Jets coach Scott Arneil said Friday that Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goalie, had been trying to play through a knee injury, and the timing is right to get it taken care of.
“Obviously, he’s, what is it, 10 years, he’s been pretty healthy,” Arniel said. “And this has kind of been nagging on him here since training camp. It’s something we’ve kind of known about, he was trying to play through it, would be good days, bad days, just something that, timing’s right, get it done now.
“A lot of schedule ahead of us, so that was really just the thinking. Sat down, talked to him, obviously the medical staff, everybody, agent. This was the time to do it.”
The surgery comes less than three months before the start of the Olympic men’s hockey tournament in Milan, Italy.
Hellebuyck is 8-6-0 with a 2.51 goals-against average and .913 save percentage this season for the Jets (12-7-0), who entered a game Friday against Carolina in third place in the Central Division.
The 32-year-old Hellebuyck won his first Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and his second straight – and third career –Vezina Trophy in 2024-25, helping the Jets to the best regular-season record in the NHL. He also won the award as top goalie in 2019-20.
Hellebuyck, from Commerce, Michigan, was not included in the first group of six players announced for the United States’ Olympic preliminary roster, but was widely expected to be added to the team.
Eric Comrie is expected to take the Jets starting role in Hellebuyck’s absence. He is 4-1 with a 2.60 GAA and .908 save percentage this season.
In a corresponding move, the Jets called up goaltender Thomas Milic from the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose.
“Obviously we’ve been really fortunate to have Helly be healthy and available,” Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “His durability is something to marvel at. Obviously now without him, you can’t replace a guy like that.
“But we’re super confident in Coms and Milly and our defensive game. But definitely, we’ve been fortunate to not have him out of the lineup for a whole lot of years.”
Hellebuyck, who last played on Nov. 15 in a victory over Calgary, was 47-12-3 last season. He has a career record of 330-191-44 with a 2.56 GAA and .918 save percentage and 45 shutouts.
Xhekaj could join brother in lineup
Montreal – The Montreal Canadiens recalled forward Florian Xhekaj, the fiesty younger brother of bruising defenseman Arber Xhekaj, from the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League on Friday.
The 21-year-old player Florian Xhekaj, a 6-foot-4, 204-pound winger, could make his NHL debut Saturday night at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Canadiens look to snap a five-game skid. Forward Joshua Roy was sent to Laval after he was called up for two games.
Florian Xhekaj has two goals, two assists and 44 penalty minutes in 16 games for Laval this season. Last season for the Rocket, he had 24 goals, 11 assists and 175 penalty minutes in 69 regular-season games and a goal, two assists and 59 penalty minutes in 10 playoff games.
Montreal is dealing with long-term injuries to forwards Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine. Center Jake Evans left Thursday night in an 8-4 home loss to Washington following a hard hit from Tom Wilson.
November schedules
Friday
▶ Charlotte 2, Grand Rapids 1
▶ Michigan 5, Ohio State 2
▶ Wisconsin 5, Michigan State 4
▶ Western Michigan 7, Nebraska at Omaha 2
▶ Minnesota State 3, Michigan Tech 0
▶ Bemidji State 7, Northern Michigan 3
▶ North Dakota 6, NTDP U18 1
▶ Madison 5, NTDP U17 3
Saturday
▶ Blue Jackets at Red Wings, 1
▶ Charlotte at Grand Rapids, 7
▶ Ohio State at Michigan, 7
▶ Wisconsin at Michigan State, TBA
▶ Western Michigan at Nebraska at Omaha, 8
▶ Michigan Tech at Minnesota State, 7
▶ Northern Michigan at Bemidji State, 7
▶ Madison at NTDP U17, 7
Monday, Nov. 24
▶ Red Wings at Devils, 7
Tuesday, Nov. 25
▶ Grand Rapids at Texas, 8
Wednesday, Nov. 26
▶ Predators at Red Wings, 7
▶ Grand Rapids at Texas, 8
▶ Colgate at Michigan State, TBA
▶ Muskegon at NTDP U17, 5
Friday, Nov. 28
▶ Lightning at Red Wings, noon
▶ Iowa at Grand Rapids, 7
▶ Michigan at Harvard, 7
▶ Colgate at Michigan State, TBA
▶ St. Thomas at Michigan Tech, 7
▶ Minnesota State at Northern Michigan, 7
▶ NTDP U17 at Sioux Falls, 4
Saturday, Nov. 29
▶ Red Wings at Boston, 7
▶ Michigan at Harvard, 7
▶ St. Thomas at Michigan Tech, 6
▶ Minnesota State at Northern Michigan, 6
▶ NTDP U17 at Sioux Falls, 7
Sunday, Nov. 30
▶ Iowa at Grand Rapids, 4
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