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MSU No. 4 blanks Canisius; Danielson scores his first professional goal
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MSU No. 4 blanks Canisius; Danielson scores his first professional goal

Detroit Red Wings first-round draft pick Nate Danielson scored his first professional goal in the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 2-1 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds on Friday in an American Hockey League game. hockey at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Danielson, who was scoreless in two playoff games with Grand Rapids last year and scoreless in the first four regular-season games this year, scored a power-play goal at 16:46 of the second period. Ann Arbor’s Austin Watson and Czech free agent Jakub Rychlovsky contributed to the goal with his first AHL point.

Ville Husso started the game and stopped 10 shots before his shutout ended at 126:13. Husso left the game in the second period and was replaced by Sebastian Cossa, who stopped 21 of 21 shots to earn the victory. They will face the Lehigh Valley Flyers on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

Michigan State 3, Canisius 0

No. 4 Michigan State (4-1) earned a 3-0 shutout victory on the road at Canisius Friday night in Buffalo, New York.

Trey Augustine (Red Wings/South Lyon draft pick) recorded his first shutout of the season with 15 saves and the fourth of his career and Tanner Kelly, Joey Larson and Daniel Russell scored the goals.

The teams meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. to complete the series.

Michigan 5, NTDP U18 4 (overtime)

No. 10 Michigan defeated the NTDP U18s, 5-4, in overtime in an exhibition game at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor.

Michael Hage scored the game-winner in overtime and the other goals went to Christian Humphreys, TJ Hughes, Hunter Hady and Phillippe Lapointe, the son of two-time Cup champion Marty Lapointe with the Red Wings.

Will Moore, Lincoln Kuehne, Richard Gallant and Drew Schock answered for the U18s.

Next week, Michigan plays two non-conference games against Boston University on Friday and Saturday.

Rangers grant Lafrenière to seven-year extension

The New York Rangers signed winger Alexis Lafreniere to a seven-year contract extension on Friday.

The deal is worth $52.15 million, according to a person with knowledge of the contract. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the terms were not disclosed.

Lafrenière will count $7.45 million against the salary cap annually from the time the new contract takes effect for the next NHL season until 2032.

The No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft set career highs with 28 goals, 29 assists and 57 points last season. Lafreniere, 23, is also poised to start this game on point per game, going seven for seven.

He has 178 points in 348 regular season and playoff games for a team that has been to the Eastern Conference Finals twice since its debut.

Lafrenière’s cap hit is just below the $7.6 million Montreal spends annually on 2022 first-round pick Juraj Slafkovsky. New Jersey’s Jack Hughes, the No. 1 pick in 2019, makes $8 million a year through 2030 and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, who was at the top of the draft in 2021, makes $11 million through 2032.

Even though Lafrenière should have been a restricted free agent this summer, the Rangers still have to deal with a major new signing. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin is a pending unrestricted free agent who, without a new contract, could hit the open market on July 1.

Shesterkin could sign the most lucrative goalie contract in the two decades of the salary cap era, surpassing the eight years and $84 million that Carey Price got from the Canadiens in 2017. In recent weeks, Dallas signed Jake Oettinger and Boston signed Jeremy. Swayman to matching deals worth $66 million over eight years.

The Rangers sent forward Matt Rempe to Hartford of the American Hockey League on Thursday night. Rempe played just over 11 minutes total in two games and was left out in the others.

Friday’s NHL games

(To) Edmonton 4, Pittsburgh 0: Stuart Skinner made 27 saves for his fifth career shutout and Viktor Arvidsson had three assists for the Oilers.

Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm each had a goal and an assist. Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers (3-4-1), who had struggled offensively early in the season, scoring just 14 goals in their first seven games.

The game was heavily billed as a superstar showdown between Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Pens veteran Sidney Crosby, but both were kept off the scoresheet.

The Penguins (3-5-1) have lost four straight games. Joel Blomqvist made 46 saves for Pittsburgh.

Michigan Area Hockey Schedule

October Games

Friday

Grand Rapids 2, Springfield 1

Michigan State 3, Canisius 0

Arizona State 3, Northern Michigan 1

Clarkson 4, Michigan Tech 3 (OT)2

Ferris State 4, Bemidji State 3

Michigan 5, NTDP U18 4 (overtime)

Dubuque 3, NTDP U17 0

SATURDAY

Red Wings at Sabres, 1

Grand Rapids to Lehigh Valley, 7

Michigan State at Canisius, 7

Western Michigan at Boston College, 7

Clarkson at Michigan Tech, 6

Bemidji State at Ferris State, 6

NTDP U18 in Adrian, 3

NTDP U17 in Dubuque, 8

Sunday

Oilers at Red Wings, 6

Grand Rapids to Lehigh Valley, 3

Wednesday October 30

Jets at Red Wings, 7:30 a.m.

Grand Rapids to Hartford, 7