Pittsburgh Hockey Digest

Burgh Hockey

Notes from the rink: Parker Milner inks NHL deal with Caps; PSU’s Smirnov, Phantoms’ Veltri honored

? Goaltender Parker Milner has signed his first NHL contract with the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals.

He’s in his third season in the Washington organization, having split time between the Hershey Bears of the AHL and the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL while playing on an AHL contract.

In three games with Hershey this season, he has a .931 save percentage and a 2.28 goals-against average.

Milner, a 28-year-old Pittsburgh native got his start with the Pittsburgh Hornets before attending Boston College.

His contract will be worth $650,000 annually in the NHL and $60,000 in the AHL and runs through the end of the season.

? Penn State junior Denis Smirnov has been named the Big Ten second start of the week.

The Moscow native snapped an 11-game goalless streak with two goals and two assists in the Nittany Lions’ 8-2 win over Wisconsin over the weekend.

The four-point outburst give him 20 on the season, the third straight year Smirnov has scored 20 or more points.

No. 18 Penn State will finish its regular season with a two-game trip to Notre Dame to face the No. 17 Fighting Irish over the weekend. Friday night’s game will be broadcast on NBCSN at 7 p.m.

? Youngstown Phantoms goaltender Chad Veltri (Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, Fox Chapel) was named the USHL Goaltender of the Week for his pair of shutouts over the weekend.

Veltri stopped all 41 shots as the Phantoms secured wins at Des Moines and Central Illinois on Saturday and Sunday.
The Phantoms host Muskegon for two games this Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.

Veltri stopped all 41 shots as the Phantoms secured wins at Des Moines and Central Illinois on Saturday and Sunday.
The Phantoms host Muskegon for two games this Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.

? The Pittsburgh Vengeance will have home-ice advantage in the first round of the UPSHL Premier (tier III junior) playoffs against MJDP.

The Vengeance will host MJDP for the first two games of the best-of-three series on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 10:10 a.m. at Alpha Ice Complex. Game Three, if necessary, will be played in Fraser, Michigan at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.

To Top