College Hockey Notebook
A couple notes from the weekend that I didn’t get to when I highlighted MNxPSU and the rest of the Big Ten action on Saturday.
Jerry York signed a contract extension
Yes, the Eagles are 1-25-4 outside Hockey East since 2016 (that one win being in the Beanpot semis last week), but what are you going to do? Not re-sign the winningest coach of all time? Especially when he has a savior-tier recruiting class lined up?
Anyway, it’s a wonky time in college hockey, in more ways than one. We may actually be seeing a paradigm shift in how teams are constructed, recruited and eventually put out on the ice. For example, more and more players may be able to make that jump much earlier, following in the footsteps of the elite young freshmen of the past, and that’s a strategic decision a program of BC’s caliber has to make. The microscope is always there, though, and in this era that much more so. Is it worth recruiting skaters like Oliver Wahlstrom if you don’t win with them? Some of that is premature — Wahlstrom could break out for a point-per-game as a sophomore — but most of it isn’t. When York had Hanifin, White, Demko, those were special players, like Eichel and Keller were for the Terriers. That stretch was almost like a fluke, hardly anyone else had players like that at the time. Even the University of Minnesota have had a hell of a time figuring out how to strike a balance between recruiting the best-of-the-best while also committing the best future college players.
BU for their part have brought an embarrassment of riches talent-wise to campus but that certainly wasn’t without some growing pains of their own. I’m not sold on how solid that model is for sustained success. I much prefer the results achieved by the recruiting effort from Nate Leaman’s staff at Providence, who have adapted brilliantly to the new era. They’re achieving a lot more with less compared to the Comm Ave titans. Of course, winning a recent title never hurts, but it’s actually gotten to the point where one has to question whether as a top prospect you would pick BC over Providence moving forward. Ten years ago that would be laughable.
Regardless, the issue with Boston College right now is clear: they’re underperforming, and kind of dreadfully with the expectations that they have set for themselves. They don’t lack talent, but they do lack wins, and the “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” vibe is starting to linger around York’s tenure. Next season they bring to campus everything they need to make this team successful, a star goaltender, premier prospects at every position. So we’ll see. I also think if BU had won their title with Eichel and been a bit more dominant this decade, the pressure would be on York that much more. It doesn’t look as bad when BU aren’t killing it either.
Notes from some of the action in Division 1
Northeastern beat Boston College in the Beanpot championship. To get there, the Huskies beat Boston University last week off of a Tyler Madden goal. This week, Cayden Primeau was the star, while Lincoln Griffin’s three points were enough to hold off a third period rally by the Eagles. Highlights below
Michigan won the Duel in the D against Michigan State in Detroit in front of a crowd of over 15,000. Quinn Hughes’ 3 assists paced the Wolverines alongside Nolan Moyle who really showed up with 2 goals and a helper. The night prior it was Mike Pastujov and Jake Slaker combining to get the win over the Spartans. Great for the Wolverines that the more balanced scoring is starting to come as they are making do without a big piece in Josh Norris.
In case you missed it, Nate Sucese had a nice weekend, earning the top highlight of the week in the Big Ten with one of his goals against Minnesota:
Quinnipiac blanked Yale at home on Friday, 4-0, the win buoyed off a two-point night by former Brunswick (CT-prep) star Nick Jermain. Yale’s Corbin Kaczperski faced 23 looks in the first period alone, while Quinnipiac’s Andrew Shortridge faced just 4 in the second en route to the 23-save shutout.
Adam Fox’s three powerplay helpers helped the Crimson emerge over Union, 5-3 with an empty netter late.
UMass lost to Lowell, who seem to have their number in this stellar season for the Minutemen, but picked up a quality win over BU on Friday, responding to an early powerplay marker by Dante Fabbro to score three unanswered in the second and hold on through the third. Nice goal by Johnny Leonard and 1G-1A from Jack Suter. The Minutemen are still cruising into the penultimate stage of the season — I’m excited to see where coach Carvel’s staff can take this ship.
Providence split with Maine, getting a 1-0 shutout from Hayden Hawkey on Friday and came out to score just one goal again on Saturday (via Brandon Duhaime) in a 4-1 loss, with Mike Callahan and Jack Dugan out of the line-up. Georgia native Chase Pearson picked up his 15th tally of the year in the win for Maine.
B.C. couldn’t solve Tyler Wall, stopping 28 for UMass Lowell on Friday night. Ryan Dmowski and Lohin both scored their 11th of the year in the win. Freshman defender Chase Blackmun (1 primary assist) out of Hudson, Wisconsin continues to produce when it counts.
SCSU beat CC in overtime back-to-back, though the first one wasn’t solved in NCAA regulation overtime, so it’s in the books as a tie and a win.
American International are in the midst of one of their brightest seasons ever:
The Alaska schools split, with Anchorage taking the first game of the Governor’s Cup 4-1, and then losing 2-1 on Saturday. Jeremiah Luedtke’s two points on the powerplay were the difference for Anchorage, while Ryker Leer’s fifth was the GWG on Saturday for Fairbanks.
2nd-rounder (NYI) Ruslan Iskhakov produced three for UConn against Merrimack on a Saturday night when he only needed one to secure the game-winner. Kid’s a ball-player. Check out this picked corner against BC last week.
Minnesota State beat Michigan Tech off a late Marc Michaelis tying goal and then a Connor Mackey OT-winner. Dryden McKay made 33 stops for the win.
Union’s Ryan Walker got his tenth goal of the year, a GWG against Dartmouth in a 3-1 win. Princeton gave Yale a rough Saturday night loss with a four-goal showing led by Ryan Kuffner’s 16th and 17th on the year. Quinnipiac ate a four-goal loss, too, as Alex Brink’s GWG gave Brown some breathing room to snag a 4-1 victory on Saturday after the Bobcats threw up four of their own Yale. Shattuck-St. Mary’s product Luke Kania made 47 stops, including 24 in the third period for Brown.
Didn’t focus a ton on women’s college action this week, but I noticed Lovisa Selander broke the NCAA record with 3,810 career saves for the RPI women’s team. That’s awesome.
I did see that the Bemidji State women had two great splits, with top-ranked Wisconsin and then Ohio State the weekend after.
A couple links
The Athletic took a look at the state of the Gophers men’s hockey program. This is part two, which highlights their engagement with the robust alumni base.
ESPN wrote about Hockey in Alabama
Michigan recruit Kent Johnson scored one of those ‘lacrosse’-goals in the BCHL this month.
Tweet of the week
Post-game conference of the week
Frank Serratore back at it again for Air Force