By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
The 2024-25 NCAA Men’s Hockey season is approaching the halfway point, with just one weekend of games left before the December break. Several Boston Bruins prospects are rolling into Christmas vacation, having aced their midterms with a strong first half, and a handful of others still have a few games left to pump up their grades. With the last full slate of 2024 in the rearview, who finished the weekend with a little extra credit?
Philip Svedeback (G) – Providence – Svedeback started both games of Providence’s weekend series with then-8th-ranked Colorado College, turning away 51 of 54 shots as the Friars secured the weekend sweep and entered the winter break on a high note. Head Coach Nate Leaman spoke highly of Svedeback’s performances, saying he wasn’t rattled by CC’s persistent attack and net-front traffic, where he otherwise might have been earlier in his career. The Swedish backstop sports a 9-2-1 record with a 2.28 Goals Against Average and a career high .922 Save Percentage through the first half of his Junior season.
Andre Gasseau (C) – Boston College – Gasseau continued his torrid goalscoring pace with his eighth goal of the season during BC’s Friday night shootout loss to UMass Lowell. Linemate Oskar Jellvik forced a turnover along the corner boards and fed Gasseau for a one-timer below the dot, the fourth time the duo factored on a goal together in five games. Gasseau’s eight goals in 16 games have him on pace to smash his career-high of 12 from last season and have him three goals clear of the next-closest contender in the College Bruins scoring race.
Ryan Walsh (C) – Cornell – Speaking of the scoring race, Walsh, the next closest contender, scored his fifth goal of the season during the Big Red’s 3-2 overtime comeback victory over Colgate on Friday night. On the power play midway through the third period, Walsh received a pass below the faceoff dot, turned to face the Colgate goaltender, and picked the top corner to tie the game. Not only is Walsh second in goalscoring amongst NCAA prospects in the Bruins’ system, but he’s also fourth in the points race with 10, trailing Gasseau and Ty Gallagher by a single point.
Oskar Jellvik (LW) – Boston College – Jellvik recorded an assist in both games of BC’s weekend series with UMass Lowell, the aforementioned Gasseau assist, and a seeing-eye cross-crease feed to Will Vote to break the ice on Monday night. The assist to Vote was Jellvik’s sixth point in his last eight games and his first since November 15th, which did not involve Andre Gasseau. The Junior has a long way to go to match his 42-point total from last season, but his connection with Gasseau has provided vital secondary scoring for the Eagles and should continue to produce in the second half.
Ty Gallagher (D) – Colorado College – Gallagher recorded an assist and led all Colorado College in minutes played over their weekend series against Providence, in which the Tigers dropped both games. Gallagher’s assist came on Saturday night, a secondary power play marker where he fed his defense partner across the blue line and had his shot deflected home. Gallagher was also the victim of some unfortunate puck luck, as he attempted to knock down a high puck at center ice and unintentionally created a two-on-one for Providence to seal the game. Despite the difficult weekend, the Senior defenseman is still having an exceptional season as the top guy in Colorado Springs and is on track to break his career-high 21 points from two years ago.
Looking ahead: The winter break is looming, if it hasn’t already set in for several teams, and the upcoming weekend will be the last slate of games until after Christmas. However, before the season’s festivities set in, Dans Locmelis and the UMass Minutemen have a Wednesday night tilt with 13th-ranked BU in Amherst, aiming for a sweep after a 4-0 win on Saturday.
Beckett Hendrickson and newly christened number one Minnesota host third-ranked Michigan State, who just lost the top spot, for two games. Jake Schmaltz and 16th-ranked North Dakota host ninth-ranked St. Cloud State in another big-time ranked battle. Capping off the first half, Ty Gallagher and now 10th-ranked CC Tigers have a chance to finish on a high note with a home-and-home against their historic rivals, 4th-ranked Denver.
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