By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
The underclassmen ran the show this week for the Bruins in College Hockey. 10 of the 14 points scored by Bruins draftees over the weekend were produced by freshmen and sophomores, led by a handful of multi-point nights, growing point streaks, and a few youngsters who are starting to find their game at the college level:
Ryan Walsh (C) – Cornell – Walsh tied a career-best with a three-point night as part of a 6-2 beatdown of Ivy League rivals Princeton on Friday night. He provided the Big Red a quick response after falling behind early, tying the game less than two minutes after Princeton opened the score. Walsh then added a pair of second-period assists to pad the lead as Cornell cruised to the win. It was Walsh’s second three-point game of the season after a similar stat line against North Dakota on November 2nd. The sophomore Center now has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 17 games.
Chris Pelosi (C) – Quinnipiac – Pelosi, a regular feature as of late, is officially on a heater. An assist against Colgate on Friday, followed by a goal against Cornell on Saturday, pushed Pelosi up to six points in eight games since the break. He’s now tripled his goals (six) and doubled his point total (11) for the season during this stretch, helping the Bobcats to a 6-1-1 record in that time, solidifying their spot atop the ECAC standings and within the Pairwise rankings for the NCAA tournament.
Beckett Hendrickson (LW) – Minnesota – Hendrickson recorded a pair of assists during the Golden Gophers’ first-period five-goal blitz against Notre Dame on Friday night, the first multi-point game of his college career. The freshman looks to be finding his game at the college level, with four points in his last five games after scoring four in his first 21.
Andre Gasseau (C) – Boston College – Gasseau recorded a pair of assists this past week, setting up teammates Brady Berard and Oskar Jellvik for empty netters against Harvard and Providence, respectively. Gasseau hasn’t found the back of the net since December 6th, but that hasn’t stopped him from being an effective contributor on the BC second line. He has four assists in his last four outings after having just three in the first half of the season. His eight goals still pace the College Bruins and sit in a tie for second on BC with Gabe Perreault.
Casper Nassen (RW) – Miami (OH) – A goal against Omaha on Friday night gave Nassen goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. He’s quickly coming back to life after an eleven-game drought, and the recent burst has him tied for the Redhawks team lead in goal-scoring.
Looking ahead – Chris Pelosi and Elliott Groenewold will compete in the Connecticut Ice Tournament, essentially a Connecticut equivalent of the Beanpot. The tournament features Quinnipiac, UConn, Sacred Heart, and Yale. The Bobcats will take on the surging Huskies, and the winner will play the winner of Sacred Heart and Yale in the Final. Quinnipiac is the three-time reigning champion of the CT Ice Tournament. Mason Langenbrunner and Ryan Walsh will go head-to-head as Harvard journeys to Ithaca on Friday night. Before returning home, the Crimson will play Colgate on Saturday, and Cornell will host Dartmouth.
Andre Gasseau, Oskar Jellvik, and Dean Letourneau have the big one on tap – a home-and-home with historic rivals Boston University, and the surging Terriers lead the Hockey East standings by two points. Philip Svedeback and the Friars have a challenging task ahead for a bounce back, taking on ninth-ranked UMass Lowell for a home and home. Dans Locmelis plays host to Alaska for a nonconference weekend in Amherst.
Casper Nassen will look to keep his resurgent play going on the road against fourth-ranked Western Michigan. Ty Gallagher and Colorado College head to the desert to play 13th-ranked Arizona State. The Tigers swept ASU at home back in November. Beckett Hendrickson and third-ranked Minnesota cross Lake Michigan to play top-ranked Michigan State in a B1G Ten heavyweight bout.
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