By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
The Boston Bruins entered the NCAA Tournament with eight active college hockey prospects in the action. After the dust had settled on the first weekend, they’ll be on the outside looking in at the Frozen Four as all eight have been eliminated. Despite the unfortunate results in the regionals, they didn’t go down without a fight:
Ryan Walsh (C) – Cornell – Walsh played his best hockey of the season when Cornell needed it the most. He carried his momentum from the ECAC Tournament title into the Big Red’s opening round game against second overall seed Michigan State, scoring twice en route to a shocking 4-3 upset win. Both of Walsh’s goals brought Cornell back level after the Spartans held the lead for long stretches of play, and his second goal set the stage for their eventual game-winner with less than ten seconds to play.
Walsh would follow up his performance against Michigan State by opening the scoring in the regional final against Boston University, driving the crease and following up a rebound off goaltender Mikhail Yegorov’s mask into the net. That would cap off Walsh’s exceptional sophomore season, as he would be held off the scoresheet the rest of the way, and BU prevailed 3-2 in overtime to advance to the Frozen Four. Walsh finished with 17-14-31 in 36 games, beating his freshman-year totals in every statistical category.
Dans Locmelis (C) – UMass – Similar to Walsh, Locmelis also stepped up his game in a big way on the biggest stage. Locmelis logged a pair of assists in the first round against Minnesota, helping the Minutemen storm back from a 3-1 third-period deficit to upset the Golden Gophers 5-4 in OT. His first assist set up the equalizer as UMass scored twice within two minutes to tie the game midway through the period. The second assist belonged on a Sportscenter Top Ten reel: a backhand pass from the right faceoff dot past three defenders to the back post for Aydar Suniev to tap into a wide-open net for the win.
Locmelis followed his heroics by breaking the ice in the regional final against top-seeded Western Michigan, taking in a bank-feed entry pass off the boards and beating Western goaltender Hampton Slukynsky off the rush. Locmelis led all Minutemen forwards in ice time, but they could not beat Slukynsky again, and the Broncos scored a pair of power-play goals to take the victory. He finished his sophomore season with 8-25-33 in 40 games, more than doubling his point total from his freshman year.
Looking Ahead: Annual roster upheaval is expected once every college team has been eliminated from championship contention due to graduations, players signing with professional teams, and, especially now, the transfer portal. The Bruins have already capitalized on the roster churn by signing Ty Gallagher and Jake Schmaltz, whose teams were eliminated in their conference tournaments and had exhausted their college eligibility.
The next wave of eliminations should come with much more intrigue, as every remaining Bruins prospect has at least one year of eligibility. They could sign a pro deal and leave early, return to school, or hit the portal and play somewhere else next season. Locmelis was the first domino to fall when he signed a three-year entry-level deal with Boston on Tuesday, forgoing his last two years to make the jump. Walsh and Andre Gasseau are potential candidates for the Bruins to sign in the coming weeks, but their decisions have yet to be finalized.
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