By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
College Hockey is back. While most of the hockey world’s attention was rightfully fixed on the World Juniors, where James Hagens and Will Zellers have been putting on a show, or the Spengler Cup, where the US Collegiate Selects Team just secured their spot in the Final, the NCAA opened up the second half over the holiday weekend with a handful of matchups where other Bruins prospects made their mark:
Dean Letourneau (C) – Boston College – Letourneau stepped up into the top-line center role in Hagens’ absence and delivered with a goal in each game of the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off as BC split their games with Western Michigan and Lake Superior State. Dating back to the Notre Dame game on Black Friday, Letourneau has six goals in his last five games and has scored in each game. Dean now leads the Eagles in goalscoring with 11, leapfrogging Hagens, and is tied with Jake Sondreal atop the board with 19 points.
Will Moore (C) – Boston College – Moore also hit the scoresheet in both games for the Eagles in Milwaukee, assisting Letourneau in the loss to Western Michigan, and scoring a power play goal in the win over Lake Superior State. The goal was his first on the man advantage in his collegiate career, and also the first career point for highly touted midseason addition Oscar Hemming. Moore is up to 3-5-8 in 18 games, starting his second half strong.
Casper Nassen (LW) – Miami OH – Nassen recorded an assist on the eventual game-winning goal as the RedHawks opened their second half with a split in the Great Lakes Invitational by beating Ferris State in the third-place game on Monday. The former seventh-round pick has already set new career highs in both assists and points with Miami (4-9-13), is just three goals away from a new career high, and has the rest of the second half to add to his numbers.
Looking Ahead: The second half begins in earnest on Friday after the New Year, with a mixture of conference games, non-conference matchups, and a handful of other four-team tournaments. The most significant match for Bruins fans to watch is Harvard at Quinnipiac, where Mason Langenbrunner will face Elliott Groenewold on Friday.
Following the head-to-head, the Bobcats will host Dartmouth on Saturday night while the Crimson will head to Princeton to wrap up their road weekend. Cornell hosts Omaha for a pair of non-conference games in Ithaca starting Friday. It remains to be seen whether Chris Pelosi and Ryan Walsh will return to the Quinnipiac or Cornell lineups this weekend, as the US Collegiate Selects Team plays in the Spengler Cup Final on New Year’s Eve, which would make for a sharp turnaround, especially when accounting for the added travel.
Cole Spicer and Western Michigan will host Notre Dame for two games. Spicer’s status will also be in question, as he didn’t dress for either game of the Broncos’ triumph at the Holiday Face-Off against BC and Wisconsin.
Philip Svedeback and the Friars will host Alaska in Providence for two games to open their second half. Beckett Hendrickson and Jonathan Morello both have exhibition games slated for the weekend, with Minnesota facing Bemidji State on Friday and Boston University hosting Simon Fraser on Saturday.
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