By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
Thanks in part to the return of a key veteran forward on Chestnut Hill, the Boston Bruins’ college hockey prospects turned in their highest scoring output of the second half, tallying a combined 17 points over the weekend. Their special teams production was especially prolific, with five different skaters factoring in on at least one power play goal for their respective teams. Several individual performances helped drive the offensive surge, with a few setting new career highs in the process:
Andre Gasseau (C) – Boston College – Gasseau returned from a near three-month absence with a wrist injury and proved to be an immediate factor for the Eagles in their weekend series against Providence, centering the third line with Teddy Stiga and Will Moore. Down 3-1 midway through the game on Friday night, Gasseau assisted on both BC goals as they came back to tie the game in the third period. He added a power play goal on Saturday in Providence, tipping home James Hagens’ one-timer to get the Eagles on the board.
His return will be a welcome boost to a Boston College team that’s currently tied for fourth in Hockey East and hovering around the NCAA Tournament cut line, and will need to stack quality wins to punch their ticket for a third consecutive year.
James Hagens (C/LW) – Boston College – Hagens assisted on all three of BC’s goals, each on the power play, in the Eagles’ 4-3 road loss in Providence on Saturday. The output marked his second three-point game of the season, following his hat trick against Notre Dame on Black Friday, and his first multi-assist game in nearly a calendar year. Saturday’s performance also enabled Hagens to re-take the BC scoring lead, with 10-11-21 in 18 games.
Chris Pelosi (C) – Quinnipiac – Pelosi recorded a point in both games for the second weekend in a row, scoring a power-play goal in the Bobcats 5-1 win over Colgate, and then assisting on the icebreaker directly off a faceoff win in a 4-1 win over Cornell. Saturday marked a career high for Pelosi in both assists and points, and he now stands with 13-12-25 in 24 games, a goal away from a career high in that category as well.
Elliott Groenewold (D) – Quinnipiac – Like Pelosi, Groenewold also set a new career high in points over Quinnipiac’s weekend sweep with a goal and an assist. His second-period goal against Cornell marked his 13th point of the season (3-10-13), eclipsing his freshman output of 12 (4-8-12), and also marked his sixth point in six games for the Bobcats to start the second half. Groenewold leads all skaters in the country in plus/minus with a +27 rating, three points clear of second place.
Casper Nassen (LW) – Miami OH – Nassen recorded a pair of power play assists in the RedHawks’ 6-2 win over Omaha on Saturday night, securing the sweep in conference play. Both of his assists came in the first period, with the first directly setting up David Deputy to deflect home the icebreaker, and the second factoring into the eventual game winner. Nassen is now up to 5-11-16 in 24 games, having logged more assists than he had points all of last season.
Looking Ahead: Mason Langenbrunner gets right back into action on Monday night as Harvard hosts Union, before hitting the road to play Colgate and Cornell this weekend. Ryan Walsh and the Big Red will host Dartmouth on Friday before facing the Crimson on Saturday night. Pelosi and Groenewold will participate in the Connecticut Ice Tournament, opening with Sacred Heart on Friday and then either UConn or Yale on Saturday.
Jonathan Morello opens a home-and-home with Providence in Schneider Arena on Friday before returning home on Saturday night. Hagens, Gasseau, Dean Letourneau, Will Moore, and Kristian Kostadisnki will start their home-and-home against New Hampshire in Chestnut Hill on Friday night.
Will Zellers and North Dakota will head to the desert for a weekend series at Arizona State. Beckett Hendrickson and Minnesota will head to East Lansing for two games against Michigan State.
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