By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
The NCAA Tournament is upon us, and the college hockey field has been pared down from 64 to 16 teams. Last weekend’s conference tournaments proved to be a challenging gauntlet for the Bruins prospects, as they collectively came up empty-handed in their pursuit of trophies and an auto-bid, but they didn’t go down without a fight.
For most of the class, the losses marked the end of their seasons, or even their collegiate careers. A few Bruins, however, have kept their seasons alive and made the cut to compete for a national championship starting this week.
Dean Letourneau (C) – Boston College – Letourneau struck twice on the power play within the second period for BC in their Hockey East semifinal matchup against UConn on Friday night, though the Huskies would eventually prevail 4-3 in overtime to end the Eagles’ season. He capped off his sensational sophomore season with 22-17-39 in 36 games, finishing second on BC in both goals and points, with a double-digit lead in both ahead of the next Eagle.
As reported by the BC Hockey Blog on Twitter/X over the weekend, Letourneau intends to return for his junior season with BC. He’ll have lofty expectations to drive the Eagles’ offense next fall as an upperclassman, given the talent drain they’ll experience this summer.
James Hagens (C/LW) – Boston College – Hagens recorded assists on both of Letourneau’s power-play goals in BC’s loss to UConn. Boston’s top prospect capped his decorated sophomore season on a 14-game point streak and 23-24-47 in 34 games, and has a chance to add even more, as he’s been named as one of ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.
All signs point to Hagens turning pro and joining the Bruins organization in the coming days. As of writing, where he’ll report and when he’ll make his professional debut are still up in the air.
Ryan Walsh (C) – Cornell – Walsh posted a goal and an assist for the Big Red, his third consecutive multipoint game, in their ECAC Tournament semifinal loss to Princeton on Friday. After a slow stretch from mid-January to February, Cornell’s captain is playing his best hockey heading into the NCAA Tournament, with 11 points in his last seven games, and a career high 10-23-33 in 32 games this season.
Looking Ahead:
Six Bruins prospects on five teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament. With three teams drawn into the same regional bracket, and two more in another, there’s a strong chance they will have to go through each other to qualify for the Frozen Four in Las Vegas.
Philip Svedeback will go head-to-head with Chris Pelosi and Elliott Groenewold on Thursday afternoon as Providence and Quinnipiac will meet in the first round as the second and third seeds of the Sioux Falls regional. Will Zellers and North Dakota, the top seed in that region, will face Merrimack later that evening.
Cole Spicer will make his NCAA Tournament debut on Friday as Western Michigan, the top seed in the Loveland regional, opens its championship repeat campaign against Minnesota State. Walsh and Cornell, the third seed in Loveland, will face Denver in a de facto home game as regional hosts. The matchup will be an opportunity for Walsh to get some revenge on the Pioneers, who eliminated the Big Red during his freshman season in 2024 en route to a national championship.
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