By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
It is officially tournament time across the board in college hockey. Some Boston Bruins prospects wrapped up their regular seasons last weekend, and others are already off and running in their conference tournaments. Every team now knows where they stand and what they need to do to keep their seasons alive. Which prospects are playing their best with the pressure ramping up?
James Hagens (C/LW/RW) – Boston College – Hagens recorded a goal and an assist over the weekend to extend his point streak to 12 games. He scored the Eagles’ only goal on Thursday night against UMass and assisted on the Eagles’ second goal on Saturday vs Northeastern, as BC dropped both contests. He finishes his regular season with 21-21-42 in 32 games.
With Boston College finishing fourth in the Hockey East standings and sitting 18th in NPI, an NCAA Tournament berth is not guaranteed. Should BC be eliminated from the Hockey East Tournament before they can move back inside the NPI cut line, Hagens’ next appearance at TD Garden could very well come in Black and Gold.
Will Zellers (RW) – North Dakota – Zellers recorded a goal and two assists on Saturday night, his third three-point game in six weeks, as North Dakota completed the sweep of Omaha to advance to the NCHC Tournament semifinals. His 18th goal of the year broke open a one-goal game late in the second period, and then added a pair of assists in the dying minutes of regulation to ice the win. Zellers now has 18-12-30 in 34 games in his freshman campaign.
Cole Spicer (C) – Western Michigan – Spicer scored his third goal of the season during Western Michigan’s 5-2 NCHC Tournament opening win over Colorado College. Like Zellers’ goal, Spicer broke open a tight contest early in the third period, and the Broncos completed the sweep the following night.
It has been a successful yet challenging season for Spicer in his return to college hockey. He’s appeared in just 10 games to this point, but has recorded 3-2-5 in those games while winning nearly 56% of faceoffs. The greatest sign of optimism for the postseason is that the Colorado College series was the first time that he has been able to play in four consecutive games.
Looking Ahead:
The Hockey East and Big Ten Tournaments will get underway on Wednesday night, with Jonathan Morello and sixth-seed Boston University hosting 11th-seed Vermont at Agganis Arena. Beckett Hendrickson and sixth-seed Minnesota will head to Happy Valley to open their quarterfinal series against third-seed Penn State.
Hagens, Dean Letourneau, Andre Gasseau, Will Moore, Oskar Jellvik, and Kristian Kostadinski begin their Hockey East Tournament on Friday night, as the fourth-seed Eagles host fifth-seed Maine in the quarterfinals. With both teams currently below the NPI rankings cut line for the NCAA Tournament field, it’s win and advance to TD Garden, or go home for both teams. Philip Svedeback and the top-seed Friars await the lowest remaining seed on Saturday.
Bruins prospects will go head-to-head in the ECAC Tournament quarterfinals starting Friday night, as Ryan Walsh and third-seed Cornell host Mason Langenbrunner and sixth-seed Harvard. The Crimson avoided an upset in the opening round last Friday by dispatching St Lawrence in overtime. Chris Pelosi and Elliott Groenewold, and the top-seed Quinnipiac Bobcats host the eighth-seed Clarkson. The winners of both ECAC best-of-three series will head to the semifinals in Lake Placid.
Zellers and Spicer will both play their NCHC Tournament semifinal games on Saturday night. North Dakota will host Minnesota-Duluth, and Western Michigan will head to Denver for single-elimination games. Casper Nassen’s season concluded in the quarterfinal when the Pioneers swept Miami over the weekend.
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