By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
The 2024-25 College Hockey regular season has officially wrapped, and conference tournament season is upon us. For dozens of teams nationwide, including several Bruins prospects, a conference tournament title represents their last chance to dance in the 16-team NCAA tournament field. A few Bruins prospects enter this week on the tournament bubble, and a strong showing can guarantee their spot or an early exit can lose it. Who wrapped up the regular season on a high note or started their tournament campaign strong?
Dans Locmelis (C) – UMass – Locmelis put together a dominant performance for UMass during Saturday’s 2-2 tie with Maine, factoring into both Minutemen goals and winning 12/15 faceoffs. Locmelis opened the scoring halfway through the first period by beating Maine goaltender Albin Boija in tight, then found Larry Keenan open in the slot to build a 2-0 lead. He nearly had a second goal on the night, if not for grand larceny by Boija to keep the game level late in the third period.
Locmelis is now sitting at 7-22-29 for the season, matching his freshman-year goal total while doubling his points. The white-hot Minutemen have played their way into the NCAA Tournament field and could be a dangerous team to watch in the next few weeks.
Andre Gasseau (C) – Boston College – Gasseau recorded a pair of assists during BC’s 6-0 blowout of Merrimack on Senior Day, setting a new career high in points in the process. His assists came on back-to-back goals for the Eagles within three minutes of one another, putting the game well beyond reach with over ten minutes to play. Gasseau’s second assist extended his multi-point streak to four games and his overall point streak to seven while playing at a near two-point-per-game pace (6-7-13).
Mason Langenbrunner (D) – Harvard – Langenbrunner got on the scoresheet for the first time since The Beanpot during Harvard’s 5-2 ECAC Tournament win over Rensselaer on Friday night. The Junior defenseman has had an exceptional run of play since the calendar turned to 2025, recording more points (3-4-7) since January 1st than his first two seasons combined, and has consistently played between 18-20 minutes a night after never scraping those minutes in the first half of the season. The Crimson will need every minute of strong play from Langenbrunner on the blue line to make a surprise run toward the ECAC Tournament crown and NCAA auto-bid.
Casper Nassen (LW) – Miami (OH) – Nassen closed out his freshman season with a small bright spot, recording an assist in a 5-2 loss to Western Michigan, mercifully ending a challenging year for the RedHawks. Nassen’s assist bumped him up to ten points, finishing with 6-4-10. His last assist before Saturday night came on October 26th, Miami’s most recent win of the season. There should be brighter days ahead for Nassen and the RedHawks program.
Looking Ahead: Dans Locmelis kicks off the Hockey East Tournament on Wednesday as sixth-seed UMass hosts 11-seed Vermont in the first round. Should the Minutemen win and advance, they will head to Boston University on Saturday. Philip Svedeback opens his tournament campaign on the road against fourth-seed UConn. The winner will advance to TD Garden for the semifinals. As winners of the Hockey East regular season title, Andre Gasseau and Dean Letourneau await the lowest remaining seed at Conte Forum, with the winner heading to TD Garden.
The first round of the NCHC Tournament will feel like deja vu for Jake Schmaltz and Ty Gallagher. Fifth-seed North Dakota and sixth-seed Colorado College will face fourth-seed Omaha and third-seed Denver, the same teams they played last weekend. Beckett Hendrickson’s Big Ten Tournament came to an abrupt halt on Sunday, as second-seed Minnesota was upset by seventh-seed Notre Dame in three games. The Golden Gophers, safely secured into a high seed for the NCAA tournament, will have to wait at home until the big dance.
Ryan Walsh and Mason Langenbrunner took care of business in their ECAC opening-round matchups last Saturday and will hit the road this weekend. Sixth-seed Cornell will take on third-seed Colgate, while seventh-seed Harvard journeys to second-seed Clarkson. Chris Pelosi and Elliott Groenewold join the fray this weekend as regular season champions Quinnipiac host eighth-seed Brown. The winners of this weekend’s matchups will head to Lake Placid for the tournament semifinals.
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