By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
This past weekend of college hockey featured high-profile nonconference games and furious comebacks, with Bruins prospects playing pivotal roles in several of the slate’s biggest name-brand matchups. Four Bruins recorded multiple points, some whose production you may already expect, and a few made their first big impact of the young season.
Dean Letourneau – C – Boston College – Letourneau notched three points in BC’s road series against reigning national champions Denver. His goal on Friday night sparked an Eagles comeback as they quickly erased a 2-0 deficit when Will Vote struck 37 seconds later, though the Pioneers pulled away in the third period, 5-2.
He followed up with assists on both goals Saturday, as BC again rallied from 2-0 down to salvage a tie. He first tipped a point shot by Matthew Grimes to Mathis Vanhanen, who swept it into the open net. Letourneau then set up Teddy Stiga’s last-minute equalizer by beating two Denver skaters to a dump-in along the boards, then finding Vanhanen to set up Stiga for the tie. To cap it off, Letourneau scored the only goal in the exhibition shootout, sending BC home on a high note. Dean is now up to 3-4-7 in five games, with a point in every game so far this season.
Cole Spicer – C – Western Michigan – Spicer picked up a pair of assists in Western Michigan’s Friday night matchup with Michigan, a 3-2 loss where the Wolverines scored the game-winning goal with 0.1 seconds remaining in regulation. He got the secondary assist on Zaccharya Wisdom’s icebreaker midway through the second period, then sprung William Whitelaw loose on a shorthanded breakaway to tie the game late. The senior has 1-3-4 in five games and leads the Broncos with 50 faceoff wins.
Beckett Hendrickson – LW – Minnesota – Hendrickson factored into both games of Minnesota’s sweep over rivals North Dakota in their first visit to Minneapolis since 2022. He bookended the two matchups, scoring the empty-net goal on Thursday to seal a 5-3 win, then set up Brodie Ziemer on a two-on-one rush to open the scoring in the rematch. It was his first time recording a point in both games of a series since December 4th-5th of last year against Ohio State. Hendrickson now has points in four of six games this season, and 2-2-4 overall.
Casper Nassen – RW – Lake Superior State – Nassen had a hand in three of Lake State’s four goals over the weekend, as conference rival Bowling Green swept them. He found the back of the net in both games and added an assist on countryman William Samuelsson’s first collegiate goal in the third period on Saturday, as their comeback bid fell short 4-2. Nassen has had a strong start to life in Sault Ste. Marie, with 3-4-7 in six games, including three multipoint efforts.
Looking Ahead: Letourneau, Kristian Kostadinski, and Leo Henriquez open their Hockey East slate with a home-and-home against Northeastern, with both games at Conte Forum and the nomadic Huskies serving as the de facto “home” team on Halloween night. Jonathan Morello and Boston University will host Maine for two games at Agganis Arena.
Ryan Walsh and Cornell will officially get their season underway, hosting Sacred Heart for a weekend series in Ithaca. Chris Pelosi and Elliott Groenewold will host Providence for a standalone game on Saturday.
Will Zellers and Cooper Simpson will hit the road for a very high-profile neutral-site matchup against Michigan State in Austin, Texas, on Halloween. Spicer and the Broncos host Long Island for a two-game set starting Thursday night.
Hendrickson and the Golden Gophers will kick off Big Ten play against Penn State in Minneapolis. Nassen and the Lakers will head to Mankato, Minnesota, to face the reigning CCHA champion Minnesota State Mavericks.
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