Thursday, May 14, 2015
Cup Dreams Closer for 27 Alums
Conference Finals set with representatives from 18 teams still in pursuit of Stanley Cup.
Eighteen schools have alumni competing for the Stanley Cup as four teams have secured their spots in the Conference Finals that begin Saturday afternoon in New York.
Ryan McDonagh (Wisconsin) and Jonathan Toews (North Dakota) captain two of the four remaining teams, each of which has had significant contributions from their NCAA alumni in the playoffs.
The Rangers – who boast the most NCAA alums in their lineup of any team in NHL history – closed out their second-round series thanks to an overtime goal from Derek Stepan (Wisconsin). Stepan shares the team lead in scoring in the playoffs with eight points, and he is one of four former NCAA stars with an overtime goal for the Rangers (McDonagh, Kevin Hayes, Carl Hagelin are the others).
Two Rangers – Hayes and Chris Kreider – will be returning to the building in Tampa where they won the 2012 NCAA championship with Boston College.
Former Maine goaltender Ben Bishop leads Tampa Bay into its series with the Rangers; he had a .980 save percentage in the Lightning’s two series-clinching victories to this point. Alex Killorn (Harvard) leads all Lightning forwards in ice time (19:56 per game) and ranks fourth on the team in points (9).
Toews is one of three former NCAA stars among Chicago’s top four scorers. Duncan Keith (Michigan State) leads the NHL at +10 in the playoffs and has scored two game-winning goals. Patrick Sharp (Vermont) and Tiews are tied for second on the team with four goals each.
Anaheim has been bolstered by the addition of Ryan Kesler (Ohio State), whose 4 goals and 9 points through two rounds rank among the team leaders. Andrew Cogliano (Michigan) trails only Corey Perry among Ducks in shots on goal.
Schools with Alums in Conference Finals
| Alabama Huntsville | Cam Talbot (NYR) |
| Boston College | Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider (NYR); Brian Boyle (TB) |
| Colgate | Chris Wagner (ANA) |
| Dartmouth | Tanner Glass (NYR) |
| Denver | Matt Carle (TB) |
| Harvard | Alex Killorn (TB); Dominic Moore (NYR) |
| Maine | Ben Bishop (TB); Scott Darling (CHI) |
| Miami | Dan Boyle (NYR) |
| Michigan | Carl Hagelin, Matt Hunwick (NYR); Andrew Cogliano (ANA) |
| Michigan State | Duncan Keith (CHI) |
| Minnesota Duluth | J.T. Brown, Jason Garrison (TB) |
| Minnesota State | Tim Jackman (ANA) |
| North Dakota | Jonathan Toews (CHI) |
| Notre Dame | Kyle Palmieri (ANA) |
| Ohio State | Ryan Kesler (ANA) |
| Omaha | Andrej Sustr (TB) |
| Vermont | Patrick Sharp (CHI); Martin St. Louis (NYR) |
| Wisconsin | Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan (NYR) |
Includes players who have dressed in playoffs to this point