Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Notes: Moore Healthy, Thriving

DU top scorer on an offensive surge in second half, plus more notes.

Notes: Moore Healthy, Thriving
Trevor Moore is tied for fifth nationally in points since Jan. 1 (21).

By Nate Ewell

After an impressive home sweep of North Dakota, Denver faces another rival this weekend in Colorado College, including an outdoor game Saturday at Coors Field. Junior Trevor Moore (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Tri-City-USHL) had 7 points last weekend to take over the team scoring lead; he has 23 points (4g-19a) in his last 14 games after starting the season with 8 points (2g-6a) in 13 games. One reason for the relatively slow start for the talented winger was discovered late – he fought off walking pneumonia earlier in the season. Moore and fellow West Coast natives Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, Wash./Dubuque-USHL) and Danton Heinen (Langley, B.C./Surrey-BCHL/BOS) form what’s been dubbed the “Pacific Rim Line” that hass scored 43% of Denver’s goals since Dec. 11. | Thursday’s game is on ASN & TSN GO; Saturday’s is on ROOT Sports & TSN GO

Must Read/See/Hear Material

Minnesota Hockey Journal: Alex Lyon Q&A
The Mack Report: Back from the Dead
New Haven Register: Piotrowski budding into one of Yale’s ‘mane’ players
Observer: Gross gives Irish behind-the-scenes leadership
College Hockey News: Perseverance paying off for Clarkson’s Lewis
The Pipeline Show: Quinnipiac’s Michael Garteig | SCSU’s Charlie Lindgren
Niagara Gazette: Former Purple Eagle added to NU staff

Five More Storylines No One Should be Without

Woods’s happy return – Alaska returns to the ice after a week off that included a significant milestone: sophomore Justin Woods (Fairbanks, Alaska/Lincoln-USHL) celebrated one year of being cancer free. Woods, a homegrown star, missed all of last season while being treated for Ewing’s Sarcoma. The defenseman has played 26 of 28 games this season, recording a goal and three assists. The Nanooks – who are in ninth place in the WCHA but just four points out of seventh – close out the regular season with four out of six games at home, starting this weekend vs. Bowling Green. | ASN: Woods thriving again after surviving bone cancer

Mature Kasdorf backstops RPI – Senior Jason Kasdorf (Winnipeg, Man./Des Moines-USHL/BUF) has led Rensselaer into a tie for fifth in ECAC Hockey. The relatively young Engineers were picked 10th in the conference, but in Kasdorf they have a goaltender who is mature beyond his years. Kasdorf married his wife, Stacy, after his freshman year and has already seen his NHL rights traded (from hometown Winnipeg to the Buffalo Sabres). The ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year is enjoying his best season, ranking second nationally with a .937 save percentage, and has shown remarkable consistency – he has had only four games under a .906 save percentage (none in the last 10).

Save Percentage Leaders
.944 – Alex Lyon, Yale
.937 – Jason Kasdorf, RPI (BUF)
.937 – Cam Johnson, N. Dakota
.937 – Kyle Hayton, SLU
.936 – Terry Shafer, Robert Morris
.936 – Evan Weninger, UNO

Italian leads Irish – A 13-1-3 stretch has propelled Notre Dame into first place in Hockey East entering a key weekend series at defending NCAA champion Providence. Thomas DiPauli (Caldaro, Italy/U.S. NTDP/WSH) is enjoying his finest season as a senior and hopes to lead the Irish back to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence. DiPauli, who moved to the U.S. at 12 years old with brother Theo (a senior at Union) to play with the Chicago Mission, is a Washington Capitals prospect who is seeking to become just the fourth Italy-born player to reach the NHL. A dual citizen, he plays for the U.S. internationally.

Resilient Wilson leads RMU – Robert Morris could clinch a second straight Atlantic Hockey title this weekend at red-hot Air Force (8-1-3 in its last 12). Leading the way for a dominant Colonial senior class is fifth-year senior Tyson Wilson (Brockville, Ont./Brockville-CCHL), who has battled through five hip surgeries, as College Hockey News’s Jashvina Shah writes. The talented all-around blueliner leads the team at +27 and is tied for 10th nationally among defensemen with 21 points.

OSU’s impact freshman – After injuries cost Mason Jobst (Speedway, Ind./Muskegon-USHL) almost all of last season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks, one might not have expected an easy transition to the college game. The 5-foot-7, 159-pound center has not only excelled, but improved as the season has progressed. Only Michigan’s Kyle Connor (Shelby Township/Youngstown-USHL/WPG) and North Dakota’s Brock Boeser (Burnsville, Minn./Waterloo-USHL/VAN) – both first-round NHL draft picks – have more points per game among freshmen since the start of December (7g-11a in 13 GP). | Friday’s game is on BTN; Saturday’s is on ESPNU

Mason Jobst, Ohio State Freshman
First 13 games: 2 goals, 3 assists
Last 12 games: 7 goals, 11 assists

NHL Note of the Week

The NHL rookie records for longest point streak (overall) and longest point streak by a defenseman are both held by former NCAA champions:

Couple things in common between @s_ghost14 and @PaulyWalnuts26 pic.twitter.com/11YRrBkp5L

— College Hockey Inc. (@collegehockey) February 17, 2016

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag

Regular-season weeks remaining, by conference: two (Atlantic Hockey, ECAC Hockey, Hockey East), three (NCHC, WCHA) or four (Big Ten) … Air Force welcomes former airmen and Olympians Willard Ikola (Michigan alum) and Weldy Olson (Michigan State alum) this weekend for their series against Robert Morris … Ten finalists were announced for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award … The nation’s longest active unbeaten streak belongs to Boston College (8-0-4); the longest winning streak to Yale (5-0-0).