Thursday, December 5, 2024

Men’s Notes: Terriers Hope to Build on Belfast Wins

Boston University Won Annual Friendship Four

Expectations for Boston University – as they typically are for the storied BU program – were sky-high coming into the 2024-25 season.

And why not? The Terriers were coming off back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Frozen Four and were a top-five team in the national preseason polls. However, due in no small part to a grueling early-year schedule, BU was unable to win consecutive games in a single weekend through the first two months of the season.

A trip overseas proved to be a needed tonic.

Playing in the annual Friendship Four tournament last weekend in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the 11th-ranked Terriers came through with back-to-back victories against Merrimack and Notre Dame to capture the Belpot Trophy.

Following a convincing 6-2 win over Hockey East rival Merrimack on Friday, BU needed a three-goal rally in the third period of Saturday’s championship game to slip past the Fighting Irish. Sophomore F Shane Lachance (Andover, Mass.) set up the tying goal with just under five minutes left in regulation, then he potted the tourney-clincher just 20 seconds later.

Lachance, BU’s leading scorer on the year, was named Friendship Four Player of the Tournament.

After a choppy start to the season, the Terriers (8-5-1, 4-2-1 HEA) now roll into December having won a season-best three straight games. Positive signs are also emerging.

Offensively, BU ranks third nationally in shooting percentage (12.7%) and is tied for sixth in scoring offense (3.7 goals per game). Lachance is on a season-long five-game point streak. Freshman Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) has a team-leading nine goals in his first 14 NCAA games.

At the other end of the ice, veteran G Mathieu Caron (Sr., Abbotsford, British Columbia) is rounding into form with three straight wins and a Hockey East Goaltender of the Week nod.

BU will host UMass on Saturday in Hockey East play. The two teams will conclude their series with a mid-week clash next Wednesday.

Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Stat Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

Must Read:

Badger Extra: How a former Wisconsin star knows he made ‘the right choice’ on NHL retirement

Bemidji Pioneer: Toby Palmiscno – Bemidji State’s model of consistency – works his 500th game

Boston Globe: Hockey East teams made a loud statement against nonconference opponents

College Hockey News: On the road again: Nanooks wrap up grueling 12-game road stretch

College Hockey News: Team of the Week: Princeton

College Hockey News: Thompson on pace for career highs, keys Denver top line

College Hockey News: Sardarian growing comfortable at Michigan Tech

EP Rinkside: Which NCAA teams are outperforming offensive expectations?

Flo Hockey: Team USA World Junior camp roster breakdown led by Hagens, Leonard

NHL.com: Celebrini, Smith giving Sharks good look at promising future

Schenectady Daily Gazette: Hauge’s forward lines adjustments don’t mess with men’s hockey chemistry

The Athletic: Blackhawks prospect Oliver Moore learning to influence game with or without production

USCHO: Coming off sweep of Ohio State, Princeton overflowing with confidence

USCHO: Boston College runs the gauntlet, Carvel likes where UMass is at despite record

USCHO: Notre Dame plays ‘best weekend of hockey as a team’ at Friendship Four in Belfast

USCHO: Scoring touch, lockdown defense coming to life as Holy Cross finding ways to build win streak

Must Hear:

Bulldog Insider: Slovakia’s Gajan proving doubters wrong in U.S.

Parting Schotts: Union coach Josh Hauge reviews Niagara sweep, previews Princeton-Quinnipiac trip

Pucks in Deep: Featuring Arizona State freshman F Cullen Potter

The CCHA Show: Featuring Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels

UND Hockey Podcast: UND in need of wins in Oxford

USCHO Spotlight: Michigan State’s Nightingale talks No. 1 Spartans, path to success

USCHO Weekend Review: Looking at in-season tournaments, top-10 results, preliminary PairWise peek

The Lake Show:

It was a busy month for Lake Superior State, which hit the ice 10 times during the month of November and played all but one of those games away from home.

Despite the miles logged, LSSU led the CCHA in wins during the month by going 6-3-1. Only five teams in the country posted more November wins than the Lakers: Minnesota had eight, followed by Bentley, Boston College, Michigan, and Providence with seven each.

Vital to LSSU’s November successes was the play of junior F Connor Milburn (Kamloops, British Columbia), who led the NCAA in scoring during the month with 14 point and had multi-point efforts in half of his 10 games. Earlier this week, Milburn was named CCHA Forward of the Month.

On the back end, freshman G Rorke Applebee (Châteauguay, Quebec) started all 10 games for LSSU and tied BC’s Jacob Fowler (So., Melbourne, Fla.) and Bentley’s Connor Hasley (Jr., North Tonawanda, N.Y.) with an NCAA-leading six victories.

Milburn, Applebee and the Lakers host CCHA rival Bemidji State this weekend at Taffy Abel Arena.

Streaking Spartans:

Top-ranked Michigan State (11-1-0, 4-0-0 Big 10) picked up a non-conference sweep of Lindenwood last weekend, extending its winning streak to nine games. That’s the longest such streak for MSU since the Spartans won 10 in a row during the 2000-01 season.

Michigan State’s lone loss this season was a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Boston College on Oct. 11. Click HERE for more inside MSU’s fast start.

The Spartans will hit the road this weekend for a Big 10 clash at Wisconsin.

Jay Walking Among NCAA Leaders:

Last season, Niagara F Jay Ahearn (Sr., Staten Island, N.Y.) scored a career-best 10 goals in 34 games. He’s already matched that total this year in half the number of games.

Ahearn lit the lamp each night in last weekend’s series against Union, making him just one of six players in the country to boast a double-digit goal total this season:

2024-25 NCAA Goal Leaders
Rk.	Player, School	G
1.	Sam Harris, Denver	11
	Ryan Leonard, Boston College	11
3.	Jay Ahearn, Niagara	10
	Brody Lamb, Minnesota	10
	Liam McLinskey, Holy Cross	10
	Aidan Thompson, Denver	10
7.	Nine players tied w/	9

Ahearn and the Purple Eagles, who will visit Air Force this weekend, are averaging 3.1 goals per game, tied with Bentley and Robert Morris for this best output in Atlantic Hockey.

Fit to Print:

“We fly all across the country, playing the game we love, with our friends. We try to remind ourselves we’re lucky to be where we are.”

— Alaska F Brandon Birnie (Jr., Weyburn, Saskatchewan) on the Nanooks’ travel schedule, which recently included a stretch of 12 straight games away from home (source: College Hockey News).

NHL Note of the Week:

San Jose F Macklin Celebrini (Boston University, 2023-24), last season’s Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner, was named NHL Rookie of the Month earlier this week after racking up seven goals and 12 points in 14 contests.

Despite having missed 12 games earlier this year due to injury, Celebrini ranks fourth in the NHL’s rookie scoring race with 14 points in 15 games. His 12 even-strength points lead all rookies.

Celebrini captured the Hobey Baker Award in his lone season at BU, racking up 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games as a freshman.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

Boston College has killed all 33 of its opponent power plays through the first 14 games of the season. The Eagles are the only remaining team in the country to boast a perfect PK … Saturday’s 3-3 tie between Cornell and Quinnipiac at Madison Square Garden drew a crowd of 16,593, the largest in NCAA Division I men’s hockey so far this season … AIC junior F Josh Barnes (Cornwall, Ontario) registered the first hat trick of his collegiate career – a natural hat trick, no less – in Saturday’s 4-2 win over Robert Morris. Barnes already has seven goals in 16 games this season, topping the career-high five goals he tallied as a freshman in 2022-23 … Penn State junior G John Seifarth (Pittsburgh, Pa.) earned his first two NCAA victories in a weekend sweep of Colgate. Seifarth spent last season with Penn State’s ACHA club team … Augustana earned its first conference sweep in program history with a pair of CCHA victories over Northern Michigan last weekend … Michigan Tech’s Isaac Gordon (Landmark, Manitoba) had 12 shots on goal in Saturday’s 2-2 tie at Bowling Green, the most by a Division I men’s player this season. Gordon scored the game-tying goal in the third period for his first tally of the year.

Longest Active NCAA Point Streaks:

14 games, F Aidan Thompson (Denver)
- 10-22—22, began Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage
10 games, F Brett Chorske (Colgate)
- 8-4—12, began Oct. 25 at RIT
8 games, F Devin Phillips (Holy Cross)
- 3-8—11, began Oct. 20 vs. Army

Longest Active Goal Streaks:

7 games, F Liam McLinskey (Holy Cross)
- 8-3—11, began Nov. 7 vs. AIC
5 games, F Ryland Mosley (Wisconsin)
- 5-4—9, began Nov. 9 vs. Minnesota

College Hockey Inc. Resources:

Did you know? 93% of NCAA Division I men’s hockey players earn their degree!