Two 2016 Frozen Four teams (Boston College and Denver) and two others picked in the top two of their conference (Air Force and Ohio State) form an elite field for the 2016 Ice Breaker Tournament, set for this weekend at Denver’s Magness Arena.
Friday
4:35 p.m. MT: Boston College vs. Air Force
7:35 p.m. MT: Ohio State at Denver
Saturday
4:05 p.m. MT: Ohio State vs. Boston College or Air Force
7:05 p.m. MT: Denver vs. Boston College or Air Force
Denver will play the late game Saturday regardless of Friday’s outcome
Five More Ice Breaker Notes No One Should Be Without
Ice Breaker history – The Ice Breaker Tournament celebrates its 20th year marking the traditional start to the college hockey season in 2016-17. The event – sponsored by the Hockey Commissioners Association and managed by College Hockey Inc. – brings together four of the nation’s top teams from different conferences each fall. Each of the four teams in this year’s tournament have played in the event before; Boston College has won the tournament three times (1998, 2003, 2011), while Denver won in its previous visit to Magness Arena (1999).
Big guns back – Three of the four teams in the field return their top goal and point producers from 2015-16. Denver, the lone exception, boasts sophomore Dylan Gambrell, who ranked second on the Pioneers in goals (17) and points (47) last year. North Dakota’s Brock Boeser is the only returning player in the nation who put up more points than Gambrell or Boston College’s Ryan Fitzgerald last season.
Top Returning Scorers from 2015-16
Air Force: Ben Kucera (15 goals), Tyler Ledford (27 points)
Boston College: Ryan Fitzgerald (24 goals, 47 points)
Denver: Dylan Gambrell (17 goals, 47 points)
Ohio State: Nick Schilkey (19 goals, 41 points)
Top Returning Point Scorers Nationally
60 pts. – Brock Boeser, North Dakota
47 – Ryan Fitzgerald, Boston College
47 – Dylan Gambrell, Denver
47 – Max French, Bentley
46 – Tyler Kelleher, UNH
45 – Kyle Schmidt, Bentley
43 – Colin White, Boston College
43 – Justin Kloos, Minnesota
43 – Tim Clifton, Quinnipiac
43 – Zach Aston-Reese, Northeastern
42 – Nolan Stevens, Northeastern
41 – Nick Schilkey, Ohio State
41 – Justin Danforth, Sacred Heart
41 – Gerald Mayhew, Ferris State
Title track? – North Dakota started its 2016 NCAA championship season by winning the Ice Breaker last fall in Portland, Maine. The last time Boston College won the national title, in 2012, it opened the season with an Ice Breaker championship in Grand Forks, N.D.
Starting strong – Dozens of freshmen will get their first real taste of college hockey at the Ice Breaker, including prospects like Henrik Borgstrom (Denver), Tanner Laczynski (Ohio State), Trevor Stone (Air Force) and Joe Woll (Boston College).
Among the current NHLers who started their college hockey career in the Ice Breaker: Brooks Orpik (Boston College), Erik Cole (Clarkson), Willie Mitchell (Clarkson), Drew Miller (Michigan State), Tom Gilbert (Wisconsin), Brian Boyle (Boston College), Ben Bishop (Maine) and Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College).
Future stars – Boston College, Denver and Ohio State combined to place 42 alumni in the NHL last season. BC led all schools with 23 former players in the league. On the whole college hockey accounts for 30% of all NHL players and features 200 NHL draft picks playing in 2016-17. Those three teams combine for 19 NHL draft picks on their current rosters, plus several candidates for the 2017 NHL Draft.
Miscellaneous:
- Bruce McLeod, who spent 20 years as commissioner of the WCHA, will present the championship trophy on Saturday night.
- Both Denver games in the tournament will be televised by Altitude Sports Network.
- Boston College, Boston University and Minnesota are tied with the most Ice Breaker championships all time (three each).
- Boston College is making its fifth Ice Breaker appearance, tied with Michigan State for the most all-time. Air Force, Denver and Ohio State are each making their third appearance.
Elsewhere Around the Country
After five regular-season games last weekend, a full slate of 45 games are on tap this weekend … Two pairs of brothers are behind the benches as Northern Michigan (Walt and John Kyle) faces Wisconsin (Tony and Don Granato) in Green Bay … Tony Granato, Greg Carvel (Massachusetts) and Mark Morris (St. Lawrence) will make their debuts as head coaches at their respective schools; all three have NHL coaching experience … Two series pit teams in the preseason top 20: Northeastern at Quinnipiac and Minnesota Duluth at UMass Lowell … Last year’s WCHA co-champions, Michigan Tech and Minnesota State, open their league seasons with a series in Mankato ... The season's first episode of Hockey on Campus debuts this weekend on SiriusXM's NHL Network Radio (Sat. at 8 a.m. ET; Sun. at 9 a.m. ET).
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