Notes: College hockey rivalries take center stage

By Jayson Hajdu

Three of the most storied rivalries in NCAA Division I men’s hockey will be on display this weekend.

In the 288th installment of the Battle of Comm Ave, Boston College will host No. 6/7 Boston University on Friday night, which is also ‘Jerry York Night’ at Kelley Rink. BC will honor the legendary coach and Hockey Hall of Famer during the first intermission. The game can be seen on ESPNews.

Over in the Big Ten, the Border Battle between No. 2/3 Minnesota and Wisconsin resumes with a two-game conference series. Friday’s game airs on Big Ten Network and Saturday’s on Bally Sports Wisconsin.

Staying in the Big Ten, No. 6/7 Michigan and No. 12/13 Michigan State clash in a home-and-home set Friday and Saturday. Both games, the 339th and 340th in the series history, can be seen on Big Ten Network.

Other Top-20 matchups around the nation this week include:

#5 Penn State at #19 Notre Dame (FRI & SAT)
#10/11 Merrimack at #10/11 Providence (SAT)
#6/7 Boston University at #8 Connecticut (SUN)

Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | TV Schedule | Stat Leaders

Must Read:

College Hockey News: UND freshman Blake thriving in top-line opportunity
College Hockey News: More Hockey East freshmen than usual making big contributions
College Hockey News: UMD finds offensive weapon in rookie Steeves
FloHockey: NHL prospect spotlight: Devon Levi continues to separate from pack
FloHockey: Hughes, Cooley highlight USA’s WJC camp roster
New England Hockey Journal: College hockey in New England: Top 9 best freshmen so far
New York Hockey Journal: TJ Semptimphelter feeling at home at Arizona State
The Athletic: Cale Makar, the ‘one of a kind’ Avalanche superstar: Our NHL Person of the year
The Athletic: How Red Wings’ Lalonde, Lightning’s Blashill traded jobs and began new chapters
The Rink Live: SCSU’s Kupka returns from appendectomy, scores each night with parents in the crowd
USCHO: Looking back on weekend upsets, teams looking to advance up PairWise Rankings

Must Hear:

College Hockey West Live: Talking all things college hockey with The Rink Live’s Jess Myers
RinkWise: Scott Borek on Merrimack’s hot start, building the program
Talking Hockey Sense: Talking World Junior camp rosters, NCAA draft eligible and more
The Pipeline Show: Featuring Western Michigan forward Ryan McAllister
The Rink Live: Sweeps week for Gophers and Huskies
THN American Pipeline: Hutson’s hot start, McAllister’s impressive season, Pittsburgh’s NCAA prospects

You Are Cordially Invited:

USA Hockey announced its 32-player preliminary roster for the 2023 U.S. National Junior Team on Monday and 31 of those players are currently playing, have played or are committed to play NCAA Division I hockey. Additionally, Hockey Canada announced that Michigan freshman F Adam Fantilli (Nobleton, Ontario) and Boston University freshman F Ryan Greene (Paradise, Newfoundland) were among the 29 players invited to its National Junior Team selection camp.

The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship takes place Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Halifax and Moncton, Nova Scotia.

On Their Best Behavior:

Minnesota has gone three consecutive games without receiving a penalty. In fact, its two most recent games – a sweep of Big Ten rival Michigan State last weekend – were completely penalty-free.

The last Gopher penalty was a tripping minor by senior G Justen Close (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) on Nov. 25 at Arizona State during the second period. The last penalty by a Minnesota skater occurred in the first period of that game, when freshman F Jimmy Snuggerud (Chaska, Minn.) was also whistled for tripping.

The Gophers are averaging just 6.9 penalty minutes per game this season, fewest in the country.

The Kids Are Alright:

Entering this week’s action, more than one-fourth of NCAA Division I men’s hockey teams (17 of 62) are led in scoring by freshmen. Two of those first-year players rank 1-2 in the national scoring race: Western Michigan’s Ryan McAllister (London, Ontario) and Michigan’s Adam Fantilli (Nobelton, Ontario).

A pair of Minnesota freshmen – Jimmy Snuggerud (Chaska, Minn.) and Logan Cooley (Pittsburgh, Pa.) – can also be found among the top 10 nationally in scoring, tying four fourth and eighth, respectively.

The last rookie to lead the country in scoring was current Winnipeg Jet Kyle Connor, who posted 71 points for Michigan. The year prior, freshman Jack Eichel, now with the Vegas Golden Knights, also topped the national scoring race with 71 points for Boston University.

Monthly Merits:

Four standout players were honored by the Hockey Commissioners Association on Wednesday for their performances in November.

Western Michigan senior F Jason Polin (Holt, Mich.) and Quinnipiac sophomore F Collin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) shared Player of the Month honors after both racked up 15 points during the month. Polin’s effort was highlighted by back-to-back hat tricks (Nov. 4-5), while Graf strung together a seven-game point streak.

Additionally, Western Michigan freshman F Ryan McAllister (London, Ontario) was named Rookie of the Month, and Niagara senior G Chad Veltri (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was tabbed as Goaltender of the Month. McAllister, the national scoring leader, posted 16 points in seven games for the Broncos. Veltri enjoyed a perfect 4-0-0 month to go with a 1.49 GAA and .957 save percentage.

You Can Quote Me On That:

“Seeing that electric crowd, both sides of the ice, just chanting…they were probably more engaged in this game than I was.”

-- Michigan Tech junior F Tyrone Bronte, who scored his first goal of the year, on the capacity crowd at MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Saturday.

NHL Note of the Week:

Buffalo RW Tage Thompson (Connecticut, 2015-17) had a night to remember Wednesday, erupting for five goals and an assist in the Sabres’ 9-4 victory over Columbus. Four of his goals came in the first period, tying the NHL record for goals in a period.

Thompson became the fifth NCAA alumni to score five-plus goals in an NHL game, joining Red Berenson (11/7/68), who had six goals, as well as Mark Pavelich (2/23/83), Pat Hughes (2/3/84) and Joe Nieuwendyk (1/11/89).

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

RIT tied a Division I program record in its 10-4 win over Canisius on Saturday, matching the 10 goals the Tigers scored in a 10-0 win over Sacred Heart on Jan. 14, 2012 … RIT holds a seven-point lead over Sacred Heart and American International atop the Atlantic Hockey standings, the largest cushion of any current conference leader … Ferris State captured a road sweep over Minnesota State last weekend, becoming the first team to sweep the Mavericks in Mankato since Oct. 9-10, 2015 (Omaha) … Speaking of sweeps, St. Cloud State nabbed its first home sweep of North Dakota since Nov. 2-3, 2001. Senior F Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta) keyed the Huskies’ effort with a natural hat trick in Saturday’s series finale.

College Hockey Inc. Resources:

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