New York Rangers NCAA prospects report: Gabe Perreault scores pair to help Boston College clinch 1st in Hockey East
Seven New York Rangers prospects were in action this past weekend as the NCAA playoff picture became a little clearer with the conclusion of regular-season play.
2023 draftees Gabe Perreault (first round) and Drew Fortescue (third round) helped the Boston College Eagles clinch the Hockey East regular-season crown, and likely enter the NCAA tournament as the top overall seed following a 6-0 shutout win over Merrimack College on Saturday. The Eagles (26-6-2) are Hockey East champions in back-to-back seasons and will likely head to the Manchester, New Hampshire, regional. Boston College is first in the USCHO.com Men’s Division I Poll and is also in the top spot in PairWise Rankings.
Perreault scored twice in the victory. He netted his 14th goal of the season in the second period with his team already up 2-0. The even-strength goal came as he carried the puck into the offensive zone and fired a shot past the Merrimack goalie.
Typically, it has been Perreault setting up his teammates for power-play goals this season, but in the third period, the sophomore forward fired home a shot from inside the right face-off circle while on the man advantage. This was Perreault’s second straight game with a power play goal, and his 15th goal of the season.
The two goals for Perreault on three shots and a plus-2 rating moved the 20-year-old back into a tie for the team scoring lead with Ryan Leonard. His 31 assists on the season are second in the nation behind Jack Devine of Denver.
Fortescue had one shot on goal in the win and a plus-2 rating.
Boston College will host the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament Saturday, March 15 at Conte Forum. The Semifinal and Championship are scheduled for March 20 and 21 at TD Garden in Boston.
In other Hockey East play, the Northeastern Huskies finished the regular season with a 3-2 loss to Providence College. Defenseman Jackson Dorrington had one shot on goal, one blocked shot, and was minus-2 in the loss. Northeastern finished ninth in Hockey East standings with a 12-19-3 overall record and will face Merrimack College in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs Wednesday.
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Brody Lamb, Minnesota falter in Big Ten postseason
Junior forward Brody Lamb had one shot on goal and was minus-1 Friday for Minnesota during a 3-2 loss to Notre Dame in the Big Ten first-round playoff series. The Golden Gophers took game two of the series by a score of 4-2 Saturday. Lamb did not record a shot on goal, and was minus-1. The 2021 fourth-round pick of the Rangers was minus-1 again in the deciding game which Notre Dame won 4-1. Lamb had one shot on goal.
Lamb sits at 16 goals with nine assists for 25 points in 38 games this season. Minnesota dropped two spots to fifth in the USCHO.com Poll and remains fourth in PairWise Rankings, likely to be the No. 1 seed in the Fargo, North Dakota Regionals with a 25-10-4 overall record.
Zakary Karpa and the Harvard Crimson defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 5-2 in a single game elimination for the first round of the ECAC playoffs. The senior center won 7 of 20 face-offs with one shot on goal, two blocked shots, and finished with a minus-1 rating. Harvard will be on the road against Clarkson University March 14-16 for a best-of-three series in the quarterfinals of the ECAC tournament. The Semifinals and Championship Game will be played March 21 and 22 at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.
Having already won the Penrose Cup as the NCHC regular-season champions, Western Michigan defeated Miami 8-3 Friday night. Freshman Ty Henricks scored right off a face-off in the second period.
The forward added his fourth goal in three games Saturday in a 5-2 victory. His seventh goal of the season came at 19:31 of the second period when he was given the puck just before entering the offensive zone. Henricks carried the puck right to the net and made a power move using his backhand to score.
The 6-foot-5 forward has seven goals and five assists for 12 points in 33 games. Western Michigan improved to 26-7-1 overall and is third in the USCHO.com Poll and fifth in PairWise Rankings. The Broncos will host St. Cloud State in a best-of-three series at Lawson Arena March 14-16. The NCHC Frozen Faceoff will be held at Xcel Energy Center March 21 and 22.
Center Noah Laba returned to the Colorado College lineup Friday, when the Tigers dropped a 4-1 decision to Denver University in NCHC play. The junior missed the previous three games for Colorado College. Laba did not record a shot on goal Friday and finished the game with a minus-1 rating, though he did have an impressive face-off record of 14-4. Colorado College lost to Denver by a 4-3 score Saturday to finish sixth in NCHC standings with a conference record of 11-12-1 and 17-16-1 overall. Laba had an assist on the first goal of the game for the Tigers on the power play in the second period. He finished the game with one shot on goal, one blocked shot, and a plus-2 rating. He won 14 of 19 face-offs taken. Despite missing time due to injury, Laba is third on the team in scoring with eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 26 games.
Colorado College will need to win the NCHC playoffs to qualify for the NCAA tournament. They will face Denver again in the NCHC Quarterfinal Round.
2024 first-round pick EJ Emery remained out of the lineup for the North Dakota Fighting Hawks due to injury. The freshman defenseman missed his third and fourth games when North Dakota split a series against Omaha with a 3-1 win Friday and 7-3 loss Saturday. The two team meet again in the NCHC Quarterfinals. North Dakota finished fifth in NCHC standings with a conference record of 14-9-1 and 19-14-2 overall. The Fighting Hawks are 17th in the USCHO.com Poll and will need a deep run in the NCHC Frozen Four to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, sitting just outside the playoff bubble at 18th in PairWise Rankings.
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