BC's Fowler Wins in NHL Debut

Jacob Fowler (Boston College) stopped 36 shots in his NHL debut on Thursday night to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-2 victory at Pittsburgh.  He blanked the host Penguins for just over two periods before surrendering a goal.

A native of Melbourne, Fla., Fowler began the 2025-26 season by going 10-5-0 in 15 games with Laval (AHL), where he played three regular-season games late in the 2024-25 campaign after turning pro. He was chosen in the third round (69th overall by Montreal) of the 2023 NHL Draft after his second year of junior hockey with Youngstown (USHL), when he led the Phantoms to a Clark Cup title and was also named USHL Goaltender of the Year.

Fowler, 21, joined the Montreal organization after two seasons at BC, where he backstopped the Eagles to two NCAA tournaments, including the 2024 national title game. In 74 career outings at the Heights, he fashioned a 57-13-3 record with a 1.90 goals-against average and 10 shutouts, while twice earning First Team All-America and Hockey East First All-star Team accolades. He also won the Mike Richter Award as college hockey's top goalie last year, and helped the United States to a gold medal at the 2024 World Junior Championship.

Michigan Blanks MSU in Opener, 3-0

Michigan held on to its No. 1 ranking with a 3-0 win in Big Ten play last night at third-ranked Michigan State. It was the Wolverines' first shutout of MSU at Munn Ice Arena since February 2000.

Malcolm Spence scored just over five minutes into the contest to give Michigan a 1-0 lead, before Aidan Park and Jayden Perron closed out the scoring in the third period. Jack Ivankovic made 23 saves for the Wolverines (16-3-0 overall, 7-2-0 Big Ten), who have won five straight games, while Trey Augustine finished with 24 stops for the host Spartans (11-4-0, 4-3-0).

The two archrivals will close out their home-and-home series tonight at Michigan's Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor (7 p.m. ET, BIG+).

ADDENDUM: Anthony Romani scored in both the second and third periods, including the game-winning goal, and Trey Augustine made 30 saves as MSU rebounded for a 3-1 win in the rematch at Michigan. The Spartans scored the final three goals of the game, and outshot the Wolverines, 33-31, on the night. The two schools will meet again on Feb. 6 in Ann Arbor, and then again on Feb. 7 in Detroit.

Minnesota Outlasts Ohio State, 6-3

Brodie Ziemer scored two goals, including the game's lone power-play tally, and Brody Lamb notched a goal and an assist as Minnesota defeated host Ohio State, 6-3, last night in the lone NCAA Division I men's hockey game on the schedule.

Following a scoreless opening period at Value City Arena, Minnesota held a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes. After Max Montes tied the game for OSU early in the final frame, Lamb scored less than two minutes later to put the visiting Golden Gophers ahead for good. Minnesota then added two empty-net goals in the final two minutes for the final margin.

Michigan State transfer Luca Di Pasquo made 32 saves in net for Minnesota (8-9-1 overall, 4-3-0 Big Ten), while Kristoffer Eberly stopped 22 shots for the Buckeyes (5-10-0, 1-6-0), who have lost six straight contests. The two teams close out their two-game Big Ten series tonight in Columbus (6:30 p.m. ET, BTN).

ADDENDUM: Jake Karabela's goal just over a minute into overtime broke OSU's losing streak and lifted the Buckeyes to a 6-5 victory over the Golden Gophers on Friday. Karabela also assisted on Adam Eisele's tying goal midway through the third period that forced the extra session. Eberly stopped 14 shots on the evening for OSU, while Nathan Airey finished with 32 saves for Minnesota. The Buckeyes also finished 2-for-3 on the power play, and won 41 of 59 total faceoffs.

 

Alaska Blanks St. Lawrence in Lake Placid

Alaska Fairbanks won its first game since Oct. 18 with a 2-0 victory over St. Lawrence yesterday in the semifinal round of the 2025 Adirondack Winter Invitational in Lake Placid, N.Y.

William Fleet and Michael Citara provided all the offense needed for the Nanooks (3-8-1 overall) with second-period goals, while Lassi Lehti made 19 saves for his first shutout of the season and the third of his UAF career. Colin Winn recorded 23 stops for the Saints (2-12-1) as SLU lost its sixth straight contest.

Alaska will play for the tournament title tonight against Clarkson, a 2-0 winner over UMass Lowell in the other semifinal, at Herb Brooks Arena.

ADDENDUM: The Nanooks claimed the Adirondack Winter Invitational championship with a 3-2 triumph over Clarkson in the title contest. Lehti finished with 21 saves in net, while Citara scored UAF's first two goals and Rylen Roersma tallied the game-winner late in the third period. UMass Lowell took third place by beating St. Lawrence, 7-2.

Hockey Thanksgiving 2025

 

USA Tops CHL in First Round of Prospects Challenge

University of Notre Dame commit Sammy Nelson scored one goal and set up another as the USA National Team Development Program defeated Team Canadian Hockey League, 4-2, on Tuesday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary in the first round of the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge. It was the first time the NTDP had defeated the CHL head-to-head in this, the second edition of the tournament 

Boston University commit Brady Knowling made 42 saves in net for the NTDP to earn First Star of the Game accolades. The U.S. also killed off all five CHL power plays on the night. The two squads will complete their two-game series tonight at VisitLethbridge.com Arena, home of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, in Alberta (8 p.m. ET, NHL Network).

ADDENDUM: The CHL rebounded from a two-goal deficit to win Game Two by a 4-3 score, but Minnesota-Duluth commit Victor Plante scored just under six minutes into 3-on-3, sudden-death "super overtime" to lift the NTDP to the series victory. 

Michigan Takes Over No. 1 National Spot

Michigan took over the top spot in the USCHO.com NCAA Men's Division I hockey poll this week. 

The Wolverines garnered 42 out of a possible 50 first-place votes to move up from No. 2, after sweeping Ohio State over the weekend. Michigan (13-3-0 overall, 6-2-0 Big Ten) has also scored 83 goals over 16 games, and is averaging a nation-high 5.19 goals per outing.

Former No. 1 Michigan State, which had held the top spot the previous five weeks, dropped to third place after being swept by Wisconsin, which itself ascended from No. 7 to No. 2.

Rounding out the top ten were Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, Western Michigan, Quinnipiac, Penn State and Maine.