Monday, December 31, 2018

Caggiula, Garrison Dealt to Blackhawks by Oilers



Drake Caggiula (North Dakota) is on the move. 

The former Fighting Hawk forward, who led UND to the 2016 NCAA title, was dealt by the Edmonton Oilers along with defenseman Jason Garrison (Minnesota-Duluth) to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. In return, Edmonton received defensemen Brandon Manning and Robin Norell, according to NHL.com.

Caggiula, 24, who signed with the Oilers as free agent in 2016, has 27 goals and 22 assists for 49 points in 156 career NHL contests, all with Edmonton. He has posted seven goals and 11 points in 29 games so far this season.

In 162 career NCAA appearances with North Dakota from 2012 to 2016, Caggiula amassed a total of 62-65—127 points, including a career-high line of 25-26—51 points as a senior when he earned NCAA Frozen Four MVP honors in spearheading UND's run to its first NCAA title in 16 years. He tallied four goals and an assist in the Fighting Hawks' two Frozen Four wins over Denver and Quinnipiac, and scored twice in the national title game in Tampa.

Garrison, 34, who helped the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final where it fell in six games to Chicago, has posted 49-111—160 points in 555 career NHL regular-season starts with Florida, Vancouver, Tampa Bay, Vegas and Edmonton. He has one goal in 17 NHL contests so far this season, and in three years (2005 to 2008) at UMD accumulated 9-20—29 points in 87 contests for the Bulldogs before he signed with Florida as a free agent in 2008.

It is not yet known if Caggiula and Garrison will skate for Chicago against the Boston Bruins in the 2019 NHL Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. on Tuesday (1 p.m. ET, NBC TV).

Friday, December 28, 2018

Gaudreau Gets Three as Flames Down Jets


It was Hockey East night in Winnipeg on Thursday. Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) scored three goals, and Mark Jankowski (Providence) added another as the Calgary Flames topped the host
Jets, 4-1, in NHL action.

Gaudreau's three goals came on just four shots on goal. He now has nine goals and 18 points in his last 13 games against Winnipeg, including two hat tricks. Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) made 25 stops on 28 shots against for the Jets, who fell to 24-11-2 overall.

Calgary improved to 23-12-3, and is now one point behind Winnipeg for the top spot in the NHL's Western Conference.

Thursday, December 27, 2018

U.S. Wins 2019 WJC Opener


Mikey Anderson (Minnesota-Duluth) tied the game in the third period, and Evan Barratt (Penn State) tallied the game-winner shortly afterward as the U.S. National Junior Team opened the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 2-1 win over Slovakia on Wednesday in Victoria, B.C.

Kyle Keyser of the Oshawa Generals stopped 13 shots for Team USA, including a third-period penalty shot with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation, after the Americans had taken
the lead. The U.S. outshot Slovakia, 34-14, overall and finished 1-for-3 on the power play.

The U.S., which is tied for first place in Group 'B' with Sweden, will next face Kazahkstan in WJC action on Friday (10:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network).

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Flyers Release Former UND Coach Hakstol


The Philadelphia Flyers relieved head coach Dave Hakstol of his duties on Monday. The Alberta native was in his fourth season with the club, having moved directly from the

University of North Dakota to the NHL three years ago. He finished with a record of 134-101-42 overall in Philadelphia, according to NHL.com, with two Stanley Cup Playoff berths.

Prior to joining the Flyers in 2015, Hakstol spent 11 seasons at UND, and led the then-Fighting Sioux to a 289-143-43 (.654) overall mark. UND advanced to the NCAA Tournament in all 11 campaigns, including seven Frozen Four appearances and a national runner-up finish in 2005. Prior to coaching UND, he spent four seasons as the head coach of the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers.

A former defenseman at UND (1989-1992), Hakstol, 50, played professionally with both Indianapolis and Minnesota of the now-defunct International Hockey League, prior to taking over the bench in Sioux City. He was succeeded in Philadelphia by former Lehigh Valley (AHL) head coach Scott Gordon (Boston College), who won his NHL debut Tuesday night with the Flyers' 3-2 victory over visiting Detroit.

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Princeton, Penn State Skate to Tie in Philadelphia


Max Veronneau and Ryan Kuffner posted four points apiece, including Kuffner's tying goal with 1:08 remaining in regulation, as Princeton knotted Penn State, 4-4, in the 2018 Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff at the Wells Fargo Center.

Veronneau scored two goals for Princeton, which got the game-opening goal from Josh Teves. Brandon Biro, Chase Berger and Nate Sucese scored in the first period for Penn State (11-5-2 overall), which outshot host Princeton, 13-3 in the first period, and 37-35 on the night. Alec Marsh scored Penn State’s fourth goal 17 seconds into the second period to put the Nittany Lions up, 4-1, at the time.

Peyton Jones finished with 31 saves for Penn State, including a stop on Veronneau in overtime. Veronneau posted two goals and two assists on the night, while Kuffner had a goal and three assists. Austin Smith stopped all 21 shots he faced in the Princeton net, after relieving starter Ryan Ferland (12 saves) following Marsh’s goal.

Princeton (3-8-2) went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Penn State was 0-for-2.

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Devils Top Kings, 6-3


The New Jersey Devils snapped a six-game losing streak that stretched back to just after Thanksgiving with a 6-3 win at Los Angeles on Thursday night in NHL action.

Leading the way against the host Kings were former NCAA players Kyle Palmieri (Notre Dame), who scored twice for the Devils, and Travis Zajac (North Dakota), Will Butcher (Denver) and Blake Coleman (Miami), who notched single tallies. Zajac and Butcher also recorded assists as the Devils won for the first time since Nov. 21. Keith Kinkaid (Union) made 29 saves in net for New Jersey, which improved to 10-12-5 overall.

New Jersey will continue its western swing on Sunday night at Anaheim.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

2019 U.S. Junior Team Roster Announced

The preliminary roster for the 2019 U.S. National Junior Team has been announced. The group will compete at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships from Dec. 26, 2018 to Jan. 5, 2019, in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.

Five players return from last year's U.S. roster. They include defensemen Mikey Anderson (Minnesota-Duluth), Quinn Hughes (Michigan) and Dylan Samberg (Minnesota-Duluth), plus forwards Josh Norris (Michigan) and Ryan Poehling (St. Cloud State). Nearly a dozen NCAA Division I schools are represented on the preliminary roster, which can be accessed here.

The U.S. finished third overall in last year's WJC in Buffalo, earning America's second bronze medal in the last three tournaments, and third in the last eight competitions. Team USA won gold in 2010, 2013 and 2017.

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Quinnipiac Finishes Sweep of Princeton


Ninth-ranked Quinnipiac stretched its winning streak to six games by completing a two-step sweep of No. 19 Princeton on Saturday night at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink in New Jersey.

The Bobcats rebounded from two one-goal deficits by tallying four goals in the second period and two more in the third to top the Tigers, 6-3. Quinnipiac improves to 13-2-0 overall (6-2-0 ECAC Hockey), while Princeton falls to 3-6-1 (2-4-1 ECAC) after suffering its fifth consecutive defeat.

Chase Priskie scored two goals for the Bobcats, the first one on the power play and the second the game-winner, and now has 11 total goals on the season. Craig Martin also notched two goals, and Odeen Tufto posted three assists for Quinnipiac, which finished 2-for-5 on the power play and got 27 saves in all from Keith Petruzzelli.

Jackson Cressey scored twice for Princeton, which got 28 stops from Ryan Ferland and also went 1-for-6 with a man advantage. The Tigers host NCAA independent Arizona State for a pair of games next weekend, while the Bobcats will play a home-and-home series with third-ranked Massachusetts.