USA Routs Slovakia to Stay Alive in WJC

Boston College forward Johnny Gaudreau (pictured) scored two goals to help the United States to a 9-3 victory over Slovakia at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia in its final game of the preliminary round, according to USAHockey.com. The victory prevents the U.S. from heading to the WJC relegation round for the second consecutive year.

Current NCAA players who also scored against Slovakia included Cole Bardreau (Cornell), Jake McCabe (Wisconsin), Mike Reilly (Minnesota)and Jacob Trouba (Michigan). Jimmy Vesey (Harvard) had three assists. Trouba has now tallied a goal in three consecutive contests, including Team USA's only goals in back-to-back 2-1 losses to Russia and Canada.

The Americans defeated Germany, 8-0, to begin the tournament on Dec. 27, and finished with two wins and two losses in the preliminary round. The U.S. will enter the quarterfinal round as the No. 3 seed in Group B, and will face the Czech Republic on Jan. 2 in its next outing. The game will be televised live on the NHL  Network at 4 a.m., and then replayed at 5:30 p.m.

Happy New Year!

York Now All-Time Winningest College Coach

Boston College men's hockey head coach and alumnus Jerry York earned his 925th career victory today in the Eagles' 5-2 win over Alabama-Huntsville in the first round of the Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis.

The win puts him one victory ahead of Ron Mason, who compiled 924 career wins with Lake Superior, Bowling Green and Michigan State from 1966 to 2002. York, who also coached at Bowling Green and led the Falcons to the 1984 NCAA title, began his coaching career at Clarkson and later returned to his alma mater in 1994. He has since guided BC to four national championships (2001, 2008, 2010, 2012).

York will lead the Eagles, currently ranked No. 1 in the Division I ranks,  against Mariucci host Minnesota on Saturday. The Golden Gophers defeated Air Force, 4-0, on Saturday.

Broadwater Backs Hobart to Top of ECAC West

Recently profiled Hobart College senior goaltender Nick Broadwater for USCHO.com. He's 8-1-2 so far this season, and has led the Statesmen to the No. 4 ranking in NCAA Division III. Story can be found here.

U.S. Begins 2013 World Juniors Thursday

 

The 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship gets underway Thursday morning for the U.S. National Junior Team in Ufa, Russia against Germany. The Americans went 1-1 in preliminary play, edging Sweden, 3-2, in overtime on Dec. 20 before getting pasted two days later by Finland, 5-1.

According to USCHO.com, Wisconsin sophomore defenseman Jake McCabe has been named captain of the 2013 U.S. National Junior Team, while alternates will include Cornell sophomore forward Cole Bardreau and Michigan freshman defenseman Jacob Trouba.

The U.S. is looking to improve upon last year's showing in Alberta, when it finished out of the medal running at 1-3-0 overall, and was dropped to the relegation pool, where it finished with a 3-0 mark. 

This year's final U.S World Junior roster features 13 current collegians out of a total of 24 players.

All About Princeton

 My latest story for New York Hockey Journal celebrated Princeton, New Jersey, where I've watched a lot of games over the last 12  years, as a hockey town. The entire article can be found online at the NYHJ web site.

Rest in Peace and God Bless

Thoughts and prayers today to the people of Newtown, Connecticut, and especially those young lives that were lost this past Friday - far, far too soon.

Norwich Still No. 1 in Division III

Norwich continues to remain ranked atop the Division III men's hockey ladder with a 10-0-0 mark. The Cadets stayed unbeaten with a 1-0 win at Plattsburgh on Saturday.

A wrap-up of last week's Division III action and some of the national stat leaders can be found here at USCHO.com.

Farrell Pacing Neumann from Knights' Blueline

I recently profiled Neumann University senior defenseman Scott Farrell for USCHO.com, who is tied for the Knights' team scoring lead with eight points, with all four of his goals coming on the power play

The Farrell story can be found here. Neumann skated to a 2-2 non-conference tie at Morrisville on Friday, and is now 4-4-2 overall (2-4-0 ECAC West). The rematch between the Knights and Mustangs (1-11-2 overall) is Saturday afternoon.

York Just One Win Away from History

One more win.

That's all it will take for Boston College head coach Jerry York, who has already led the Eagles to four national titles, to become the winningest coach in the history of college hockey. York is currently tied with former Michigan State legend Ron Mason, now retired 10 years from his last game, with 924 wins. York can reach 925 victories on Friday with a win at Providence.

It would have been nice if the Eagles could have swept rival Boston University last weekend so that York could have broken the mark on Saturday at home - but following a Friday road loss, at least he got to tie the record at BC's Conte Forum.

York, a 1967 BC graduate, All-American, and three-year hockey letterman, is in his 41st college coaching campaign, following previous stints with Clarkson and Bowling Green. He also won a national championship at BGSU in 1984. Ten years later, he was back home at the Heights, and after three non-descript seasons, has been rolling almost ever since.

According to USCHO.com, York is 924-559-94 so far for his career, including a 457-224-60 mark in 19 seasons at his alma mater. Since taking the reins at BC in 1994, he's led the Eagles to 15 NCAA tournament berths, 13 Frozen Four appearances, eight national title games, and four NCAA crowns, including last spring in Tampa.

All he needs now, for right now, is just one more win to stake his claim as the best of all time; and then, like Mason before him, he'll just keep adding to his legendary total with each additional victory.

Not bad for a kid from Watertown, Mass.

ADDENDUM (12/07): Providence tied BC, 3-3, on a goal with less than 11 seconds remaining in regulation time. York's next chance for No. 925 will come on Dec. 29 when the Eagles face Alabama-Huntsville in the first round of the Mariucci Clasic in Minneapolis.