RIT's Wilson Wins 400th Career Game

Head coach Wayne Wilson of the Rochester Institute of Technology has joined college hockey's 400 club.

Wilson, 60, a graduate of Bowling Green State University who was a senior captain on the Falcons' 1984 NCAA title team as a player, earned his 400th career victory as a college head coach, all at RIT, following the Tigers' 1-0 overtime victory at Princeton University on Saturday that completed a two-step sweep. Jake Hamacher scored the only goal of the game 35 seconds into overtime on a power play, while Tommy Scarfone made 21 saves in net for his first career college victory and shutout.

A native of Montreal, Wilson took over as RIT's head coach in 1999-2000, after serving as an assistant at both BGSU and New Hampshire. He led the Tigers to the NCAA Division III championship game in his second season at the helm, which earned him the Edward Jeremiah Award as the nation's top Division III coach. He guided RIT to 116 victories in all, a combined seven ECAC West regular season/postseason crowns, and three NCAA Division III tournament berths before overseeing the program's transition to NCAA Division I beginning with the 2005-06 campaign. 

He has since directed the Tigers to four Atlantic Hockey Association regular-season championships, three Atlantic Hockey playoff titles, and three NCAA Division I tournament appearances, including a run to the NCAA Frozen Four in Detroit in 2010 that earned him the Spencer Penrose Award that year as the top Division I coach. Wilson, whose overall career record now stands at 400-279-75 (.580), is the only coach to win both the Jeremiah and Penrose awards.

RIT is currently 9-5-2 overall, and tied for first in Atlantic Hockey at 5-3-2-1. The Tigers will return to action on Dec. 11-12 with two league games against visiting Army West Point.

BC's Woll Wins First Two NHL Starts

Joseph Woll (Boston College) took some time in making it to the NHL. When he finally did, he won his first two career starts—both on the road, and the second by shutout.

Woll, 23, who was drafted 62nd overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016, made his first start as an NHL goaltender on Nov. 13 at Buffalo. The Missouri native made 23 saves as the Maple Leafs outlasted the host Sabres, 5-4. Eight days later, Woll notched his first career NHL shutout, making 20 stops in Toronto's 3-0 whitewash of the New York Islanders.

A product of the St. Louis AAA Blues organization and the U.S. National Team Development Program, the 6-foot-4 Woll played three seasons at BC (2016-2019), going 47-45-8 in 101 NCAA appearances with a 2.51 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and six shutouts. A member of the 2016-17 Hockey East All-Rookie team, he led the Eagles to the 2017-18 Hockey East regular-season title. He also won a gold medal with the U.S. at the 2017 World Junior Championship, before following up the next year with a WJC bronze medal.

After signing with Toronto in 2019, Woll saw his first pro action with the AHL's Toronto Marlboros. He went 20-24-4 (3.66, .885) in 50 games with the Marlies, including two wins in three games earlier this season, before being summoned to Toronto on Nov. 7. He got the start again tonight in net, as the Maple Leafs visited the San Jose Sharks.

Multiple Sweeps in NCAA Hockey, Nov. 18-21

It was a weekend for sweeps in NCAA Division I men's hockey, including two major upsets, from Nov. 18-21.

In Big Ten play, No. 14 Notre Dame took two games from then-No. 1 Michigan by 3-2 and 5-4 scores, both of them in overtime. Michigan State also swept visiting Wisconsin, winning 3-2 and 5-2. 

In the NCHC, No. 9 Western Michigan upended No. 2 St. Cloud State, 6-2 and 4-0, while No. 11 Denver routed Miami by 7-1 and 4-1 scores.

Bowling Green bounced visiting Lake Superior State twice (5-1, 6-2) in a pair of CCHA contests. Northern Michigan took out Ferris State by 7-6 (OT) and 6-3 margins, while No. 3 Minnesota State blanked St. Thomas, 9-0 and 5-0.

In Hockey East, No. 12 Providence defeated Vermont, 4-3 and 2-0. No. 10 Cornell recorded a pair of wins in ECAC Hockey play, defeating Brown, 3-2 (OT) and Yale, 3-0, while Colgate did likewise with a 3-0 win over Yale and a 6-0 whitewash of Brown.

In non-conference play, No. 9 Omaha won two games at independent Alaska (Fairbanks) by 5-2 and 4-2 counts.

Clarkson Routs Princeton in ECAC Hockey Play

A one-goal game after 20 minutes turned one-sided on Saturday night at Princeton University's Hobey Baker Rink.

Clarkson University scored three times in each of the last two periods to break the contest wide open and rout host Princeton by an 8-3 count in an ECAC Hockey match. The Golden Knights improved to 7-4-2 overall (3-2-1 ECAC Hockey), while the Tigers fell to 3-3-1 (2-2-0).

Alex Campbell scored two goals (one on the power play) and set up another one for Clarkson, which also got three points apiece from Mathieu Gosselin and Sacred Heart University transfer Zach Tsekos. Arizona Coyotes draft choice Anthony Romano notched two goals while Ayrton Martino, a Dallas Stars draft selection, scored his first career college goal for the Golden Knights. Nashville Predators draft pick Ethan Haider also stopped 24 shots in net for Clarkson.

Finn Evans scored twice for Princeton and also added an assist, while Corey Andonovski tallied a goal and an assist. Mark Paolini registered two assists and Jeremie Forget finished with 17 stops for Princeton, which outshot Clarkson by a 27-25 margin on the night. 

Both schools will venture out of conference next weekend to face off with different NCAA opponents. Clarkson will visit Wisconsin for two games, while Princeton will hoist RIT for a pair of contests.

Former NCAA Players Shine in NHL

 

Former NCAA players continued to shine in the early part of the 2021-22 NHL season.

Brock Nelson (North Dakota) scored the first two goals ever by a New York Islanders player in their new home of UBS Arena, but the home team fell to the Calgary Flames by a 5-2 count on Saturday night. Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) had a goal and an assist for the visitors. 

Earlier that day, Jimmy Vesey (Harvard) registered the game-tying goal in the third period as the New Jersey Devils overcame the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-3 triumph in Florida. The loss snapped a nine-game points streak by the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning.

Zach Whitecloud (Bemidji State) returned to the Vegas lineup with two goals in the Golden Knights' 5-2 victory over Detroit on Nov. 18. That same evening, Spencer Knight (Boston College) made a career-high 45 saves to lift the Florida Panthers to a 4-1 win over New Jersey, while Troy Terry (Denver) extended his personal point streak to 16 games (12g, 10a) with a goal as his Anaheim Ducks fell to the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1. 

Kevin Hayes (Boston College) notched the game-tying goal and Cam Atkinson (Boston College) won it in overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers edged the Calgary Flames, 2-1, on Nov. 16. Lastly, Rem Pitlick (Minnesota) notched his first career NHL hat trick as the Minnesota Wild upended the Seattle Kraken, 4-2, on Nov. 13.

LIU, Princeton Skate to 4-4 Tie in Rematch

It was a tale of two power plays on Saturday night at Princeton University's Hobey Baker Rink. 

After taking a 2-0 lead in the first 20 minutes of play, then falling behind by two scores in the middle period, Princeton rebounded for a 4-4 tie with Long Island University before 1,288 on-lookers. Both the host Tigers and the visiting Sharks connected twice apiece on power-play opportunities, with Princeton also tallying a shorthanded goal.

Liam Gorman scored shorthanded for Princeton on a breakaway just under four minutes into the contest, before Ian Murphy backhanded home a loose puck just over six minutes later to put the Tigers up, 2-0.

LIU roared back with four goals in a 12-minute span of the second stanza to take a 4-2 lead. Zack Bross, Jordan Timmons (power-play goal), Billy Jerry and Jake Stevens (5-on-3 PPG) all connected for the Sharks, who had just 10 shots on goal in the middle period.

David Ma got Princeton back within a goal shortly under six minutes into the final frame after LIU had been whistled for a delayed penalty, before Corey Andonovksi tipped home a shot for the Tigers just over four minutes later to close out the scoring. The two teams then played a scoreless five-minute overtime, combining for five shots on goal in 3-on-3 play.

Princeton outshot LIU, 41-23, on the night and finished 2-for-7 on the power play, while LIU went 2-for-8 with a man advantage. Jeremie Forget stopped 19 shots for the Tigers, while Alaska Anchorage transfer Kris Carlson made 37 stops for the Sharks. Each school also won 31 faceoffs apiece.

Princeton improved to 3-1-1 overall , including a 2-1 win at LIU on Friday afternoon, while the Sharks are now 2-6-2 on the season.

Former BC, BU Players Traded in Tuch and Eichel

A pair of former Hockey East players were part of a mega-trade in the NHL on Thursday.

Jack Eichel (Boston University), the No. 2 pick overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, was dealt from the Buffalo Sabres after six seasons to the Vegas Golden Knights, along with a 2023 third-round NHL draft choice. Going the other way to upstate New York were fellow forwards Alex Tuch (Boston College) and Peyton Krebs, along with a 2022 first-round NHL draft pick and a 2023 second-round selection.

Eichel, 25, from North Chelmsford, Mass., has tallied 139 goals and 216 assists for 355 points in 375 NHL outings, all in regular-season play, although he has been sidelined since last year due to a neck injury. He is expected to undergo surgery in the near future, and will be out for at least three months afterwards. In his only NCAA campaign in 2014-15 at BU, Eichel recorded 26-45—71 points in 40 outings, won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the nation's top player, and led the Terriers to the Beanpot tournament title, the Hockey East crown, and the NCAA championship game.

Tuch, 25, from Syracuse, N.Y., began his NHL career by playing six scoreless games with Minnesota, which drafted him 18th overall in 2014. Traded to Vegas in 2017, he helped the expansion Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, and has notched 61-78—139 points in 255 regular-season NHL outings, to go with 19-14—33 points in 66 playoff games. He helped BC to two NCAA tournament berths and a Beanpot championship in his two seasons, scoring the winning goal himself in overtime in the 2016 Beanpot title game, and registered 32-30—62 points in 77 contests in all for the Eagles.

Both Eichel and Tuch are products of the U.S. National Team Development Program in Michigan, where they were teammates for two seasons.

Harvard's Fox Re-Signs with Rangers for Seven Years

Adam Fox (Harvard) has signed a seven-year contract extension with the New York Rangers. According to ESPN.com, the $66.5 million deal is the largest contract in NHL history for a defenseman who is leaving his entry-level contract.

Fox, 23, who won the Norris Trophy last season as the NHL's top defenseman following a 48-point campaign, has two goals and 11 points so far this season for the Blueshirts. In 135 career regular-season appearances to date, all with the Rangers, he has notched 15 goals and 85 assists for 100 points.

A product of the U.S. National Team Development Program, Fox was drafted 66th overall by Calgary in the 2016 NHL Draft and was later traded twice, first to Carolina and then the Rangers. The Jericho, N.Y, native skated three seasons at Harvard (2016-19), where he tallied 21-95—116 points in 97 appearances with the Crimson. 

As a freshman, Fox helped Harvard to the ECAC Hockey title and the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four. He was also both a three-time First Team All-America and three-time Ivy League selection in his collegiate career, headlining a slew of individual accolades. He has also represented the United States on several occasions in international play, and earned both gold and bronze medals in World Junior Championship competition.