BC Back at No. 1 in USCHO.com Men's Poll

Following a sweep at Hockey East rival Vermont last weekend, Boston College is back at the top of the USCHO.com NCAA Division I men's hockey poll, released earlier this week. 

Last week's No. 1, Michigan State, dropped to No. 3 after suffering a tie and a loss in Big Ten play against visiting Penn State, while fellow Big Ten school Minnesota moved into the No. 2 slot. The Big Ten regular-season title will be up for grabs this weekend between MSU and Minnesota.

Rounding out the top ten were Western Michigan, Maine, Denver. Providence, Ohio State, UConn and Boston University. Michigan dropped from No. 9 to No. 11, while Arizona State stayed at No. 12.

Princeton Knots Yale in Home Finale

Princeton closed out its 2024-25 regular-season home slate with a 2-2 tie against ECAC Hockey/Ivy League rival Yale last night. The Tigers claimed the ensuing shootout, 3-2, to earn an extra point in the conference standings, although it is officially a tie game according to the NCAA.

Nick Marciano and Miles Gunty staked the Tigers to a 2-0 lead just past the midway point of regulation, but Micah Berger and Kalen Szeto scored under five minutes apart for the Bulldogs to tie the game by the end of the second period. After a scoreless third frame and five-minute overtime, Princeton won the shootout as Alex Konavalov, Noah de la Durantaye and David Jacobs tallied in the extra session, while Berger and Zach Wagnon connected for Yale. Ethan Pearson finished with 17 saves in net for Princeton, and stopped 3-of-5 attempts in the shootout, while Luke Pearson made 33 stops for Yale. Both teams combined to go 0-for-7 on the power play.

Konavalov, de la Durantaye, Pearson and Jack Cronin were honored pre-game on Senior Night at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink. The Tigers (10-14-3 overall, 5-12-3 ECACH) remain two points ahead of last-place Yale (6-18-3, 5-12-3) in the ECAC Hockey standings, with both schools to wrap up their respective regular seasons next weekend.

45 Years Ago Today in Lake Placid ...

 

Canada Wins Four Nations Face-Off

The first-ever Four Nations Face-Off went to Team Canada. 

The Canadians outlasted Team USA, 3-2, in overtime on Thursday night in the championship game at TD Garden in Boston. Cale Makar (Massachusetts) assisted on the game-winning goal by Connor McDavid. Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) and Jake Sanderson (North Dakota) scored in regulation for the Americans, who also got 24 saves in net from Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell).

Canada thus avenged a 3-1 loss to Team USA in Montreal in the round-robin portion of the tournament, which exclusively featured NHL players. Other former NCAA players on the Canadian squad included Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks) and Devon Toews (Quinnipiac). Sweden finished in third place, while Finland was fourth.

NHL players are expected to represent their respective nations at the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Sweden and Denmark, and at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

U.S. To Face Canada for Four Nations Crown

The first-ever Four Nations Face-Off final is set. It will be the United States against Canada at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday night (8 p.m. ET, TNT).

The final matchup was set when Canada held on to defeat Finland, 5-3, this afternoon before Sweden edged the U.S., 2-1, this evening, both in Boston. Chris Kreider (Boston College) scored the lone goal for the Americans, while Jake Oettinger (Boston University) finished with 21 saves for Team USA. Gustav Nyquist (Maine) notched Sweden's first goal.

Thursday will be a rematch of Saturday's 3-1 U.S. win in Montreal. Jake Guentzel (Omaha) scored twice for the Team USA, while Dylan Larkin (Michigan) scored one goal and set up another, and Connor Hellbuyck (UMass Lowell) made 25 stops in net. Sweden took third place overall by virtue of today's regulation win over the Americans, while Finland finished fourth with one overtime win and two regulation losses.

MSU Retakes No. 1 Spot in Men's Poll

Michigan State University is back atop the NCAA Division I men's hockey poll at USCHO.com. The Spartans, who were idle this past weekend, took over the top spot from Boston College, which lost two of its last three games.

MSU received 23 first-place votes, while BC garnered 11 first-place votes and third-place Western Michigan earned 16 such ballots. Rounding out the top ten were Maine, Minnesota, defending NCAA champion Denver, Ohio State, Beanpot champion Boston University, and Michigan. Meanwhile, Wisconsin held on to the top spot in USCHO's Division I women's poll, while Hobart headlined the Division III men's poll, and Wisconsin-River Falls was first in the Division III women's poll.

MSU, which last held the top spot on Jan. 13, returns to action this weekend with two Big Ten home games against Penn State. 

NCAA Skaters in Four Nations Face-Off

The inaugural Four Nations Face-Off gets underway starting Wednesday.

Following are the former NCAA players, all of whom are current NHL skaters, on each of the four rosters (Player, Position, NHL Team, School):

United States

Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets (UMass Lowell)

Jake Oettinger, G, Dallas Stars (Boston University) 

Jeremy Swayman, G, Boston Bruins (Maine)

Brock Faber, D, Minnesota Wild (Minnesota)

Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers (Harvard)

Noah Hanifin, D, Vegas Golden Knights (Boston College)

Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins (Boston University)

Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets (Michigan)

Jake Sanderson, D, Ottawa Senators (North Dakota)

Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina Hurricanes (Colorado College)

Matt Boldy, F, Minnesota Wild (Boston College) 

Kyle Connor, F, Winnipeg Jets (Michigan)

Jack Eichel, F, Vegas Golden Knights (Boston University)

Jake Guentzel, F, Tampa Bay Lightning (Omaha)

Chris Kreider, F, New York Rangers (Boston College)

Dylan Larkin, F, Detroit Red Wings (Michigan)

Brock Nelson, F, New York Islanders (North Dakota)

Brady Tkachuk, F, Ottawa Senators (Boston University)

Canada

Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche (Massachusetts)

Colton Parayko, D, St. Louis Blues (Alaska Fairbanks) 

Devon Toews, D, Colorado Avalanche (Quinnipiac)

Sweden

Gustav Nyquist, F, Nashville Predators (Maine)

Finland

Erik Haula, F, New Jersey Devils (Minnesota)

***

In all, 16 different NHL teams and 15 NCAA schools will be represented in the event. Lists do not include players who were chosen to participate but who will not, due to injury or other issues.

The tournament, which will temporarily replace the NHL All-Star Game, will run through Feb. 20, and will be contested in both Boston and Montreal.

MSU Routs Michigan, 6-1, in Detroit

The "Duel in the D" trophy will remain in East Lansing. Second-ranked Michigan State University routed No. 13 Michigan, 6-1, on Saturday night before 19,515 fans at Little Caesars Arena in the annual contest between the two archrivals in Detroit.

After Tyler Duke tied the game midway through the second period for Michigan, MSU erupted for five goals over the next 21 minutes to put the contest away. Six different skaters scored for the Spartans, who were led by Joey Larson's one goal and two assists. Shane Vansaghi, Gavin O'Connell and Isaac Howard notched a goal and an assist apiece for MSU, which also got two assists from Nicklas Andrews and finished two-for-five on the power play. Trey Augustine made 17 saves in net for the Spartans (22-5-3 overall, 13-4-3 Big Ten), and also added an assist. Cameron Korpi finished with 34 stops for the Wolverines (16-12-2, 10-9-1), who defeated MSU, 2-1, on Friday in East Lansing. 

It was the fourth and final game of the 2024-25 regular-season series between MSU and U-M, with each team winning twice. Their next meeting could come as early as this year's Big Ten tournament, and then possibly again in the NCAA tournament. MSU will entertain Notre Dame this weekend in Big Ten play, while U-M will host Minnesota.

Saints Clip Tigers in ECAC Hockey Shootout

Tyler Cristall scored two goals in regulation, including the game-tying goal with under four minutes remaining, then tallied the only goal in the shootout as St. Lawrence earned an extra point in the standings at ECAC Hockey rival Princeton last night. Officially, the game goes into the NCAA's books as a 4-4 tie.

Princeton fashioned leads of 2-0 and 4-2, with St. Lawrence coming back both times to tie the contest. Jan Olenginski scored from the goal line with 5:30 remaining in regulation to bring the Saints within 4-3, before Cristall connected 85 seconds later to push the contest into overtime, where neither team scored. Jake Manfre had a goal and an assist on the night for the host Tigers before 1,725 on-lookers at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink.

Dominic Basse made 21 saves for the Saints (8-18-2 overall, 4-10-2 ECACH), while stopping all three shots he faced in the shootout. Arthur Smith finished with 21 stops for the Tigers (10-11-2, 5-9-2), who will visit St. Lawrence on Feb. 28 to close out the season series between the two schools. The Tigers remain one point ahead of the Saints in the ECAC Hockey standings.

BC, BU to Meet for 2025 Beanpot Crown

For the first time since 2016, the annual Beanpot Tournament will come down to Boston College and Boston University.

No. 8 BU routed Harvard, 7-1, in Monday's men's semifinal opener at TD Garden in Boston, while top-ranked BC pasted two-time defending champion Northeastern, 8-2. Cole Hutson tallied two goals and set up two others for BU in the Terriers' win, while Ryan Leonard notched a goal and two assists for the Eagles in BC's triumph.

Harvard and Northeastern will face off in the consolation contest next Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by BC-BU for all the beans for the 23rd time in the storied tournament's 72 years. The Eagles swept the Terriers in a home-and-home regular-season series on Jan. 24-25 as Leonard scored four goals and added an assist. 

BC won its last Beanpot in 2016, defeating BU in OT, while BU last took it home in 2022 by beating Northeastern that year in the final, snapping a three-year NU title streak.

ADDENDUM: BU topped BC, 4-1, to win its record 33rd Beanpot title, while Harvard edged Northeastern, 4-3, in the consolation.

Princeton Wins Fourth Straight

After six straight losses, Princeton University men's hockey has now won four straight NCAA contests. 

Following a home sweep of Bentley in non-conference action on Jan. 25-26, the Tigers closed out the first month of the new calendar year with a 4-3 overtime victory at ECAC Hockey/Ivy League rival Harvard on Jan. 31. Kai Daniells notched the game-winner in the extra session, while David Ma recorded a goal and two assists in regulation. Princeton then opened February with a 3-1 win at Dartmouth the next night, also in ECAC Hockey/Ivy League play. Brendan Gorman led the Tigers with a goal and an assist, while Ethan Pearson stopped 19 shots following a 32-save effort at Harvard.

Princeton (10-10-1 overall, 5-8-1 ECAC Hockey) returns to ECAC Hockey action this weekend at home at Hobey Baker Rink, when it faces Clarkson on Friday and St. Lawrence on Saturday.

Leonard Hat Trick Lifts BC in 4-0 Win

Ryan Leonard scored three goals for his second hat trick in two weekends to lift No. 1 Boston College to a 4-0 victory over UMass Lowell in Hockey East play on Friday night.

Leonard, who also scored three goals in a 6-2 conference win at Boston University a week prior on Jan. 24, now leads all NCAA Division I men's players with 22 goals overall after scoring three against the eighth-ranked River Hawks before 7,884 onlookers at BC's Conte Forum. Backup netminder Jan Korec earned the shutout with 22 saves for the host Eagles (19-4-1 overall, 12-3-1 Hockey East), while Beni Halasz made 22 stops for UML (13-8-3, 6-6-2) .

BC, which has now won seven straight games overall, begins the 2025 Beanpot Tournament on Monday night at TD Garden in Boston against Hockey East rival and two-time defending champion Northeastern at 8 p.m. ET. That contest will take place following the opening game at 5 p.m. ET between Boston University and Harvard.