NCAA Players Step Up in 2025 NHL Playoffs

Three more Stanley Cup Playoff series were extended on Saturday, with contributions from several former NCAA players.

Vegas topped Minnesota, 4-3 in overtime on the road, knotting that best-of-seven series at two wins apiece, as Reilly Smith (Miami) assisted on the game-winning goal. Jack Eichel (Boston University) assisted on the game-opening goal for the victorious Golden Knights. 

In Colorado, the host Avalanche tied their series at two games each with a 4-0 blanking of Dallas as Brock Nelson (North Dakota) set up two goals for the home team. Devon Toews (Quinnipiac) also had an assist for the Avs, while Jake Oettinger (Boston University) stopped 31 of 34 shots for the visiting Stars before giving way to Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire), who stopped 13 of 14 shots. 

Host Ottawa staved off elimination with a 4-3 OT win over Toronto, which had won the first three games of the series. Jake Sanderson (North Dakota) scored the game-winner from long distance in the extra session, and also assisted on the Senators' first goal, as did team captain Brady Tkachuk (Boston University). Shane Pinto (North Dakota) scored a shorthanded goal for the Sens, while Adam Gaudette (Northeastern) assisted on Ottawa's third goal. Matthew Knies (Minnesota) scored Toronto's second goal, while Anthony Stolarz (Omaha) finished with 17 stops in goal for the Maple Leafs.

Tampa Bay topped defending NHL champion Florida, 5-1, on Saturday in Game Three of their series, thanks to a goal and two assists from Jake Guentzel (Omaha), while Luke Glendening (Michigan) also scored for the Lightning. The host Panthers, who got an assist from Evan Rodrigues (Boston University) still leads the series, two games to one.

Boeser Vaults Canucks to Late Win in Game Four

The Vancouver Canucks were missing Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire) in goal, due to an injury he suffered while earning his first career Stanley Cup Playoff victory in Game Three of their first-round series against the Nashville Predators.

That's OK. They still had Brock Boeser (North Dakota) up front.

Boeser scored all three goals for the Canucks in regulation, including two extra-attacker goals in the final three minutes of the third period on Sunday afternoon in Tennessee to force a three-all tie. Elias Lindholm then connected just over a minute into the overtime session for a 4-3 victory, and a three games to one lead in the best-of-seven NHL Western Conference quarterfinal series. Game Five is Tuesday night in Vancouver.

The Canucks are just the second team in NHL history to have three different goalies win each of their first three games in the playoffs. Thatcher Demko (Boston College) won Game One against Nashville with 23 saves before being sidelined by injury, and DeSmith followed up in Game Three with a 29-save effort before Arturs Silovs earned the victory yesterday on 27 stops.

Mark Jankowski (Providence) and Gustav Nyquist (Maine) each scored a goal Sunday for the Predators, who will be seeking to avoid early elimination when the series resumes tomorrow night at Rogers Arena.

U.S. Stays Perfect at 2023 World Championship

The United States is now a perfect 7-0 at the 2023 IIHF World Championship at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.

The U.S. edged Sweden, 4-3, in overtime in its final round-robin contest on Tuesday, after giving up a two-goal lead late in regulation. Dylan Samberg (Minnesota-Duluth) notched the game-winning goal in sudden death, with the primary assist going to Carter Mazur (Denver). 

Lane Hutson (Boston University), Nick Bonino (Boston University) and Conor Garland also scored goals for the U.S., while T.J. Tynan (Notre Dame) led the Americans with two assists and Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire) made 23 saves for the victory. The U.S also outshot Sweden, 43-26, overall.

Team USA, which is seeking its first World Championship medal since claiming bronze two years ago, will now face Czechia in the quarterfinals.

ADDENDUM: The U.S. blanked Czechia, 3-0, and will meet Germany in the semifinals. The other semifinal will feature Canada against co-host Latvia, with the two semifinal winners meeting in the final for the gold medal.

NCAA Alumni Among Early NHL Stat Leaders

Former NCAA players were among the league leaders in several statistical categories as the National Hockey League completed its first week of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign that began on Jan. 13.

Vancouver forward Brock Boeser (North Dakota) and Phil Kessel (Minnesota) were among those players tied for the overall NHL goal-scoring lead with four goals each. Montreal defenseman Jeff Petry (Michigan State) and Buffalo forward Jack Eichel (Boston University) were one point off the league pace with six points each so far this season, with Eichel leading all NHL skaters with six assists. 

Petry led all NHL blueliners in scoring, with his his six points coming on two goals and four assists. Right behind him in defensive scoring was Vancouver's Quinn Hughes (Michigan) with five assists, tops among league defensemen. 

In net, Cam Talbot (Alabama-Huntsville) of Minnesota and Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire) of Pittsburgh were tied for the league lead with two wins each. Philadelphia goaltender Brian Elliott (Wisconsin) was third in the NHL with a 1.31 goals-against average, and second with a .964 save percentage so far this season.