NCAA Skaters Stars in NHL Playoff Openers

The NHL's 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs got underway this weekend, with several former NCAA players playing key roles in Game One first-round victories.

•  Jackson Blake (North Dakota) had two assists as Carolina topped Ottawa, 2-0.

• Matt Boldy (Boston College) scored two goals and set up another as Minnesota routed host Dallas, 6-1.

• Porter Martone (Michigan State) notched his first career NHL playoff goal, the game-winner in Philadelphia's 3-2 victory at Pittsburgh.

• Logan O'Connor (Denver) scored the game-winner in Colorado's 2-1 triumph over Los Angeles, assisted by Jack Drury (Harvard).

• • Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) notched two assists, both on the power play, and Jakub Dobeš (Ohio State) made 20 saves in Montreal's 4-3 overtime win at Tampa Bay.

• Tage Thompson (UConn) scored two goals and added an assist as Buffalo rebounded for a 4-3 victory over Boston.

• Nic Dowd (St. Cloud State) collected the game-winner as Vegas outlasted Utah, 4-2.

The eighth series, between Anaheim and Edmonton, gets underway tonight.

Penn State Edges Minnesota in OT

Simon Mack scored on a wrist shot just over three minutes into overtime to lift host Penn State to a 4-3 win over Minnesota in Big Ten action last night before 6,577 on-lookers in University Park, Pa. The No. 15 Nittany Lions also stretched their unbeaten streak, which dates back to Feb. 7, to seven games.

Brodie Ziemer had two assists for Minnesota (23-8-4 overall, 14-6-3 Big Ten), which fought back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to force the OT. Former Penn State netminder Liam Souliere made 28 saves for the Golden Gophers, who fell one point behind Michigan State in the race for the top spot in the Big Ten.

Aiden Fink and Jimmy Dowd, Jr. set up two goals apiece for the Nittany Lions (18-11-4, 9-10-4), who also got 31 stops from Arsenii Sergeev. It was also the 400th career collegiate victory for Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky, the only coach the program has known since it joined the NCAA Division I ranks in 2013. The two schools will close out the 2024-25 regular season tonight in a rematch at Pegula Ice Arena.

ADDENDUM: Behind two goals from Matthew Wood and 30 saves from Souliere, Minnesota defeated Penn State, 5-3, in the rematch on Saturday to claim a share of the Big Ten regular-season crown. Michigan State still earned the first seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament, while Minnesota will host seventh-seeded Notre Dame and fifth-seeded Penn State will visit fourth-seeded Michigan in the best-of-three quarterfinals next weekend.

SCSU's Dowd Strikes in Playoff Opener for Caps

Nic Dowd (St. Cloud State) made it Washington's night to open the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Dowd tipped home a slapshot by T.J. Oshie (North Dakota) just under five minutes into overtime to lift the Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins tonight in the opener of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Washington leads the best-of-seven series, one game to none.

Oshie, who tallied an emotional hat trick earlier this month in a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers shortly after the passing of his father, finished the night with two assists. Charlie McAvoy (Boston University) assisted on Boston's tying goal late in the second period, which knotted the game at 2-2.

Dowd, 30, a native of Huntsville, Ala., now has two goals in 16 career Stanley Cup playoff outings, all with Washington. He tallied 52 goals and 121 points in 154 NCAA contests with St. Cloud from 2010 to 2014, and was also a First Team All-America selection as a senior captain for the Huskies.

Game Two will be Monday night in Washington, D.C.

2014 Hobey Hat Trick Announced

Three forwards will vie for the 2014 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey, with today’s announcement of the Hobey Hat Trick by the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation at hobeybaker.com. The three skaters remaining out of the original pool of 10 finalists are Boston College’s Johnny Gaudreau, St. Lawrence University’s Greg Carey, and St. Cloud State University’s Nic Dowd.

The top scorer in the nation, Gaudreau has posted 35 goals and 42 assists for 77 points in 39 games. The Carney's Point, N.J. native had three goals and eight points in two wins at last weekend’s NCAA Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass., and will now face Union College in a Frozen Four semifinal in Philadelphia on April 10. A fourth-round draft choice of the NHL’s Calgary Flames in 2011, he has put up 77-96—173 points in 118 total outings with the Eagles.

Carey, from Hamilton, Ont., concluded his college career with 18-39—57 points in 38 games with SLU, and set new personal season-highs in assists and points. Currently the third-leading scorer in the nation, he scored two goals in a 4-3 loss at Colgate on March 15 in an ECAC quarterfinal playoff match to finish his tenure with the Saints. He recently signed a pro contract with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, after notching 84-101—185 points in 152 college contests.

Dowd, of Huntsville, Ala., scored the game-winning goal in overtime Saturday night as SCSU edged Notre Dame, 4-3, in the first round of the NCAA West Regional in St, Paul, Minn. He played his final college contest a night later in a 4-0 loss to Minnesota, and subsequently signed a free agent contract with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. Dowd finished the campaign with 22-18—40 points in 38 appearances with the Huskies, establishing new personal season-highs in goals and points. He finished his SCSU career with 52-69—121 points in 155 games.

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award will be presented on April 11 in Philadelphia.

2014 Hobey Baker Award Finalists Announced

The finalists for the 2014 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey have been announced. Included are six forwards, three goaltenders, and a defenseman (listed below in alphabetical order):

Josh Archibald – U.Nebraska-Omaha, Jr., Forward
Greg Carey – St. Lawrence University, Sr., Forward
Nic Dowd – St. Cloud State University, Sr., Forward
Ryan Dzingel – Ohio State University, Jr., Forward
Johnny Gaudreau – Boston College, Jr., Forward
Shayne Gostisbehere – Union College, Jr., Defense
Kevin Hayes – Boston College, Sr., Forward
CJ Motte – Ferris State University, Jr., Goalie
Joel Rumpel – University of Wisconsin, Jr., Goalie
Adam Wilcox – University of Minnesota, So., Goalie

Carey and Gaudreau were Top 10 Hobey finalists a year ago, while Gaudreau was part of the 2013 Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists for the award that eventually went to St. Cloud State's Drew Leblanc.

The award's 27-member Selection Committee and an additional round of fan balloting (at www.hobeybakeraward.com from March 20-30) will now determine this year’s winner. The 10 finalists were chosen by all 59 Division I college hockey head coaches and by an inaugural online round of fan balloting.

The 2014 winner will be announced on April 11 in Philadelphia as part of the NCAA Division I Frozen Four men's ice hockey championship. Yale won last year's national title, its first ever, by beating ECAC rival Quinnipiac in Pittsburgh in the championship game.