Sabres Force Game Seven with Canadiens

Tage Thompson (UConn) assisted on three goals, and also scored one into an empty net as the visiting Buffalo Sabres staved off elimination last night with an 8-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game Six of their 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff second-round series, which is now tied at three games apiece.

Jason Zucker (Denver) had a goal and assist for the Sabres, who scored seven consecutive unanswered goals over the final 46 minutes of play after falling behind, 3-1, in the first period. Buffalo's Zach Metsa (Quinnipiac) also tallied his first career playoff goal in his first NHL postseason appearance. Alex Lyon (Yale) made one save on four shots for the Sabres in goal, before being replaced by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) stopped 27 of 33 shots for the Canadiens before giving way late in regulation to Jacob Fowler (Boston College), who made his own Stanley Cup Playoff debut in relief. The deciding Game Seven of this Eastern Conference semifinal is Monday night in Buffalo, with the winner to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final.

BC's Fowler Wins in NHL Debut

Jacob Fowler (Boston College) stopped 36 shots in his NHL debut on Thursday night to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-2 victory at Pittsburgh.  He blanked the host Penguins for just over two periods before surrendering a goal.

A native of Melbourne, Fla., Fowler began the 2025-26 season by going 10-5-0 in 15 games with Laval (AHL), where he played three regular-season games late in the 2024-25 campaign after turning pro. He was chosen in the third round (69th overall by Montreal) of the 2023 NHL Draft after his second year of junior hockey with Youngstown (USHL), when he led the Phantoms to a Clark Cup title and was also named USHL Goaltender of the Year.

Fowler, 21, joined the Montreal organization after two seasons at BC, where he backstopped the Eagles to two NCAA tournaments, including the 2024 national title game. In 74 career outings at the Heights, he fashioned a 57-13-3 record with a 1.90 goals-against average and 10 shutouts, while twice earning First Team All-America and Hockey East First All-star Team accolades. He also won the Mike Richter Award as college hockey's top goalie last year, and helped the United States to a gold medal at the 2024 World Junior Championship.

BC's Leonard Named Hobey Baker Finalist

The accolades keep rolling in for Boston College men's hockey for its completed 2024-25 season.

Ryan Leonard, who recently signed with the Washington Capitals and made his NHL debut on Tuesday after two seasons at BC, is a Hobey Baker Award hat trick finalist long with Denver sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium and Michigan State junior forward Isaac Howard. The winner will be announced on April 11 at the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis.

Leonard, a sophomore forward, led all NCAA Division I men's hockey players with 30 goals this season, and finished his college career with 61 goals and 109 points. He also won this season's Walter Brown Award as the top American-born men's player in Division I hockey, the 25th BC player ever to do so. 

Also from the Heights, forward Gabe Perreault signed with the New York Rangers and made his NHL debut on Wednesday, while goaltender Jacob Fowler just signed with the Montreal Canadiens. Both were sophomores and 2023 NHL draft choices. Perreault tallied 35 goals and 108 points in two years with BC, while Fowler fashioned a 57-13-3 career record with a 1.90 goals-against average and seven shutouts while with the Eagles. Along with Leonard, they led BC to last year's national title game, and a Hockey East regular-season title this year. 

BC Goalie Fowler Suspended One Game

Boston College sophomore goaltender Jacob Fowler has been suspended by Hockey East for one game after earning a roughing penalty and a game misconduct in 5-4 loss at UConn on Friday. He will sit out tomorrow night's conference contest against Providence, and be eligible to return on Nov. 22 against Northeastern.

Fowler, 20, from Melbourne, Fla. stopped 25 of 28 shots against in just under 25 minutes of action at UConn. He is 7-1-0 so far this season with a 1.55 goals-against average and three shutouts in nine games, and 39-7-1 with a 2.04 GAA and six shutouts in 48 career NCAA appearances to date with the Eagles. He was selected in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

BC (7-2-0 overall, 2-1-0 HEA) dropped from second to third in this week's USCHO.com national poll, behind Denver and Michigan State.

BC Blanks MSU in Season Opener

Will Vote scored twice and Oskar Jellvik added another goal, all in the second period and at even strength, as second-ranked Boston College blanked No. 4 Michigan State by a 3-0 count tonight at MSU's Munn Ice Arena. BC is now 1-0-0 overall on the 2024-25 season, while MSU fell to 2-1-0. 

BC goaltender Jacob Fowler picked up his first shutout of the season, and the fourth of his NCAA career, with 24 saves, while five different Eagles recorded assists on the night. Trey Augustine stopped 26 shots for the Spartans, who were outshot, 29-24, and went 0-for-2 on the power play before 6,555 on-lookers. MSU still leads the all-time series between the two schools, 17-12-1, although BC has now won the last six meetings, including a pair at home last year.

The Eagles and Spartans wrap up their two-game series tomorrow night at Munn (6 p.m. ET, B1G+).

ADDENDUM: In the rematch, MSU got two goals from Wisconsin transfer Charlie Stramel, the game-winner from Daniel Russell late in the second period, and 32 saves in all from Augustine as the Spartans edged BC, 4-3. It was the 600th victory all-time for MSU at Munn, which first opened its doors in 1974. Jellvik had two assists for the Eagles, while Fowler made 25 stops.

Denver Wins 10th NCAA Hockey Title Overall

Jared Wright and Rieger Lorenz scored goals less than six minutes apart, and Matt Davis stopped all 35 shots he faced as the University of Denver claimed the 2024 NCAA Division I men's hockey title on Saturday night with a 2-0 win over No. 1 Boston College in St. Paul, Minn.

Wright broke open a scoreless game at 9:42 of the second period when his shot from the left side glanced off the crossbar, off of BC goaltender Jacob Fowler (24 saves), and into the net. Lorenz, who assisted on Wright's goal, followed up with a wrist shot over Fowler's stick at 15:16 to give the Pioneers all the offense they would need on the night, before a crowd of 18,694 at Xcel Energy Center.

Davis, who earned Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player accolades, proved to be the difference, with 23 of his 35 saves coming over the final 20 minutes of play as the top-ranked Eagles attempted to claw back into the contest. BC also hit two posts in the game, while Davis stopped Will Smith on a first-period breakaway, and then added a point-blank arm save on Ryan Leonard's one-timer in-close in the final period. The Calgary native finished the 2024 NCAA tournament with a 4-0 record for the Pioneers, while stopping 138 of the 141 total shots he faced.

DU (32-9-3 overall) has earned two of the last three NCAA titles, and has now won a record 10 national championships overall, breaking the tie it had held with Michigan since 2022. BC (34-6-1), which was seeking is first national hockey title since 2012, saw its 15-game winning streak snapped as it was shut out for the first time in the 2023-24 campaign.

Next year's Frozen Four will be held in St. Louis, for the first time since 2007 when Michigan State defeated BC in the final.

BC, Denver to Meet Saturday for NCAA Crown

The national title game is set. It will be Denver against Boston College on Saturday night in St. Paul, Minn., for the 2024 NCAA Division I men's hockey championship, after both teams won national semifinal contests today at the Xcel Energy Center.

In the opening game this afternoon, Tristan Broz scored just over 11 minutes into overtime to lift Denver to a 2-1 win over Boston University. Luke Tuch opened the scoring for BU (28-10-2 overall) with a shorthanded goal in the first period, before Tristan Lemyre tied it for DU in the second. BU outshot DU, 34-29, overall, even though the Terriers did not receive any power plays. Matt Davis made 33 saves in net for the Pioneers (31-9-3), while Mathieu Caron finished with 27 stops for the Terriers.

In the nightcap, Will Smith opened the scoring just over a minute into the opening stanza as top-ranked Boston College blanked Michigan, 4-0. The Eagles (34-5-1), who set a school record for most victories in a single season with tonight's win, broke the game open with goals 49 seconds apart in the second period from Smith and Cutter Gauthier (NCAA-high 38th goal of the year) while the two teams were skating 4-on-4. 

Gabe Perreault, who also assisted on both of Smith's goals, closed out the scoring early in the third period with an unassisted tally for the Eagles. Jacob Fowler stopped all 32 shots he faced in earning his third shutout of the season for BC, which was outshot by a 32-22 margin. Jake Barczewski had 18 stops for the Wolverines (23-15-3), who were making their third consecutive trip to the Frozen Four, and who were shut out for the first time in a Frozen Four appearance.

BC and DU will now meet for the national title on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2). It will be a rematch of a game from October at BC, where the Pioneers edged the Eagles, 4-3. DU is seeking its record 10th NCAA men's hockey title all-time, and second in three years, while BC is after its sixth national championship ever, and first since 2012.

NCAA Regionals Conclude, 2024 Frozen Four Set

The 2024 NCAA Division I men's hockey regionals are in the books, and the last two tickets to this year's Frozen Four have been punched.

In Providence, Boston College overcame several one-goal deficits to edge defending NCAA champion Quinnipiac, 5-4, in overtime. Cornell transfer Jack Malone pushed home a loose puck just over three minutes into the extra session to give BC (33-5-1 overall) its only lead of the afternoon, after fellow New Jersey native Aram Minnetian had tied the contest with just under five minutes remaining in regulation. Ryan Leonard tallied two power-play goals for the Eagles, who also got 26 saves from Jacob Fowler. Jacob Quillan, last year's national championship game hero for the Bobcats (27-10-2), scored twice, while Vinny Duplessis had 27 stops for Quinnipiac.

In Maryland Heights. Mo., Michigan (23-14-3) used four third-period goals to break a two-all tie and overcome Big Ten rival Michigan State, 5-2. The Wolverines, who won their third consecutive regional final, got three points from Dylan Duke, including two third-period goals and the game-winner, while Ethan Edwards notched a goal and two assists, and Jake Barczewski made 38 saves. Trey Augustine had 30 stops for the Spartans (25-10-3), who won their first-ever Big Ten regular season championship this year, and then added the Big Ten tournament title eight days ago with an overtime win against Michigan.

Top-ranked BC will now face Michigan in the second Frozen Four semifinal in St. Paul, Minn. on April 11 at 8:30 p.m. ET. The first semifinal will pit Sioux Falls regional winner Boston University against Springfield, Mass. regional winner Denver at 5 p.m. ET. Both contests will be televised live on ESPN2. The semifinal winners will meet two days later for the national championship, which will also be held at the Xcel Energy Center.

2024 Richter Award Trio Announced

The three finalists for the Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey this year were announced last week:

Jacob Fowler, Fr., Boston College (29-5-1, 2.19, .925)

Kaidan Mbereko, So., Colorado College (21-15-1, 2.41, .905)

Kyle McClellan, Sr., Wisconsin (24-11-1, 1.92, .931)

(Stats indicate record, goals-against average, and save percentage for 2023-24, through March 27)

Fowler and McClelland will lead their respective schools into the 2024 NCAA regionals this weekend, while Mbereko's season ended with CC's 2-1 loss to Omaha in the NCHC tournament on March 17. The Tigers ultimately missed the NCAAs by just .0004 points in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimic the NCAA tournament selection process.

This year's winner will be announced during the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul next month. Current Buffalo Sabres netminder Devon Levi (Northeastern) was the recipient of the award the last two seasons, the first two-time winner since it was first handed out in 2014.

BC Clinches 2024 Hockey East Title

Boston College is once more the Hockey East regular-season champion. The top-ranked Eagles outlasted New Hampshire, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon to clinch their first conference title since 2021, and 18th overall since Hockey East began play in 1984-85. Eamon Powell scored the only goal of the game midway through the third period at BC's Conte Forum, while Jacob Fowler stopped 27 shots in posting his second shutout this season for the Eagles (27-5-1 overall).

BC, which finishes its regular season on March 9 at Merrimack, is seven points ahead of second-place Boston University, which has two games remaining. The Eagles, who will receive a first-round bye in the Hockey East postseason tournament, also remain the top team in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the NCAA tournament selection process.

Also clinching regular-season Division I men's hockey conference crowns this weekend were Bemidji State (CCHA), Michigan State (Big Ten) and North Dakota (NCHC). Quinnipiac claimed the ECAC Hockey title the previous weekend, while RIT earned the Atlantic Hockey championship.

2024 Richter Award Semifinalists Named

The list of the 10 semifinalists for the 2024 Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey was released last week (name, grade, school, and conference):

• Trey Augustine, Fr., Michigan State (Big Ten)

• Ryan Bischel, Grad., Notre Dame (Big Ten)

• Vinny Duplessis, Dr., Quinnipiac (ECAC Hockey)

• Jacob Fowler, Fr., Boston College (Hockey East)

• Kaidan Mbereko, So., Colorado College (NCHC)

• Kyle McClellan, Sr., Wisconsin (Big Ten)

• Tommy Scarfone, Jr., RIT (Atlantic Hockey)

• Ian Shane, Jr., Cornell (ECAC Hockey)

• Jake Sibell, Jr., St. Thomas (CCHA)

The award, which is named for former NHL and U.S. Olympic goaltender Mike Richter (Wisconsin), has been presented every year since its inception in 2014, and the winner will again be named at the NCAA Frozen Four. The winner in each of the last two seasons was current NHL goaltender Devon Levi (Northeastern), the first two-time recipient in the history of the award.

USA Upends Latvia in WJC Quarterfinal

The United States has advanced to the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. Team USA made it to the WJC final four by routing Latvia, 7-2, on Tuesday in Sweden.

The U.S. tallied three goals in each of the first two periods to win going away. Gabe Perreault (Boston College) scored twice and asded an assist for the Americans, who also got three assists apiece from Cutter Gauthier (Boston College) and Seamus Casey (Michigan). Jacob Fowler (Boston College) finished with 25 saves in goal for the U.S., which went 1-for-5 on the power play. 

The U.S. will face Finland (1:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network) in one of the two semifinal contests on Thursday. The other will feature Sweden, which edged Switzerland on Tuesday, vs. Czechia, which upset defending WJC champion Canada in the final minute of regulation in their quarterfinal matchup.

USA Rolling with Two More Wins at WJC

The United States improved to 3-0-0 at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden with today's 4-3 shootout victory over Czechia. 

Isaac Howard (Michigan State) scored a goal in regulation, and then added the decisive goal in the extra session to lift Team USA to the victory. Ryan Chesley (Minnesota) and Will Smith (Boston College) also tallied in regulation for the U.S., while Jacob Fowler (Boston College) picked up the win in goal after making 20 saves.

The day before, the U.S. posted a 11-3 rout of Switzerland, powered by a first-period hat trick from Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota). Cutter Gauthier (Boston College) and Frank Nazar (Michigan) recorded four assists apiece, while Gavin Brindley (Michigan) scored two goals and set up another, and Fowler had 21 stops.

Team USA will complete group play in this year's WJC on Sunday against Slovakia.

BC Tops MSU Among Several NCAA Hockey Sweeps

It was a weekend of several two-step sweeps in NCAA Division I men's hockey.

Third-ranked Boston College broomed visiting No. 8 Michigan State by 6-4 and 5-1 scores, in the first meetings between the two storied programs since 2015. Cutter Gauthier led BC with three goals over the two games, including the game-winning power-play goal in the second contest, while Karsen Dorwart notched three goals in two games for MSU. Jacob Fowler earned both wins in goal for the Eagles, stopping 65 of 70 shots overall.

No. 14 Wisconsin stunned top-ranked Minnesota in Big Ten play, winning by 5-2 and 3-2 counts in Minneapolis. Mathieu De St. Phalle tallied two goals and an assist for the Badgers in the opener, while Ben Dexheimer set up two goals. Simon Tassy then scored two goals in the finale for Wisconsin, including the game-winner with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, while Kyle McClellan picked up the win on 29 saves. In CCHA action, Bemidji State swept visiting St. Thomas, 3-2 and 2-0, in Minnesota as Lleyton Roed had three goals for the Beavers, including the game-winner both nights, and both goals in the second game.

In other non-conference action besides BC/MSU, Notre Dame swept Mercyhurst, 4-3 (OT) and 5-0, in South Bend, Ind. Landon Slaggert scored twice for the Fighting Irish in the opener, including the game-winner in overtime, before adding another pair of goals in the rematch. Owen Say made 50 stops in each game for the visiting Lakers. 

Michigan routed visiting Lindenwood, 9-1 and 10-1, as Gavin Brindley led the way with three goals and three assists, and Dylan Duke scored one goal and set up four others for the Wolverines. Cornell upended visiting Minnesota-Duluth, 4-1 and 3-0, as Ian Shane stopped 35 of 26 shots overall for the Big Red, who also got two goals from Kyle Penney and three points (1g-2a) from Dalton Bancroft.