Avalanche Put Wild on Brink of Elimination

Jack Drury (Harvard) set up the game-winning goal in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche moved one step away from the Western Conference Final with a 5-2 victory at the Minnesota Wild last night. Colorado now leads the best-of-seven 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs series, three games to one.

Ross Colton (Vermont) put the Avalanche up, 2-1, in the final frame before Nico Sturm (Clarkson) tied matters less than three minutes later for the Wild. After Drury's heroics, Colorado closed out the contest with two empty-net goals, the second by Brock Nelson (North Dakota), and outshot Minnesota, 34-21, on the night.

Game Five and a potential clinching contest for the Avs is Thursday night in Denver.

USA Tops CHL in First Round of Prospects Challenge

University of Notre Dame commit Sammy Nelson scored one goal and set up another as the USA National Team Development Program defeated Team Canadian Hockey League, 4-2, on Tuesday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary in the first round of the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge. It was the first time the NTDP had defeated the CHL head-to-head in this, the second edition of the tournament 

Boston University commit Brady Knowling made 42 saves in net for the NTDP to earn First Star of the Game accolades. The U.S. also killed off all five CHL power plays on the night. The two squads will complete their two-game series tonight at VisitLethbridge.com Arena, home of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, in Alberta (8 p.m. ET, NHL Network).

ADDENDUM: The CHL rebounded from a two-goal deficit to win Game Two by a 4-3 score, but Minnesota-Duluth commit Victor Plante scored just under six minutes into 3-on-3, sudden-death "super overtime" to lift the NTDP to the series victory. 

Three More NHL First Round Series Finished

The first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is down to two series, after three others were decided Thursday night.

Toronto finished off host Ottawa, 4-2, to claim that series in six games. Max Pacioretty (Michigan) tallied the game-winning goal and also had an assist for the Maple Leafs, who had lost the last two games. Team captain Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) had one goal for the Senators, who were playing in the NHL postseason for the first time since 2017. Toronto will now take on defending Stanley Cup champion Florida in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Zach Hyman (Michigan) registered a goal and an assist for Edmonton as the Oilers topped Los Angeles, 6-4, to close out that series in six games. It marks the fourth year in a row that Edmonton has eliminated LA, which had won the first two games of this series, in the playoffs. 

Vegas finished off host Minnesota, 3-2, in the sixth and final game of that series. Jack Eichel (Boston University) notched a goal and an assist for the victorious Golden Knights, who will now face Edmonton in the Western Conference semifinals.

Colorado stayed alive with a 7-4 triumph over visiting Dallas. Cale Makar (Massachusetts) tallied three points and Brock Faber (North Dakota) had two assists for the Avalanche, who forced a winner-take-all Game Seven on Saturday night in Texas. Jake Oettinger (Boston University) finished with 41 saves for the Stars in defeat.

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.

Two Series End, Two Go On in 2024 NHL Playoffs

Two first-round NHL playoff series were extended, and two other series ended tonight in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The visiting Toronto Maple Leafs stayed alive with a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins in overtime Tuesday. Matthew Knies (Minnesota) notched the game-winning goal in the extra session, while Joseph Woll (Boston College) made 27 saves in all for Toronto, which had lost the last two games to the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman (Maine) had 31 stops for Boston, which now leads the Eastern Conference series, three games to two. The winner will take on the defending conference champion Florida Panthers, who eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning last night in Game Five of that series.

The visiting Nashville Predators edged the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1, to stay alive in their Western Conference series. Quinn Hughes (Michigan) assisted on the Canucks' lone goal, while Gustav Nyquist (Maine) helped set up Nashville's game-winning goal in the third period. The road team has won the last four games so far in the series, with Vancouver now leading, three games to two. The victor will meet the winner of the Edmonton Oilers-Los Angeles Kings series, with Edmonton currently ahead there, three games to one.

The Winnipeg Jets saw their 2023-24 campaign come to a close with a 6-3 loss to the visiting Colorado Avalanche in Game Five of their Western Conference tilt. The Avalanche, who won the last four games of the series after dropping the opener nine days prior, got two assists from Devon Toews (Quinnipiac) and one apiece from Cale Makar (UMass) and Casey Mittelstadt (Minnesota). Kyle Connor (Michigan) notched one goal for Winnipeg, while Vezina Trophy finalist Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) made 26 saves for the Jets, who outshot, outhit and won more faceoffs on the night than Colorado. The Avs will await the winner of the Dallas Stars-Vegas Golden Knights series, which is tied at two games apiece.

The host Carolina Hurricanes ousted the New York Islanders with a 6-3 win in Game Five of their Eastern Conference series. Jack Drury (Harvard) scored the game-winner early in the third period for the Hurricanes, who tallied the game's final three goals after the Islanders had rebounded to force a three-all tie after 40 minutes of play. Brady Skjei (Minnesota) had two assists in the final 20 minutes for Carolina, which scored eight seconds apart in that stanza to regain the lead. Brock Nelson (North Dakota) scored one goal and set up another for New York, which was eliminated by the Hurricanes in the first round for the second straight spring. Carolina will now face the top-seeded New York Rangers, who swept the Washington Capitals in their first-round matchup.

U.S. Wins Gold at 2023 IIHF U18 Worlds

Ryan Leonard notched the game-winning goal early in 3-on-3 overtime on Sunday as the U.S. claimed the gold medal with a 3-2 win over Sweden at the 2023 IIHF U-18 Men's World Championship in Basel, Switzerland. 

Leonard, a Boston College commit, scored on a wrist shot 2:20 into sudden death to propel the Americans to their first gold medal in the U18 Worlds since 2017. The U.S. had battled back from a 2-0 deficit on third-period goals by Notre Dame commit Danny Nelson and Carey Terrance. Michigan State commit Trey Augustine had 30 saves for Team USA, while Boston College commit Will Smith earned tournament MVP honors by leading all players with nine goals and 20 points in seven games.

Canada won this year's bronze medal with a 4-3 OT win over Slovakia. Since the U18 Worlds debuted in 1999, the U.S. has now medaled on no less than 19 occasions, including winning the gold medal a record 11 times.