NCAA Skaters Moved at 2026 NHL Deadline

Some of the transactions involving former NCAA players during Friday's NHL trading deadline (players listed by last name):

Player, Position (School)            Old Team     New Team

Wyatt Bongiovanni, C (Quinnipiac)    Ottawa      Washington

Bobby Brink, F (Denver)         Philadelphia  Minnesota

Jacob Bryson, D (Providence)         Buffalo       Winnipeg

Justin Faulk, D (MN-Duluth)         St. Louis     Detroit

Warren Foegele, F (New Hampshire)    Los Angeles   Ottawa

Vinny Hinostroza, C (Notre Dame)     Florida       Minnesota

Bobby McMann, C (Colgate)            Toronto       Seattle

Massimo Rizzo, C (Denver)            Philadelphia  Boston

Aidan Thompson, C (Denver)           Chicago       NY Rangers

NCAA Players Among NHL Leaders

Several former NCAA players rank among the NHL's top five statistical leaders just before Christmas, per ESPN. Seven of them are from Hockey East schools.

Macklin Celebrini (Boston University) is third among NHL players with 53 points. 

Matt Boldy (Boston College) is tied for third overall with 22 goals.

Cale Makar (UMass) is fourth overall with a +30 plus-minus ranking

Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire) is tied for third overall with a .920 save percentage.

Jake Oettinger (Boston University) is tied for first overall with 15 wins.

Jack Eichel (Boston University) is third with 16 power-play assists.

Cutter Gauthier (Boston College) is fourth with 131 shots on goal.

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Quinn Hughes (Michigan) ranks first overall with 27:38 average ice time.

Jake Sanderson (North Dakota) and Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks) are tied for fourth with 1,057 shifts.

Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) is tied for first overall with five game-winning goals.

Dylan Larkin (Michigan) leads the league with 394 faceoff wins.

Devils Top Oilers, 5-3, in Matinee

The New Jersey Devils continued their early-season roll by besting the Edmonton Oilers, 5-3, today in an NHL matinee at the Prudential Center in Newark.

Brett Pesce (New Hampshire) assisted on the Devils' game-opening goal in the second period, while Jack Roslovic (Miami) had an assist for the Oilers on their first goal, after the Devils had taken a 2-1 lead. Luke Glendening (Michigan) notched four hits in all and also helped set up New Jersey's third goal, which came shorthanded. 

New Jersey outshot Edmonton, 30-23, on the afternoon, while the Oilers won 29 out of 50 faceoffs overall. The two teams will finish their two-game season series on Jan. 20 in Alberta.

30 Years Since Devils First Stanley Cup Title

The New Jersey Devils won their first-ever Stanley Cup 30 years ago today at the Meadowlands, completing a four-game sweep of the visiting Detroit Red Wings with a 5-2 victory. Former NCAA players on that NHL championship squad included (by last name): 

• Neal Broten (Minnesota)

• Danton Cole (Michigan State)

• Shawn Chambers (Alaska Fairbanks)

• Tom Chorske (Minnesota)

• Kevin Dean (New Hampshire)

• Jim Dowd (Lake Superior State)

• Bruce Driver (Wisconsin)

• Bill Guerin (Boston College)

• Randy McKay (Michigan Tech)

• Mike Peluso (Alaska Anchorage)

• Brian Rolston (Lake Superior State)

• Chris Terreri (Providence)

New Jersey also won the Stanley Cup again in 2000 and 2003, while also making the final in 2001 and 2012.

2025 Stanley Cup First Round Rolls On

Two first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series were tied after last night's action, while two others inched closer to completion.

St. Louis rocked visiting Winnipeg, 5-1, to knot that Western Conference series at two games apiece. Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks) tallied two assists for the victorious Blues, while Kyle Connor (Michigan) scored the Jets' only goal. Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) was pulled for the second straight game/loss after making 13 saves on 18 shots. 

In Edmonton, the defending Western Conference champion Oilers tied up their series at two with a 4-3 overtime win over visiting Los Angeles. Alex Laferriere (Harvard) notched an assist for the Kings, who had won the first two games at home in California.

Washington moved out to a three games to one lead in besting host Montreal, 5-2, in the Eastern Conference as Trevor van Riemsdyk (New Hampshire) set up two goals in the third period, including the game-winner. Lane Hutson (Boston University) had two assist for the host Canadiens, who got 21 saves in net from Jakub Dobes (Ohio State).

Carolina will look to close out New Jersey after winning, 5-2, in Newark to take a three games to one advantage in their Eastern Conference matchup. Jacob Slavin (Colorado College) scored the Hurricanes' second goal, unassisted, while Jackson Blake (North Dakota) registered a pair of assists.

The NHL playoffs continue tonight with Tampa Bay looking to tie up Florida, and Dallas and Colorado seeking to break a two-all tie.

ADDENDUM: Jake Guentzel (Omaha) scored for Tampa Bay, but Florida tallied three third-period goals to win, 4-2, and take a two to one lead in that series. Dallas, meanwhile, pasted Colorado, 6-2, as Jake Oettinger (Boston University) picked up the win with 26 saves.  

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.

Former NCAA Players on Move in NHL

A number of former NCAA players were on the move with the beginning of NHL free agency on July 1 (players listed alphabetically by last name, not a complete list):

Player, Position (School) New Club Old Club

Zach Aston-Reese, F (Northeastern) Vegas Detroit

Cam Atkinson, F (Boston College) Tampa Bay Philadelphia

Brandon Biro, F (Penn State) Buffalo Seattle

Ian Cole, D (Notre Dame)                Utah            Vancouver

Devin Colley, G (Denver) Calgary San Jose

Jeremy Davies, D (Northeastern) Ottawa Buffalo

Collin Delia, G (Merrimack) Edmonton Winnipeg

Casey DeSmith, G (New Hampshire) Dallas Vancouver

Sheldon Dries, F (Western Michigan) Vancouver Detroit

Josh Dunne, F (Clarkson) Columbus Buffalo

Casey Fitzgerald, D (Boston College) NY Rangers Florida

Warren Foegele, F (New Hampshire) Los Angeles Edmonton

Adam Gaudette, F (Northeastern) Ottawa St. Louis

Dennis Gilbert, D (Notre Dame) Buffalo Calgary

Shayne Gostisbehere (Union)             Carolina        Detroit

Troy Grosenick, G (Union) Nashville Minnesota

Matt Grzelcyk, D (Boston University) Pittsburgh Boston

Danton Heinen, F (Denver) Vancouver Boston

Cameron Hughes, F (Wisconsin) Dallas Seattle

Tyson Jost, F (North Dakota) Vegas Buffalo

Cole Koepke, F (Minnesota-Duluth) Tampa Bay Boston

Tanner Laczynski, F (Ohio State) Vegas Philadelphia

Alec Martinez, D (Miami) Chicago Vegas

Ben Meyers, F (Minnesota) Seattle Anaheim

Tyler Motte, F (Michigan) Detroit Tampa Bay

Jordan Oesterle, D (Western Michigan) Boston Calgary

Jack Rathbone, D (Harvard) Buffalo Pittsburgh 

Eric Robinson, F (Princeton) Carolina Buffalo

Steven Santini, D (Boston College) Tampa Bay Los Angeles

Kiefer Sherwood, F (Miami) Vancouver Nashville

Devin Shore, F (Maine) Minnesota Seattle

Nate Schmidt, D (Minnesota) Florida Winnipeg

Joe Snively, F (Yale) Detroit Washington

Anthony Stolarz, G (Omaha) Toronto Florida

Billy Sweezey, D (Yale) Boston Columbus

Cam Talbot, G (Alabama-Huntsville) Detroit Los Angeles

Jason Zucker, F (Denver)                Buffalo         Nashville

Oilers Knot 2024 Stanley Cup Final

The 2024 Stanley Cup Final will come down to a seventh game.

The Edmonton Oilers, who dropped the first three games of the best-of-seven series, won their third straight contest against the Florida Panthers on Friday night, this time by a 5-1 count in Game 6. The series is now tied, three to three, with Edmonton having outscored Florida, 18-5, over the last three contests.

Warren Foegele (New Hampshire) opened the scoring last night, just over seven minutes into the first period, as Edmonton ultimately went ahead, 3-0, after 40 minutes before 18,347 at Rogers Place. Zach Hyman (Michigan) tallied his playoff-leading 16th goal late in the second stanza, his second goal in two games, before Foegele help set up one of two empty-net Edmonton goals in the final frame.

Game 7 is slated for Monday night in Sunrise, Fl., at 8 p.m. ET (ABC, CBC). Edmonton is seeking to become the first NHL team to rebound from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final since 1942, and just the second club ever to do so.

Oilers Explode in Game Four to Stay Alive

Dylan Holloway (Wisconsin) and the Edmonton Oilers refused to go away Saturday night.

Down three games to none to the visiting Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers scored three times in each of the first and second periods, and twice more in the third stanza, en route an 8-1 victory in Game Four to stave off elimination. 

Holloway led all players with two goals, and also assisted on the Oilers' final goal of the night before 18,347 on-lookers at Rogers Arena. Zach Hyman (Michigan) assisted on two Edmonton goals for his first points of the series, while Warren Foegele (New Hampshire) also recorded an assist for the Oilers. Florida netminder Anthony Stolarz (Nebraska-Omaha) made 16 saves on 19 shots in relief for the Panthers.

Game Five of this year's NHL championship series will be Tuesday night in Sunrise, Fla.

NCAA Skaters Dot 2024 Stanley Cup Rosters

More than a dozen former NCAA players in all are listed on the rosters of the two competing teams in this year's Stanley Cup Final. Per hockeydb.com:

Edmonton Oilers

• Vincent Desharnais (Providence)
• Warren Foegele (New Hampshire)
• Dylan Holloway (Wisconsin)
• Zach Hyman (Michigan)
• Philip Kemp (Yale)
• Troy Stecher (North Dakota)

Florida Panthers

• William Lockwood (Michigan)
• Ryan Lomberg (Maine)
• Brandon Montour (Massachusetts)
• Kyle Okposo (Minnesota)
• Mike Reilly (Minnesota)
• Evan Rodrigues (Boston University)
• Mackie Samoskevich (Michigan)
• Anthony Stolarz (Nebraska-Omaha) 

Game One of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final is on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (ABC, CBC). Florida returns to the final for the second year in a row, and the third time ever, but is still seeking its first-ever NHL playoff championship. Five-time Cup champion Edmonton is back in the final for the first time since 2006 and is after its first NHL title since 1990, along with Canada's first Stanley Cup crown since 1993.

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.

Hughes, Woll, Beniers Star in NHL Playoffs

Several former NCAA players shined on Sunday in the second round of the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Luke Hughes (Michigan) made his professional postseason debut with two assists as the New Jersey Devils upended the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, 8-4, to climb back into that best-of-seven Eastern Conference series. John Marino (Harvard) also had two assists for the Devils, who now trail the series, two games to one. Miles Wood (Boston College) scored a goal for the second straight game for New Jersey.

Joseph Woll (Boston College) stopped 18 of 21 shots in relief as the Toronto Maple Leafs fell, 3-2, in overtime to the host Florida Panthers. Florida now leads that Eastern Conference series, three games to none. Woll came on in relief of injured starter Ilya Samsonov in the first period.

Matty Beniers (Michigan) notched a goal and an assist, and was also a plus-3, as the Seattle Kraken routed the visiting Dallas Stars, 7-2. Ryan Donato and Jaden Schwartz (Colorado College) each posted an assist for the Kraken, who took a two games to one lead in that Western Conference series.

ADDENDUM: Jack Eichel (Boston University) scored one goal and set up another, and Zach Whitecloud (Bemidji State) also scored as the visiting Vegas Golden Knights dismantled the Edmonton Oilers, 5-1, on Monday night to take a two games to one lead in their Western Conference semifinal series. Warren Foegele (New Hampshire) tallied Edmonton's lone goal.

Chicago on Verge of 2022 Calder Cup

Andrew Poturalski (New Hampshire) scored one goal and set up another as the Chicago Wolves moved within a game of winning the Calder Cup with a 4-2 victory over the host Springfield Thunderbirds on Friday night. 

The Wolves lead the best-of-seven AHL final series, three games to one, having won the last three contests following an overtime loss in Game One. Chicago can clinch its first Calder Cup since 2008, and third overall, with a win in Game Six tonight at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.

Lightning, Wolves Claw Back into NHL, AHL Finals

The losers in the previous Stanley Cup and Calder Cup finals games both bounced back on Monday night.

The two-time defending NHL champion Tampa Bay Lightning rebounded from an early deficit—twice, in fact, as an early Colorado goal was disallowed due to an offside—with three consecutive goals en route to a 6-2 win over the visiting Avalanche in Game Three at Amalie Arena. Colorado still leads the best-of-seven series, two games to one.

Ross Colton (Vermont), who scored last year's Stanley Cup clinching goal in the final against Montreal, set up tonight's game-winning goal just 1:26 into the second period, to make it 3-1 Lightning at the time. Cale Makar (UMass) assisted on both Colorado goals. Game Four is Wednesday night in Tampa.

In the AHL's Calder Cup Final, the host Chicago Wolves followed up an overtime loss on Sunday by scoring the first five goals Monday on the way to a 6-2 victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. Andrew Poturalski (New Hampshire) led the way for the Wolves with a goal and three assists. The best-of-seven series is now tied at one game apiece, and will shift to Springfield, Mass. starting on Wednesday.

BC Eliminates UNH, Stays Alive in Hockey East

Tyler Ward scored all of New Hampshire's goals, but his Wildcats ultimately came up short in a 4-3 overtime loss at Boston College on Wednesday night in a first-round Hockey East tournament game. BC improves to 15-17-5 overall, while UNH ends its 2021-2022 campaign at 14-19-1.

Marc McLaughlin connected for his second goal of the evening, just under 18 minutes into the extra session, at Conte Forum to boost BC to its fifth win in its last seven outings. Jack McBain and Nikita Nesterenko (shorthanded) also scored for the Eagles, who led 3-1 after 40 minutes of play before Ward scored twice, both times on the power play, in less than seven minutes to knot matters. Eric Dop finished with 44 saves in goal for the Eagles, while Mike Robinson made 23 stops for the Wildcats.

BC will now play at Northeastern on Saturday night in the single-elimination quarterfinal round. The winner will advance to the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden. The Eagles and Huskies split a home-and-home conference series last month, with the road team winning in each contest. 

NCAA Players Shine at NHL's Lake Tahoe Weekend

The 2021 NHL Outdoors weekend at Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada has come and gone, with more than a few former NCAA players making their marks both nights.

On Saturday, the Colorado Avalanche edged the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2. The game was postponed for nearly 10 hours following the daytime first period, due to the sun adversely affecting ice conditions. A shot by Devon Toews (Quinnipiac) from the left point with less then seven minutes remaining in regulation after the restart stood up as the game-winner for the Avalanche, who wore retro reverse jerseys that honored the franchise's previous incarnation as the Quebec Nordiques. Toews also had the lone assist on Colorado's second goal of the game.

Alex Tuch (Boston College) got Vegas back within a goal on his backhand shot in close with 5:35 left, but the Golden Knights couldn't garner the equalizer in the time left. Alec Martinez (Miami) also scored for Vegas.

On Sunday evening, James van Riemsdyk (New Hampshire) tallied one goal and set up two others, but his Philadelphia Flyers fell, 7-3, to the Boston Bruins. It was Boston's fifth win over Philadelphia so far this season in five meetings.

Charlie McAvoy (Boston University) and Charlie Coyle (Boston University) both tallied goals for Boston, with Coyle's second-period score standing up as the game-winner. Trent Frederic (Wisconsin) scored his first career NHL goal for the Bruins, who also got two assists apiece from Connor Clifton (Quinnipiac) and Craig Smith (Wisconsin).

Joel Farabee (Boston University) scored Philadelphia's first goal, while Kevin Hayes (Boston College) notched two assists. Brian Elliott (Wisconsin) stopped 12 of 13 shots on goal in the final period for the Flyers, after entering the game in relief. Boston outshot Philadelphia, 35-19, overall for the night.

There were no spectators present at either Lake Tahoe contest due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The two games were the 32nd and 33rd, respectively, in the NHL's modern outdoor series of matches that dates back to the 2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton.

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.

2019 Calder Cup Final Pits Charlotte versus Chicago

The American Hockey League's 2019 Calder Cup Final is set. The Eastern Conference champion Charlotte Checkers will take on the Chicago Wolves, winners of the Western Conference, beginning Saturday night at Bojangles' Coliseum in North Carolina.

The Checkers, who were the AHL's 2018-19 regular-season champion and are seeking their first-ever postseason league title, advanced to the Calder Cup Final by eliminating the defending Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies in six games. The Wolves, who won the Calder Cup in both 2002 and 2008 after previously winning two Turner Cup titles in the now-defunct International Hockey League, made it to the championship round this spring after ousting the San Diego Gulls, also in six contests.

Charlotte forward Andrew Poturalski (New Hampshire) leads all AHL players in Calder Cup scoring this season with 18 points on eight goals and 10 assists. Left wing Curtis McKenzie (Miami) is pacing Chicago in points this spring with eight goals and five assists for 13 points.

U.S. Doubles Up Great Britain at Worlds

Hockey East alumni helped power the United States to victory on Wednesday at the 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia.

Clayton Keller (Boston University), Chris Kreider (Boston College) and James van Riemsdyk (New Hampshire) all scored in Team USA's 6-3 victory over Great Britain. Kreider's second-period score stood up as the game-winner, and he also posted an assist on the day.

Noah Hanifin (Boston College) and Ryan Suter (Wisconsin) had two assists apiece for the U.S., while Thatcher Demko (Boston College) made 23 saves in net and also assisted on Keller's tally. Brett Perlini (Michigan State) notched Great Britain's second goal.

The U.S. improved to 2-1-0-1 in the tournament, with three overall wins (including a shootout triumph) in four games. The Americans will next face Denmark on Saturday at Steel Arena.