More NCAA Players Sign with NHL

The annual exodus of college talent to the NHL has begun in the wake of the recently-completed NCAA Frozen Four.

The first-round University of Michigan trio of Owen Power, Kent Johnson and Matty Beniers have all signed NHL contracts, with Buffalo, Columbus and Seattle, respectively. Power and Beniers are expected to make their pro debuts this week. All three had two years of college eligibility remaining. 

Bobby Brink, the nation's top scorer and a Hobey Hat Trick finalist who just helped Denver to its ninth NCAA title overall, inked a deal with Philadelphia. Nathan Smith, a Florida native who led Minnesota State to its first-ever NCAA Division I national championship game this season, has signed with Arizona, which had recently acquired his rights from Winnipeg. Brink and Smith both had one year of NCAA eligibility left. 

All those players signed with the NHL clubs that had drafted them, or, in Smith's case, had traded for them. Ohio State freshman Georgii Merkulov bypassed his last three seasons with the Buckeyes to sign with Boston as a free agent, and will report to Providence (AHL).

More to come ...

ADDENDUM: Power was a plus-2 in Buffalo's 5-2 win at Toronto, Beniers notched an assist in Seattle's 5-3 loss at Calgary, Brink recorded an assist in Philadelphia's 9-2 defeat at Washington, and Smith had one shot on goal and two hits in Arizona's 6-2 loss to New Jersey, all on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Hobey Hat Trick finalist Ben Meyers (Minnesota) signed with Colorado as a free agent.

Princeton, Penn State Skate to Tie in Philadelphia

Max Veronneau and Ryan Kuffner posted four points apiece, including Kuffner's tying goal with 1:08 remaining in regulation, as Princeton knotted Penn State, 4-4, in the 2018 Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff at the Wells Fargo Center.

Veronneau scored two goals for Princeton, which got the game-opening goal from Josh Teves. Brandon Biro, Chase Berger and Nate Sucese scored in the first period for Penn State (11-5-2 overall), which outshot host Princeton, 13-3 in the first period, and 37-35 on the night. Alec Marsh scored Penn State’s fourth goal 17 seconds into the second period to put the Nittany Lions up, 4-1, at the time.

Peyton Jones finished with 31 saves for Penn State, including a stop on Veronneau in overtime. Veronneau posted two goals and two assists on the night, while Kuffner had a goal and three assists. Austin Smith stopped all 21 shots he faced in the Princeton net, after relieving starter Ryan Ferland (12 saves) following Marsh’s goal.

Princeton (3-8-2) went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Penn State was 0-for-2.

Union Wins First-Ever National Title

The journey is complete. Union College is the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national champion for the first time in school history.

The top-ranked Dutchmen, who began competing at the NCAA Division I level in 1991, secured their first national title in their second-ever trip to the Frozen Four by besting Minnesota, 7-4, tonight at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Union scored four times in the third period, including three goals in less than two minutes, and added three more scores in the third stanza to oust the top-seeded Golden Gophers, who were seeking their sixth-ever national title.

Junior defenseman and Philadelphia Flyers draft choice Shayne Gostisbehere led Union with a goal and two assists. Junior forward Max Novak redirected home what proved to be the game-winner 5:31 into the third period to put the Dutchmen ahead, 5-3, and Mat Bodie closed out his collegiate career by closing out the scoring with his fourth goal in four NCAA Tournament games, this one into an empty net with 45 seconds remaining in regulation. Justin Kloos had a goal and an assist for Minnesota, which last won an NCAA title in 2003.

Junior goaltender Colin Stevens made 36 saves for the Dutchmen, who finished the season on a 17-game unbeaten streak that dated back to Jan. 31, while sophomore netminder Adam Wilcox finished with 41 stops for the Gophers.

See you in six months for the 2014-15 NCAA season, and in Boston in 12 months for the 2015 Frozen Four.

And Then There Were Two ...

East will meet west on Saturday night in Philadelphia for the Frozen Four championship when Union College takes on the University of Minnesota in the NCAA Men’s Division I ice hockey national championship game at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) at the Wells Fargo Center.

Top-ranked Union earned its first title tilt after dispatching Boston College, 5-4, in the early semifinal on Thursday. The Dutchmen, who got three goals from Daniel Ciampini and 34 saves from Colin Stevens, are now undefeated in their last 16 games (15-0-1) since Jan. 31. Johnny Gaudreau, who will likely cop the Hobey Baker Memorial Award tonight at 6 p.m. (NHL Network), had a goal and two assists for the Eagles to boost his nation-best scoring totals to 36 goals and 44 assists for 80 points, although his last-second game-tying shot attempt from long range was stopped by Stevens.

Top-seeded Minnesota edged long-time rival North Dakota, 2-1, in the late semifinal on a shorthanded goal by defenseman Justin Holl with 0.6 seconds remaining in regulation, his first goal of the 2013-14 campaign. The contest had been scoreless through two periods before the Golden Gophers and the former Fighting Sioux traded goals 32 seconds apart midway through the final stanza. Adam Wilcox had 36 saves for Minnesota, while Zane Gothberg made 26 stops for UND against his home-state school.

Union will seek its first national title and the ECAC’s second straight on Saturday, while Minnesota goes for its sixth NCAA crown and the Big Ten’s first ever in the fourth-ever encounter between the Dutchmen and the Gophers. Minnesota leads the all-time series, 2-1, with all three games played in Minnesota, although Union won the last meeting, 3-2, in 2010.

Something’s gotta give ….

And Here We Go ...

We're down to the final four teams and the final three games remaining in the the 2013-14 NCAA hockey season. Come late Saturday night, there'll be just one school left to hold the trophy, and claim bragging rights for the next 12 months.

The national semifinals for the 2014 NCAA Men's Division I Frozen Four will be held today at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia:

Union vs. Boston College - 5 p.m. (ESPN2)
North Dakota vs. Minnesota - 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

The title tilt will be held Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) between the two semifinal winners.

Drop the puck!

USCHO Story Up on Union's Novak

My first piece for USCHO.com in a while is now up on the site, concerning Union College junior forward and New Jersey native Max Novak.

The Most Outstanding Player at the East Regional in Bridgeport, Conn. two weekends ago, he'll be one of the players to keep an eye on in tomorrow's NCAA Frozen Four early semifinal between the ECAC champion Dutchmen and Boston College at 5 p.m. (ESPN2) from Philadelphia.

The late semifinal game will feature former WCHA rivals Minnesota and North Dakota facing off at around 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2). The semifinal winners will then meet on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) at the Wells Fargo Center to decide the 2014 national championship.

2014 Frozen Four Field a Familiar One

The participants for the 2014 NCAA Division Men's Ice Hockey Frozen Four in Philadelphia have been revealed.

The first semifinal on April 10 at the Wells Fargo Center will pit the top-ranked Union College Dutchmen against the Boston College Eagles at 5 p.m. Union won the East Regional in Bridgeport, Conn. over the weekend, while 2008-2010-2012 NCAA champion B.C. claimed the Northeast Regional crown in Worcester, Mass. for the fourth time in its last four trips to the DCU Center. The Dutchmen defeated the Eagles, 5-1, last spring in an NCAA East Regional semifinal in Providence, in the first-ever meeting between the two schools, before Union was eliminated by eventual national runner-up Quinnipiac.

The second national semifinal next week will see a pair of former WCHA foes face-off for the right to play in the NCAA championship game, in the University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. UND won the Midwest Regional in Cincinnati by defeating Ferris State in overtime, 2-1, while Minnesota rolled to the West Regional title in St. Paul with convincing victories over Robert Morris and St. Cloud State. UND and the Gophers last played one another in January 2013 in Minneapolis, with Minnesota posting a win and a tie.

UND last won an NCAA title in 2000, while Minnesota won back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003. UND has seven national crowns to its credit overall, while Minnesota and B.C. have five each, and Union is seeking its first in its just its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance.

UND's win over Ferris in Cincinnati prevented a duplication of the Frozen Four field that played at Tampa in 2012, when B.C. defeated Ferris, 4-1, to win the national title. Ferris defeated Union in the semifinals that year, 3-1, while B.C. beat Minnesota, 6-1.

The winners of the April 10 semifinal games in Philadelphia will advance to the NCAA national title contest on April 12 at 7:30 p.m. The semifinals will be televised live on ESPN2, while the title game will be shown live on ESPN.

Former College Players Come through Again for Devils

Just like they did in the first round against the Florida Panthers, the former NCAA players on the New Jersey Devils played significant roles in their 4-1 win in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday evening.

Peter Harrold (Boston College) helped set up Adam Larsson’s game-tying goal early in the third period, before Zach Parise (North Dakota) drew the lone assist on Dave Clarkson’s eventual game-winner. Stephen Gionta (Boston College) and Travis Zajac (North Dakota) then combined on Zajac’s wrap-around goal that effectively put matters out of reach at 3-1 with just over six minutes remaining in regulation.

Contributing in intangibles if not the scoring column was Andy Greene (Miami), who blocked five Philadelphia shots and started the rush that led to Clarkson’s goal. Mark Fayne (Providence) logged nearly 21 minutes of ice time on defense, while forward Ryan Carter (Minnesota State) provided one shot, one hit, and 50 percent efficiency on face-offs in skating on the fourth line.

Game 3 will be played Thursday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.