Canadiens Knot Series with Sabres

Alex Newhook (Boston College) scored two goals, and Mike Matheson (Boston College) notched the game-winner as the visiting Montreal Canadiens evened their 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff second-round series with the Buffalo Sabres last night. The best-of-seven NHL Eastern Conference matchup is now tied up at one game apiece, with Game Three set for Montreal on Sunday night.

Lane Hutson (Boston University) assisted on Newhook's first goal, while Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) finished with 29 saves in net for the Canadiens. Josh Doan (Arizona State) assisted on Buffalo's lone goal late in the second period, long after Montreal had built a 3-0 lead. Alex Tuch (Boston College) of the Sabres led all skaters with seven shots on goal. Both teams went 0-for-5 on the power play.

 

Sabres Win First Playoff Series Since 2007

Alex Tuch (Boston College) and Josh Norris (Michigan) scored the first and last goals of the game, respectively, and the Buffalo Sabres moved on to the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins last night. Buffalo wins the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series, four games to two.

Tage Thompson (UConn) had two assists and Alex Lyon (Yale) stopped 25 shots as the Sabres won their first postseason series since 2007. Prior to this year, the Sabres had not made the playoffs in 14 seasons, which set an NHL record. Buffalo will now face the winner of the Montreal-Tampa Bay series, which will wrap up with a deciding seventh game tomorrow night in Florida.

Sabres Take Back Series Lead Over Bruins

Alex Tuch (Boston College) notched the game-winning goal early in the third period, and Alex Lyon (Yale) made 24 saves in net to boost the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins last night at TD Garden in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Buffalo now leads the best-of seven Eastern Conference series, two games to one.

Charlie McAvoy (Boston University) assisted on the lone goal for the Bruins, who have never led in this series. The Sabres rebounded to win Game One in Buffalo, while Boston held on to win Game Two. Game Four is Sunday in Boston (2 p.m. ET).

NCAA Skaters Signing with NHL Clubs in 2024

The exodus of NCAA players to the professional ranks began before the 2024 NCAA tournament started, and has continued following the conclusion of the Frozen Four last weekend in St. Paul. 

Some of the more notable signings, many of them underclassmen, to date since April 1 have included (players listed in alphabetical order by last name):

PLAYER SCHOOL NHL CLUB
Sean Behrens Denver Colorado
Gavin Brindley * Michigan Columbus
Shai Buium Denver Detroit
Dylan Duke Michigan Tampa Bay
Cutter Gauthier * Boston College Anaheim
Lane Hutson * Boston U. Montreal
Victor Mancini #        Omaha           NY Rangers
Scott Morrow * UMass     Carolina
Bradley Nadeau *        Maine           Carolina
Frank Nazar III * Michigan Chicago
Victor Ostman Maine Seattle
Jacob Quillan # Quinnipiac Toronto
Massimo Rizzo Denver Philadelphia
Luke Tuch Boston U. Montreal 
Cade Webber Boston U. Toronto
Dylan Wendt # W. Michigan New Jersey

# Indicates player has made AHL playing debut 

* Indicates player has made NHL playing debut 

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.

Former BC, BU Players Traded in Tuch and Eichel

A pair of former Hockey East players were part of a mega-trade in the NHL on Thursday.

Jack Eichel (Boston University), the No. 2 pick overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, was dealt from the Buffalo Sabres after six seasons to the Vegas Golden Knights, along with a 2023 third-round NHL draft choice. Going the other way to upstate New York were fellow forwards Alex Tuch (Boston College) and Peyton Krebs, along with a 2022 first-round NHL draft pick and a 2023 second-round selection.

Eichel, 25, from North Chelmsford, Mass., has tallied 139 goals and 216 assists for 355 points in 375 NHL outings, all in regular-season play, although he has been sidelined since last year due to a neck injury. He is expected to undergo surgery in the near future, and will be out for at least three months afterwards. In his only NCAA campaign in 2014-15 at BU, Eichel recorded 26-45—71 points in 40 outings, won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the nation's top player, and led the Terriers to the Beanpot tournament title, the Hockey East crown, and the NCAA championship game.

Tuch, 25, from Syracuse, N.Y., began his NHL career by playing six scoreless games with Minnesota, which drafted him 18th overall in 2014. Traded to Vegas in 2017, he helped the expansion Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, and has notched 61-78—139 points in 255 regular-season NHL outings, to go with 19-14—33 points in 66 playoff games. He helped BC to two NCAA tournament berths and a Beanpot championship in his two seasons, scoring the winning goal himself in overtime in the 2016 Beanpot title game, and registered 32-30—62 points in 77 contests in all for the Eagles.

Both Eichel and Tuch are products of the U.S. National Team Development Program in Michigan, where they were teammates for two seasons.

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.

No. 1 BC Splits with No. 15 BU in Hockey East

Boston College will likely drop from the top spot in NCAA Division I college hockey polls this week, after splitting a pair of Hockey East contests with longtime rival and 15th-ranked Boston University this weekend.

On Friday, in the first game between the two schools in almost a year, sophomore defenseman Drew Helleson went end-to-end to tuck home a puck with 0.1 seconds remaining in overtime to boost host BC to a 4-3 win over BU at Kelley Rink. Spencer Knight finished with 21 saves for the victorious Eagles, while Ashton Abel made 29 stops for the Terriers.

On Saturday, in the first meeting at BU's venerable Walter Brown Arena since Dec. 2004, due to COVID-19 protocols, it was the host Terriers responding with a 3-1 win. Freshman forward Luke Tuch, brother of former BC and current NHL forward Alex Tuch, scored the last two goals of the game for the Terriers (6-2-1 overall), while freshman netminder Vinny Duplessis made 40 stops in his first-ever appearance for BU. Knight again finished with 21 saves for BC (11-3-1).

BC (.711) and BU (.708) remain in the top two spots in the Hockey East standings by percentage points. The two Commonwealth Avenue/Green Line rivals are scheduled to meet again in late February, in another home-and-home series that will begin at BU and end at BC, barring any COVID-19 delays.

ADDENDUM: BC remained in the No. 1 spot in this week's USCHO.com poll.

Capitals Win First-Ever Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup was awarded in Las Vegas on Thursday night—but not to the host Golden Knights.

That honor instead went to the Washington Capitals, who won the NHL title for the first time in their 44 seasons after a five-game triumph over expansion upstart Vegas, by virtue of a 4-3 victory in Game Five at T-Mobile Arena.

Washington defenseman Brooks Orpik (Boston College) assisted on the tying goal midway through the third period, after Vegas had taken a 3-2 lead after two periods of play. Lars Eller then tallied the game-winning goal with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation, and the Capitals held on for their first Stanley Cup crown since entering the league in 1974, in their second-ever finals appearance. Washington was swept by Detroit in four games in 1998.

Reilly Smith (Miami) notched a goal and an assist in the series finale for Pacific Division and Western Conference champion Vegas, which went 12-3 over the first three rounds of the NHL postseason. The Golden Knights then won Game One of the final, before dropping four straight contests to the Eastern Conference champion Capitals. Alex Tuch (Boston College) assisted on Smith's goal.

Washington team captain Alex Ovechkin, who scored the Caps' second goal on the night and thus established a new franchise record with 15 goals this postseason, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in the playoffs. This season marked the first time Washington had advanced past the second round of the playoffs in his 13-year NHL career.

Former NCAA players besides Orpik who lifted the Cup as champions with the Caps this year , Jay Beagle (Alaska Anchorage), Travis Boyd (Minnesota), Alex Chiasson (Boston University), Pheonix Copley (Michigan Tech), Aaron Ness (Minnesota), Matt Niskanen (Minnesota-Duluth) and T.J. Oshie (North Dakota).

Orpik had been the only player on the Caps' roster to have previously won the Stanley Cup (Pittsburgh, 2009). His second career Cup triumph pushed BC's all-time total to 19 Cups, tops among NCAA schools along with Wisconsin.

Orpik Goal Boosts Caps to Game Two Win

A pair of former Boston College Eagles combined on the winning goal in Game Two of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday—even though they play for different teams.

Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik, who helped BC to the 2001 NCAA title over North Dakota, scored the winning goal in the second period at T-Mobile Arena when his wrist shot from the right side went in off 2016 BC Beanpot Tournament hero Alex Tuch of the Vegas Golden Knights. The score stood up as the game-winner as the Caps defeated host Vegas, 3-2, to tie the best-of-seven NHL championship series at one game apiece. 

For Orpik, it was his first NHL goal since the 2015-16 NHL regular season, and his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal since 2014 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a member of Pittsburgh's 2009 NHL championship team along with Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 23 saves on Wednesday.

Tuch, who tallied the game-winning goal in overtime in BC's Beanpot championship game triumph two years ago against Boston University, had a chance to tie the game for Vegas on a point-blank shot with two minutes remaining in the third period, but was denied by Washington netminder Braden Holtby. Reilly Smith (Miami), who tallied goal and an assist in Vegas' 6-4 triumph on Monday, had one assist in Game Two.

Wednesday was also the first-ever victory in the Stanley Cup Final for Washington in six games all-time. The Caps were swept by Detroit in four contests in 1998.

Game Three will be held Saturday night in Washington, D.C. (8 p.m. ET; TV: NBCSN, CBC).

Tuch Goal Boosts Vegas to Game Three Victory

A goal by Alex Tuch (Boston College) in the ninth minute of the second period stood up as the game-winner as the Vegas Golden Knights edged the visiting Winnipeg Jets, 3-2, in Game Three of their 2018 Stanley Cup Playoff Western Conference semifinal series. Vegas now leads the best-of-seven NHL postseason series, two games to one.

Tuch's goal, his fifth of these playoffs, gave Vegas a 3-1 lead at the time, after Erik Haula (Minnesota) had assisted on the Golden Knights' second goal. Blake Wheeler (Minnesota) set up both Winnipeg goals, while Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) made 27 saves for the Jets.

Game Four will be held Friday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC).

2018 NHL Playoffs Underway

The 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs have commenced. The ultimate winner from the field of 16 will be crowned sometime in June.

On Friday, Shayne Gostisbehere (Union) opened the scoring for Philadelphia as the Flyers rebounded from a Game One debacle to even their quarterfinal series with a 5-1 victory at two-time defending champion Pittsburgh. Farther north, Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) made 16 saves as the Winnipeg Jets took a two games to none series lead with a 4-1 victory over Minnesota.

Lastly, Alex Tuch (Boston College) scored the game's first goal and Erik Haula (Minnesota) connected in the second overtime to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 2-1 victory over Los Angeles. Vegas now leads that series, two games to none.

In the other five series (all one game to none as of Friday night): Nashville leads Colorado, San Jose leads Anaheim, Tampa Bay leads New Jersey, Boston leads Toronto, and Columbus leads Washington.

Tuch Leaves Boston College for NHL's Wild

Alex Tuch has passed up his final two years at Boston College to sign with the Minnesota Wild, who drafted him in the first round (18th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He will not be eligible to participate in this spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, but may practice with the team.

A native of Baldwinsville, N.Y., the 6-foot-4, 220-pound right wing led BC in scoring as a freshman in 2014-15 with 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points as the Eagles advanced to the NCAA Tournament. This season, Tuch notched 18-16—34 points, including an overtime goal in the Beanpot Championship game against Boston University in February. 

Tuch also scored a goal in an NCAA Northeast Regional victory over Harvard last month, and collected his final college goal in a Frozen Four semifinal loss a week ago to Quinnipiac. He finishes his two-year college career with 32-30—62 points in 77 outings, and also helped the Eagles to a share of this year’s Hockey East regular-season title.

Prior to enrolling at the Heights, Tuch, 19, tallied 13-19—32 points in 26 outings with the U.S. National Under-18 Team in 2013-14. He becomes the fourth undergraduate with eligibility remaining to leave BC in the past week. Junior defenseman Steve Santini and freshman forward Miles Wood signed with the New Jersey Devils late last week, while junior forward Adam Gilmour preceded Tuch this week with the Wild.  

BC Wins 2016 Beanpot Over BU, 1-0

Alex Tuch’s long shot eluded goaltender Sean Maguire just under two minutes into overtime to lift Boston College to a 1-0 victory over Boston University in the 2016 Beanpot Tournament title game Monday night at TD Garden. It was the first 1-0 contest in the Beanpot’s 64 years of competition, and also gave third-ranked BC its 20th Beanpot title overall before 15,000-plus onlookers.

After taking a short pass from Zach Sanford high in the offensive zone, Tuch delayed before uncorking a wrist shot through a screen that beat Maguire on the stick side and clanged in off the post. It was the 11th goal of the season for the Baldwinsville, N.Y. native, who was also assisted on the play by defenseman Steve Santini.

Maguire earned Beanpot Most Outstanding Player honors after making 41 saves for the seventh-ranked Terriers (16-8-4 overall), while Thatcher Demko had 30 stops for the Eagles (20-4-4), who have won six of the last seven Beanpot championships. Demko’s shutout was also his ninth of the season, setting a new school record.

The game was delayed for about half an hour following a power failure that may have been related to snowfall in Boston last night. BC outshot BU, 42-30, including 23-12 in the first period, while the two Green Line rivals combined to go 0-for-5 on the power play.

In the consolation game played earlier on Monday, Northeastern defeated ninth-ranked Harvard, 5-1. BU had edged Northeastern, 3-1, in the Beanpot’s opening round after BC outlasted Harvard, 3-2, both on Feb. 1. Either BC or BU has won the Beanpot every year since Harvard (13-7-3) last claimed it in 1993, while Northeastern (10-13-5) last took a victory lap in 1988 in the since-demolished Boston Garden.

Next year’s Beanpot slate will have BC facing BU, and Northeastern taking on Harvard in the first round the first Monday of February.

U.S. Wins 2015 WJC Opener

Thatcher Demko (Boston College) stopped two of three attempts in the deciding shootout, and Jack Eichel (Boston University) and Chase DeLeo both scored in the extra session to lift Team USA to a 2-1 victory on Friday in its opener of the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship in Montreal.

Alex Tuch (Boston College) pulled the U.S. into a 1-1 tie in the first period off a set-up by Eichel, after Finland had scored the game's opening goal. The score then remained unchanged through the remainder of regulation and a five-minute overtime period.

After the two teams traded goals to open the shootout, both then missed on their second attempt before DeLeo scored the winner on a backhand. Demko, who finished with 29 saves in regulation, then made a glove save on Finland's third shootout try to end it.

The U.S, which is being led by former Ohio State coach and Wisconsin alumnus Mark Osiecki, will return to action at the WJC against Germany on Sunday night in Montreal at 8 p.m. (NHL Network).

Five Eagles Taken in 2014 NHL Entry Draft

A trio of top players with ties to Boston College were selected over the weekend at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. 

Left wing Sonny Milano and right wing/center Alex Tuch both went in the first round on Friday evening. Milano was taken 16^th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Tuch followed two picks later when he was tabbed by the Minnesota Wild. Both will be enrolling at the Heights this fall, and both played for the U.S. Under-18 Team in the United States Hockey League last season. Milano finished with 24 goals and 48 assists for 72 points, while Tuch accumulated 28-32—60 points.

Boston College rising freshman netminder Thatcher Demko, who was ranked the No. 1 North American goaltender by NHL Central Scouting, was taken on Saturday by the Vancouver Canucks at 36^th overall. The 6-foot-3 Demko finished 16-5-3 overall last season with a 2.16 goals-against average in backstopping the Eagles to the Frozen Four in April, which was also held in Philadelphia. BC fell to eventual national champion Union College, 5-4, in the semifinals.

Also chosen in the sixth round back-to-back, and headed to BC in the fall of 2015, were centers Chris Brown and Joey Dudek, the first two picks in that round. Brown, who posted 23-27—50 totals last year for the Cranbrook-Kingswood School in Michigan, was selected 151st overall by the Buffalo Sabres, while Dudek, who put up 9-35—44 numbers last year for Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire, was taken with the very next pick by the New Jersey Devils.

BC and Hockey East rival Boston University tied for the NCAA lead in this year’s draft with five selections apiece.