Vegas Goes Up Two Games on Avalanche

Jack Eichel (Boston University) scored the tying goal and then assisted on the eventual game-winner, both in a two-minute span midway through the third period, as the Vegas Golden Knights topped the host Colorado Avalanche, 3-1, on Friday night in Game Two of the 2026 NHL Western Conference final in Denver. Vegas now leads the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoff series, two games to none.

Ross Colton (Vermont) scored the game-opening goal for Colorado, which had fallen, 4-2, in Game One on Wednesday. Colton's goal stood up from the first period on until Eichel knotted matters in the final frame, before Vegas went ahead and then added an empty-net tally for insurance with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. The top-seeded Avalanche, who were missing all-star defenseman Cale Makar (UMass) for the second straight game, outshot Vegas, 30-25, and won 34 of 58 faceoffs on the night.

Game Three is Sunday night in Las Vegas.

ADDENDUM: The Golden Knights rebounded from a 3-0 deficit after the first 20 minutes of Game Three to lock up a 5-3 victory and move within one game of their third Stanley Cup Final in their nine-year existence.

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.

Moves Made in NCAA Hockey Coaching Ranks

It's been a whirlwind few weeks regarding head coaches in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.

Adam Nightingale, a former Spartan skater himself, has had his contract extended after Michigan State won the Big Ten regular-season title, the first such title in program history. According to msuspartans.com, Nightingale's five-year rollover contract includes a non-performance related compensation of $700,000 in the first year, with a a base salary of $600K and supplemental compensation of $100K. Beginning in year two, his supplemental compensation will increase by $25K from the previous year. MSU (22-9-3 overall, 16-6-2 B1G) will entertain Ohio State on Saturday in a Big Ten tournament semifinal contest.

Steve Wiedler has been promoted to head coach at Vermont, after serving as interim coach this season. A former Southern Maine defenseman, he has received a four-year contract (financial terms were not disclosed). A former UVM assistant, he succeeded Todd Woodcroft, who was let go last summer following a university investigation regarding inappropriate conduct. The Catamounts (13-18-3, 7-14-3 HE) play at UConn tonight in a Hockey East tournament first-round elimination game.

Lindenwood has let Rick Zombo go after two seasons as an NCAA Division I independent.  A former national champion at North Dakota, and a 13-year NHL defenseman, Zombo had mentored Lindenwood's ACHA club program since 2010-11, before the Lions entered the NCAA ranks in 2022-23. He also coached the St. Louis franchises in both the NAHL and USHL before joining Lindenwood. 

Bowling Green has parted ways with alumnus Ty Eigner after five seasons. He led the Falcons to an 84-83-11 mark in that span, with their last winning campaign coming in 2020-21. BGSU finished 13-12-1 overall (11-12-1 CCHA) this year, and was eliminated by Michigan Tech in the first round of the CCHA tournament.

Lastly, David Borges is retiring from Stonehill College after 10 seasons at the helm. A UMass Lowell graduate, he compiled a 102-141-24 record overall with the Skyhawks, including the past two seasons as a Division I independent. He also led Stonehill to two Northeast-10 regular-season titles and one league tournament championship in his tenure.

NCAA Coaching Carousel Continues

The offseason NCAA men's ice hockey coaching carousel was in full swing over the past two weeks.

Foremost among all the moves made was the firing of Todd Woodcroft by Vermont, after a months-long investigation by UVM administrators concerning "inappropriate text messages" with a student at the university. Woodcroft, who registered an overall record of 20-55-9 at the helm of the Catamounts over the last four years, has been replaced by assistant coach Stephen Wiedler for the 2023-24 season. Wiedler played collegiately at Southern Maine, and was an assistant at Curry College and AIC before becoming an assistant in Vermont in 2020.

The rest of the recent coaching movements came in the assistant ranks, as also reported at USCHO.com. Alaska (Fairbanks) brought aboard former NAHL/NA3HL head coach Casey Mignone, who played collegiately at both Lebanon Valley and Westfield State. Michigan hired Mathew Deschamps (Maine) and Kevin Reiter (Alaska Anchorage) as assistant coaches, and also promoted Rob Rassey (Northeastern) to associate head coach. Colgate added Zach Badalamenti (Wisconsin-Stevens Point), while Brock Kautz (Minnesota) has joined Bemidji State.

Lastly, Arizona State associate head coach Mike Field (AIC), who has spent the last eight seasons with the Sun Devils since they joined the NCAA Division I ranks, has jumped to the major junior hockey ranks as an assistant with Everett (WHL).  Field, who has also coached at his alma mater and at Dubuque (USHL), helped ASU to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2019 as an independent.

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.

Former UVM Star St. Louis Named Montreal Head Coach

Former NHL star forward Martin St. Louis (Vermont) has been named the new interim coach of the Montreal Canadiens. He succeeds former UVM teammate Dominique Ducharme, who guided the Canadiens to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final but could only coax the Habs to eight wins in the 2021-22 campaign to date.

St. Louis, 46, played 16 NHL seasons with Calgary, Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers before retiring following the 2014-15 campaign. He tallied 391 goals and 642 assists for 1,033 points in 1,134 career regular-season NHL outings, and added 42-48—90 points in 107 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. He was also a member of Tampa Bay's first Stanley Cup championship team in 2005, a five time NHL All-Star selection, and won an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2014.

A native of Laval, Quebec, St. Louis played at UVM from 1993 to 1997, recording 90-175--265 points in 138 games overall while also leading the Catamounts to the 1996 NCAA Frozen Four in Cincinnati. He was also a three-team First Team All-America selection, and a three-time finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the nation's best player.

His previous coaching experience includes both head and assistant positions with the Mid-Fairfield (Conn.) Jr. Rangers organization. Professionally, he also served as a special teams consultant with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018-19.

Colton Powers Tampa Bay to Second Straight Stanley Cup Championship

Rookie forward Ross Colton (Vermont) wasn't part of the Tampa Bay Lightning's Stanley Cup championship last year in the bubble in Edmonton.

He keyed this one by scoring the only goal of the game tonight in Tampa Bay's 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game Five of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, at a sold-out Amalie Arena in Florida. The Lightning won the series, four games to one, to earn the third Stanley Cup crown in team history, the first coming in 2004.

Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh (Wisconsin) assisted on Colton's goal, a re-direction directly in front of the Montreal net with 6:33 remaining in the second period. The Lightning become the first back-to-back Stanley Cup champs since Pittsburgh in 2016-2017, and just the second NHL club to do so since Detroit in 1997-1998.

Colton, 24, from Robbinsville, N.J., joined the Lightning this year after two seasons with Syracuse (AHL). He scored a goal in his NHL debut, and ultimately tallied nine goals and three assists for 12 points in 30 regular-season outings, before adding four goals and two assists for six points in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. He played two NCAA seasons at the University of Vermont (2017, 2018), where he collected 28-22—50 points in 69 career outings with the Catamounts.

Besides McDonagh and Colton, who became the first rookie to score a Stanley Cup winning goal since 2003, other members of this year's Lightning team with NCAA ties included Alex Killorn (Harvard), Blake Coleman (Miami), Curtis McElhinney (Colorado College) and assistant coach Jeff Halpern (Princeton).

Former NCAA Players Shine in NHL Playoffs

Former NCAA players came through again on Monday night in the first round of the NHL's 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Kyle Connor (Michigan) scored early in the third overtime to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 win over the visiting Edmonton Oilers, and a sweep of that four-game series. Mason Appleton (Michigan State) also scored for the Jets, who will play the winner of Montreal-Toronto.

Cam Talbot (Alabama-Huntsville) stopped 38 shots as the visiting Minnesota Wild defeated the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-2, to stave off elimination in Game Five of that best-of-seven series. Zach Parise (North Dakota), Jordan Greenway (Boston University) and Nico Strum (Clarkson) scored goals for Minnesota, while Alec Martinez (Miami) had a goal for Vegas.

Lastly, after surrendering an early goal to Ross Colton (Vermont) on the first shot he faced, Spencer Knight (Boston College) stopped the next 36 shots in his first career professional postseason start to keep the Florida Panthers alive with a 4-1 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Five of their series.

Colton, Ducharme Represent UVM in NHL

The University of Vermont was well-repped in the NHL earlier this week.

First, former Catamounts forward Ross Colton scored his first career NHL goal in the Tampa Bay Lightning's 3-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. The goal also stood up as the game-winner for the New Jersey native, who skated at UVM from 2016 to 2018 and put up 28 goals and 50 points in two seasons in Hockey East. Colton, 24, was drafted 118th overall by Tampa Bay in 2016 following his second junior campaign with Cedar Rapids (USHL), and has spent the last two years skating with the Lightning's top minor-league affiliate in Syracuse (AHL).

Also on Wednesday, former UVM forward Dominque Ducharme was elevated from assistant to head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. Ducharme, who previously served as head coach with both Halifax and Drummondville in the QMJHL, played at Vermont from 1991 to 1995 when the Catamounts were still a member of the ECAC. In 129 career outings, the Quebec native tallied 54 goals and 148 points in NCAA play. He went to play professionally in both the ECHL and AHL, and also in France before entering the coaching ranks in 2002-03 as an assistant with the University of Québec-Trois-Rivières.

U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame to Add Three Former Collegians

Former collegiate standouts Brian Gionta (Boston College), Tim Thomas (Vermont) and Krissy Wendell (Minnesota) will all be inducted to the U.S Hockey Hall of Fame later this year.

Gionta, 40, who is still BC's all-time leading goal scorer with 123 goals and nine hat tricks from 1997 to 2001, led the Eagles to four consecutive NCAA Frozen Fours, and also captained BC to the national title his senior season. He played 16 years in the NHL with New Jersey, Montreal, Buffalo and Boston, and won a Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003 before setting a still-standing Devils’ single-season record by scoring 48 goals during the 2005-06 campaign. The Rochester, N.Y. native tallied 291 goals and 304 assists for 595 points in 1,026 career NHL regular-season games, and also skated for Team USA in two Olympic Winter Games (2006, 2018), while captaining the American squad in his second Olympic go-around.

Thomas won the 2011 Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs that spring as he backstopped Boston to its first Stanley Cup in four decades, and also received the Vezina Trophy that season as the league’s top goaltender. A native of Flint, Mich., he compiled a 214-145-19 record to go with a 2.52 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage, and 31 shutouts in 426 career NHL regular-season appearances with Boston, Florida and Dallas. A two-time All-America netminder at Vermont, Thomas, 45, helped the Catamounts to the 1996 NCAA Frozen Four as a junior while recording 81 career victories over four years at UVM. He also gained a bronze medal at the 1996 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games with the United States.

Wendell, 37, played three seasons at Minnesota, where she posted 106-131—237 points in 101 career contests with the Golden Gophers. She tallied 104 points in her third and final NCAA campaign, and also helped Minnesota to the 2003-04 national title. She earned five silver medals and one gold medal at the Women’s World Championships, and also claimed silver and bronze medals, respectively, with the U.S. in two Olympic Winter Games (2002, 2006).

Bruins Oust Maple Leafs in Seven Games

Torey Krug (Michigan State) tied the game early in the third period, and his teammates then deposited three more goals into the opposing net as the Boston Bruins outlasted the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-4, on Wednesday in the deciding Game 7 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series. 

The Bruins won the series, four games to three, after Toronto had claimed the previous two contests to force a tie, including a 4-3 win in Game 5 at Boston's TD Garden. Boston won three of its four home games in the series, en route to forging 2-0 and 3-1 series leads.

Krug's slapshot from the blueline brought the Bruins back from a 4-3 deficit and also started a run of four consecutive Boston third-period goals. Danton Heinen (Denver) also scored for Boston, his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal, while Kevan Miller (Vermont) set up two Bruins goals and David Backes (Minnesota State) recorded an assist.

The Bruins now advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a five-game winner over the New Jersey Devils in the first round. The Bruins-Lightning best-of-seven series will begin Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (NBC TV) in Florida.

Boston College Clinches 2018 Hockey East Men's Title

Boston College clinched its 16th-ever Hockey East men's regular-season title with a 6-3 victory Maine on Friday night at Conte Forum.

Logan Hutsko, Michael Kim and Kevin Lohan recorded three points apiece, and Joseph Woll made 32 saves as the 20th-ranked Eagles recorded their second straight victory over the Black Bears. The two teams will close out the series on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The Eagles (17-13-3 overall, 17-6-0 HEA) will have a first-round bye next week in the Hockey East Tournament before hosting the lowest remaining seed the following weekend.

The No. 3 Boston College women's hockey team, which had earlier clinched its own Hockey East regular-season crown, defeated visiting Vermont, 3-1, earlier on Friday. Makenna Newkirk and Caitrin Lonergan  posted two points each for BC, which also got 32 stops from NCAA career victories leader Katie Burt. The Eagles (29-9-3, 19-2-3), who have won 11 of their last 12 outings, will close out their series with the Catamounts on Saturday at Conte Forum at 2 p.m. ET.

NCAA Alumni Change NHL Teams as Free Agency Period Begins

A number of former NCAA players changed NHL teams on Saturday, the first day of the NHL’s free-agent signing period.

The biggest coup was perhaps defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston University) leaving the Washington Capitals to sign with the New York Rangers for four years at $6.65 million per year, according to NHL.com. Shattenkirk, who has also played with Colorado and St. Louis in his pro career, tallied 13 goals and 56 points this past season, and helped BU to the 2009 national title.

Shattenkirk wasn’t the only former Terrier on the move Saturday. Nick Bonino (BU), who just won his second consecutive Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, has joined the team that Pittsburgh beat in the final. Bonino, also a member of BU’s 2009 NCAA title team, signed with the Nashville Predators for four years and $16.4 million total. Chris Kunitz (Ferris State), a member of three championship teams in Pittsburgh, inked a one-year deal for $2 million with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Longtime NHL goaltender Ryan Miller (Michigan State) has moved from the Vancouver Canucks to the Anaheim Ducks, while netminder Brian Elliott (Wisconsin) went from the Calgary Flames to the Philadelphia Flyers, and Chad Johnson (Alaska Fairbanks) returned to the Buffalo Sabres after playing last season in Calgary. Miller won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award in 2001, while Elliott backstopped the Badgers to a national title in 2006.

Veteran NHL forward Patrick Sharp (Vermont) has rejoined the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he won three Stanley Cups, after spending the past two seasons with the Dallas Stars. Tommy Wingels (Miami) went from the Ottawa Senators to the Blackhawks, while Brian Boyle (Boston College) will play for the New Jersey Devils after spending last season with Tampa Bay and Toronto. Former Devils forward Mike Cammalleri (Michigan) joined Los Angeles from New Jersey, while Beau Bennett (Denver) left New Jersey to sign with the St. Louis Blues.

Kenny Agostino (Yale) who helped the Bulldogs to the 2013 NCAA championship, led the American Hockey League in scoring this past season with the Chicago Wolves, St. Louis’ AHL affiliate. He signed a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins. Matt Taormina (Providence), who led all AHL defenseman during the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs with 20 points for Syracuse, has left Tampa Bay for the Montreal Canadiens.

A full list of free-agent signings is listed here.

Three Former NCAA Players Involved in Sharp Trade

Three former NCAA players were involved in Friday’s NHL deal that sent Patrick Sharp (Vermont) and defenseman Stephen Johns (Notre Dame) from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenseman Trevor Daley and forward Ryan Garbutt (Brown).

Sharp, a member of Chicago’s Stanley Cup championship clubs in 2010, 2013 and 2015, has tallied 249 goals and 277 assists for 526 points in 745 NHL regular-season contests with Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers, and 43 goals and 81 points in 129 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances with both clubs. The Winnipeg native posted 25-28—53 points in 65 outings with UVM from 2000 to 2002, and was drafted 95th overall by Philadelphia after his freshman campaign with the Catamounts.

Johns, from Ellwood City, Pa., had 4-17—21 points in 71 games in his first professional season in 2014-15 with Rockford (AHL). A [product of the U.S. National team development program, h e played four seasons at Notre Dame, notching 15-42—57 points in 164 outings with the Fighting Irish. Johns also served as an assistant captain as a senior, in Notre Dame’s first season as a member of Hockey East.

Garbutt has tallied 30-40—70 points in 198 career NHL regular-season contests, all with Dallas, plus three goals in six Stanley Cup Playoff outings. The Winnipeg native skated with Brown from 2005 to 2009, collecting 29-29—58 points in 116 games with the Bears.

Vermont Eliminates BC in Three Games

Nearly 25 years later, the Maroon and Gold was again done in by a green and gold opponent near St. Patrick's Day. 

The ninth-ranked Boston College men's hockey team will have to wait a week to discover its NCAA Tournament fate after falling, 1-0, to visiting No. 17 Vermont on Sunday in Game 3 of their best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series at Kelley Rink.

BC won, 4-2, on Friday before UVM (22-14-4 overall) evened up the series on Saturday with a 3-1 victory. BC fell to 21-13-3 on the season.

Alexx Pivitera scored the game's only goal less than three minutes into the third period of Game 3 to offset a 22-save performance by BC sophomore netminder Thatcher Demko.

Vermont junior goaltender Brody Hoffman made 36 saves for the Catamounts on Sunday, one day after stopping 39 shots by the Eagles. He played clean-up on Friday night, stopping all 12 shots he faced in his first action in nearly a month, and for the weekend recorded 87 saves on 88 shots to boost UVM to the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden in Boston.

The Catamounts will now face UMass Lowell on Friday at 5 p.m. The winner of that contest will meet the victor of the Boston University-New Hampshire tilt on Saturday evening for the Hockey East crown and the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

On March 15-16, 1991, BC dropped a two-game set to visiting Alaska Anchorage in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. (Like UVM, UAA’s colors are green and gold.) BC would not return to the national picture for seven years after that series, while the 3-2 and 3-1 wins remain the only NCAA Tournament triumphs by the Seawolves in their 35-year history.

The 2015 NCAA Tournament Selection Show will be televised at noon on Sunday on ESPNU. BC, which dropped to 11th place in the latest national polls, is ranked ninth in the current Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the NCAA Tournament selection process. That almost assures that the Eagles will receive one of the 16 NCAA Tournament bids for the 13th consecutive season, the longest current streak in Hockey East. 

UVM sits 19th in the current Pairwise, and the Catamounts will likely to have to win the Hockey East championship this weekend to advance to the national tournament.

Rangers Push Habs to Brink with 3-2 OT Win

Carl Hagelin (Michigan) scored for the second straight contest, and Martin St. Louis (Vermont) notched the game-winning goal just 6:02 into overtime to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.

Hagelin, who scored on a first-period breakaway off a set-up from Brian Boyle (Boston College) and Ryan McDonagh (Wisconsin), also assisted on St. Louis' game-winner as the Rangers took a 3-1 lead in their Stanley Cup Playoff series with the Habs. Rene Bourque (Wisconsin) assisted on the Canadiens first goal of the game as Montreal twice fought back from one-goal deficits to again force sudden death.

Game 5, and New York's first chance to clinch the series and move on to the final, will be on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Two Say No to College Ranks

Mark Carlson played hockey in college, but won't be coaching there (again). Zemgus Girgensons (above) didn't even get on the ice.

Carlson, a former UMass Lowell skater and assistant coach who has spent the past 13 seasons as head coach and general manager with Cedar Rapids (USHL), has turned down the opportunity to become head coach at Massachusetts, according to USCHO.com. He led the RoughRiders to a Clark Cup title as USHL playoff champions in 2004-05, and Anderson Cups in 2004-05 and 2010-11 as USHL regular-season champions.  He was also named USHL Coach of the Year both of those seasons.

Carlson, a New Jersey native, will remain with the RoughRiders, whom he has guided since the 1999-2000 campaign. He follows head coaches Rand Pecknold of Quinnipiac University and Paul Pearl of the College of the Holy Cross, who also recently turned down the UMass job to remain with their current employers. The Minutemen have been seeking a new mentor since long-time bench boss Don "Toot" Cahoon resigned on June 19.

Girgensons, who was to enroll at the University of Vermont this fall, has instead signed a professional contract with the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted him 14th overall last month in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. The Latvian native played with Dubuque (USHL) the past two years, collecting 45 goals and 59 assists for 104 points in 100 games, along with 115 penalty minutes and a plus-24 plus-minus rating. He helped the also Fighting Saints to the 2011 Clark Cup championship, one year after skating for Green Mountain (Vt.) (EJHL).

Hockey East "Hat Trick" on One NHL Play Sunday

Three former Hockey East players all figured in a penalty-shot situation on Sunday night, in an NHL contest between the Chicago Blackhawks and the visiting Los Angeles Kings at the United Center.

Chicago's Viktor Stalberg (Vermont) was upended by Rob Scuderi (Boston College) as the former broke in on Jonathan Quick (Massachusetts) in the third period. Quick made the ensuing save on the penalty-shot attempt by Stalberg, who could have become the goat of the game towards the end when he drew a penalty in the final minutes of play. The Blackhawks killed off that infraction and the game went to a shootout that was finally won by the Kings, 3-2.

Stalberg helped the Catamounts to the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four, while Scuderi was a linchpin on the Eagles' 2001 national title team, and Quick backstopped the Minutemen to the 2007 NCAA Tournament as a sophomore. Former UVM skater Patrick Sharp scored one of Chicago's two goals in regulation on Sunday night, but misfired on his shootout attempt, while Stalberg was again stopped by Quick. The former UMass netminder ultimately pokechecked Marcus Kruger on the final shootout try to preserve the win for Los Angeles.

Boston College Wins 12th Hockey East Title

Boston College claimed its 12th Hockey East regular-season title with tonight's 4-0 win over Vermont at Kelley Rink. Coupled with last night's 5-1 victory over the Catamounts, the Eagles (25-10-1 overall, 19-7-1 HE), ranked first in the USCHO.com poll, stretched their winning streak to 11 games and earned the conference crown by four points over rival Boston University.

“It’s always special to win trophies,” said BC coach Jerry York, who picked up his 905th career win, at uscho.com. “Our aspirations are to go after more trophies [this season]. We’ll switch gears, just not right away.”

Destry Straight tallied the game-winning goal in the last minute of the first period for the Eagles, and later added an assist. Chris Kreider made it 2-0 in the second period, while Pat Mullane and Bill Arnold (empty-net goal) added insurance markers in the third session. Parker Milner made 26 saves on Senior Night, in which the Eagles honored Barry Almeida, Tommy Atkinson, Paul Carey, Tommy Cross, Edwin Shea, and Chris Venti. The Class of 2012 has compiled 102 victories, two Hockey East regular-season titles and two playoff crowns in all, plus an NCAA championship as sophomores.

BC will face Massachusetts in the first round of the 2012 Hockey East Tournament next weekend at Kelley Rink. The Minutemen took two of three games with BC this season, although the Eagles won the only meeting contested in Chestnut Hill back in October. This will mark the third straight season that the two schools will face off in the first round of the league playoffs.

BC will be seeking its third consecutive conference tournament crown, and its 11th overall. The other first-round best-of-three Hockey East playoff matchups will feature Providence at UMass-Lowell, New Hampshire at Boston University, and Merrimack at Maine.

Happy Holidays

With only a pair of Russian Red Stars games at Vermont and Yale, respectively, next week in upcoming NCAA Division I men's action, it's a quiet time in college hockey. At least until the holiday tournaments like the GLI start.

Congrats to Minnesota-Duluth (Men's Division I), Wisconsin (Women's Division I), Norwich (Men's Division III) and RIT (Women's Division III) for currently being top-ranked in their respective USCHO.com polls. We'll see how things shake out as spring approaches, and who will ultimately be left standing in March and April.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!