Let’s begin with the NCAA.
Hockey East
Riley Duran missed Wednesday’s First Round Hockey East matchup against New Hampshire with his ongoing injury. However, Philip Svedeback did his part stopping 22 of 23 shots in a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over UNH. That meant number 7 seed Providence would face number 3 seed Northeastern in the quarter finals on Saturday.
Providence would take the Quarter Final matchup on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over Northeastern. Duran would return to action and assist on the game tying goals in the second period to set up sudden death overtime. After allowing the first goal of the game at the 9:44 mark of the first period, Svedeback would shot the door the rest of the way stopping 25 of 26 shots. They will move on to meet number one seed Boston University in the semi finals on Friday. The winner will take on the winner of Merrimack and Mass-Lowell in the finals on Saturday.
In the other Hockey East matchup, Andre Gasseau had the game of his career with a goal and 2 assists as Number 8 seed Boston College defeated number 9 seed Massachusetts 5-2. Oskar Jellvik and Trevor Kuntar didn’t do so well on the scoresheet as both were held off the board. BC went on to face number 2 seed Merrimack on Saturday.
It was a great game on Saturday but the three prospects fell short losing 1-0 in double overtime to put an end to their season. It was a great freshman year for Gasseau and a pretty good one for Jellvik. Now all eyes turn to Kuntar to see what his intentions are. He could return to Boston College for his senior year or he could decide to turn pro.
On Saturday, Ty Gallagher and Boston University took care of Vermont with a convincing 7-3 victory. Gallagher had an assist in the game and B U will now go on to face Boston College on Friday.
ECAC
On Friday Dustyn McFaul and 6th seed Clarkson lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to 3rd seed Cornell to go down 1-0 in the best of three series. Clarkson would lose game two as well on Saturday by a 3-1 score eliminating them. This was McFaul’s senior season where normally he would turn pro but he does have the option to return for a fifth season.
On Friday, Mason Langenbrunner and 2nd seed Harvard easily took care of Princeton 6-1 to take a 1-0 lead in their best of three series. On Saturday Harvard completed the sweep taking game two by an identical 6-1 score. Harvard will now go on to meet number three seed Cornell on Friday with the winner taking on the winner of Quinnipiac and Colgate in the final on Saturday.
NCHC
On Friday, Quinn Olson, Cole Spicer and 5th seed Minnesota Duluth lost 3-1 to St Cloud State and go down 1-0 in their best of three series. On Saturday they would even the series at a game each after a 5-1 victory. Olson would assist on two of the goals and force a one game showdown on Sunday. St Cloud would take the series clincher by a score of 3-1. Under normal circumstances, that would be the end of Olson’s college career but he has the option to return for a fifth season. So, we’ll await his decision.
Also on Friday, Jake Schmaltz and sixth seed North Dakota would lose 2-1 against third seed Omaha. Schmaltz would set up their lone goal late in the third period but it wasn’t enough as Omaha took a 1-0 series lead. On Saturday, North Dakota took the game by a 3-1 score evening the series at 1 and setting up the rubber match on Sunday. North Dakota would take care of business in the deciding game winning 5-2. Schmaltz would score an important goal in the final game. They will now move on to face the 4th seeded St Cloud State on Friday with the winner taking on the winner of Denver and Colorado in the final on Saturday.
Big Ten
Mason Lohrei and Ohio State would lose their semi finals matchup against Michigan by a score of 7-3. That would eliminate Ohio from the tournament and Michigan will now go on to face Minnesota in the Final on Saturday.
Over in the Ontario Hockey League, there are two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Sarnia Sting and Ryan Mast look to be locked into the third seed in the Western Conference and are the hottest team in the OHL. The Windsor Spitfires and Brett Harrison are battling Jackson Edward and the London Knights for top spot in the Western Conference with London holding a 2-point cushion. That leaves Matthew Poitras and the Guelph Storm. A 3-game losing streak dropped them out of the race for 4th spot and are currently 6th which would set a date against Sarnia in the first round of the playoffs.
In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, it looking less and less likely that Frederic Brunet and his Victoriaville Tigres will move up or down from their 3rd place spot with two weeks remaining. At this point they could face any of 4 opponents.
In the Western Hockey League, Reid Dyck and the Swift Current Broncos are currently in the 8th and final playoff spot one point out of seventh and tied with the Calgary Hitman who sit 9th. The battle for the final playoff spot will come down to the last game.
Overseas, Matias Mantykivi and Ilves Tampere would finish in second spot in the Finnish Liiga standings. Their opponent is unknown at this time as Liiga has a play-in round but, we do know it will be either Karpat or KooKoo. The quarter finals are expected to begin next week for Ilves.
In the HockeyAllsvenskan, Jonathan Myrenberg and his Mora squad finished in third place. The Allsvenskan also has a play-in round so Mora’s opponent is yet unknown and a quarter final schedule is not yet completed.
In the J20 Nationell there are just two games remaining on the schedule and Dans Locmelis continues to lead the Top-10 in scoring while his Lulea squad is tied for top spot.
Here’s a look at the Providence Bruins leaders:
Coming up this week:
| PLAYER | MON 13 | TUE 14 | WED 15 | THU 16 | FRI 17 | SAT 18 | SUN 19 |
| MANTYKIVI | TBD | ||||||
| LOCMELIS | Vs LIF | Vs MOR | |||||
| MYRENBERG | TBD | ||||||
| LANGENBRUNNER | At COR | TBD | |||||
| SCHMALTZ | At St C | TBD | |||||
| DURAN/SVEDEBACK | At B U | TBD | |||||
| GALLAGHER | Vs PRO | TBD | |||||
| POITRAS | Vs LDN | Vs SAR | At ER | ||||
| HARRISON | Vs SAG | At SOO | At SOO | ||||
| MAST | Vs HAM | Vs SAR | Vs KGN | ||||
| EDWARD | At GUE | Vs KGN | At FLT | ||||
| BRUNET | At SHA | Vs QUE | At RIM | ||||
| DYCK | Vs SAS | At R D | At R D |
Dom - Hockey 