James Hagens was named the Hockey East Player of the Month for the month of February.
Liam Pettersson – Vaxjo Lakers – U20 Nationell
Wednesday saw Vaxjo lose a tough one to IF Malmo 4-1 in a game that was very close unto there were 2 minutes remaining in regulation. Down 2-1 and on the powerplay, Vaxjo gave up a shorthanded goal with 2 minutes remaining on the clock, followed by an empty net goal with 15 seconds remaining. Pettersson did not play and I wonder if he would have made a difference on that late powerplay.
Then on Saturday, Vaxjo lost another tight one by a score of 4-3 to Rogle BK. Once again Pettersson missed this game. He has been with the SHL club but did not get into any action.
Vaxjo will meet Frolunda HC in a best of 5 series beginning Saturday.
Vashek Blanar – HV71 – U20 Nationell
HV71 skated to a 5-3 win over Vasteras IK on Friday. Blanar scored his fifth goal of the season that made the score 4-0 with 47 seconds remaining in the opening period.
On Saturday, HV71 fell by a score of 4-3 to Sodertalje SK. Blanar did not factor in the scoring.
Kirill Yemelyanov – Loko Yaroslav – MHL
Loko moved to the brink of clinching their division Tuesday in the battle for first place, taking down JHC‑Dynamo 4–3 in a shootout to open an 11‑point gap atop the Gold Division standings—19 over the next‑closest division leader—with eight games to go. Yemelyanov was held without a point or shot but controlled the dot at 15‑for‑21 in 17:58 of action. Despite his 29 goals, second‑most in the league, he did not appear in the shootout rotation.
Loko tightened its grip on the regular‑season crown Wednesday, rolling to a 7–1 win in the rematch and showcasing exactly why they’ve been the league’s pace‑setters. Yemelyanov added another milestone to the night, hitting the 30‑goal mark just 1:25 into the third on a bizarre bounce. His backhand popped off the goalie’s blocker, floated straight up, and dropped over the trapper and in — the kind of goal you don’t draw up, but they all count the same. He closed the night plus‑2, with three shots, and went 9-for-17 on faceoffs across 18:17 of ice time. The tally pulls him into a tie for fifth in NHL goal scoring, another reminder of the elite company he’s keeping as the season winds down.
On Saturday, Loko squeezed past Mikhailov Academy 4-3. Yemelyanov did not play.
Vaxjo will face Frolunda HC in a best of 5 series
Casper Nassen – Miami (Ohio)
Miami dropped Game 1 of the NCHC Quarterfinals, falling 3–0 to Denver. Nassen finished the night without a shot on goal and posted a minus‑1 rating.
Game 2 offered no relief for Miami, as Denver rolled to a 6–2 win. Nassen was held off the scoresheet, finished at minus‑2, and managed two shots on goal across 13:15 of ice time.
This ends Miami’s season.
William Zellers, – University of North Dakota
North Dakota defeated Omaha 5-3 on Friday in their opening game of the NCHC quarterfinal series. Will Zellers did not play due to an illness.
North Dakota slammed the door on Saturday, completing the best‑of‑three sweep with a decisive 5–1 win. Zellers returned to the lineup and immediately made his presence felt, tipping home the 3–1 marker before setting up the next two goals to put the series away. He closed the night at plus‑2 with three shots on goal across 17:10 of ice time. With 2 minutes remaining in the game, he was assessed a major for grabbing an opponents face mask and a game misconduct.
North Dakota will now face Minnesota-Duluth next Saturday in the semi-finals.
James Hagens, Oskar Jellvik, Andre Gasseau, Dean Letourneau, Kristian Kostadinski, Will Moore – Boston College
Boston College came up short Thursday night, falling 2–1 to Massachusetts. After trailing 1–0, James Hagens pulled the Eagles even at 7:04 of the third with a brilliant solo effort, with Dean Letourneau picking up the assist. The momentum didn’t last long — UMass answered just 53 seconds later to reclaim the lead for good. Hagens finished with six shots on goal and logged 21:57 of ice time, while Letourneau matched him with six shots, skated 21:19, and went 6‑for‑9 on draws.
Oskar Jellvik (3 SOG, 17:33 TOI) Andre Gasseau (3 SOG, 20:01 TOI, minus-1) Will Moore (1 SOG, 11:07 TOI, minus-1) and Kristian Kostadinski (minus-2, 9:46 TOI), were all pointless.
Boston College closed out its regular‑season slate with a fourth straight loss on Saturday, falling 4–2 to Northeastern. At this point, the Eagles will almost certainly need to run the table and capture the Hockey East title to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament. Hagens and Gasseau each picked up an assist in the loss, while Letourneau, Moore, Jellvik, and Kostadinski were held off the scoresheet.
BC will play Maine on Friday in the Hockey East quarterfinals.
Chris Pelosi, Elliott Groenewold – Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac will face Clarkson in the ECAC quarterfinals March 13-15.
Jonathan Morello – Boston University
Boston University came up short on Saturday, falling 4–3 to UMass‑Lowell. Morello finished minus‑2 on the night, registered one shot on goal, and went 7‑for‑13 in the faceoff circle but remained off the scoresheet in 13:12 of ice time.
BU will face Vermont in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs on Wednesday.
Beckett Hendrickson – University of Minnesota
Minnesota was overwhelmed Thursday night, dropping a 7–1 decision to Michigan State. Hendrickson didn’t factor into the Gophers’ lone goal, finished minus‑3, and recorded one shot on goal across 13:42 of ice time.
Miami responded in rematch with a 4–3 shootout victory on Friday, though it officially goes into the books as a tie. Trailing 3–2 just 6:35 into the third, Hendrickson sparked the comeback with his seventh goal of the season. He won a 50‑50 puck off a faceoff in the left circle, drove wide, circled behind the net, and tucked in a wraparound to pull Miami even. He finished the night with three shots on goal and a plus‑1 rating.
Miami will face Penn State in the Big-10 quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Ryan Walsh – Cornell University
Cornell will face Harvard in the ECAC quarterfinals from March 13-15.
Mason Langenbrunner – Harvard University
It took overtime, but Harvard edged St. Lawrence 4–3 in the opening round of the ECAC playoffs. Langenbrunner didn’t factor into the scoring, finishing minus‑1 with three shots on goal while logging 25:47 of ice time.
Harvard will face Cornell on March 13-15 in the ECAC quarterfinals.
Philip Svedeback – Providence College
Providence defeated Connecticut 3-1 on Saturday. In a move to honor Svedeback – a senior – Head Coach put Svedeback in the net in the dying seconds in what could have been his last appearance in College Hockey.
Providence will await the winner of Merrimack and Mas-Lowell (Wednesday) for the quarterfinal matchup on March 14.
Cooper Simpson – Youngstown – USHL
Youngstown was blanked 2-0 by Madison on Wednesday night. Obviously, Simpson did not register a point. He finished even on the night and had 2 shots on goal.
Youngstown answered back in Friday’s rematch with a 4–2 win. Simpson was held off the scoresheet again, finishing minus‑1 with two shots on goal.
Sunday’s rematch of the rematch went the distance, with Madison edging Youngstown 3–2 in a shootout. Simpson was held off the scoresheet for the third straight game in the mini three‑game set, finishing with one shot on goal and an even rating.
Cole Chandler – Shawinigan – QMJHL
Shawinigan couldn’t find traction Wednesday night, falling 5–1 to Gatineau on home ice. Chandler wasn’t involved in their lone goal and finished at minus‑2, registering two shots on net and going 3‑for‑5 on draws.
On Friday, Shawinigan was shut out 3–0 by Drummondville. Chandler was held off the scoresheet once again, finishing with one shot on goal and a 3‑for‑8 performance in the faceoff circle.
Shawinigan’s skid continued Sunday with a 4–1 loss to Quebec, marking their third straight defeat. Chandler provided the lone bright spot, burying his 20th of the season on a power‑play strike that cut the deficit to 3–1. He finished the night at minus‑2 with one shot on goal and a 4‑for‑5 showing in the faceoff circle.
Cole Spicer – Western Michigan
Western Michigan opened its NCHC quarterfinal series with a 5–2 win over Colorado College on Friday. Cole Spicer pushed the lead to 4–2 just 2:13 into the third, capitalizing on a blocked shot that deflected straight to him at the left side of the net. His quick release beat the goaltender on the power play. Spicer finished with five shots on goal, went 8‑for‑15 on draws, and logged 16:03 of ice time.
Western Michigan needed overtime on Saturday, but ultimately closed out the best‑of‑three with a 2–1 win to sweep Colorado College. Spicer posted zeros across the stat line, going 9‑for‑18 on draws in 11:30 of ice time.
Western Michigan will face Denver on Wednesday in the NCHC semifinals.
Providence Bruins
Providence 3 – Hartford 2
It was a come from behind victory for Providence over Hartford on Wednesday night.
By 6:36 of the second period, Hartford had already built a 2–0 advantage, but Michael DiPietro responded with a clinic in composure, shutting the door from that moment on and giving Providence every opportunity to mount a comeback.
With 7:28 left in the second, Frederic Brunet stepped into a point shot and ripped it under the crossbar, slicing the Providence deficit to one. Fabian Lysell and Victor Soderstrom picked up the assists on the play. It was Brunet’s 11th goal of the season.
Just 1:28 later, Providence’s leading goal scorer struck again. A loose puck found Riley Tufte at the edge of the crease, and he calmly chipped it past the goaltender to level the game 2–2. Matej Blumel and Christian Wolanin collected the assists on the tying marker.
The third period turned into a back‑and‑forth grind, with both goaltenders refusing to blink. But with 1:49 left and Providence on the power play, Matthew Poitras finally broke through, hammering a one‑timer from the bumper spot for the game‑winner. Ty Gallagher and Jake Schmaltz picked up the assists on the decisive strike.
Hartford outshot Providence 31-25. DiPietro’s 39 saves increased his save percentage on the season to .938 and has a 1.78 goals against average in 33 games played.
Providence 4 – Bridgeport 1
Not much good news to report here. Despite the loss, Providence clinched a playoff birth for the 12th consecutive season.
Their lone goal came when a Blumel shot was stopped and the rebound went to Tufte who chipped it over the glove for a powerplay goal. Merkulov also received an assist.
Luke Cavillin stopped 21 of 25 shots in the loss.
Providence 5 – Hershey 4
Joey Abate opened the scoring for Providence just 3:55 in, taking a feed up the wing, cutting into the right circle, and ripping a shot inside the near post for a 1–0 lead. Billy Sweezey and Michael DiPietro picked up the assists. Hershey answered back with 13:57 left in the period to even it up.
Christian Wolanin restored the lead 4:07 into the second period, hammering a one‑timer from the right circle off a setup from Poitras and beating the goalie far‑side. Merkulov collected the secondary assist.
Patrick Brown set up Blumel in the right circle 6:29 into the third, and Blumel snapped a wrister inside the far post to give Providence a 3–1 cushion. But the lead didn’t hold, as Hershey stormed back with three unanswered goals to steal a 4–3 advantage.
With 2:50 remaining in regulation, Schmaltz chipped in a rebound at the right post to even the score 4-4. Soderstrom and Lysell picked up the assists.
With just 48 seconds left in regulation and overtime looming, Poitras found Tufte in the left circle, and Providence’s leading scorer snapped a shot past the goalie’s glove for the winner. Michael Callahan added an assist on the play.
DiPietro stopped 24 of 28 shots for the win.
Here’s a look at the Providence Bruins leaders. You will notice a column called “Benchrates” This is provided by our friends at Benchrates. Created by a retired hockey player, Benchrates has created an algorithm that computes values in real time. The value you see is the cap hit value they’ve earned this season to date. Give them a look and check out their site.
Coming up this week:
Dom - Hockey 