A mostly quiet Friday night saw just nine of the New York Ranger prospects in action with only one hitting the scoresheet. The jockeying for playoff positioning is very much underway so now every game is going to matter.
It is Friday so that means Gabe Perreault took the ice and once again is the star of the night for the Ranger prospects. The leading scorer in the NCAAs added to his total with a 1-1-2 night as his top-ranked Boston College Eagles had little trouble spanking Vermont 7-1 in Hockey East action.
The win was the Eagle’s fifth straight and tenth in their last elven games keeps them in Hockey East’s first place by a single point (Eagles do hold a game in hand) with just four regular season games remaining. Against Vermont the game was pretty much over by the middle of the second period after Boston College had jumped out to a 5-0 lead.
Perreault got on the scoresheet when he teamed with Will Smith to set up Cutter Gauthier’s power play goal at 6:38 of the second period to make it 2-0. This is just too pretty not to show as Perreault holds the puck long enough to create space for Gauthier.
Cold Cut Combo 🥪
💻 https://t.co/5s2DsDrJfa pic.twitter.com/99kljWaVRG
— BC Men’s Hockey (@BC_MHockey) February 24, 2024
The assist was Perreault’s NCAA leading 35th of the season as he extended his scoring streak to 16 games (12-18-30 in the span) as Perreault has been held without a point in just three out of the 30 games he has played in. Perreault is averaging 1.67 points per game which is an impressive stat on it’s own.
In the third period with his team up 5-1, Perreault recorded his 15th goal of the season just 19 seconds into the period. This time it was Perreault who was the recipient of a sweet set up as teammate Will Smith grabbed a turnover and blindly sent the puck to the front of the net where a wide open Perreault just tipped the puck into the net for the 6-1 lead.
Gabo finishes the smooth setup from Smitty 😮💨
💻 https://t.co/5s2DsDrJfa pic.twitter.com/CoeCdnY7me
— BC Men’s Hockey (@BC_MHockey) February 24, 2024
Perreault finishes the night 1-1-2 on four shots with a +1 and teammate defenseman Drew Fortescue was scoreless on no shots but a +2 to bring his plus/minus to +10.
By the numbers: Perreault is 15-35-50 leads the NCAA in points and assists, he has eight power play goals (8th NCAA), four game winning goals (10th NCAA), and his 1.67 pts per game leads the NCAA.
The win also guaranteed that they would have home ice in the Hockey East tournament as after tonight the worst that Boston College can finish will be third place in the conference.
In a matchup of ranked teams, Victor Mancini and his Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks earned a 3-0 shut out win over Noah Laba’s 10th-ranked Colorado College Tigers in NCHC play. Mancini and his Mavericks are on the bubble trying to earn an at-large invite to the NCAA tournament as they are sixth in the NCHC conference.
The Mavericks were able to stop Colorado College’s three game win streak as they held Laba to just two shots and a -2 while going 8-8 on faceoffs. Mancini was scoreless on zero shots and a +1.
Same two teams will meet again on Saturday in Omaha.
Hank Kempf was scoreless as his 13th-ranked Cornell Big Red lost in overtime to Clarkson in ECAC play. Despite the loss Cornell remains unbeaten in regulation with their streak now up to 15 games (10 wins, 2 ties, 1 SOW, 1 SOL, 1 OTL).
Rasmus Larsson was scoreless as was Ty Henricks as Larsson’s Green Bay Gamblers handed Henrick’s Muskegon Lumberjacks a 5-1 loss in USHL play. The win gave Green Bay a two-point lead for second place over the Lumberjacks (Green Bay also holds two games in hand) as they still have a long way to go in the USHL regular season.
Zakary Karpa scored his fourth goal of the season but his Harvard Crimson were already behind 6-0 when he did as they lost to the Union Garnet Chargers 6-2 in ECAC play. Karpa’s goal was at first waved off but replay showed it to be a good goal.
Karpa nets his fourth of the year.
📺https://t.co/fs504u6bEw
📊https://t.co/uQcMgeaJCU#GoCrimson | #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/gycAY8XjRy— Harvard Men’s Hockey (@HarvardMHockey) February 24, 2024
To be honest right now there is little to suggest that Karpa is deserving of a Ranger’s contract. After three season’s his numbers 14-13-27 in 80 games does little to say he is NHL material. Best bet for Karpa would be to transfer to a more pro style conference like Hockey East of NCHC and have a breakout senior season.
Dylan Roobroeck and his Oshawa Generals got smoked 5-0 by the Ottawa 67’s in OHL play. This one was ugly from the start and for the Generals who are being chased by the 67’s for the fourth seed in the OHL’s Eastern Conference, this is a bad loss.
The 67’s are after the win just one point behind the Generals in the standings and they hold two games in hand in the standings.