We have reached the end of the first weekend of the New York Rangers prospect playoff season and it is more about how few Ranger prospects remain playing than anything else. When we started this season there were 14 prospects spread out over the NCAAs, the CHL and the USHL/
But after the first weekend we are down to seven prospects with just two in the NCAAs, three in the CHL, and two in the USHL who are yet to begin their playoffs. There remains a lot of hockey to be played from here until the finals of the Memorial Cup (June 2nd, 2024).
If at the start of the NCAA Tournament you would have told me that Gabe Perreault would have more penalty minutes (17) than points (0) it might have gotten a laugh from me. But after top-seeded Boston College just barely survived defending NCAA champions the Quinnipiac Bobcats 5-4 in overtime to win the Providence Regional Finals, there was no laughing at all.
Not since the opening weekend of the season was Gabe Perreault held without any points for two straight games but credit Quinnipiac for showing the rest of us how to stop Perreault. The first-year forward was credited with four shots, but Quinnipiac made Perreault pay for every inch of space he had.
Using a very solid 1-3-1 system that was more a matchup zone than a true 1-3-1, Quinnipiac kept a body on Perreault for the entire game. They held him to just one breakaway (and I will say it should have been a penalty shot as Perreault was taken down) which a first.
This one was a remarkably close game and Boston College knows that this was more of an escape than it was a win. A scoreless first period gave way to bit of a wild second period that saw Quinnipiac jump out to a 2-0 lead thanks to two goals scored 25 seconds apart.
Boston College would answer back 26 seconds after the second Bobcats goal then tie the game up midway of the second period. The Bobcats would regain the lead a few minutes later only to see Boston College force another tie as the teams would go into the second intermission tied at 3-3.
In the third period, it became more of a defensive chess match as both teams barely combined for eleven shots as first Quinnipiac would score to take a 4-3 lead. With time starting to run down on Boston College and on just their second shot of the third period, Boston College would tie the game up for the third time and send the game into overtime.
In the overtime, several of you asked if Perreault was even on the ice as give Quinnipiac a lot of the credit for bottling him up. But in the end, it was the Rangers’ other Boston College prospect who would start the game winning play.
Drew Fortescue doesn’t look often for his offense because his partner Eamon Powell is their version of Adam Fox. But on this day, it was Fortescue who made the biggest of plays.
Fortescue would find a loose puck up at the right point, he would take a couple of strides and then he fired a low shot that hit teammate Colby Ambrosio who deflected the puck right into the Bobcat goalie’s pads which knocked him on his rear taking him out of position.
Jack Malone would find the loose puck and fired it into a wind open net for the win and a trip to the Frozen Four in St. Paul Minnesota.
What a phenomenal win for Boston College hockey today. Fought and fought and fought against a tough Quinnipiac team.
This goal will be in BC highlight reels for years.
— A.J. Black (@AJBlack247) April 1, 2024
Fortescue would be credited with the secondary assist on the play, his fourth assist of the year and his eighth overall point. Boston College is headed to St. Paul to play Michigan in the semifinals of the Frozen Four on April 11th.
After dropping game one to the eighth-seeded Barrie Colts, Dylan Roobroeck and his Oshawa Generals came out with a bit more intensity looking to avoid a second embarrassing loss in game two. Someone forgot to tell the Barrie Colts that they were facing the top seed in the Eastern Conference as the Colts fought hard, never giving an inch but in the end, it was Oshawa earning a 5-4 win to tie the series at 1-1.
Roobroeck would score his second goal of the OHL playoffs off the rush as he was able to be the Barrie goalie over his stick side for a goal which at the time gave Oshawa a 2-1 lead.
What a phenomenal win for Boston College hockey today. Fought and fought and fought against a tough Quinnipiac team.
This goal will be in BC highlight reels for years.
— A.J. Black (@AJBlack247) April 1, 2024
Roobroeck led everyone with a game-high eight shots and was 6-5 on his faceoffs. The series shifts to Barrie for game three and four starting on Tuesday.
