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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Coveted NHL Draft prospect James Hagens undecided on return to Boston College
There's a lot of uncertainty on the horizon for James Hagens. The Boston College forward is projected to be a Top 5 pick in next month's NHL Draft. Hagens' hometown New York Islanders own the top selection in the draft, followed by San Jose, Chicago, Utah and Nashville. The Long Island native could wind up all over the map. Advertisement As a 17-year-old, Hagens was a point-per-game player at BC in a competitive Hockey East, scoring 11 goals and 26 assists in 37 games. However, the 5-foot-11, 177-pound center hasn't yet decided on whether he'll be back for a sophomore season. That'll depend on where he's drafted to. 'Just have to see what happens. There's no decision made yet,' Hagens said on a Tuesday morning Zoom call. 'That's a discussion that me and my family and the team would have to have after the draft.' Hagens isn't expected to be available when the Bruins are on the clock at No. 7 overall, but after a year at Chestnut Hill, he said he'd be happy to stick around the area. 'I love Boston,' Hagens said. 'Being at Boston College, we're right in the middle of Boston there. So it's a beautiful city. Only great things to say about it. I love it there.' Advertisement At Elite Prospects, Hagens is the consensus No. 3 ranked player on the board in the 2025 NHL Draft, trailing just Erie Otters defenseman Michael Schaefer and Saginaw Spirit forward Michael Misa. More Bruins content Read the original article on MassLive.
New York Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
2025 NHL Draft: Ranking the top 15 overagers, from Francesco Dell'Elce to Charlie Cerrato
Each year, overage players — or re-entry players — account for roughly one of the NHL Draft's seven rounds of picks. Accordingly, I do a separate ranking of overage players eligible for each draft class. This top-15 list (plus its nine honorable mentions) looks at the top overagers I think are eligible in the 2025 class. It's made up of 2006- and 2005-born players. The players at the front of the list are prospects I believe should get selected in the draft's mid-to-late rounds in their second or third go at it. The others are players I'd consider for development camp invites, or would at least keep a peripheral eye on. This overage list combines with my missed cuts list (released later this week) and my final top 100 draft board (released June 2) to make up my 2025 NHL Draft package of roughly 150 reports in total. Dell'Elce was on my missed cuts list back in 2023 after I saw him play at St. Andrew's College and liked the potential and the skating. I didn't list him as an overager in 2024 following a decent but not pick-me season in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees, but he impressed scouts this year with an excellent freshman campaign at UMass and is now expected to get picked in his third year of eligibility. Dell'Elce played huge minutes for a Minutemen program with a track record of developing pro D prospects, often pushing and exceeding 25 minutes and registering 24 points in 40 games to be named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. Advertisement Dell'Elce's game is about his edges, his four-way mobility and his elusiveness. He's a good athlete who has worked to fill out a once-slight frame and improve his game defensively in space. He has learned to play harder and harder, and he's now able to direct and influence play consistently with his feet, timing and instincts. He can evade and absorb pressure in his own zone or at the line and he's got a lethal shot, which is complemented by good offensive instincts to get open and/or attack into a look. And he's also a June birthday, so he's on the younger side as a double overager. Mobility and instincts can take you a long way nowadays, and he's still got time to really refine and hone in on his identity in college before he turns pro. Rautiainen is a skilled forward (he's listed as a center but played wing against men this season and projects there) who led Finland's junior league in scoring last year with 80 points in 44 combined regular-season and playoff games and finished third in scoring by under-20 players in Liiga this season, registering 33 points in 50 games (including 10 goals, most by a rookie at Finland's top level). He also had some flashes for Finland at this year's World Juniors. He's a talented one-on-one player who can be really noticeable inside the offensive zone because of his poise and comfort on the puck. He played real minutes against men this year and while he's a double overager, he's a June birthday, so he was on the younger side of the class in his first year of eligibility and won't turn 20 until this summer. He had some double-digit shot attempt games against men as a teenager this year. He's going to have to continue to produce to climb levels, but he should be an AHL playmaker at minimum. This is a weak Finnish draft class, and there's a chance he's their first player picked. He attended the Leafs' development camp in 2023 and is now expected to be a mid-to-late round pick. Cerrato became a top-six center for a Nittany Lions team that went to the Frozen Four and elevated as his freshman year went along, finishing the season as Penn State's second-leading scorer with 42 points in 38 games. He's an average-sized center without a dynamic offensive quality, and that's why he's ranked 110th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. But he plays very hard, he plays heavy, he's strong, he's got good skill, he was a very good college center for most of this year (even if there were some ups and downs for him and Penn State), he can protect pucks, he grinds, he sees the ice well and he's a gamer. I expect him to get picked in the third round. Advertisement Here's his former co-GM with the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms, Jason Deskins: 'Creates a ton with his effort and heaviness as opposed to being an opportunistic scorer, which I think will be the reason he succeeds. Winning player that always plays his best when it matters the most. He is a savage. Middle-six NHL potential in my opinion.' Pickford has now been a part of two WHL championships. A second-round pick in the WHL bantam draft, he was a depth D on the 2023 title-winning Seattle Thunderbirds and then had a breakout season this year with the 2025 title-winning Medicine Hat Tigers, playing to above a point per game and breaking the 30-goal mark as a defenseman between the regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup (where he has played well early and has continued to score). NHL Central Scouting ranked him 100th among North American skaters on their final list but he has played really good hockey since then in some of the final viewings scouts will have of the draft class. Pickford's a 6-foot, 190-or-so-pound right-shot defenseman with a huge shot and an aggressive play style on both sides of the puck. He plays with an eagerness to attack and jump offensively, but also closes gaps and is physical defensively. He closes plays early, defends hard and has continued to be a go-to guy on both special teams even after the Tigers acquired arguably the best defenseman in junior hockey in Tanner Molendyk at this year's deadline (he plays big minutes on both the PK and PP for them). Pickford's known as a worker on and off the ice who is extremely dedicated, wore a letter this year as a newcomer to the team and really made a difference in Medicine Hat's room. He's not the most cerebral or high-IQ player, but he plays tough minutes, takes charge of his shifts and has great instincts offensively and defensively. He was supposed to go to Colorado's rookie camp last fall before falling sick. Laurila, a North Dakota commit, was passed over coming out of a depth role at the NTDP but generated a lot of attention from scouts this season as one of the top defensemen in the USHL, leading the Force in scoring with 41 points in 57 games and playing well at the Chipotle All-American Game. He's got a comfortable and strong point shot. He's got active feet and is a good skater. He's capable of involving himself in all three zones and played a very influential style this year. And he's a strong athlete who plays hard defensively and should become a successful two-way D in college. Here's Fargo head coach Brett Skinner from a conversation earlier this year: 'He's having a great season for us. I think he has really kind of proven the detractors wrong from the offensive side of things. The NTDP time was great for his defensive base. He's a great defender. I couldn't teach a kid to defend like that in 10 years if you gave me. But for me, knowing that, it was really pushing him to the offensive side and he has really taken to it. It's natural for him. He does have the skill and the ability to do it, so it was just pushing him in the right directions. It has been fun to watch him take off. It has been a really useful year for him. Coming out of the program, it's tough, there's only one puck and so much ice time and power play. Sammy has now been in critical situations offensively as well as defensively that he's going to use as experience moving forward.' Rimpinen had a great year, winning the directorate award as the top goalie at the World Juniors, leading the Finns to a silver medal, playing 40 games in Liiga, and then after not starting Game 1 of Kiekko-Espoo's first-round series, taking it in Game 2 and holding it through to the second round. He finished with a .912 regular-season save percentage in Liiga and a .920 playoff one to go with his .933 at the World Juniors and finished the year as NHL Central Scouting's eighth-ranked European goalie despite being only 6-feet. He's really good laterally and athletic. He can move a lot in the net but will battle for pucks on second and third chances with his mobility and competitiveness. He's got good hands up high. He tracks the puck and the play really well. He should be a late-round pick. Advertisement Leslie, who ranked 94th on my list, was the only player on my 2023 draft board who went undrafted. That year, despite having been a top prospect in minor hockey and a 50-point defenseman in his draft year as the most productive defenseman on a below-average team in Vancouver, and despite having pro size, Leslie was ranked 125th in North America by NHL Central Scouting, well back of his statistical contemporaries. Some of that was because his offensive game isn't where his defensive game was and he had to learn to play a little less as an individual. But he also played 25-plus minutes per game for most of that season against matchups he probably wasn't ready for as a 17-year-old. Two years later, NHLCS has him ranked about in the same spot (133rd in North America) after captaining the Giants this year and registering 21 goals and 72 points in 66 games as a 19-year-old (second among all WHL D in goals and points). Next year, he's committed to making the jump to the NCAA at Bowling Green. Though his skating and defensive play are still average, he has made progress in tightening up, he's strong and competitive and plays physically and wants to make a difference in games, and he has continued to show that he can move and shoot pucks. I'd consider him in Round 7 or track him in college at the very least. Leslie was invited to the Canucks' rookie tournament last year and then earned an invite to main camp. Nieminen is an excellent skater who has been an important top-six defenseman for Finland's '06 age group internationally. He played at last year's World Juniors, is eligible to return this year and played good minutes in Liiga last season, including in the playoffs. He didn't get a pro call-up with the Pelicans or even into Mestis games in his draft year, which I think hurt him becoming a late-rounder, but he led all under-18 D in scoring at its top junior level, played to excellent on-ice results, and then proved his skating and two-way play could work against men this season. His mobility drives his game, with an ability to get back to pucks, pull away from pressure, gap up and defend well with an active stick and also a competitive spirit. He has shown some real skill and poise on the puck, absorbing pressure as well. He's not a dynamic offensive type, but he can make plays against his peers and should always have value in transition (both ways). I'd consider him for a late-round flier or development camp invite. Galvas, despite being a small and slight D, was one of the players on my board last year who didn't get picked. He skates effortlessly, played the last two seasons at Czechia's pro level to positive two-way results, and has excelled internationally at U18s and the World Juniors, playing big minutes. He's a natural handler who blends good touch with his four-way mobility to rotate around coverage, shape play crossing over and maneuvering across the blue line, or carry pucks past the first layer of pressure. I like the way he jumps in and out of coverage while still recognizing where his responsibilities are and when he needs to hop back out to the blue line. I like the way he jumps on pucks and gets them out of danger so that he can spend less time defending. He makes little plays under pressure to seamlessly outlet pucks from his own zone, uses his feet to annoy opposing carriers as much as a player his size can, and thinks the game at an advanced level all over the ice to limit some of his physical deficiencies. He works to help compensate for his size (alongside his superb mobility). He's got good posture and looks taller on the ice than he is. He'll try to push and involve himself when he can. He handles the puck smartly and has plus-level four-way mobility, but excels in particular at skating backwards, which gives hope that he'll continue to be able to defend up levels. There aren't many defensemen his size in the NHL, so there's always inherent risk there, but he has defended well at the pro level already and with some more strength and reps, there could be something there. He should be a good AHLer at minimum and I'd consider a seventh-round flier or development camp invite. Park is a player I quite liked in the summer and fall of his draft year last year, but who others and I cooled on in the second half of last season. After playing his draft year at Shattuck, he then played his first full season in the USHL this year and was one of the league's leading scorers, racking up 35 goals and 69 points in 57 combined regular-season and playoff games. He's a Michigan commit who is talented, smart and competitive. He plays a mature game. He's got some two-way elements. He's got a desire to win and stays on pucks and plays the game with pace, whether hunting pucks or pushing through arms and sticks to drive to the slot or the net in control of them. He then has good-to-very-good hands in tight when he gets there, which allows him to tuck and finish plays around the crease and has made him a tremendous bumper/goal-line guy on multiple power plays now. He keeps his feet moving to stay involved, get open and track pucks, and has shown he can play both center and right wing. He's a C-grade prospect who should become an impactful collegiate player as an upperclassman and if he doesn't get picked, I wonder if he makes a case for a pro contract in four years. I think he's got the tools to be a top-nine AHLer, for sure. Epperson was viewed as a legit talent coming out of Shattuck and into the NTDP and then had a decent U17 season at the program from a production standpoint, but criticisms of his attitude and difficulty with several coaches have followed him across multiple levels and teams, souring his reputation. He saw his role reduced at the NTDP, missed a bunch of games with Saginaw this year for unspecified reasons, and even left the bench mid-game without an injury during a game against Kingston this year. He has also interviewed poorly with NHL scouts over the course of this season and recently changed agents. He has some tools and identity to his game and was still productive in the OHL as an 18-year-old, though, registering 30 goals and 84 points in 63 combined regular-season and playoff games with Saginaw. There are some who point to him playing with OHL Most Outstanding Player Michael Misa (and Sharks prospect Igor Chernyshov in the second half), though, as well. As a hockey player, Epperson can play a competitive, pesky style off the puck, forechecks effectively, plays a bit of a power forward game, is strong for his size and can play in the dirty areas and show some skill and hockey sense when he's on. Without the concerns about how difficult he has been to deal with, he might have been a mid-round pick. It sounds like he's going to fall further than he should on talent. He's committed to playing at Denver next year. McMorrow's game is about his motor. He works and skates, involves himself, gets after it in and out of stops and starts and will make the odd play. The statistical profile isn't there, and he might get picked again, but I think he's a great fit for Denver and wouldn't be surprised if he becomes a really solid bottom-six college player right away and works his way into the conversation to get signed as a potential depth AHLer in a few years. I enjoyed watching him play at the NTDP and with Waterloo in the USHL this year. He's a worker who plays a style that coaches like and I thought he deserved a mention here. Advertisement Feldbergs was the story of the 2025 World Juniors with a Latvian team that won two games for the first time ever at the tournament, upsetting Canada 3-2 in a shootout, beating Germany 4-3 in overtime, playing USA and Finland tight in a difficult group, and then taking Sweden to the buzzer in a 3-2 loss in the quarterfinals. He was also really solid for a rebuilding Sherbrooke team as a rookie in the QMJHL, playing to a .903 save percentage in the regular season and a .918 save percentage in their surprising two-round playoff run. Feldbergs is a very athletic goalie who has good hands and speed, gets to a lot of pucks and has worked on his reads and decision-making. He also, by all accounts, works his tail off and is a student of the game. He was a bit of an unknown coming into this season after having played exclusively in Latvia to this point and now he's NHL Central Scouting's 13th-ranked North American goalie, with a chance at being a late-round pick or development camp invitee. The youngest re-entry player on this list, Reber was born just two weeks away from being a first-year eligible in this class and played this entire year in the SHL. It was for an HV71 team that finished last in the regular season and had to beat MoDo in the relegation series to stay up but he registered eight goals (tied for first among all U19 skaters in the SHL this season) and 15 points (second to Penguins prospect Melvin Fernstrom's 17) in 47 games and had another four points in six games in the relegation round. Reber first caught my eye at the Hlinka two summers ago, where he was a standout on the puck for his craft, skill, skating and good work ethic. He's a 5-foot-10 forward (he's a natural center who got better in the faceoff circle against men as this year went on), but he's competitive enough that he deserves your time and not to be ruled out. He's going to have a long pro career, even if it's not in the NHL, and I could see him becoming a top-nine AHLer. Cristoforo isn't ranked by NHL Central Scouting as a re-entry this year, but he has been a top player on a top team two of his three years in the OHL. In his first season, his play took him off the table at the trade deadline when the Spitfires were looking to add. That year, his 41 points in 63 games were one more than top-10 pick Jamie Drysdale's 40 in his 16-year-old OHL season (in the same number of games), and three more than top-10 pick Brandt Clarke's (in six more games). He was also a big part of Canada Red's silver medal at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, where he wore an 'A' and performed well at both ends (although he played a limited role at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup). Last year, though, he didn't take the steps scouts wanted to see him take on a rebuilding Spitfires team and wasn't named to Canada's roster for the U18 worlds. And when his draft year was over, he'd actually produced three fewer points (38) in four more games (67) than his rookie season. Some of that, though, was being asked to do too much (play 25-plus minutes per game in his draft year) on a bad team, and that was reflected in his season this year with a better cast around him. I don't know what more he could have done to get into the late-round pick/development camp invite conversation. His 61 points in 65 games were fifth among all OHL D, and his plus-53 rating was fifth among all players and second only among defensemen to London's Sam Dickinson. He's also, by all accounts, a leader who has taken on PP, PK and their toughest matchups with great success. He's average-sized with average-to-above-average tools but he's smart, he'll sacrifice his body and block shots, he makes good reads and his puck play is crisp. I'd want him in my organization, even if it's as a depth AHL D. I view him as a well-rounded, heady, offensively inclined defenseman who skates well (it's not dynamic but he's got good edges), defends well enough and more often than not makes the right decisions and plays hard. I felt he'd take a big step this year, and he did, and I think it warrants a look. Wilson Bjorck, C, 6-foot (Djurgardens IF) Philippe Blais-Savoie, LHD, 6-foot-0.5 (Colorado College) Diego Buttazzoni, LW, 5-foot-9 (Portland Winterhawks) Alexis Cournoyer, G, 6-foot-3 (Cape Breton Eagles) Remi Gelinas, C, 6-foot-0.5 (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) Roman Luttsev, C, 6-foot (Loko Yaroslavl) Luke Mistelbacher, RW, 5-foot-11.75 (Swift Current Broncos) Julius Sumpf, C, 6-foot-1.25 (Moncton Wildcats) Andrei Trofimov, G, 6-foot-2 (Magnitogorsk) (Photo of Francesco Dell'Elce: Zac BonDurant / Getty Images)
New York Times
18-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
It's nice that Charlie Jacobs feels Bruins fans' pain, but that's not nearly enough
BOSTON — Plenty of meaningful skating has taken place at TD Garden this year. The groundbreaking 4 Nations Face-Off final. The Beanpot. The Hockey East tourney. The high school tourneys. The World Figure Skating Championships. What's missing from this list? You know the answer to that question: The Boston Bruins. It's been a long time since the Bruins have played much in the way of meaningful hockey, unless you count their 'Centennial Game' against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 1. We can all agree it was a grand night across the boards for the Bruins: They roared to a 6-3 victory on the 100th anniversary of their first game in the NHL, a 2-1 win over the Montreal Maroons on Dec. 1, 1924, at Boston Arena. Stick tap to Thomas 'Smokey' Harris for scoring the first goal in Bruins history. Advertisement But just as the 1924-25 Bruins didn't qualify for the playoffs, neither did the 2024-25 Bruins. How bad was this latest edition of the Bruins? Their 32-39-9 record included a coaching change and a trade deadline housecleaning that sent Brad Marchand, the last remaining Bruin from the 2011 Stanley Cup champions, to the Florida Panthers. The Bruins lost 10 straight games as the season was mercifully winding down. Here's something else that connects the 2024-25 TD Garden Bruins and the 1924-25 Boston Arena Bruins: Ownership believes things are going to be just fine. Back then, it was Charles Adams, founding owner of the Bruins. Sportswriter John J. Hallahan spoke with Adams at the end of the 1925 season and filed this report for The Boston Globe: '(Adams) says that in another year he will give Boston a team that will be in the thickest of the fight, and expresses appreciation to the fans who supported the team.' One hundred years later, we have Charlie Jacobs, CEO of the Bruins and son of longtime owner/chairman Jeremy Jacobs, crafting a letter that was sent to B's fans. The big takeaway, as has already been widely discussed, is Charlie Jacobs' belief that 'expectations and accountability are higher than ever.' The only real accountability that seems to be going on with the Bruins these days is with the coach. The track record in recent years is that the blame pie is a single serving that's been delivered to Claude Julien, followed by Bruce Cassidy (who has since won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights), followed by Jim Montgomery, who was fired by the Bruins in November and was quickly hired by the St. Louis Blues. Monty's Blues are in the Stanley Cup tourney, with Game 1 of an opening-round series against the Winnipeg Jets set for Saturday night. As for Bruins president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney, they will be seated with Jacobs at the team's annual end-of-season news conference Wednesday at the Garden. 🎥 Coach Sacco reflects after the #NHLBruins season: "Over a decade here being part of a great organization. The Bruins have treated me very well…to be in the same place for that long, I'm pretty fortunate." Complete end-of-season media sessions ➡️ — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 17, 2025 I'm not here to rant for Neely and/or Sweeney to be escorted off the premises. What's bothersome about the letter — and give me some rope here — is the suggestion that Charlie Jacobs is just another townie who wants to see the Bruins win. 'I'm incredibly proud to be a Bostonian,' Jacobs writes. 'I take even greater pride in being a Boston Bruin. Together with leadership, we are embarking on an ambitious journey to restore glory to this great franchise.' Advertisement In fairness to Jacobs, he has lived in Boston for a long, long time. Though born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., which is his family's base, he went to Boston College and later settled in the area to raise his family. He's the absentee owner's son, but he's present and accounted for in the Boston community. His name is attached to several charitable endeavors in Boston. According to the Bruins' website, he is the founder and chairman of the Boston Bruins Foundation, 'whose mission is to assist charitable organizations that demonstrate a commitment to enhancing the quality of life for children and families throughout New England.' The betting here is that Jacobs knows a couple of good sub shops around town, and maybe a neighborhood bar where everybody knows your name. It's the context that's all wrong. Bruins fans are rightly worked up about the way this season played out. And whether you want to call it a 'rebuild' or a 'retooling' (the latter being no more than a rebuilding's euphemistic cousin), the customers are concerned about the future. To borrow from the iconic folk song that was popularized by The Kingston Trio, the CEO of the Boston Bruins is Charlie Jacobs, not Charlie on the MTA. He's not some grown-up kid from Inman Square who knew how to sneak into the old Garden. He didn't see the Boston Braves of the AHL, or the New England Whalers of the WHA. He's seen Bobby Orr on Level 4, but not on top of Pat Quinn. Now it's not necessary for Jacobs to have been any of those things. But for the purposes of this discussion, it's not a good sell for ownership to pretend to be one of you. The late Tommy McVie, a hockey lifer who had a long tenure with the Bruins as an assistant coach, AHL coach, scout and ambassador, was fond of saying, 'If you start thinking like the fans, you'll soon be sitting with them.' McVie was a coach, and he had coaching in mind whenever he'd roll out that line. But it works just as well with the front office and with owners. In this case, Charlie Jacobs. Advertisement The Bruins have not been a complete disaster over the years. They've been competitive more often than not. But if the ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup, the sobering reality is that the Bruins have brought the Big Goblet to Boston just once since 1972. Yes, they came close in 2013 and 2019. Alas, there is no second-place Stanley Cup unless you count the Prince of Wales Trophy, which nobody does. While we're on the topic, can we please stop with the revisionist history that the Jacobs family would have no Stanley Cup titles were it not for the otherworldly goaltending of Tim Thomas in spring 2011? No doubt about it: Thomas stood on his head. His stick save against the Tampa Bay Lightning's Steve Downie in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals is the finest net thievery these eyes have seen. But to suggest it was all Thomas is disrespectful to the likes of Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, etc. I seem to recall Mark Recchi scoring a few goals from the slot that spring while opposing skaters were bludgeoning him with tire irons. To give all the credit to Thomas is like saying the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 because David Ortiz got hot. My point is that if ownership counts for anything, then Bruins ownership delivered a Stanley Cup in 2011. And now Bruins fans are saying, 'OK, that was 14 years ago. Time for another Stanley Cup.' It's up to Charlie Jacobs, not Charlie on the MTA, to make that happen.
New York Times
11-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Boston University defeats Penn State, advances to Frozen Four national final
ST. LOUIS — Jay Pandolfo has a good thing going at Boston University. Three seasons. Three Frozen Four appearances. One Beanpot. One Hockey East championship. And, after a 3-1 win over Penn State on Thursday night at the Enterprise Center in the national semifinal, now one trip to the national championship game. Advertisement With the win, the Terriers have now won eight of their last nine games of this season dating all the way back to Feb. 22, their lone loss coming to UConn in the Hockey East semifinal. A year ago, they were a goal away from the final, losing to eventual national champion Denver in overtime. This year, they're advancing one game further — one win away from the program's sixth national title. To do it, they'll have to beat a Western Michigan team that has done them one better in their last nine games, winning all of them. On Thursday, Western Michigan gave up a 2-0 lead in the third period before pulling out their semifinal win in double overtime. The Terriers followed suit and carried a 2-0 lead of their own into the third period, but held onto it. Senior forward and Los Angeles Kings draft pick Jack Hughes opened the scoring on an innocuous play, poking in a loose puck after Penn State goaltender and Flames prospect Arsenii Sergeyev, not knowing it was underneath him, lifted his pad and revealed it. DOGS BITE FIRST! Jack Hughes gets the Terriers on the board first with 18:25 left in the second period!#MFrozenFour x 🎥 ESPN2 / @TerrierHockey — NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 11, 2025 Freshman forward and Islanders first-rounder Cole Eiserman made it 2-0, scoring his team-leading 24th goal of the season off of a pass from fellow freshman and longtime teammate Cole Hutson on a two-on-one. WHAT A PASS! @ColeEiserman34 with the one timer to make it 2-0 Terriers! #MFrozenFour x 🎥 ESPN2 / @TerrierHockey — NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 11, 2025 Though Penn State did push in the third more than they had through the first two periods, BU only gave back one to Nic DeGraves. BU sophomore forward and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Jack Harvey later sealed it into the empty net. 'It almost doesn't feel quite real,' Hughes said after the game of advancing to the final after back-to-back semifinal losses at the Frozen Four. 'It's a little bit of a relief for now and then we're going to get back to work and hopefully win it all.' Advertisement Two points and plus-3 in a 4-3 overtime win in the gold medal game of the World Juniors. A goal and plus-2 in the Beanpot final. A goal, four points and plus-4 in the regional semifinal. A goal and two points in a 3-2 overtime win in the regional final to send his team to the Frozen Four. And now a big assist in the national semifinal to set up the game-winner that sent the Terriers to the national title game. They should start calling him Big Game Cole Hutson. And honestly, what a freshman year for the Capitals second-rounder. That's 47 points in 38 games now. His brother Lane had 48 in 39, believe it or not, so they may well finish the year with identical stat lines. Hutson was outstanding at both ends again on Thursday night, making plays all around the offensive zone, carrying a ton of pucks out of trouble and into the offensive zone, setting up the Eiserman goal, putting five shots on net, and coming up with some big blocks and stops back at the other end. His four blocked shots were a game high. 'Whenever No. 44 has the puck, I'm always expecting to get it,' Eiserman said after the game of Hutson's setup on his goal. 'He's such a great player and with him he was just looking for the angle. It was a late pass but a great play.' I'm more confident with every passing viewing that he's going to be an impactful NHL defenseman. — Scott Wheeler On Jan. 10, Mikhail Yegorov lost his 13th game in a row with the hapless Omaha Lancers team. Three months later, he made 32 saves on 33 shots to backstop the Terriers to the national title game. In between, the Devils' second-round pick won the Beanpot and celebrated his 19th birthday. His decision to leave Omaha and the USHL and enroll at BU for second semester has been a fairytale for him and the Terriers, and now he gets a chance for the storybook ending. He has been lights-out for them since his very first start back on Jan. 25, playing to a save percentage above .930 across 17 games. The talent and upside has always been there. He's a 6-foot-5 goalie with superb athleticism. He's also a delight to talk to and seems to have a great head on his shoulders. Once he gets into the gym and adds the right kind of muscle to his lean 180-pound frame, the sky looks like it's the limit. Advertisement 'It has been great coming here and getting a chance to play and sticking through the whole season. (My teammates) have treated me as if I was a part of their team for four years,' Yegorov said when asked to put his whirlwind season into perspective. 'Now we're going to play in the national championship and it's kind of unbelievable.' He has turned me into a big fan and the Devils were right to look past the difficult situation he was in in Omaha and make him the second goalie off the board in last year's draft. — Scott Wheeler Considering Penn State's Cinderella run, going from winless in their first nine Big Ten games to the Frozen Four, it seemed like they'd have another comeback left in them. And the Nittany Lions nearly did, especially after Nicholas DeGraves scored two minutes into the third. But a slow start against Boston University was too much to overcome. The Terriers, in their third straight Frozen Four, had so much firepower, with the slick Hutson-to-Eiserman goal midway through the second the difference. Penn State was outshot 24-15 in the first two periods before making a strong third-period push. The loss doesn't take away from the historic season, with the Nittany Lions — just over a decade removed from their debut in Division I — making their first Frozen Four. — Joe Smith
Boston Globe
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Previewing the Frozen Four: BU and Penn State have different pedigrees, but similar journeys to St. Louis
Penn State (22-13-4) finished fifth in the Big Ten, one of four from the conference to reach the postseason, and the only one to make it out of the first round, as Michigan State, Minnesota, and Ohio State were all bounced. Advertisement BU barely resembled a team that would even qualify for the tournament, never mind reach the Frozen Four, when it dropped a 7-5 decision at Yale on Dec. 29. But when asked after Wednesday's practice at Enterprise Arena if he envisioned his squad back in the Frozen Four after stumbling against the Bulldogs, coach Jay Pandolfo said he still had plenty of belief. 'I think sometimes it's good for a team to go through the adversity we've went through this year, as long as you learn from it,' said Pandolfo. 'And I think we have, in a lot of different moments. Advertisement 'Right after the game maybe if you asked me, I would have said something different, but knowing these players that we have, I'd say, 'Yeah, we'll find a way.'' Helping to spark the turnaround has been goalie Mikhail Yegorov, who has started the last 16 games since enrolling in the school in January, going 10-5-1 with a .931 save percentage and a 2.04 goals-against average. Mikhail Yegorov joined the Terriers after the new year. Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff Even with the turnaround, the Terriers have had a few clunkers, including a 5-1 loss at home to Northeastern on Feb. 21 and a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of UConn in the Hockey East semifinals on March 20 that didn't even feel that close. But they responded with a pair of strong showings in the Toledo Regional, posting victories over Whereas bouts of inconsistency continue to plague BU, Penn State has been on a roll since the holiday break. After sputtering to a 7-9 start, including an 0-8 mark in Big Ten play, the Nittany Lions have gone 15-4-4 since Jan. 1. They received the final at-large bid for the tournament and were the No. 4 seed in the Allentown Regional, but managed to post wins over Advertisement Goalie Arsenii Sergeev will certainly look familiar to Hockey East fans. He played two years at UConn before transferring to Penn State for the 2024-25 season, going 19-8-4 with a .918 save percentage and a 2.56 goals-against average. He was the goalie of record for the Nittany Lions' second-half surge. Although both teams are getting stellar play in net, the game shouldn't lack for offense. BU ranks fourth in the NCAA in goals per game at 3.8. Penn State is seventh with 3.5. Junior Quinn Hutson and freshman Cole Eiserman each have 23 goals to lead the Terriers. Hutson's 1.39 points per game is second in the NCAA, while younger brother Cole Hutson leads all NCAA defenseman in points per game (1.24) and is first among NCAA freshmen in points (46) and assists (32). Related : Sophomore Aiden Fink leads Penn State in goals (23) and assists (30), and is third in points per game nationally with 1.36. Freshman Charlie Cerrato is second on the team in both assists (27) and points (42). Previewing Denver-Western Michigan While BU and Penn State are meeting for the first time, the day's first matchup features teams that are very familiar with each other. Western Michigan (32-7-1) and Denver (31-11-1) met three times this season, all decided by one goal, two of which went to overtime. The NCHC foes split a series in Kalamazoo, Mich. in December. The Broncos took the rubber match in the conference championship game March 22, rallying from a 3-0 hole to force overtime and prevailing, 4-3 against the defending national champions. This game also features a disparity in postseason experience. Denver has won 10 national titles, the most of any Division 1 program, and is going for its third in four seasons. Western Michigan is making its first appearance in the Frozen Four. Advertisement The winners will meet in Saturday's championship game (7:30 p.m., ESPN2). Follow Andrew Mahoney
