New York Rangers NCAA prospect report: Gabe Perreault off and running
Seven New York Rangers prospects were in action this weekend, when their respective teams kicked off NCAA regular-season play. As expected, the spotlight was on New York’s 2023 first-round pick Gabe Perreault.
Boston College was in East Lansing, Michigan, when the No. 2 ranked Eagles visited the No. 4 Michigan State Spartans. Perreault and 2023 third-round pick Drew Fortescue played big roles for BC, which came away with a 3-0 shutout win Friday.
Perreault collected the primary assist on BC’s third goal of the game. The forward finished the night with four shots on goal and a plus-1 rating. Fortescue, a defenseman, blocked two shots, featured on the left side of the top defensive pair for the Eagles.
In a rematch Saturday, Perreault scored his first goal of the season. With his team trailing in the first period, Perreault finished off a 2-on-1 breakaway after being set up by James Hagens, to even the score at the 17:00 minute mark.
It would not be enough for Boston College, as they dropped a 4-3 decision to Michigan State. Perreault finished with four shots on goal, and three blocked shots. Fortescue had one shot on goal, and two blocked shots Saturday. The Eagles will host American International College on Friday, Oct. 18 before an exhibition against the U.S. National Team Development Program on Saturday the 19th.
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Rangers’ 2024 first-rounder picks up assist in NCAA debut
Sixth ranked North Dakota opened its regular-season slate with a 5-2 victory over Providence College in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game on Saturday and EJ Emery recorded his first career NCAA point with a primary assist. The Rangers top pick in the 2024 NHL Draft fed Cameron Berg across the crease on the weak side for the first goal of the game.
It was a solid debut for the 18-year-old defenseman, who finished with one assist, two shots on goal, two blocked shots, and a plus-2 rating. North Dakota travels to Minnesota State for a pair of games against the Mavericks on October 18th and 19th.
Junior Brody Lamb skated at right wing on the third line for the No. 5 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers in their 7-1 victory over Air Force Academy on Friday. He had a primary assist on Minnesota’s fifth goal of the game. Lamb was credited with one shot on goal and a plus-1 rating.
He’ll need to push his way up the depth chart if he wants to earn an entry-level contract from the Rangers. Lamb was demoted to the fourth line for a 2-1 overtime loss to Omaha on Saturday. Lamb seemed to get the message about needing to shoot more, finishing the game with four shots on goal. Though he didn’t have any points, Lamb took a cross checking penalty and had a minus-1 rating. Minnesota will travel to Duluth October 18th and 19th for a pair of games against a rival Bulldogs team.
Noah Laba got off to a hot start for the No. 12 ranked Colorado College Tigers. The junior center scored the winning goal just 21 seconds into overtime on Friday.
Laba was also credited with an assist on the Tigers second goal of the game. He had six shots on goal, and a plus-3 rating. He also won 16 of 23 face-offs.
On Saturday, Laba added four assists in a 6-1 victory against the Northern Michigan Wildcats. He continued to dominate at the face-off circle, winning 13 of 18 draws. After two games, Laba’s six points has him tied for sixth nationally, while holding a whopping 70.7 face-off win percentage. Colorado College is off next weekend. Its next games will be October 25th and 26th at Alaska Anchorage.
As for freshman defenseman Rasmus Larsson of Northern Michigan, he skated on the left side of the Wildcats third defensive pair in his NCAA debut Friday night. The fifth-round pick from 2023 picked up an assist on the Wildcats second goal of the game. He had two shots on goal and two blocked shots. On Saturday, Larsson had another two blocked shots, but was a minus-3 with one roughing penalty. Northern Michigan will host Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 18 and 19.
Western Michigan saw four freshmen score their first collegiate goals during a 4-1 win over Ferris State on Friday night. Ty Henricks, the Rangers sixth round pick in 2023, got on the scoresheet with an even-strength goal during the third period to make the score 3-1.
The 6-foot-5 forward had one shot on goal and was plus-1. He was listed as the fourth line right wing. In a 5-1 win Saturday, Henricks did not record any shots, but earned the primary assist on linemate Cam Knuble’s first NCAA goal to give the Broncos a 4-1 lead at 12:24 of the third period. Henricks finished plus-1.. Western Michigan takes on Bowling Green Thursday night before an exhibition against York University on Saturday.
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