New York Rangers NCAA prospects report: Pair of college defensemen score 1st goals
Ten New York Rangers prospects were in NCAA action over the weekend, as Zakary Karpa returned to the lineup for Harvard University, and newly acquired defenseman Jackson Dorrington of Northeastern University faced off against 2023 draftees Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortescue of Boston College in the annual Beanpot tournament at TD Garden Monday night.
In his first game since his NHL signing rights were dealt to the Rangers in the J.T. Miller trade with the Vancouver Canucks, Dorrington had two shots on goal and five blocked shots with a minus-1 rating, when Northeastern lost to Maine by a score of 3-1 in Hockey East play before the Beanpot.
Also before the tournament, 2023 first-round pick Gabe Perreault was credited with a goal Friday when Boston College shut out UMass-Lowell 4-0. The sophomore forward had a pass go off his skate for the Eagles second goal of the game, and Perreault’s ninth of the season. Perreault finished the game with two shots on goal, a plus-2 rating, one face-off win, and a minor penalty for boarding.
Teammate Drew Fortescue had the primary assist on what proved to be the game-winning goal, setting up Ryan Leonard for Boston College’s first goal of the game. The defenseman had one shot on goal along with the assist, and a plus-2 rating.
Boston College opened the 2025 Beanpot Tournament with an 8-2 victory over Dorrington and Northeastern. All three prospects registered assist in the game. Fans were still finding their seats when Fortescue earned a secondary assist on Boston College’s first goal of the contest just 46 seconds into the first period. The defenseman recovered a loose puck below the goal line, and moved it up to James Hagens, who passed to Teedy Stiga to open the scoring.
The assist was Fortescue’s ninth of the season, one more than he had during his freshman campaign. Fortescue recorded one shot on goal in the win and was plus-1, but took two minor penalties. He was charged with holding in the first period, and a roughing minor in the third.
It wasn’t until the third period that Perreault added his name to the score sheet, earning the primary assist on Andrew Gasseau’s goal to make the score 6-1. Perreault carried the puck into the offensive zone before firing a pass between the legs of a Northeastern defender to an open Gasseau with a “no look” pass for an easy goal. Perreault added a second assist later in the third, feeding Leonard for the Eagles’ seventh goal. Perreault finished the night plus-3 with two assists, bringing his season totals to nine goals, 25 assists, and 34 points. His 34 points are tied for sixth in the Nation, and his 25 assists are second overall.
With the wins, Boston College improved to 20-4-1 overall and remain in first place in both the USCHO Division I Men’s Poll and Men’s Division I PairWise Rankings. BC travels to Durham, New Hampshire on Friday to take on the Wildcats before the championship game of the Beanpot Tournament against Boston University on Monday night.
Dorrington helped Northeastern get on the scoreboard Monday night. His shot from the point was deflected in for the Huskies first goal. The assist was the defenseman’s ninth of the season and 11th point. Dorrington finished the game with one shot on goal, one blocked shot, and an even rating. Northeastern dropped to 9-13-3 overall with the loss, and will face Harvard on Monday in the consolation game of the Beanpot.
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Rangers prospect Zakary Karpa returns for Harvard
As for Karpa, he missed Harvard’s 4-3 overtime loss to Princeton University with an upper-body injury before returning to the lineup for a 7-1 loss to Boston University. Karpa was moved to left wing on the fourth line for the game, finishing with a minus-1 rating, one shot on goal, one blocked shot, and a face-off record of 3-2. Harvard is 7-12-2 overall and will be on the road against Dartmouth on Friday before facing Northeastern.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers swept the season series against Wisconsin in the Border Battle, winning both games this past weekend by scores of 5-2 and 4-1 to improve their overall record to 21-6-3. Minnesota rose one spot to third in the USCHO poll, and stayed in the third spot in PairWise rankings.
Junior forward Brody Lamb had three shots on goal with two blocked shots Friday, before recording an assist Saturday with one shot on goal and a plus-1 rating. The assist broke an eight-game pointless streak for Lamb, who has not scored a goal since Jan. 3. He sits at 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points in 29 games this season. Minnesota is off this weekend, and will continue Big Ten play against Michigan on Feb. 14.
Freshman Ty Henricks had an assist for the Western Michigan Broncos, when they won their seventh straight game by a score of 4-1 over Noah Laba and the Colorado College Tigers in NCHC play. Henricks earned the primary assist on the Broncos third goal of the game coming in the second period. The left winger did not record a shot on goal, but was plus-1 for the game. Laba also did not record a shot on goal during the game, finished minus-1, and won 11 of 19 face-offs.
Colorado College won the rematch Saturday 3-2 in overtime. Ty Henricks was held without a point with three shots on goal. Western Michigan fell one spot to fourth in the USCHO Poll with a record of 18-5-1 and is fifth in PairWise Rankings.
Laba earned an assist on the Tigers’ first goal, but was assessed a major penalty for hitting from behind and ejected after being given a game misconduct. He had one shot on goal, and a face-off mark of 4-2. Laba has seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 21 games this season. Colorado College managed to get back into the USCHO Poll this week, however they are currently outside the NCAA tournament picture at 34th in PairWise ranking with a 13-12-1 overall record. They travel to Engelstad Arena to take on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks this weekend.
As for North Dakota, the Fighting Hawks stayed at 16th in the USCHO Poll and 22nd in PairWise Rankings following their series against St. Cloud State which ended in a 3-3 tie on Friday, and 6-2 win Saturday. 2024 first-round pick EJ Emery had two shots on goal with a plus-1 rating in the first game, and one blocked shot Saturday with a minor penalty for roughing. The freshman defenseman has a lone assist in 25 games played. North Dakota holds a 13-10-2 overall record.
Defenseman Hank Kempf scored his first goal of the season Friday night, but it wasn’t enough for Cornell when the Big Red lost 2-1 to St. Lawrence University in ECAC play. Kempf had three shots on goal, one blocked shot, and was minus-1. The senior assistant captain added an assist with one shot on goal Saturday in a 3-3 tie against Clarkson. He improved his season stats to one goal and five assists for six points in 21 games. Cornell may need to win the ECAC tournament to qualify for the NCAA Frozen Four since they are 8-7-6 overall. The Big Red are not ranked in the USCHO Poll and are currently below the PariWise cutline at 25th.
Rasmus Larsson scored his first NCAA goal and point Friday, though his Northern Michigan Wildcats fell to Bowling Green in overtime 3-2. Larsson tied the game 1-1 at 2:22 of the third period. He snapped a shot just under the crossbar after pinching down in the left circle.
Larsson scored on his only shot of the game, and was credited with four blocked shots. He was called for a tripping penalty in the second period.
The Swedish defenseman doubled his goal total on Saturday, scoring against Bowling Green through the five-hole on a screened shot. The goal came at 11:52 of the second period at even strength, though Northern Michigan ended up losing 5-2.
With goals in consecutive games, Larsson hopefully has the confidence to shoot more. He finished Saturday with one shot on goal, three blocked shots, and was minus-2. Northern Michigan continues a rebuilding season with a 4-23-1 overall record. The Wildcats will visit Lake Superior State this weekend.
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