Rangers’ Gabe Perreault becomes college hockey scoring leader
Eight New York Rangers prospects continued their development in the collegiate ranks this weekend as their respective teams look to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Let’s dive into all the excitement, including the Blueshirts top pick from the 2023 NHL Entry Draft rising to the top of college hockey scoring.
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Gabe Perreault NCAA leading scorer
On Friday night, Gabe Perreault had two assists, one shot on goal in a 6-1 win against the New Hampshire Wildcats. Perreault’s first assist came at the 4:35 mark of the first period while on the power play to give Boston College a 3-0 lead. He added another power-play assist in the third period Cutter Gauthier scored to make the game 6-1. Teammate Drew Fortescue was ejected to earn a game disqualification at 13:14 of the third period, which came with an automatic one game suspension.
Boson College remained in the top spot of the U.S. College Hockey Online Division I Men’s Poll Monday afternoon, receiving 24 first place votes. On Monday night, Gabe Perreault got the first goal of the Beanpot Consolation Game against Harvard when he broke the tie with 7:57 to go in the second period when he stuffed in a loose puck.
Perreault would add an assist later on in the period for Boston’s third goal of the game scored by Ryan Leonard. He finished the game with one goal and one assist for two points with three shots on goal with a +3 rating while also going 1-2 on face-offs. With his two point night, the Perreault is now leading the NCAA in points with 45 in 27 games played which also make him the leader in points per game with a 1.6667 rate as a freshman. His 32 assists are second only to junior Massimo Rizzo of Denver.
Goaltender Jan Korec stopped all nineteen shots against to record a shutout in the 5-0 win, which was also his first NCAA start. Boston College improved their record to 21-5-1 on the season. Next up for the Eagles are a pair of games against the Minutemen from UMass on February 16th and 17th.
New York Rangers college prospects update
Sophomore winger Jaroslav Chmelar returned to the lineup for the Providence College Friars on Friday and finished the game two shots on goal in a 2-1 loss. It was the first game since December 9th for the Czech native, who missed time due to wrist surgery. The New York Rangers fifth round selection from 2021 had three shots on goal in a 4-3 win on Saturday. He remains at five goals and nine assists for fourteen points in eighteen games played on the season. With the split, Providence has a record of 16-9-2 and have an upcoming home and home series against the Boston University Terriers on February 16th and 17th. The team is ranked tenth in the USCHO poll, and eleventh in the PairWise Rankings.
Goaltender Hugo Ollas stopped twenty one of twenty two shots against for a .955 save percentage as the Merrimack College Warriors upset the New Hampshire Wildcats in a 3-1 win. With the win, the Warriors snapped a seven game losing streak, while Ollas earned his first win in five starts to improve his record to 5-10. The seventh round selection of the Rangers from the 2020 NHL Draft has a 2.75 goals against average this season and a .907 save percentage in fifteen games played. Merrimack College improved to 11-17-1 overall and will continue Hockey East play with a pair of games against the University of Vermont on February 16th and 17th.
Harvard captain Zakary Karpa was the only New York Rangers prospect to score on Friday, as the Crimson skated to a 5-5 tie with Dartmouth College. The junior center finished with a +3 rating and went 9-16 on faceoffs.
Harvard would drop to 5-14-4 on the season after dropping the Beanpot Consolation game to Boston College on Monday night. Karpa had two shots on goal and was a -2 while going 11-21 on faceoffs. He sits at three goals and three assists for six points in twenty two games played on the season. The Crimson will continue ECAC play against St. Lawrence University on Friday, February 16th and Clarkson University on Saturday, February 17th.
Hank Kempf had two blocked shots and finished Friday’s game with a +1 rating in a 4-1 win for the Cornell Big Red as they defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The junior defenseman had two shots on goal and a +2 rating in a 6-1 win against Union College on Saturday during ECAC play. The New York Rangers seventh round pick from the 2021 draft has one goal and four assists for five points in twenty three games played this season. Cornell has a 15-4-4 overall record, and will face Brown University on February 16th before Yale University Bulldogs visit on the 17th. The Big Red climbed one spot to number twelve in the USCHO Poll, and have a good chance of qualifying for the NCAA tournament as the team is currently 13th in PairWise rankings.
Brody Lamb has two shots on goal and a +1 rating in a 3-0 win Friday as the Minnesota Golden Gophers took on the Penn State Nittany Lions in Big 10 conference play. The sophomore winger earned the primary assist on Minnesota’s first goal of the game Saturday as the Gophers once again shutout the Nittany Lions 3-0 to improve to 18-7-5 overall. The Rangers fourth round pick in the 2021 draft finished the game with three shots on goal. Lamb has eleven goals and ten assists for twenty one points in thirty games played on the season. Minnesota will travel to South Bend, Indiana for a pair of games against the Notre Dame Fight Irish on February 16th and 17th. The Gophers are currently eight in both the USCHO Poll and PairWise Rankings.
Victor Mancini one shot on goal and a -3 rating for the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks in a 6-1 loss to the Western Michigan Broncos on Friday. The junior defenseman had one assist and two shots on goal in a 3-2 overtime win Saturday. “Moose” as he is known has three goals and six assists for nine points in twenty eight games played during his junior season. The Mavericks have a 15-10-3 record and are off until February 23rd when the team faces the Colorado College Tigers at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha is ranked number eighteen in the USCHO Poll, but are a bubble team to qualify for the NCAA tournament, sitting in a tie for 17th in PairWise rankings.
Center Noah Laba and the Colorado College Tigers Men’s Ice Hockey team had the weekend off. The New York Rangers Prospect of the Month for January has fifteen goals, nine assists for twenty four points in twenty five games played. Colorado College will resume National College Hockey Conference play when they host the North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Ed Robson Arena on February 16th and 17th. The Tigers current record is 16-9-1. The team stayed at fifteen in the USCHO Poll, and are tied for 17th in the PairWise rankings.
Though not Rangers related, I wanted to give a shoutout to the Stonehill College Skyhawks Men’s Ice Hockey team, who earned their first NCAA Division I win in the school’s history following a 4-2 victory over Lindenwood.
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