Capitals College Credits: Brent Johnson And Joaquim Lemay Begin 2023-24 Scoring Campaign

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Jon Sorensen

As if week one of the 2023-24 college hockey season wasn’t exciting enough, week two provided even more storylines. The biggest being the unranked UNH Wildcats defeating the No. 1 Boston University Terriers. All of the games this past weekend that were projected to be blowouts, were anything but. 

After each series, we will be evaluating the performance of the Washington Capitals college prospects. Here is how the six prospects did during week two of the season. 

Ryan Leonard, F, 2023 1st RD, No. 3 Boston College Eagles (2-0-0)

Leonard did not register a point in the Eagles’ 4-2 win over the LIU Sharks, but had nine shot attempts which was second on the team. 

Boston College will be in action on Oct. 21 against The Rensselaer (RPI) Engineers and then will face off against the No. 2 Denver Pioneers on Oct. 22.

David Gucciardi, LD, 2022 7th RD, No. 8 Michigan State Spartans (3-1-0)

Gucciardi and the Spartans had a very disappointing weekend. They split with the Air Force Falcons and almost blew Game 2 of the series after having a 3-0 lead. 

In Game 1, Gucciardi had a boarding penalty and four shot attempts. The Spartans trailed 3-0 after the first period and eventually lost 6-5. 

In Game 2, he had two shot blocks and two shot attempts in a 5-3 win. 

Gucciardi and the Spartans will return home for their series against the Canisius Golden Griffins on Thursday, Oct. 19. 

Chase Clark, G, 2021 6th RD, Sacred Heart Pioneers (0-2-0)

Clark and the Pioneers had a very rough weekend, getting swept by the Colgate Raiders. 

The sophomore netminder faced 44 shots in Game 1 of the series in a 3-2 loss. Sacred Heart had a late comeback after being down 3-0, but it was not enough. 

Things went even more sideways for the Williamsville, N.Y., native. Colgate dominated from start to finish, putting up six tallies against Clark on 44 shots in a lopsided 6-1 win. 

Sacred Heart will begin conference play next week against the RIT Tigers on the road. 

Ryan Chesley, RD, 2022 2nd RD, No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-0-0)

Chesley and the Gophers narrowly escaped what would have been a catastrophic upset against the St. Thomas Tommies. Minnesota was down 4-2 early in the third period, but stormed back to tie it at four. Then it took the lead, then St. Thomas knotted things up forcing overtime. The Gophers took the 6-5 win thanks to Jimmy Snuggerud’s heroics. 

Though he did not register a point in Game 1, he led the team with three blocked shots and skated on the top pair with Luke Mittelstadt. 

Game 2 was more lopsided in favor of the Gophers. He had two shot attempts, two shot blocks, and was a plus-2 in Minnesota’s 3-0 win over the Tommies. 

Chesley currently leads the Gophers with a plus-4 rating. He and the Gophers return to action this weekend against the No. 5 North Dakota Fighting Hawks. 

Brent Johnson, RD, 2021 3rd RD, No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0-1)

After having three shots and one block last weekend, Johnson got on the scoresheet, scoring the game-winning goal on the power play for the Buckeyes mid-way through the second period against the Lindenwood Lions.

In Game 2, the Buckeyes tied with the Lions 2-2, but they got the extra PairWise point winning the shootout. Johnson ended the evening with seven shot attempts, three of which came on the man-advantage, and three blocks. 

Johnson and the Buckeyes will begin conference play against the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor next week. 

Joaquim Lemay, LD, 2021 4th RD, Omaha Mavericks (2-0-0)

Lemay also had a terrific weekend. The Mavericks swept the Niagara Purple Eagles in two lopsided affairs. Lemay had two points (one goal, one assist) in Game 1 and Omaha came away with a dominating 8-1 win. He also had two shots on goal and five shot attempts.

The sophomore remained hot by scoring another power-play goal mid-way through the third period. His tally was the game-winner and it was another weird bounce that ended up getting past the Niagara netminder.

The Mavericks will have this weekend off and will return to action on Oct. 27 for their second series of an eight-game homestand against the No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes.

Other College Hockey storylines

  • UNH upsets No. 6 (originally No. 1) Boston University, 6-4
  • UMass scores six unanswered to upset No. 7 (originally No. 6) Michigan, 6-3. 
  • RIT shuts-out Notre Dame 3-0
  • Alaska win and tie vs No. 17 (Originally No. 9) Michigan Tech (4-1 W, 2-2 T)
  • Augustana sweeps Bowling Green for first ever NCAA sweep (3-2, 4-1)
  • Minnesota State sweeps No. 20 (Originally No. 10) St. Cloud State (3-2OT, 5-1)
  • Holy Cross moves to 3-0 after upsetting unranked (originally No. 20) UConn, 2-1
  • No. 12 Penn State (originally No. 18) moves to 3-0 after beating Clarkson and St. Lawrence (4-2, 4-1)

By Jacob Cheris

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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