It wasn’t the best weekend for some of the Washington Capitals’ college prospects, but week three provided some exciting action. Conference play is starting and these games get intense and show how fun college hockey is. 

Let’s take a look at how the six Capitals NCAA prospects performed for week three of the college hockey season.

*Note. With some teams beginning conference play, the second record listed is record in conference-only play.

A regulation win in conference play is three points. An overtime/shootout win is two points, and an overtime/shootout loss is one point.

If a game goes beyond 3v3 overtime, the game is deemed a tie and each team will earn a point. Teams will conduct a shootout to play for an extra point, but the game is still deemed a tie. Overtime rules vary per conference.

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

Leonard probably had his best weekend as a student-athlete thus far. He had the secondary assist on Will Smith’s goal against the Rensselaer (RPI) Engineers in a dominating 6-1 win.

Hey @SanJoseSharks, Will’s on the board 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KD79IUtgMa

— BC Men’s Hockey (@BC_MHockey) October 21, 2023

He had a team-leading three shots on goal and was a plus-2.

The eighth overall selection was even better against the No. 2 Denver Pioneers. He was noticeable every shift and also had a few hits.

Just Ryan Leonard (#ALLCAPS) doing Ryan Leonard things, dropping an opponent in the neutral zone with a heavy open-ice hit pic.twitter.com/NNSumbkmgF

— J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) October 21, 2023

Despite Leonard having the primary assist on Smith’s opening tally in the first period, Denver defeated Boston College 4-3 in a very exciting game.

Once you pop, the fun don’t stop 🥳

💻 https://t.co/pgeuHf0xa1 pic.twitter.com/2lZmmoYQp0

— BC Men’s Hockey (@BC_MHockey) October 21, 2023

Boston College will host the No. 8 Michigan State Spartans this weekend.

David Gucciardi, LD, 2022 7th RD, No. 8 Michigan State Spartans (5-1-0)

Michigan State bounced back after a disappointing split against the Air Force Falcons, with a sweep against the Canisius Golden Griffins. Gucciardi had two shot attempts in Game 1, both were blocked, and was a plus-1. The Spartans took the first game 6-3. 

Game 2 did not go as planned for the left-shot rearguard. With seven seconds left in the first period, and the Spartans leading 1-0, Gucciardi was given a five minute major for cross checking and a game misconduct. 

Despite his absence, Michigan State completed the sweep taking Game 2 4-3. 

The Green and White have a tall task ahead of them this upcoming week, when they travel to Beantown to faceoff against the No. 3 Boston College Eagles. 

Chase Clark, G, 2021 6th RD, Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-3-0, 1-1-0)

Clark and the Pioneers have not had an ideal start to their season. Sacred Heart had its first Atlantic Hockey (AHA) matchup against the RIT Tigers and lost 4-2 in the opening game. Clark had 27 saves on three goals against. 

However, the Pioneers rebounded the following night coming out of the gate with a 3-0 lead and held that lead for 40 minutes. However, Clark’s potential shutout bid ended with about nine minutes to go in the final frame. The Tigers pulled within one, but the Pioneers came away with their first win of the season defeating RIT 5-2. 

Clark earned his first collegiate with 33 saves. He made some key saves during a late penalty kill. 

Here are the highlights of Game 2.

Ryan Chesley, RD, 2022 2nd RD, No. 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-1-0)

Minnesota is coming off a split against its rival in the No. 4 North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Both games were filled with back and forth action. In Game 1, the Gophers shut out the Fighiting Hawks 4-0. Chesley did not get on the scoresheet, but he continues to create offense and block shots. 

He had three shot attempts and two blocked shots. 

The sophomore defenseman registered his first point of the season, earning the primary assist on Jaxson Nelson’s redirect goal in the third period. However, it wasn’t enough as Minnesota fell to North Dakota 2-1.

A big goal from the captain! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/EPfAzlnubw

— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) October 22, 2023

Minnesota will begin Big Ten play this Thursday when they host the Wisconsin Badgers.

Brent Johnson, RD, 2021 3rd RD, No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1-2, 0-1-1)

The Buckeyes got their first taste of Big Ten play against the Michigan Wolverines, also referred to as “That team up North”. 

Johnson was a minus-1 in a very lopsided contest, with Michigan taking Game 1 by a score of 7-1. 

Game 2 was a much better performance for Johnson himself and the Buckeyes. Ohio State tied with the Wolverines 2-2, but earned the extra point in a shootout win. The Buckeyes were down 2-1 late in the third, but battled back to tie the game to force overtime. 

Johnson had six shot attempts which was second on the team during the game.

Ohio State will continue its road swing against the No. 20 Omaha Mavericks this weekend. 

Joaquim Lemay, LD, 2021 4th RD, No. 20 Omaha Mavericks (2-0-0)

The Mavericks had a bye week and will be back in action this weekend against the No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes. 

Other College Hockey storylines

• Notre Dame splits with No. 9 BU (originally No. 6),  (4-1W, 8-2L)
• UNH splits with No. 5 Quinnipiac (originally No. 4),  (5-2L, 5-4 OTW)
• AIC splits with No. 15 (originally No. 12) Penn State (3-2L, 6-4W)
• No. 14 Wisconsin (originally unranked) sweeps Michigan Tech (originally No. 17) (4-2W, 5-2W)
• Alaska splits with St. Cloud State (originally No. 20), (4-1L, 5-2W)
• No. 19 UMass sweeps Minnesota State (originally No. 19), (6-3W, 1-0W)
• No. 13 Arizona State (originally No. 18) sweeps Northern Michigan (3-2W, 5-1W)
• No. 11 Minnesota Duluth (originally No. 14) sweeps Bemidji State

By Jacob Cheris

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