College hockey is back, and the second half is the best time of the year. Every point matters and one point could make a huge difference in whether or not a team is going to the NCAA tournament. The stakes continue to get bigger and bigger as each series goes by. 

This past weekend, teams were back in action to start the spring semester. The six college prospects for the Washington Capitals did have a quieter weekend in terms of production.

Here is how each of them performed. 

Ryan Leonard, RW, 2023 1st RD, No. 1 Boston College Eagles (13-3-1, 6-2-1)

BC did not play this past weekend due to much of their team attending the World Junior tournament in Sweden, representing Team USA. Leonard and the Americans clinched the Gold Medal in a very exciting tournament.

Boston College will start the second half against the No. 9 Providence Friars in a top 10 showdown. The Eagles are second in Hockey East with 19 points and sit at third in the PairWise. 

David Gucciardi, LD, 2022 7th RD, No. 8 Michigan State Spartans (13-4-3, 7-1-2)

Gucciardi and the Spartans took part in the Great Lakes Invitational tournament over the break. The tournament consisted of the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks, the Ferris State Bulldogs, Michigan Tech Huskies and Michigan State. The Spartans took on the Bulldogs first and dominated them from start to finish.

Gucciardi tallied the primary assist on Jeremy Davidson’s second goal of the game, which made it 4-1 Spartans, in the second period. It was a gorgeous stretch pass from end-to-end and Davidson had a spin-o-rama backhand goal. Gucciardi finished the game with six shot attempts and was second on the team with three blocks.

Michigan State vs Ferris State | NCAA College Hockey | Highlights – December 28, 2023

The Spartans would take on the Huskies in the finals but would fall in the shootout in a 3-3 tie. Gucciardi once again had an assist. Michigan State was down 3-2 with about eight minutes to go in regulation. The junior blueliner once again fed a perfect stretch pass, which sent Red Savage on a breakaway, tying the game at three. Gucciardi finished the game with five shot attempts. 

Michigan Tech vs Michigan State | NCAA College Hockey | Highlights – December 29, 2023

Michigan State will travel to State College to take on the No. 20 Penn State Nittany Lions. The Spartans are second in the Big Ten with 25 points and are seventh in the PairWise rankings. 

Chase Clark, G, 2021 6th RD, Sacred Heart Pioneers (9-9-2, 9-4-1)

In the last college credits we wrote, we said that Clark was pulled after two periods of play against the Princeton Tigers due to giving up two goals on 23 shots. However, that was due to an injury according to Sacred Heart Hockey Blog.

Full disclosure I didn’t see that game lol.

Overall I think he’s been excellent. I think he’s kept us in a lot of games, and has made some ridiculous saves against quality opponents. That Mercyhurst game was also his first game back from injury+a long Christmas break

— Sacred Heart Hockey Blog (@SHUHockeyBlog) January 9, 2024

The sophomore goaltender did not play in the series finale and did not start against the No. 16 UNH Wildcats.

Clark made his return to the crease to begin 2024 against the Mercyhurst Lakers and struggled big time. The Lakers got out to a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period and the Pioneers eventually fell 7-2. Clark gave up seven goals on 28 shots. 

Sacred Heart was back in action three days later to take on the Army Black Knights. Clark bounced back with a stellar performance, and led his team to a 3-3 tie, with the Pioneers taking the extra point in the shootout. 

The Pioneers will be back in action on Jan. 12-13 with a home-and-home slate against the Bentley Falcons. Sacred Heart is currently first in Atlantic Hockey with 30 points, but still sits at 40th in the PairWise rankings. 

Ryan Chesley, RD, 2022 2nd RD, No. 12 Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-6-4, 5-4-3)

Chesley was the second Capitals prospect that was in Sweden for the World Juniors, but the Gophers did have a series to play against the No. 17 Colorado College Tigers. 

The sophomore blueliner was also one of four Gophers to represent Team USA and all of them played in the non-conference slate. 

The Gophers played a sloppy game from start to finish. Despite Jimmy Snuggerud giving Minnesota an early 1-0 lead, the Tigers stormed back with three unanswered goals, and eventually completed the upset with a 6-4 win. Chesley was a minus-2 and had three shots on goal on nine attempts. 

Minnesota vs Colorado College | NCAA College Hockey | Highlights – January 07, 2024

Chesley and the Gophers shook off the rust from Monday’s game and bounced back with a dominant 6-2 win. He did take two penalties in the game, but luckily the Tigers did not capitalize. Chesley was a minus-1 in the game and had two shot blocks. 

Minnesota vs Colorado College | NCAA College Hockey | Highlights – January 08, 2024

The Gophers will have their final non-conference matchup of the season, when they take on the Robert Morris Colonials on Jan. 12-13. Minnesota is close to the bubble as of now, sitting at 12th in the PairWise so this series is critical in order to gain ground. The Gophers are third in the Big Ten with 17 points.

Brent Johnson, RD, 2021 3rd RD, Ohio State Buckeyes (8-8-4, 0-8-2)

Johnson and the Buckeyes played their final out-of-conference matchup this past weekend, when they took on the Bowling Green Falcons. It is no secret that Ohio State has had a rough season. It did not pick up a single Big Ten win in the first half and the rest of the season is only conference play.

Ohio State swept the Falcons in convincing fashion. The Buckeyes took Game 1 by a 6-2 score. Johnson did not register a point and only had two shot attempts.

The following night, Johnson did not appear a lot on the scoresheet. The Buckeyes completed the sweep winning 4-2, but Johnson only had one shot on goal. He did block two shots. 

But it was a very impressive first half for the junior defenseman. He has performed nicely in his increased role and has seven points (four goals, three assists) in 20 games. 

The Buckeyes will host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Jan. 12-13. 

Joaquim Lemay, LD, 2021 4th RD, Omaha Mavericks (10-6-2, 3-4-1)

Lemay and the Mavericks took part in the Desert Hockey Classic, which consisted of the Mavericks, the Harvard Crimson, the UMass-Lowell River Hawks and the No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils.

The Mavericks took on the River Hawks for their first game and defeated them 4-3 in overtime. Lemay only had two shot attempts in the game. 

Omaha would take on Arizona State for the championship game but fell 2-1 in overtime. Lemay finished the game with just one shot on goal on two attempts. Similar to Johnson, it was an excellent first half for Lemay, racking up 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 15 games. 

The Mavericks begin conference play against the No. 4 North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Jan. 12-13. Omaha sits in sixth place in the NCHC with just nine points and are close to the bubble sitting at 23rd in the PairWise. 

Other College Hockey Scores

• Northeastern ties 3-3 with No. 5 Quinnipiac
• No. 19 RIT defeats Clarkson 4-0, but ties with St. Lawrence
• No. 20 Penn State defeats Army 7-6
• No. 3 Wisconsin sweeps Notre Dame for nine straight wins (2-1W, 7-4W)
• Colgate loss and tie with No. 7 Maine (3-1L, 4-4T)
• UConn ties with No. 13 UMass (3-3SOW)
• Dartmouth defeats Vermont 4-3
• No. 10 Western Michigan sweeps Lindenwood (3-2W, 6-1W)
• No. 16 UNH sweeps Princeton (5-2W, 3-1W)
• No. 6 Denver sweeps Niagara (5-2W, 6-1W)
• Brown defeats Union 3-2OT, but falls 2-1 to RPI

https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-i-mens-poll/

By Jacob Cheris