HE Defensive Honors for Grzelcyk; 2016 recruits shine at Five Nations

Terrier Captain Matt Grzelcyk was named Hockey East Defensive Player of Week. The All-American defenseman from Charlestown, in his first game back from off-season surgery, scored Friday night’s first goal (video) and had the primary assist on Ahti Oksanen’s game winner (video) against Northeastern. The next night, he also scored the game’s first goal (video), this time on a power play.

Oksanen, who had three points on Friday (1G, 2A) and an empty-netter on Saturday, and Ryan Cloonan, who scored his fourth goal on a breakaway Friday (video) were named to Hockey East’s Top Performer’s List.

Terriers remain in the #11 spot in the new USCHO weekly poll  and now have that same rank in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. ESPN’s John Buccigross has BU at #10. This coming weekend’s opponent, Providence, has moved up to the top spot in the two national polls.

►Boston Hockey Blog: Odds and Ends (check out the 360-degree video taken at Friday’s win at Agganis; use your cursor to “move” the video).

► USCHO: Hockey East Blog

Looking ahead

Team USA completed its undefeated run to the Five Nations Tournament title with a 7-0 shutout of host team Switzerland. 2016 recruit Clayton Keller led the way with two goals and two assists, while linemate Kieffer Bellows scored twice while adding one assist. Chad Krys (photo) recorded a pair of helpers. Keller was the tournament’s leading scorer with 11 points as well as the top goal-scorer with five. Bellows, who leads the U18s with 15 goals, finished with four goals and two assists, while Krys had five assists. Goalie Jake Oettinger, the fourth BU recruit on Team USA, won both of his tournament starts, recording a 1.50 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

Photo by Rena Laverty/USA Hockey

SportsNet.ca offers a profile of 2017 recruit Brady Tkachuk, who is following in the family footsteps of father Keith Tkachuk, a BU and NHL standout power forward, and brother Matt, now in the OHL. Playing for the NTDP U17s, Brady has three goals and six assists in 18 games and contributed five points during the World U17 Challenge.

2017 recruit Patrick Harper scored a pair of goals—the first one, an unassisted tally just 27 seconds into the game—in the Neponset Valley River Rats U18s’ 5-2 win against the Boston Junior Bruins. The center from New Canaan, Connecticut is the top scorer in the Massachusetts Midget Select 18U league with 32 points (19G, 13A) in 13 games and has led the River Rats to a regular-season first-place finish.

● Mass Midgets recap and box score

2018 recruit Tyler Weiss scored a goal and an assist in the Don Mills Flyers' 7-2 win against the North York Rangers.

 

Looking back

What a win today in Buffalo and a great win in Boston seeing @TerrierHockey complete the sweep of northeastern. #TheBetterDog

— Jack Eichel (@Jack_Eichel11) November 8, 2015

After starting the season with three regulation losses and a shootout loss, New Jersey head coach—and former Terrier—John Hynes, has led the resurgent Devils to eight wins in their last 10 games.

Women’s Team

Daily Free Press  Defensive mistakes costly to BU against BC