Clayton Keller
scored a goal and assisted on another as Team USA edged Russia in a preliminary
round game at the 2017 World Junior Championships. The win sets up a New Year’s
Eve duel with Canada with first place in Division B on the line. Puck drop is
set for 3:30 p.m. ET.
The Terrier
freshman put the U.S. on the board four minutes into the game taking a pass
below the left circle, deking a defender and sliding home a backhand shot. With
the score tied in the second period, BC’s Colin White scored on the rebound of
a Charlie McAvoy blast from center point, with Keller notching the second assist.
Denver’s Troy Terry would provide the eventual game-winner later in the period.
Keller is Team
USA’s top scorer with five points (3G,2A). He’s tied for eighth overall in the
tournament.
● College
Hockey News recap
Team Canada
kept pace with the U.S., thrashing Latvia 10-2 with Dante Fabbro picking up his
first point of the tournament. Fabbro is +3 with six shots on goal and no
penalty minutes in three games.
►► BU Head Coach David Quinn confirmed that goalie Max Prawdzik will spend second semester playing junior hockey in the NAHL and announced that newly enrolled freshman Nico Lynch will assume his spot as third netminder. Lynch played three seasons of Tier 1 Elite hockey for Boston Advantage and, as a senior at Barnstable HS, earned team MVP honors with a 1.80 GAA and was named to the Boston Globe All Scholastics Old Colony Conference All-Star Team.
Prawdzik is expected to return to BU next fall with sophomore eligibility.
● GoTerriers.com report and bio
● Boston Hockey Blog report
Looking ahead
The
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier spoke with 2017 recruit Shane Bowers about the
Halifax, Nova Scotia native’s decision to pursue college hockey rather than
play in the QMJHL. The 6-1 center currently has nine goals and 10 assists in
his second season with the Waterloo Black Hawks.
2019 recruit
Case McCarthy is ranked #4 for the upcoming OHL draft by Hockey
Prospect.com . The 6-1, right-shot defenseman has a 3-17-20
scoring line in 23 games for the Buffalo Junior Sabres 16Us.
A pair of 2020
recruits--both sophomores in their first year of New England prep hockey-- are off to strong
starts. Braden Doyle has eight assists in seven games for Lawrence Academy. The left-shot defenseman from Lynnfield, Massachusetts had 46 points last season
for the Shattuck St. Mary’s Bantams.
Center Trevor Zegras has a 5-7-12 scoring
line in nine games for Avon Old Farms.
NeutralZone.net,
analyzing the top performers at the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic, gave Zegras
an “A” grade for his efforts.
Trevor Zegras #11
(So. F, 5’11”, 160lbs, Avon Old Farms)-Trevor only added a couple of points
here but his ability was obvious. The 2001 was the best prospect in the
tournament. His skating is as elite as it gets at any level and for any age. He
is very fast and seemed to jump on pucks or to space twice as fast as others.
His edges and balance are superb and his skating style allows him to see the
ice at an elite level. He can access all his stick skills at full speed. The BU
commit worked hard, stuck his nose in on the wall and in front of the net. He
created and facilitated. Trevor was excellent and his effort was superb. College: Boston
University. Grade:
A
Looking back
Eric Gryba’s first goal of the season was the
also the first game-winner of his NHL career. The defenseman from Saskatoon
batted a puck out of the air in the Oilers’ 3-1 win against Los Angeles.
Wade Megan recorded his first hat trick as a pro in the Chicago Wolves' 6-2 win against Rockford. The former BU captain, who scored a goal on his first NHL shot during a recent call-up to St. Louis, leads the Wolves with 17 goals and is also tied for the AHL lead.
Danny
O’Regan scored his eighth goal for the San Jose Barracudas in their 4-1 win against
Bakersfield. He leads the Barracudas in scoring with 28 points and made his NHL
debut earlier this month.
David Warsofsky has been recalled to the Penguins from AHL Wilkes Barre/Scranton. He leads the Baby Pens defensemen in scoring with 21 points in 20 games.
Daily Free Press writer Jonathan Sigal talked with 2017 recruit Ty Amonte--for a NE Hockey Journal feature--about the path that will lead him to Commonwealth Avenue next fall. The former Thayer Academy standout is spending a season in the BCHL and has 29 points in 36 games for the Penticton Vees. 
