Monday, April 25, 2016

Bronze medal game ends season for five BU recruits



A day after losing in the IIHF World Championships semifinal to Finland, Team USA routed Canada 10-3 in the bronze medal game in Grand Forks. Clayton Keller had three assists, including a highlight-reel, spin-o-rama pass to Kieffer Bellows to give the U.S. a 3-1 lead. The goal was Bellows’ 50th of the season, making him only the fifth NTDP player to reach fifty in one campaign.  Jake Oettinger turned aside 29 shots, including a penalty shot, to gain his fourth victory of the tournament.

Keller finished the tournament with 14 points (4G, 10A), one behind leader Tyson Jost. He was named to the tournament all-star team and selected as MVP by accredited media.  Keller was selected as one of the three top US players in the tournament, while Dante Fabbro earned similar honors for Canada. He was third in scoring among defensemen and third in assists with 8.

● USA Hockey recap and box score
● IIHF recap  and stat leaders
● SB Nation recap
● Keller post-game comments (video, begins at 1:20)

Final season stats for the five BU recruits who played in the tournament:
Clayton Keller           37-70-107
Kieffer Bellows         50-31-81
Chad Krys                 3-26-29
Jake Oettinger          2.38, .908 25-8-1 record,
Dante Fabbro           14-61-75

►The Hockey Writers: The future is very bright for BU

Next season’s out-of-conference schedule is taking shape. BU opens the year at Colgate’s new rink, followed by a two-game series at Denver. Other opponents include Michigan, Quinnipiac, Yale, Harvard and Union.

Looking back
The Pittsburgh Penguins, with Mike Sullivan behind the bench and Nick Bonino anchoring the second line, advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, eliminating the Rangers in six games. Also advancing were Matt Nieto and San Jose, which ousted Los Angeles in five games.

Charlie Coyle and the Minnesota Wild were eliminated by Dallas in six games.  Kevin Shattenkirk and the Blues play a seventh game with Chicago tonight, while Colin Wilson and Nashville trail Anaheim, three games to two.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

US and Canada in semifinal action at World U18s



Team USA takes on Finland, while Canada faces Sweden in the semifinals of the IIHF World U18 Championships today.  The US-Finland game airs live on the NHL Network at 4 p.m. ET.  Five 2016 BU recruits will be in action: Clayton Keller, Kieffer Bellows, Chad Krys and Jake Oettinger for the US, and Dante Fabbro for team Canada. The championship game is set for Sunday.
USA Hockey game day report
Hockey Canada preview and home page
Keller, who leads Team USA in scoring, spoke with Hockeysfuture.com about the US’s approach to the semifinal and how he encouraged teammates to join him as a BU commit. (article and video)

Looking back
Matt Nieto scored his first playoff goal as the Sharks eliminated the Kings with a 6-3 win.
● NHL.com recap and box score

Friday, April 22, 2016

Roster moves; BU recruits head to World U18 semis



The Boston Hockey Blog is reporting that junior Dillon Lawrence and freshman Erik Udahl have been cut from next season’s BU roster.

World U18 Championships
Clayton Keller had three points (1G, 2A), Kieffer Bellows added an assist and Jake Oettinger stopped all 15 shots he faced as Team USA cruised into the IIHF World U18 Championship semi-finals with an 8-0 rout of The Czech Republic.  Keller, who is second in the tournament in scoring with 10 points, was the U.S. player of the game. Oettinger improved his GAA to 1.00 and his save percentage to .942. Team USA will face Finland Saturday in the semifinals.

Keller's three points give him 103 for the season, moving him past Patrick Kane into second place in the NTDP single-season record book. With two assists, he has 66 and holds the single-season record in that category, and, with one more goal, he'll tie Jack Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk for ninth most in a season.
● USA Hockey recap and box score
● IIHF recap and box score


Dante Fabbro assisted on three goals as Team Canada raced past Swtizerland, 9-1, in a quarter-final game. The right-shot blueliner is tied for the tournament lead in assists with eight. Canada will face Sweden on Saturday in the other semifinal.
● IIHF recap and box score

2016 recruit Chad Krys is the subject of profile stories from NHL.com and USA Hockey.

Looking back
AHL.com  Wade Megan a playoff contributor 

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Power forward commits to BU; Quinn reflects on season



BU has received a commitment from New Hampshire Junior Monarchs forward Matt Quercia. According the Heisenberg list, the 6-2, 185 lb., left-shot forward will join the Terriers' 2018 or 2019 recruit class.

An Andover, Mass., native, Quercia played for several Junior Monarchs teams last year, leading the 16U EJEPL squad in scoring with 31 points (14G, 17A) in 18 games. He also had 14 points in 14 games for the 16U ECEL team and later moved up to the EHL Premier entry, with a 4-3-7 line in nine playoff games, helping the Junior Monarchs to the championship. Monarchs GM and Coach Ryan Frew:


"Quercia is a dynamic player, who plays a heavy game and can really shoot it. The kid is clutch and scored some big goals. He's fun to watch, and he never gets intimidated. He never missed a step when he got called up to the big team."
In 2014-15, Quercia scored 16 goals and 19 assists in 27 games for the Jr. Monarchs 16U USPHL squad. Drafted by the Quebec Remparts in the 2015 QMJHL draft, he briefly attended the Remparts’ training camp, before leaving to retain his college eligibility.

USHR reports: "He's one of those guys who does everything well. He has good size, and is strong on his skates. Has power forward potential."

OTB's Mark Bilotta :
99 F Matt Quercia (BU) is an aggressive 6'2 F who really brought it at MA Festival. Displayed physicality, good decisions, possession skills

Matt Grainda ‏@graindaiv
Matt Quercia (99) commits to Boston University. Skilled offensive player. Good 2-Way game. Competes, generates chances each shift. #WhosNext

● Elite Prospects card
● Boston Hockey Blog report
Eastern Hockey League report

► Head Coach David Quinn joined the Daily Free Press’s Sarah Kirkpatrick to reflect on the 2015-16 season.

Following its 12-1 rout of Latvia, Team USA completes its preliminary round games at the IIHF World U18 Championships tonight, meeting Switzerland in an 8:30 p.m. ET start. The game will air on the NHL Network on a delayed basis at 11 p.m. ET.
● USA Hockey preview

US-Latvia video highlights

 
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