NCAA Power 5 Rankings; Commesso's flawless debut; Skooooog!

As the 2023-24 season approaches, conference and national rankings are being rolled out. This one is from NCAA Digital. 

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‼️‼️ 𝐌𝐄𝐍'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝟓 🏒

Ahead of the 2023-24 Season, Jordan Menard shares her top teams going into the Men's Ice Hockey season! 👀#NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/KR8W3ny9Ff

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) September 18, 2023

●NCAA.com BU leads Power 5 men’s hockey rankings

 

Looking ahead

2024 recruit Brandon Svoboda scored his first pre-season goal as Youngstown doubled up the NTDP U18s, 4-2. Svoboda, a 6’3” center and third round draft pick of San Jose last June, had a 16-10-26 line in his first USHL season.

The USHL regular season begins Wednesday with Youngstown (Fs Svoboda, Zach Morin) vs. Tri City (F Nick Roukounakis) and Sioux Falls (G Michael Chambre, John McNelis) vs. Cedar Rapids.

FloHockey.tv’s list of top 10 USHL prospects for the 2024 draft includes Cole Hutson, who is back with the NTDP after setting the program record for most points in a season by a defenseman with 68. His U18 teammate, center Kamil Bednarik earned honorable mention.

2024 recruit Jack Pridham’s first-period goal proved the game-winner in West Kelowna’s 3-1 victory against Vernon in a BCHL exhibition game. 2024 or 2025 recruit Cal Hughes assisted on the Warriors’ insurance goal in the third period. Pridham starred for St. Andrews College last season, putting up a 35-37-72 scoring line in 49 games.

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Johannes 🇳🇴 and Jack 🇨🇦 find the back of the net!#BCHL pic.twitter.com/r6ntUi9HKz

— West Kelowna Warriors (@BCHLWarriors) September 17, 2023

The BCHL’s regular-season begins Friday with West Kelowna vs. Penticton and Salmon Arm (D Aiden Souligny) facing Vernon.

2025 recruit Conrad Fondrk scored his second goal in as many games as the NTDP U17s dropped a 7-3 decision to New Mexico at the NAHL Showcase.

2024 recruit Max Lacroix has made three starts in goal for the new NAHL Colorado franchise with a 1.00 GAA and a .950 save percentage, stopping 61 of 64 shots.

 

Looking back

While Connor Bedard’s hat trick in the Blackhawks’ victory in their first Prospect Showcase game received most of the headlines, the 5-0 win over St. Louis had another standout performance as Drew Commesso pitched a shutout in his first pro outing.

In an interview, Commesso, who was the Blackhawks’ second-round draft pick in 2020, noted that he’d spent time on the ice this summer working with Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman

 

● Yardbarker.com  Drew Commesso has a stellar start in Prospect Showcase

 

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Wilmer Skoog joins Matt Brown and Dom Fensore as Terriers with Rookie Showcase tallies. https://t.co/ONfqdU4StG

— Terrier Blogger (@thfblog) September 18, 2023

● NHL.com/Panthers recap

 

Meanwhile, at the Panthers’ veterans golf outing:

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Evan Rodrigues already making friends & making memories 🫶 pic.twitter.com/rN4wAto2ag

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) September 18, 2023

 

Women’s Team

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Today was a historic day for women’s hockey, as the PWHL draft took place. To make it even more special, 4 former Terriers were drafted! We are so proud of them, can’t wait to see them playing on the big stage! Also extend our congratulations to all the players who got drafted! pic.twitter.com/oX9zkM5NtL

— The BU Dog Pound (@BUDogPound) September 18, 2023

These four join Marie-Philip Poulin in the PWHL as the three-time Olympic gold medalist was one of the initial stars selected by Montreal in the preliminary free-agency period.

 ● GoTerriers.com Four Terriers Selected in PWHL Draft

 ● Boston Hockey Blog Breaking Down the BU ties in Monday's Inaugural PWHL Draft