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Bill Guerin Named GM Of U.S. Four Nations And Olympic Teams

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Minnesota Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin has been named the general manager of Team USA for the upcoming 2025 NHL Four Nations Face-Off as well as the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team. The announcement was made official this morning and allows the three-time U.S. Olympian to take some time before selecting his first six players for the Four Nations tournament, which is something the NHL has asked each team to do early this summer.

Guerin is no stranger to donning the American sweater as he suited up for three Olympics in 1998, 2002, and 2006, winning a silver medal in 2002. He was also a member of the 1996 Team USA World Cup team that shocked the hockey world and created one of the most iconic moments in USA hockey history when they beat Team Canada to win the tournament. Guerin is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, having been inducted back in 2013.

Guerin retired from playing in 2010 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and then spent eight seasons with the team in management, winning two Stanley Cups. He was then named general manager of the Wild in August 2019 and guided Minnesota to four consecutive playoff appearances before being named president of hockey operations and general manager last July.

Guerin made sweeping changes in Minnesota during his nearly five years with the franchise with his biggest moves being the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Now he is tasked with putting together a collection of American players who can bring home gold in two separate tournaments and could be the favourite in both. Team Canada will have arguably the best forward group in both tournaments; however, the Americans will likely boast the most well-rounded team, something that Guerin and his staff will start to look at in the coming months.

Jerry York Retires As Head Coach Of Boston College

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The winningest coach in NCAA hockey history is hanging up his whistle. Jerry York, head coach of Boston College for the past 28 years, has announced his retirement. Director of Athletics Patrick Kraft released the following statement:

It is difficult to put into words all that Jerry York means to Boston College. His record as the winningest coach in NCAA men’s ice hockey and BC hockey speak for themselves, but it is his humility, decency, unwavering commitment to his players, fellow coaches, and all of us in the BC family, and the quiet ways in which he contributes to this community that make him so beloved. He is a legend and one of the classiest individuals to ever coach in college sports. It has been a joy to work with him, and on behalf of all of us in the BC community I wish him, Bobbie, and his entire family the very best in his retirement years.

In 1993, York left Bowling Green State for BC, and found a program that was in trouble. In the years since, he turned it into one of college hockey’s powerhouses, winning the national championship in 2001, 2008, 2010, and 2012. His team won the Hockey East Tournament nine times, and was named Hockey East Coach of the Year on five different occasions. Nearly countless NHL and AHL players have come through the BC program with York at its helm, including names like Johnny Gaudreau, Cam Atkinson, Kevin Hayes, Noah Hanifin, Chris Kreider, Alex Tuch, and many, many more. Jack McBain, who debuted last night for the Arizona Coyotes, is the latest product to hit NHL ice.

One of the most well-respected and well-liked coaches in all of North American hockey, York was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019 in the builder category, and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020. There are few people who have had a bigger impact on the game in the U.S.

In his retirement, York explained that he told his coaches and players of his retirement today. It is based on a desire to “travel more with his wife, Bobbie, play golf for the first time during a weekend in the fall, spend more time with his family, and watch his two grandchildren play hockey, lacrosse, and soccer games in Pittsburgh.”

Keith Yandle’s All-Time Ironman Streak To End

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The Philadelphia Flyers have made the decision – an odd and unpopular decision – to sit veteran defenseman Keith Yandle in Saturday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Flyers interim head coach Mike Yeo confirmed the move in a media session this morning. Yandle is the current NHL record holder for consecutive games played, an ironman streak of 989 games. That will come to an end tonight at 11 games short of 1,000 as Yandle will miss his first game since March 22, 2009, his sophomore season in the NHL with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Why this decision is being made now is puzzling to say the least. Admittedly, Yandle has been sick and missed practice on Thursday. However, he was back at practice on Friday – noticeably skating on the “fourth pair”. Yandle has shown all-time durability in his career; if he is healthy enough to practice, he is healthy enough to play. Yet, Yeo and the Flyers have opted to sit him anyway, and with a healthy scratch designation no less. Philadelphia is 31 points outside of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with nothing left to play for this season, but will voluntarily end Yandle’s record streak anyway.

The major problem with the Flyer’s decision is the timing. Yandle joined the team as a free agent this summer in a move that Philadelphia hoped would help them contend for a playoff spot. Instead, the season went the complete opposite direction. Yandle is not without blame; he has been objectively poor this season, as evidenced by a league-worst -39 rating and complete lack of defensive impact. Yet, at no point was Yandle benched. His ice time was cut significantly, but the Flyers stuck with the veteran and allowed him to pass Doug Jarvis for the longest ironman streak back on January 25. So if respecting Yandle’s historic streak was important enough to keep him in the lineup early in the season when the playoffs were still a possibility, why has it changed now with nothing on the line? Yeo stated that the team wants to evaluate young defensemen like Cam York and the recently signed Ronnie Attard, which is valid. Surely the likes of Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Kevin Connauton wouldn’t have minded taking a night off though, especially to help their teammate to extend a historic streak. Yandle needed just 11 more games to hit 1,000, which would stand as a legendary achievement even if it was eventually surpassed.

Meanwhile, Phil Kessel also passed Jarvis on March 25 and sits at 967 consecutive games played. With Yandle out, the all-time ironman streak is no longer a moving target. Kessel needs just 23 more games to pass Yandle, which seems like a foregone conclusion. By staying in Arizona through the trade deadline, Kessel may have missed out on a chance at a Stanley Cup run, but the respected veteran is assured of a spot in the lineup for the remaining 14 games of the regular season, barring injury. He will then hit the free agent market this summer and, with his massive cap hit behind him, will draw widespread interest and will surely be able to find a team willing to keep him in the lineup for nine more games to pass Yandle, another ten games to hit 1,000, and potentially much longer than that. It’s too bad that Yandle is losing his chance to make it a more interesting race.

Sabres Notes: Quinn, Anderson, Third Jersey

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Buffalo Sabres rookie Jack Quinn just broke into the NHL lineup but now won’t see the ice for quite some time. The team has announced that Quinn will miss the next four-to-six weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury. Quinn just made his NHL debut last week and has two points in his first two games. The 2020 No. 8 overall pick has been one of the best players in the AHL this season with 35 points in 24 games and appears to be on his way to stardom in the NHL. However, that will be on hold for this season as Quinn will be out until March, at which time he will probably return to action in the minors before seeing another chance in the NHL. While this injury won’t chance much about Quinn’s impressive trajectory, it is disappointing for a Buffalo team with nothing to play for again this season and with numerous injuries already who were hoping to see their exciting prospect play a top role the rest of the way.

  • Veteran goaltender Craig Anderson finally looks ready to return to the Buffalo crease. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams revealed on a radio spot with WGR 550 that Anderson will accompany the team on their upcoming three-game western road trip and could see game action if he continues to progress. Anderson, 40, has been out since early November with an upper-body injury. After being convinced to come out of a brief retirement by the Sabres, this isn’t what Anderson was hoping for this season. However, in his six games prior to the injury Anderson was stellar, posting a .921 save percentage and 2.50 GAA. If he can get back to playing at that level, it could all be worth it for the respected veteran to go out on a high note.
  • The Sabres are bringing back a familiar face from the 90’s. No, not Dominik Hasek or Alexander Mogilny, but the literal face of the Buffalo. Chris Creamer of Sportslogos.net reports that the Sabres will bring back their 90’s primary logo, often referred to as the “Goathead” logo, to grace their third jersey in 2022-23 and beyond. Creamer even suggests that the alternate jersey could bring back the red and black scheme that the Sabres dawned for more than a decade in the mid-90’s into the 2000’s before returning to the blue and gold. It remains to be seen if that will actually be the case – the difference in appearance between the primaries and the alternate would be quite jarring – but it seems the Buffalo head logo will return regardless. A polarizing logo in its time, though far from the worst in Sabres’ history, it will be interesting to see if enough time has passed for the Buffalo fan base to embrace the return in the name of nostalgia.

Patrick Marleau Breaks NHL All-Time Games Played Record

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When the San Jose Sharks dropped the puck tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights, history was made. Patrick Marleau was in the lineup for San Jose, the 1,768th time that he has suited up for a regular season NHL game. This sets a new NHL record, breaking the age-old mark set by the one and only Gordie Howe in 1961.

While no one is comparing Marleau to Howe, who played six additional seasons in the WHA in addition to 26 years in the NHL and is considered one of the greatest of all time, Marleau has had a storied career of his own. The 41-year-old began his NHL story as the 1997 No. 2 overall pick, just one spot behind eventual long-time teammate Joe Thornton. Marleau played immediately for the Sharks, earning Calder Trophy votes in his first season, and the rest is history. Marleau played 19 consecutive seasons with San Jose before finally departing for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2017. After two seasons in Toronto, Marleau was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes and subsequently bought out. He returned to San Jose, though the Sharks gave him potentially his last chance to win a Stanley Cup last year when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It unfortunately didn’t work out for Marleau, but he was still welcomed back to San Jose again this season for a chance to break the games played record. While Marleau’s long career may not include a title, he has many other accolades. A three-time All-Star, Marleau has also received votes for the Hart Trophy five times, the Selke Trophy four times, and the Lady Byng trophy a whopping 15 times, not to mention earning a number of Sharks franchise records as well. Altogether, Marleau has 566 goals and 1196 points in his career, second and fourth respectively among all active players and top-50 all-time.

Beyond the statistics, Marleau has always provided the most important ability as well: availability. Outside of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and these past two COVID-impacted campaigns, Marleau has never played fewer than 74 games in a season – and that low mark occurred in his rookie season. In fact, Marleau already shares in another impressive NHL games played mark. He, Jarome Iginla, and Henrik Sedin are the only players in league history to have played every game in an 82-game schedule 11 times (although Sedin holds the record with 12).

Marleau’s new career games played record could stand the test of time as well. The only active players within even 500 games of the mark are Thornton, 41, Zdeno Chara, 44, and Eric Staal, 36. Marleau has the remainder of this season to further tack on games as well. What happens beyond that point is unknown, though many speculate that Marleau could retire now that the record is set, but also given the drop-off in his performance this year. However, Thornton and Chara are also equally likely to retire, while Staal is about six full 82-game seasons from matching the mark. Marleau should be safe for quite awhile atop the all-time games played list.

Congratulations to Marleau on this tremendous achievement from everyone at PHR.

Snapshots: MacKinnon, NHLPA, April Fool’s

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Nathan MacKinnon’s comical misconduct on Wednesday night drew plenty of attention at the expense of Arizona Coyotes forward Conor Garland. Even in the midst of an 8-3 blowout in his favor, the Colorado Avalanche superstar lost his head in a scrum late in the third period, grappling with Garland and then picking up his opponent’s fallen helmet and bowling it back into his face. (video) While the helmet toss itself did not appear to do much damage (and has supplied many a laugh on April Fool’s Day), it was clearly a penalty. MacKinnon was handed a ten-minute misconduct and an ejection, but most expected that he could receive some supplemental discipline for the act. Well, the NHL Department of Player Safety has handed down their decision, but it isn’t what many – especially Coyotes fans – expected or hoped for. MacKinnon has been fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct, but will not be suspended. This is the maximum fine for that particular penalty, but in the big picture means little to MacKinnon. There has been mounting scrutiny over the league’s handling of egregious penalties committed by its biggest stars and the recent leniency with MacKinnon and Connor McDavid will not help their cause.

  • The NHLPA is adding a pair of noteworthy names to its staff. The Players’ Association announced today that former NHLers Ron Hainsey and Sean Bergenheim have been hired to executive positions. Hainsey, whose hiring seemingly marks his retirement after playing last season and speaking to team’s this off-season, has been named Assistant to the Executive Director for Special Projects and Development Initiatives. Bergenheim, who hung up his skates in 2018 and last played in the NHL in 2014-15, will hold the title of  NHLPA European Affairs Representative. Bergenheim’s 506 career NHL games with four teams is impressive enough, but pales in comparison to Hainsey’s 1,132 career games with seven different teams. The NHLPA adds plenty of veteran hockey know-how with these additions, while both have held administrative roles in their careers as well. As for their specific duties with the Players’ Association, the press release describes each role as follows:

Bergenheim will work closely with NHL players from Europe, and on behalf of the NHLPA on matters relating to international competitions as well as professional hockey in Europe… Hainsey will work on a variety of matters related to the administration of the CBA, media and broadcast partners, and new opportunities for marketing and sponsorship, all with special emphasis on the enhancement of player communication within the NHLPA.

  • For a daily dose of hockey history, it is worth noting that the last time the NHL had a trade deadline date in April was in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Unlike today, there were a number of April 1 trades that year as well. And it was the Calgary Flames who sadly held the title of April Fools that year. The team dealt star defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for prospect forward Mark Cundari, the rights to goaltender Reto Berra, and a 2013 first-round pick. Bouwmeester would go on to play at a high level for seven more seasons with the Blues, going to the postseason six times and winning a Stanley Cup, before retiring this past off-season. As for the Flames’ return? Cundari played eight games over two seasons with Calgary and then never played in the NHL again. Berra played just half a season in Calgary, posting poor numbers, before being traded away for a second-round pick. That second-rounder became Hunter Smith, who played two AHL seasons and two ECHL seasons before retiring, having never seen NHL action. And the first-rounder from the initial deal? That was used to select Emile Poirier, who played just eight games over two seasons with Calgary and is currently playing in Europe. As they say, four strikes and you’re out. This is a trade that the Flames wish had only been an April Fool’s Day prank.

Boston Bruins-Carolina Hurricanes Game One Postponed

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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets were locked in a duel for the ages on Tuesday night, playing into a fifth overtime in a game that began at 3:00pm ET – the fourth-longest game of all time. As a result of this historic game and the unprecedented circumstances of the bubble postseason, Game One of the Boston Bruins-Carolina Hurricanes series that was supposed to begin at 8:00pm ET has now been postponed. The league has announced that the two teams will square off at 11:00am ET on Wednesday, which should allow for the Washington Capitals-New York Islanders game to proceed as scheduled at 3:00pm ET.

With Game Two of the Bruins-Hurricanes still scheduled for Thursday night, the teams will open their first round series with back-to-back games. As with every series this year, there is already a back-to-back scheduled, for Games Five and Six on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. As a result, Boston and Carolina could end up playing six games in nine days in this series. Backup goaltenders Jaroslav Halak and James Reimer could very well see a start or two in this series.

Additionally, the Hurricanes long wait has been extended even further. Carolina was the only team to sweep their qualifying round series, knocking out the New York Rangers last Tuesday, August 4. The team had already waited a week, but now will have gone eight days between action. The Bruins meanwhile played their final round robin game on Sunday.

Alexis Lafreniere Wins CHL Player Of The Year For Second Straight Season

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When your name is in the running for the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft, it doesn’t hurt to have a bullet point on your resume that only Sidney Crosby shares in hockey history. Forward Alexis Lafreniere of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic is projected to be the top pick in the 2020 draft almost unanimously. Any doubt that he may not take that title was likely put to rest on Wednesday when the CHL announced that Lafreniere had been named the 2019-20 CHL Player of the Year. As if that wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, this is actually the second straight campaign in which Lafreniere has received the award. He was named the CHL’s best player in 2018-19 as well. The only other player honored in consecutive seasons: Pittsburgh Penguins captain and one of the game’s all-time best, Sidney Crosby.

Lafreniere, 18, recorded an eye-popping 112 points in just 52 games this season with Rimouski. His 2.15 per-game scoring rate was the CHL’s best since another NHL mega star, Connor McDavid, was playing juniors. It also marks a sharp increase from Lafreniere’s 2018-19 production of 105 points in 61 games, which was still good enough to take home the CHL’s Player of the Year honors last season. Altogether, Lafreniere registered 72 goals and 217 points in 113 games across his two MVP campaigns and nearly 300 points total in his three junior seasons combined. As a result, there is approximately a 0% chance that he will ever play in the juniors again.

Instead, the presumptive top pick will simply sit and wait to see where his first pro destination will be. The NHL answer could arrive as early as later this month, as the NHL Draft Lottery is scheduled for Friday, June 26th. However, if the nearby Ottawa Senators or the historically bad Detroit Red Wings or one of the other non-playoff teams does not win the first to select first overall, Lafreniere will have to wait even longer. A second lottery later this summer would determine which playoff team eliminated in the knockout round of the NHL’s adapted playoff format would have the first pick. On top of that, there is still some concern that with a possible delayed start to the 2020-21 NHL season that Lafreniere’s pro career may actually begin in Europe. The young star has entertained the thought of getting his first pro season started on time, even if that isn’t with his NHL club. He would of course be expected to return to North America once the new season does begin.

Regardless of where Lafreniere ends up, any team that has him in their lineup will receive a major boost. Lafreniere has shown for several years now that he is a special prospect and his second straight CHL Player of the Year Award puts him in elite company. Is it too early to proclaim him the next Crosby? Of course. That won’t stop the winners of this year’s draft lottery from keeping their hopes up though.

Red Wings On Pace For Worst Record Of The Century

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With an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night and a regulation loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings have fallen to 12-33-4 on the season. The team’s points percentage now sits at an abysmal .286. At this rate, the 2019-20 Red Wings will not go down in the history books as bad, but rather the worst.

Well, at least the worst of the 21st century. Detroit is now on pace to fall short of the previous century low, set by the Colorado Avalanche in 2016-17. That year, the Avalanche finished 22-56-4 with 48 points, but even that ugly mark was a points percentage of .293. Barring an improvement in play in Detroit, Colorado looks like they will be able to remove the title of worst single season since 2000. As it stands, the Red Wings are on pace for only 47 points on the year.

Fortunately for Detroit fans, they at least don’t have to worry about being the worst ever. In fact, in the salary cap era of the NHL, it would be next to impossible for any team to ever have the worst record in league history. Should the Red Wings finish the year with their current .286 points percentage, it would rank just 43rd-worst in the league’s record books. The 1974-75 expansion Washington Capitals will likely always sit alone in the bottom spot with an 8-67-5 record and .131 points percentage that is almost inconceivable at any level of the sport.

However, the Red Wings and their supporters would probably like to avoid the “worst” title, even if it limited to this century. Luckily, there is a glimmer of hope. In 2016-17, the Avalanche traded away Jarome Iginla, one of their top-six forwards, and struggled even more down the stretch as a result. By all accounts, there is no equivalent for this year’s Red Wings. Detroit’s roster is mostly made up of promising young players that they do not want to trade or overpaid veterans that they cannot trade. Either way, the team is not expected to lose a major piece via trade this season – unless you count Mike Green or Trevor Daley as a key contributor – and what you see is likely what you get for the rest of the year from this team. If they are just consistently bad instead of becoming even worse as the year wears on like 2016-17 Avalanche, they may just have a chance of avoiding the title of worst team of the century.

College Hockey Round-Up: 11/13/19

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The University of Minnesota is one of the more storied programs in college hockey history and Minnesota-Duluth has appeared in each of the past three NCAA Championship Games, winning the last two. But is this finally the year of Minnesota State? The Mavericks are the No. 1 team in the nation and sport an 8-1-1 record through their first two games. Minnesota State has been impressively stingy, allowing just 1.30 goals per game behind the efforts of Dryden McKay and his .946 save percentage. Forward Marc Michaelis and defenseman Connor Mackey have also impressed early on. However, the concern, as it is every year for Minnesota State, is competition and whether their WCHA schedule can properly prepare them for the national tournament. The team is playing great and could very extend their current .800 winning percentage through the whole regular season, but will they be ready when the competition heats up this spring? Minnesota State has never made it to the National Championship nevertheless taken home the title, but they hope to change that this season.

Recent Results

Oftentimes, a team is only as good as it’s goaltending. That has been the case thus far for two of the most talented rosters in college hockey, as No. 15 Wisconsin and now-unranked Boston University are enduring surprising struggles this season that start in net. After sweeping No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth in October, the Badgers looked ready to make good on the high expectations placed on their young, highly-skilled squad. However, they ran into No. 8 Penn State two weeks ago and dropped both road games by a combined score of 10-3. To make matters worse, they also fell to Nebraska-Omaha this past weekend in a major upset. Starting goaltender Daniel Lebedeff has an .887 save percentage in ten games and his struggles have only been exasperated by a lack of support defensively for a team relying too heavily on freshmen Alex Turcotte (LAK) and Cole Caufield (MTL). But at least they’re not BU. The Terriers currently sit at 2-3-4 after failing to pick up a win in the past two weeks, going 0-2-2 against the University of Maine and No. 10 Providence College. Starter Sam Tucker has not played his best, but it’s backup Vinnie Purpura who has proven to be totally unreliable thus far for a BU team that simply needs more out of everyone – other than maybe red-hot Trevor Zegras (ANA). Things don’t get easier for the Terriers either, as they face No. 5 UMass in a home-and-home this weekend.

At the other end of the spectrum is No. 12 UMass Lowell, who has had a number of games stolen by the stellar play of senior keeper Tyler Wall (NYR). It’s hard to argue that Wall, the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for three weeks running, is not the best goalie in the NCAA thus far and a possibly Hobey Baker candidate if the River Hawks continue to move up the rankings. The team already has the designation being the only Hockey East team without a conference loss after sweeping the University of Vermont and getting a win and a tie against another impressive goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (BOS) and the Maine Black Bears to stay undefeated in college hockey’s toughest conference. With freshman forward Matt Brown tied for third in the country with 15 points as well, UMass Lowell is looking strong early this season. Remove a puzzling loss and tie against Colgate and this could be a top-five team.

Two weeks back, No. 4 Notre Dame managed to escape a hard-fought weekend series with the University of Minnesota with a win and a tie, but there was some doubt about whether they could stay undefeated as they were set to go up against No. 11 Ohio State. After all, the Buckeyes had just completed a sweep of the rival Wolverines of the University of Michigan and were riding high. Yet, the Fighting Irish remained perfect by edging out back-to-back one-goal wins over Ohio State.

The other two undefeated teams in the nation hail from the ECAC, as No. 3 Cornell and No. 13 Harvard got their seasons started two weeks ago and have remained perfect thus far. Cornell picked up wins over Michigan State (twice), Brown, and Yale by a combined score of 19-7, with Morgan Barron (NYR) leaping to the league lead in points per game with five goals and five assists in four games. Meanwhile, three members of the Crimson recorded six points apiece and Mitchell Gibson (WAS) allowed two goals on 65 shots as Harvard picked up wins over Dartmouth, Princeton, and the previously-ranked Quinnipiac.

And what of former top seed Denver? After easily disposing of Niagara, the Pioneers suffered their first loss against rival Minnesota-Duluth this past weekend and managed a tie in the other game of the series. Denver falls back to No. 2 in the rankings, but could re-take the top spot from Minnesota State if they can survive upcoming series with No. 9 North Dakota and No. 20 Western Michigan.

Dugan Dominating

While game results have been up and down for No. 10 Providence College, now 5-3-2 on the year, the consistent has been scoring. The architect of the nation’s most prolific offense has undoubtedly been sophomore sensation Jack Dugan (VGK). At 24 points on the year, Dugan is already 60% of the way toward surpassing his 39 total points from last year and has done it in less than 25% of the games. Not only that, he is also miles ahead of where leading scorers were last season. No player in the NCAA hit 24 points until December last year, whereas Dugan is already there. If Providence was to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament and Dugan was to keep up this torrid pace, 100 points could potentially come into play. No one in college hockey has cracked the hundred-point mark since Maine’s Paul Kariya in 1992-93, so Dugan would be joining elite company. Yet, even if Dugan’s production falls off or the Friars are one-and-done in the tournament, the Golden Knights’ prospect still stands a realistic chance of being the highest scoring playing in the NCAA since the turn of the century – he would need just 83 points to claim that title.

Dugan’s play is also having obvious effects on his teammates. The NCAA leader in assists with 19, Dugan’s helpers are feeding the likes of Tyce Thompson (NJD) and Greg Printz. Thompson sits alone in second in the college hockey points race with 16, including eight goals, which is tied for second in the NCAA. It’s Printz’ nine goals that lead the way, and his 13 total points have him inside the top ten.

The problem for Providence right now is that they are leaning too much on their top line and getting too little from their other nine forwards and six defensemen. If the hot streak does start to cool for Dugan and company, the Friars could be in trouble.

National Signing Week

National Letters of Intent have been sent out to athletes all over the globe as today marked their first opportunity to officially commit to play college athletics. Here are some of the intriguing early names headed for NCAA hockey:

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

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