Capitals College Credits – December, 2024: Overtime Heroics From Ryan Leonard, Cole Hutson, and Brent Johnson

Photo: Boston College Eagles Hockey

The Washington Capitals’ eight prospects playing at the collegiate level for the 2024-25 season include Ryan Chesley, Chase Clark, David Gucciardi, Cole Hutson, Brent Johnson, Nick Kempf, Joaquim Lemay, and Ryan Leonard. Most of the college prospects had a lighter-than-normal schedule for December given that their teams paused their seasons for the semester break, although some teams played in post-Christmas tournaments.

Capitals’ prospects Ryan Leonard and Cole Hutson also participated in the preliminary games of the 2024-25 IIHF World Junior Championships. Here is how each of them did during December.

Ryan Chesley — RH Defenseman — Minnesota Golden Gophers – Junior
Drafted in 2022 2nd Round (#37 overall)

The Minnesota Golden Gophers had a relatively light schedule in December, having two games in each of the first two weeks of the month but no games or tournaments during the semester break.

Chesley had no goals or assists in the team’s first three games of the month, which included two wins over the Michigan Wolverines the weekend of December 6 and 7 and a shootout loss to the Michigan State Spartans on December 13.

On December 6, Chesley earned a major penalty and game misconduct at 15:50 during the second period of a 6-0 win against the Michigan Wolverines.

On December 14, he recorded a secondary assist on Aaron Huglen’s goal which came at 15:53 which put the Golden Gophers up 2-1, a lead they could not hold as they ultimately blew a 3-1 lead during the third period and lost 5-3.

Chesley played on all three defensive pairings during December, with two appearances on the top pairing, and was one of the starters in those two games. He played in four games during December with one assist. Chesley fired 13 shots on goal for the month and blocked 10 shots. He had 19 penalty minutes for the month, with the vast majority thanks to the major penalty and game misconduct on December 6.

Chesley has five goals and seven assists for 12 points overall for the season. He took 51 shots on goal and blocked 38 shots. He took eight penalties for a total of 27 penalty minutes. His Plus/Minus value is +15.

The Golden Gophers are currently 15-3-2 overall, with a Big 10 Conference record of 8-1-1.  Minnesota currently ranks third in the USCHO.com rankings for Men’s Hockey.

Chase Clark – Goaltender — American International College Yellow Jackets – Junior – Drafted in 2021 6th Round (#183 overall)

Photo: American International College

The first half of December was a very light schedule for the AIC Yellow Jackets, even by the standards of hockey schedules in December.

Clark played in just one game before Christmas, a 1-0 overtime loss to Holy Cross on December 6 in which he made 34 saves out of 35 shots. The game on December 7 between AIC and Holy Cross was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.

AIC did not play again until December 28 against Sacred Heart University. Clark was in goal that game as they lost 4-1. He made 34 saves out of 37 shots.

On December 29, AIC lost 6-5 against Quinnipiac University. In that game, Clark made 28 saves out of 34 shots and was the losing goaltender.

During December, Clark was 0-3. He made 96 saves out of 106 attempts, compiling a save percentage of .906 and a goals-against average was 3.42. Overall, he is 2-7-1 with 279 saves out of 308 attempts for a save percentage of .906. His goals-against average is 3.12.

The AIC Yellow Jackets have struggled as a team, posting a record of 5-13-1 overall and 4-8 in the Atlantic conference. AIC had announced on November 12 that they would drop from Division I to Division II at the end of the 2024-25 season.

David Gucciardi — LH Defenseman — Michigan State Spartans – Senior
Drafted in 2022 7th Round (#213 overall)

Photo: Michigan State

Gucciardi and the Michigan State Spartans played in five games before the semester break, including a game against Lindenwood, two against the University of Wisconsin Badgers, and two against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Gucciardi had no goals or assists in any of those games.

On December 13, in a game that the Spartans won in a shootout, Gucciardi earned a 5-minute major penalty and game misconduct at 7:08 in the third period.

Michigan State took a break for Christmas and then played in the Great Lakes Invitational. The first game on December 29, was a 2-0 victory over Northern Michigan. While Gucciardi was not credited with an assist on the team’s first goal, he was instrumental in the process.

Michigan State then met Western Michigan in the Great Lakes Invitational Final on December 30 and defeated them 3-1. Gucciardi assisted on the team’s second goal, which was the game-winning goal, and came at 3:54 during the third period.

This was the first time that Michigan State had won the Great Lakes Invitational since 2009.

In December, Gucciardi played in seven games and recorded 1 assist. He had 18 shots on goal and blocked 9 shots.

For the season, he has played in 18 games, scoring two goals and two assists. He has also made 36 shots on goal and blocked 18 shots. He has taken three minor penalties, two 5-minute major penalties, and two game misconducts, for 36 penalty minutes in all. He is +11 for the season so far.

Michigan State is 15-2-1 overall and 6-1-1 within the Big 10 Conference.  They currently are in first place in the USCHO.com rankings for Men’s Hockey.

Cole Hutson — LH Defenseman – Boston University Terriers – Freshman
Drafted in 2024 2nd Round (#43 overall)

Photo: Boston University Terriers Hockey

Boston University also played a light schedule in December, with two games against the University of Massachusetts, one against the United States Development Team before the semester break, and one against Yale University after Christmas.

On December 7, the Terriers lost 4-0 to the University of Massachusetts. Hutson was assessed a major penalty at 11:56 during the first period and earned a game misconduct.

December 11 was a much better game against the same opponent for Boston University and Hutson. This time, the Terriers came from behind to win 4-2 with four unanswered goals. The game was literally the Cole Hutson show.

Hutson had the secondary assist on the Terriers’ first goal, which came on the power play at 17:53 during the second period, decreasing BU’s deficit to 2-1.

Hutson then scored a goal of his own, the team’s second, at 8:49 during the third period, tying the score at 2-2.

Less than two minutes later, on a power play at 10:07, Hutson scored his second goal of the game, putting the Terriers in the lead for the first time.

Hutson added another assist on a goal that his brother, Cole, scored that came at 12:48 during the third period which put the Terriers up 4-2 and was the final score.

Quinn is the latest Hutson to score tonight, as the Coles combine with 1️⃣7️⃣ for this beauty!

Watch on ESPN+: https://t.co/Cfes0QFw58@hockey_east | @NESN | @espnpic.twitter.com/jbV2jKVjhw

— BU Men’s Hockey (@TerrierHockey) December 12, 2024

During December, Hutson played in two games, scoring two goals and recording 2 assists. He had 5 shots on goal and no blocked shots. He took one major penalty and game misconduct for 15 penalty minutes for the month.

Hutson has played in 16 games for Boston University this season, scoring four goals and recording 10 assists. He has 40 shots on goal, blocked 11 shots, and is 0 in Plus/Minus. He has 46 penalty minutes in all.  He played in all of Boston University’s games, except their game on December 29 where they lost to Yale as he was participating in the World Junior Championship.

The Terriers are now 9-7-1 and 5-3-1 in the Hockey East conference. They are now off until January 10 when they play Vermont.

Boston University currently ranks 15th in the USCHO.com rankings for Men’s Hockey.

World Junior Preliminary Performance

While Boston  University was mostly off for Christmas, Hutson joined Team USA for the IIHF World Junior Championship. In a tune-up game on December 21, he had three assists as USA beat Slovakia 6-3. In the last tune-up game on December 23, Hutson contributed an assist as USA beat Finland 5-2.

On December 26, in the first game of the preliminary round of the World Junior Championships, Hutson had five assists, including three primary assists, as Team USA clobbered Germany 10-4.

On December 29, in a 4-3 overtime loss to Finland, Hutson scored a goal at 1:45 in the second period. At the time, it put USA up 2-1.

On New Year’s Eve, Hutson scored Team USA’s first goal at 13:02 during the first period on a power play to help Team USA beat Canada 4-1.

Brent Johnson — RH Defenseman — Ohio State Buckeyes – Senior
Drafted in 2021 3rd Round (#80 overall)

Photo: Ohio State University Hockey

Johnson played on both the second and third defense pairings for Ohio State during December. The Buckeyes are having a much better season than last season and won all four of the games they played during the month.

Johnson was kept off the scoresheet in their games against the Penn State Nittany Lions on December 5 and 6.

On December 13, Johnson scored the game-winning goal in overtime at 1:53 against the Notre Dame Irish. Johnson had come around the faceoff circle and accepted the pass before shooting. That goal broke a 1-1 tie.

Johnson and Head Coach Steve Rohlik spoke about the win in a post-game interview.

December 14 was another win for Ohio State against Notre Dame, this time by a 3-1 score. Johnson scored the first goal at 19:30 during the first period, scoring on a backhand shot top shelf from on the net. This goal put the Buckeyes ahead 1-0.

For December, Johnson played in all four of his team’s games and scored two goals but recorded no assists. He had 10 shots on goal and had blocked 8 shots. He was not penalized at all in December.

Johnson has played in 17 games, scoring three goals and recording four assists. He made 29 shots on goal and blocked 26 shots. He has served just one penalty this season.

Ohio State is 13-4-1 for the season and 6-2-0 record within the Big 10 conference.  Ohio State University currently ranks 13th in the USCHO.com rankings for Men’s Hockey, a vast improvement over last season.

Nick Kempf – Goaltender — Notre Dame Irish – Junior
Drafted in 2024 4th Round (#114 overall)

Notre Dame had an extremely light schedule for December, only playing games against Ohio State on December 12, a 2-1 loss in overtime, and December 13, a 3-1 loss. They do not resume action until January 3.

Kempf was only in goal for their overtime loss on December 13 where he made 41 saves out of 43 chances.

Kempf has played in 6 games and has a 1-5-1 record for the season. He has made 190 saves out of 207 shots and has a save percentage of .918. His goals-against average is 2.88. In five of the six games he’s played, he has faced more than 30 opposing shots on goal.

Notre Dame is having a rough season so far, with a record of 6-12 and a 1-9 record within the Big 10 Conference.

Joaquim Lemay — LH Defenseman – Northeastern University – Junior
Drafted in 2021 4th Round (#119 overall)

The Northeastern Huskies played four games before Christmas, but Lemay only appeared in the first two games, a 3-1 win against Bentley University on December 1, where he was kept off the scoresheet, and a 5-3 loss against New Hampshire on December 6. In that game, he assisted on the team’s first goal which came at 16:33 during the first period and decreased the team’s deficit to 2-1.

He was absent for the Huskies’ next two games, a 4-3 win on December 7 against Brown University and a 4-1 loss on December 14 against Merrimack University.

The team resumed action in the Ledyard Bank tournament that was held on December 28 and 29. Lemay was in the lineup in both games, their 3-1 loss on December 28 to Providence and their 4-3 overtime win against University of Alaska Anchorage but had no goals nor assists in either game.

He played in four games during December where he recorded one assist. He had seven shots on goal and four blocked shots. For the season, he played in 10 games in which he scored one goal and recorded two assists. He has had 28 shots on goal and 12 blocked shots. He has taken 3 penalties for 6 penalty minutes.

Ryan Leonard — Right Wing – Boston College Eagles – Sophomore
Drafted in 2023 1st Round (#8 overall)

Photo: Boston College Eagles Hockey

The Boston College Eagles also had a light schedule for December, playing just three games. Their last game was on December 9, and they do not resume action until January 12. Leonard, meanwhile, represented Team USA in the IIHF World Junior Championship.

Leonard was kept off the scoresheet in the Eagles’ 2-1 Overtime win on December 4 against the University of Connecticut Huskies and their 3-3 tie (and shootout loss) on December 6 against the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

However, Leonard had plenty of heroics against the University of Massachusetts Lowell on December 9. He scored at 17:39 during the second period, firing a shot from the right faceoff circle. This put Boston College ahead 2-1 at the time.

Slightly over a minute later, at 17:39, he assisted on a goal that James Hagens scored, putting the Eagles up 3-1.

Boston College went on to win 3-2 with Leonard being selected as First Star of the Game.

Leonard played in three games in December, scoring one goal and recording one assist. He made 17 shots on goal and took four minor penalties for a total of eight penalty minutes.

Leonard scored 12 goals and recorded 7 assists for 19 points overall in 16 games played during the season. He had made 94 shots on goal and taken 7 penalties for a total of 14 penalty minutes.

BC is 12-3-1 overall and 6-2-1 within the Hockey East Conference. Boston College currently ranks second in the USCHO.com rankings for Men’s Hockey.

World Junior Preliminary Performance

While Boston College was on Christmas Break, Leonard played for Team USA in the IIHF World Junior Championship where he was selected as Captain. He had plenty of heroics during the two preliminary exhibition games where he scored two goals and recorded one assist against Slovakia in a 6-2 win on December 21 and scored one goal against Finland during a 5-2 win on December 23.

On December 26, in the first game of the preliminary round of the World Junior Championships, Leonard assisted on Team USA’s first two goals, as Team USA clobbered Germany 10-4.

On December 28, in the USA’s game against Latvia, Leonard scored the second goal (and the game-winner) for Team USA. The final score was 5-1.

On New Year’s Eve, Leonard scored an empty net goal for Team USA at 18:08 during the third period to help Team USA beat Canada 4-1.

By Diane Doyle

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