Rangers NCAA Prospects Report: Spence powers Michigan to No. 1 Ranking in Nation

It was a big weekend for New York Rangers prospects playing in the NCAA. A rematch of last season’s Frozen Four semifinal highlighted the schedule, while three Rangers prospects combined for five goals.

The new USA Hockey Men’s College Hockey Poll on Monday brought more good news for the organization’s NCAA prospects. Michigan’s sweep of Denver, combined with Western Michigan’s sweep of Notre Dame, resulted in Rangers prospects occupying spots on each of the nation’s top five ranked teams:

1. Michigan (Malcom Spence)
2. Michigan State (Sean Barnhill)
3. North Dakota (E.J. Emery)
4. Western Michigan (Ty Henricks)
5. Denver (Ben MacBeath)

Each of the top five teams features a Rangers prospect, and all five are considered early contenders for the national championship.

A sixth Rangers prospect, Charlie Morrison, also remains in the top-20 rankings as his UConn Huskies moved up to No. 16 this week. That gives the Rangers six ranked teams among their seven NCAA prospects.

First Star: Malcom Spence, Michigan

Few — if any — games on the early-season college hockey schedule generated as much attention as the showdown Friday between No. 1 Denver and No. 2 Michigan. The matchup was a rematch of last season’s Frozen Four semifinal, won by Denver on its way to another national championship victory.

This time it was Michigan earning some revenge.

The Wolverines skated away with a 4-1 victory, snapping Denver’s 19-game winning streak dating back to last season. Leading the way was Malcolm Spence, the Rangers key forward prospect who scored twice, including the game-winning goal.

With Michigan already leading 1-0 in the second period, a Denver turnover created an odd-man rush. Spence finished off a give-and-go sequence to double Michigan’s advantage. Remarkably, the goal came on Michigan’s lone shot on goal of the period, and it turned out to be the game winner.

The goal was Spence’s third of the season, but he was not finished.

As Denver pushed for a late comeback in the third period, Spence sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal to secure the victory. He finished the night with two goals on three shots and a plus-3 rating.

Spence’s season totals improved to 4-3-7 in just five games.

The two teams met again Saturday, with Michigan completing the weekend sweep via a 4-3 victory. Spence was held off the score sheet in this one, and picked up a roughing minor penalty. Spence is third on the Wolverines with four goals in six games, and his seven points are tied for fifth. In addition, his 14 penalty minutes rank second on Michigan, and he’s scored on a whopping 50 percent of his shots, so far (4 for 8).

Ben MacBeath, Denver

Friday night defenseman Ben MacBeath did not record a point against Michigan, but was solid defensively, helping Denver limit prime scoring chances for much of the night.

MacBeath was again pointless and without a shot Saturday, but was strong in his defensive coverage. While New York’s second-round pick in this year’s draft has shown little offensively (one assist in four games), his defensive play makes up for it. Plus the freshman averages 19:18 a game in ice time.

Ty Henricks, Western Michigan

Western Michigan entered the weekend ranked sixth nationally and then swept Notre Dame in a two-game non-conference series. Rangers forward prospect Ty Henricks played a key role, scoring in both games for WMU.

Henricks scored his first goal of the season Friday, when the Broncos rolled to a 6-1 victory. Battling through traffic around the Notre Dame crease, Henricks outworked two defenders before forcing the puck across the goal line for Western Michigan’s fifth goal of the night.

On Saturday, Henricks found the back of the net again in a 4-1 Broncos victory. His second goal of the season was not the prettiest, coming when a puck deflected off him and into the net, but they all count the same on the score sheet.

The two-goal weekend has Henricks with three points (two goals, one assist) in four games this season.

E.J. Emery, North Dakota

North Dakota’s weekend series against Bentley provided Rangers prospect E.J. Emery with an opportunity to showcase a side of his game we don’t get to see often enough.

Friday night, Emery scored his first goal of the season, when the Fighting Hawks earned a 5-0 victory. With North Dakota already ahead 4-0 in the third period, Emery gathered the puck at the point and carried it deep into the offensive zone before driving toward the net and finishing the play himself.

It was the kind of goal the Rangers would love to see more from the junior defenseman.

Emery finished the game with a goal on three shots, a plus-2 rating and one of his strongest performances of the young season.

North Dakota completed the sweep Saturday with another 5-0 win. Emery picked up a secondary assist on the Fighting Hawks’ opening goal and finished with a plus-2 rating, one blocked shot and an interference minor.

Emery has two points (one goal, one assist) in four games, and leads North Dakota with a plus-5 rating.

Charlie Morrison, UConn

Charlie Morrison continued to gain experience in the 16th-ranked UConn lineup, when the Huskies split a weekend series with 13th-ranked Colorado College.

Friday featured the highlight for the Rangers defenseman prospect. Morrison recorded a primary assist on UConn’s opening goal, finding Ethan Gardula just 3:43 into the game. The Huskies eventually claimed a 3-2 overtime victory over the Tigers.

The assist was the second of Morrison’s NCAA career. He finished with two shots on goal and a plus-2 rating.

Saturday was a different story as Colorado College earned a 4-1 win to split the series. Morrison was held without a shot on goal and finished the game at minus-1 as the Tigers controlled play for much of the night.

Sean Barnhill, Michigan State

Sean Barnhill had a secondary assist when his third-ranked Michigan State Spartans defeated RIT 5-1 in a non-conference win. Barnhill earned his point on his team’s fourth goal of the game in the third period.

For Barnhill, it is his first point of the season and fifth career point (no goals) in 40 NCAA games. However, Barnhill was not around for the finish when both teams had all five skaters on the ice earn a minor and a misconduct during a scrum at 19:35 of the third period.

Raoul Boilard, Lake Superior State

Raoul Boilard and Lake Superior State made the long trip to Alaska for a two-game series against Alaska Anchorage and came away with a split.

Friday’s opener got off to a rough start for the Lakers, who found themselves trailing 3-0 after the opening period. Boilard helped spark an attempted comeback in the second period.

With Lake Superior State still searching for momentum, Boilard fired a shot on goal that produced a rebound. Markus Loponen collected the loose puck and scored to cut the deficit to 3-1. The play gave Boilard his third assist of the season.

He finished the night with four shots on goal, an assist, a 9-for-20 performance in the face-off circle and a minus-1 rating. Despite narrowing the gap, the Lakers eventually fell 5-2.

Saturday brought a better result for Lake Superior State, which earned a 4-2 victory to salvage a split of the series. Boilard did not register a point and was held without a shot on goal, but finished 8-for-13 on fac-eoffs while continuing to see regular usage down the middle.

The assist leaves Boilard with three points through the first four games of his freshman season.

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