Tyler Boland of the University of New Brunswick isn’t the only Newfoundland whose offensive skills will be key to his team’s post-season chances as playoffs begin in U Sports men’s hockey conferences across the country this week.
Grand Falls-Windsor native Cody Drover leads the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees into a first-round series against the Ontario University of Technology starting tonight in Oshawa, Ont.
The 24-year-old forward, a product of the Central Ice Pak major midget team, just finished his fourth regular-season with the Gees-Gees, recording 45 points in 36 games overall. That includes 37 assists, more than any other player in the Ontario Universities Association (OUA and second-most in the country. Drover, who was a Maritime Hockey League (junior A) standout before beginning studies at Ottawa, is second in scoring for the Gee-Gees, a point behind linemate Kevin Domingue, and is seventh overall in the OUA.
In 110 career OUA games, Drover has 124 points, including 91 assists. The latter is a new record for the University of Ottawa men’s hockey program, which began in 1889.
The Gee-Gees finished third in the OUA’s East Division, where top spot is owned by another Ottawa school, Carleton University, whose Ravens lost only four of 28 games this season.
There’s a Newfoundlander on the Carleton roster. That’s third-year defencemen Michael Constantine of Conception Bay South, who was sidelined for much of the season, but returned to play four games late in the schedule.
The Ravens’ first-round series is against the Royal Military College Paladins and also begins tonight.
As for Boland, who was the regular-season leading scorer in the Atlantic University Sports conference and third in the country, (20G, 28 A, 48 Pts in conference play), he’ll have to wait awhile before he sees is first playoff action. His UNB Reds, the No. 1-ranked team in the country, have a bye through the AUS opening round.
But teams featuring seven other players from this province will begin best-of-three AUS quarter-finals tonight.
That includes the UPEI Panthers, who have four Newfoundlanders, forwards Jordan Maher of Gander, Jesse Sutton of Mount Pearl and Nathan Yetman of St. John’s, along with defenceman Adam Picco of Marystown. The Panthers are taking on the Saint Mary’s Huskies, with forward Joel Bishop of St. John’s.
Maher, Sutton and Bishop are all in their first AUS seasons after solid careers in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The two other playoff-participating Newfoundlanders are defenceman Adam Holwell and forward Marcus Cuomo of the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. St. FX, whose head coach is Goulds native Brad Pedde, is facing Moncton in the first round.
The second-place Acadia Axemen, whose roster includes St. John’s-born Jack McClelland, the son of former St. John’s Maple Leafs forward Kevin McClelland, join UNB in having a first-round bye.
Newhook on a hot streak with Boston College
St. John’s native Alex Newhook and Boston College freshman forward has been named co-winner of the latest Hockey East rookie of the week honours after extending his recent scoring streak with multi-point performances in a couple of contests.
The 19-year-old Newhook has scored in four straight games, including back-to-back shorthanded tallies, first in the Eagles’ loss to Mass-Lowell and following up with another Monday as BC defeated Harvard in the consolation final of the Beanpot Tournament, the annual competition featuring Boston’s NCAA Division One teams.
The 16th overall pick by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Draft also had assists in both games.
Newhook’s 13 goals — seven of which have come in the last 10 games — are second on the Eagles, and his 26 points are tied for third on the team.
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