Sharks prospect check-in: NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament starts today

While this post is meant to focus on the NCAA men’s hockey tournament, it also serves as a wrap-up of how all the Sharks’ prospects playing in the NCAA have fared this season. Almost all of them will not be playing for a shot to go to the Frozen Four and a potential championship. That’s because the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament, unlike many of the other postseasons in college, only includes 16 teams, leaving a lot of teams on the outside looking in.

Will Smith and Boston College are the only team with a Sharks prospect on it that will play in the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament. We’ll leave it to you to decide if a future Sharks prospect, say one who might go high in the upcoming draft, is also playing in the tournament. BC is ranked first overall in the tournament bracket, an easy choice for the tournament organizers given the 6-2 win Boston College just had over second-ranked Boston University on Saturday in the Hockey East Tournament.

While the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament starts today, Boston College fans will have to wait until tomorrow to see the Eagles in action. BC kicks things off at 11 a.m. PDT tomorrow against Michigan Tech. If Boston College wins, it will move on to play the winner of Quinnipiac and Wisconsin on Sunday at 1 p.m. PDT.

As for the rest of the Sharks prospects playing NCAA hockey this season, this is how their seasons ended.

Eli Barnett (D) – University of Vermont

While Eli Barnett and the University of Vermont did not make it to the final group of 16, the young defenseman had a chance to grow his game in his freshman season. Barnett made his college debut on Oct. 13 with a 3-1 win over St. Lawrence. He finished the season with 22 games played and five points.

It’s a good guess that Barnett will return to play for the University of Vermont next season to try to improve his game.

Timofei Spitserov (F) – University of Vermont

Also, at the University of Vermont, Timofei Spitserov has just wrapped up his junior season with the Catamounts. Spitserov had 14 points in 35 games this season, which is not phenomenal for a third-year NCAA forward. That said, he’s more than doubled his points total from last season, where he only scored six points in 23 games.

Michael Fisher (D) – Northeastern University

Northeastern didn’t make the cut either, so Fisher will be left out of postseason play. Fisher finished the season with two points in 30 games. While not outstanding, it was still his freshman season with the Huskies, and he’ll look to build on that next season.

Cameron Lund (F) – Northeastern University

Fellow Husky Cameron Lund just finished out his sophomore season with Northeastern. Lund finished the season with 30 points in 35 games, improving on his freshman season, when he scored 23 points in 35 games.

It’s more than likely that Lund will return to Northeastern next season to see if he can take another step forward in his development.

Reese Laubach (F) – Penn State

Former Junior Shark Reese Laubach was sixth in scoring for Penn State this season. The freshman had 22 points in 35 games, including 10 goals.

Joey Muldowney (F) – University of Connecticut

Joey Muldowney scored 14 points in 36 games this season at UConn. Muldowney finished the season strong with three goals in the final three games of his freshman season. Look for him to take a larger role with the Huskies next season.

Eric Pohlkamp (D) – Bemidji State University

Eric Pohlkamp helped take Bemidji State’s Men’s Hockey team all the way to a Mason Cup Championship. While Bemidji unfortunately lost to Michigan Tech in the finals, it was still considered a successful season for Bemidji State.

Pohlkamp has pulled down a ton of accolades in his freshman season with the Beavers. He’s been named a CCHA Defenseman of the Year Finalist and a CCHA Rookie of the Year Finalist. He was also named to the All-CCHA First Team and All-CCHA Rookie Team.

Pohlkamp finished his first NCAA season with 24 points (11 G, 13 A) in 32 games. He averaged just under four shots per game.

Alex Young (F) – Arizona State University

It’s almost decision time for Alex Young. The now-senior had just 9 points in 37 games with the Arizona State Sun Devils this season. It’s a big regression from his 39 points in 40 games last season. Young transferred from Colgate University to ASU in the summer, so that may be some of what factored into his regression. That said, it’s now up to the Sharks to decide if the team wants to sign Young to a contract and give him a roster spot on the Barracuda next season.