The Leafs had a handful of prospects competing for conference titles in the NCAA this past weekend, including Matt Knies and Mike Koster of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. After losing last year’s B1G10 Championship against Michigan, the Gophers were looking for a measure of revenge against the Wolverines this time around.
As he has done so often in big games throughout his collegiate career, Knies came to play with the title on the line against a familiar foe. He helped to pull the Gophers even in the second period with a great defensive play that sent Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley in all alone, and the pair of star prospects from the 2022 draft made no mistake.
Great defensive play by Matt Knies springs Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley on a 2-on-0 and Minnesota pulls even with Michigan#LeafsForever #Yotes #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/et5SMWXEJL
— Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) March 19, 2023
His most impressive play of the night came just moments later, as he gloved down a puck in the neutral zone and fended off a couple of checks before bursting around a defender and taking the puck to the net for a great scoring chance that forced Michigan to take a penalty. Minnesota probably has a case that the goal should have counted, too.
Holy Matthew Knies pic.twitter.com/esETzcOnWA
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) March 19, 2023
Knies showed off his repertoire of skills throughout the contest, making skilled plays with the puck and using his body to protect pucks and sustain possessions, but it wasn’t enough. After Knies found himself on the wrong side of a couple of fortuitous bounces in the third period, Michigan came away with their second consecutive B1G10 title.
It was a bitter defeat for the #1 ranked Gophers, but they’ll have a shot at redemption when the NCAA Tournament gets underway later this week. Minnesota will kick off their quest for a national championship when they take on 16th-ranked Canisius on Thursday.
Elsewhere, 2020 sixth-round pick Veeti Miettinen and his St. Cloud State teammates came away with a 3-0 victory over Colorado College to claim the NCHC conference title, while fellow 2020 sixth-rounder Joe Miller extended his point streak to seven games as Harvard fell to Colgate in the ECAC final.
Miettinen was held off the scoresheet in the championship game, but he played a big part in getting the Huskies there in the first place. He had a goal and two assists in Friday’s semifinal against North Dakota, helping lead the Huskies to a thrilling 3-2 win in overtime. The Finnish forward has put together a strong second half of the season, and he heads into the NCAA Tournament with 11 goals and 23 assists in 39 games so far this season.
What a Finnish!
Miettinen buries the one-timer on the power play to tie it for @SCSUHuskies_MH
: @CBSSportsNet #FrozenFaceoff // #HuskyHockey pic.twitter.com/4sSyrxENkC
— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) March 18, 2023
Miller has had an impressive freshman season for Harvard. With an assist in Saturday’s loss, he has now registered a goal and seven assists in his last eight games, bringing him to 13 goals and 15 assists in 32 games for the season. Miller’s lack of size and strength will always be a concern, but he has found a way to be productive in his first season of college hockey, and he should step into an even larger role with a few of the Crimson’s most prominent forwards expected to turn pro next season.
#LeafsForever prospect Joe Miller starts off a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play for the OT winner. Harvard advances to their conference final. pic.twitter.com/kBSmukDUWs
— More like Nikita GREATbyonkin (@brigstew86) March 18, 2023
Miettinen and Miller will both take part in the NCAA Tournament as well, with St. Cloud State set to take on Minnesota State on Thursday and Harvard slated for a matchup with Ohio State on Friday.
Second goal of the game for #LeafsForever prospect Roni Hirvonen, much nicer than the first one pic.twitter.com/pQ9pPPI3wI
— Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) March 18, 2023
Big time hit by #LeafsForever prospect Fraser Minten pic.twitter.com/7vWNzq2TJd
— Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) March 18, 2023
26 seconds in and two milestones were hit:
Nick Moldenhauer’s assist marked his 100th career point
Harvey’s goal broke a franchise record for most career goals
Decent start #FeelSteel https://t.co/1pCXcAlByO pic.twitter.com/aeKPtBwhgb— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) March 19, 2023
Liso's second goal of then night was a BEAUTY pic.twitter.com/px6dAXmfll
— x – Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 20, 2023
(Statistics from EliteProspects.com)
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