It was a banner week for BCHL alumni plying their trade in the NCAA as there were nine former BCHLers honoured with weekly conference awards. We recap it all in this week’s NCAA Roundup, presented by Johnston Meier Insurance.
CCHA Forward of the Week
David Silye – Junior – Minnesota State University (Nanaimo Clippers/Penticton Vees)
Silye paced all CCHA skaters with five goals in two games last week, including a natural hat trick in a span of 10:25 of the first period on Saturday, in a 4-3 victory over St. Thomas. He also netted a pair of goals on Friday in the Mavericks 7-2 road win against the Tommies. For the weekend, he notched three power-play goals and seven shots, with a 56.4 per cent faceoff percentage.
The Arnprior, Ont. native played in the BCHL for four seasons from 2016 to 2020. He spent the first two years with Nanaimo before joining Penticton prior to the 2018-19 campaign. In his two years with the Vees, he collected 122 points in 112 games and was named team captain in his final year.
CCHA Rookie of the Week
Luc Wilson (F) – Freshman – Minnesota State University (Cowichan Valley Capitals/Penticton Vees)
Wilson erupted for his first five collegiate points last week, including his first goal and four assists. He was a +1 with four shots on the weekend and his four helpers were the most among all CCHA players. Scoring his first collegiate goal, along with two assists, in Minnesota State’s 7-2 victory over St. Thomas on Friday, he followed that up with two more helpers on Saturday in a 4-3 win.
Wilson played four seasons in the BCHL from 2018 to 2022 split between the Cowichan Valley Capitals and Penticton Vees. Last year, in his final season of junior hockey, he led the Vees in scoring during the regular season and finished tied for fourth overall in the league with 75 points in 52 games. He then led the playoffs in scoring with 27 points in 17 games, guiding the Vees to a Fred Page Cup championship.
ECAC Hockey Defender of the Week
Zach Metsa – Graduate – Quinnipiac University (Merritt Centennials)
Metsa blocked two shots and registered three points from the blueline last weekend. On Friday, he contributed to each of the Bobcats three goals in their come-from-behind win against Colgate. After jump-starting the comeback with a power-play goal in the second, Metsa combined with teammates Ethan de Jong and Collin Graf for the game-tying and game-winning goals.
Metsa suited up for the Merritt Centennials in 2016-17 and had 27 points in 57 games.
ECAC Goaltender of the Week
Cooper Black – Freshman – Dartmouth College (Nanaimo Clippers)
Black earned his first win of the season in the most dramatic of fashions, with a 28-save shutout of Yale on Friday. The first-year netminder went 1-0-1 on the weekend, making 47 saves across two contests and allowing just two goals on nearly 50 shots. He was tested in overtime on Saturday and in the shootout, but came up big to help Big Green earn the extra point.
Black only played one season in the BCHL, but it was a memorable one. He led the league in save percentage during the regular season last year with the Nanaimo Clippers, posting a mark of .924. He was even more impressive in the playoffs, winning 12 straight decisions through the first three rounds and putting up a .937 save percentage, tied for best in the postseason.
ECAC Rookie of the Week
Luke Haymes (F) – Freshman – Dartmouth College (Cowichan Valley Capitals)
Haymes got off to a hot start to open his freshman campaign last week and carried the momentum into this weekend, where he scored three goals on just eight shots. On Friday, Haymes had both the opening and the closing goals, getting Big Green’s offense going in the second period and closing the game out with a power-play goal in the final minute of the third to take home the 6-0 win over Yale. He scored the equalizer on the power play on Saturday, helping Dartmouth battle to a tie with Brown.
Haymes played last season with the Cowichan Valley Capitals and led the team with 22 goals in 52 games, while his 49 points were second most on the team.
Hockey East Rookie of the Week
Matthew Wood (F) – Freshman – University of Connecticut (Victoria Grizzlies)
Wood turned in a crucial performance on Saturday night, scoring the game-tying goal and then assisting on the game-winning strike in UConn’s 3-2 victory over Maine. His efforts pushed UConn to 9-1-1 on the year, the program’s best-ever start to a season.
Wood played two years in the BCHL and finished as the league’s leading scorer and top goal scorer in 2021-22 with 85 points and 45 goals in 46 games. He was still considered a rookie that year, as he played the previous shortened pod season as an affiliate with the Grizzlies, so he won the league’s Rookie of the Year award in 2021-22 as well.
Hockey East Defenceman of the Week
Max Crozier – Senior – Providence College (Nanaimo Clippers)
Crozier led all Hockey East defensemen last week with three points on three assists. The senior co-captain also finished the weekend with a plus-two rating as the Friars swept UMass in a home-and-home series.
Crozier played the 2017-18 campaign with the Nanaimo Clippers, alongside his brother Tristan. He notched six goals and 23 assists for 29 points to finish second in points by defencemen on his team. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fourth round of the NHL Entry Draft in 2019.
Atlantic Hockey Forward of the Week
Ryan Steele – Graduate – Sacred Heart University (Alberni Valley Bulldogs)
Steele helped Sacred Heart grab five of six points in the Pioneers weekend series at Mercyhurst. The Stratford, P.E.I. native registered a career-high three points on two goals and an assist in SHU’s 6-3 win on Friday. Steele netted the game’s first goal in the opening period then added the game-winner in the third to cap off a run of three goals in 21 seconds by the Pioneers that erased a 3-1 deficit. He finished the weekend with four points, eight shots on goal, one block and a pair of faceoff wins.
Steele played two years in the BCHL from 2016 to 2018, mostly with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, but finished off with a stint with the West Kelowna Warriors. He recorded 81 points in 114 regular-season games over his BCHL career.
NCHC Rookie of the Week
Ryan McAllister (F) – Freshman – Western Michigan University
After a five-point performance last weekend, McAllister repeated his NCHC Rookie of the Week honour following a six-point weekend in a sweep of Miami to open conference play. The undrafted freshman dished out three assists both nights against the RedHawks, giving him four three-point games already this season.
McAllister played 37 games for the Prince George Spruce Kings during the 2019-20 season, putting up five goals, eight assists and 13 points.
