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Players of color compete in the other March Madness – the Frozen Four championship

24 Saturday Mar 2018

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March Madness on ice is in full swing and the road to the Frozen Four features several players of color on teams vying to get to the championship game in St. Paul, Minnesota, next month.

The Ohio State University forward Dakota Joshua was the Buckeyes’ fourth-leading scorer in 2017-18, notching 15 goals and 10 assists in 33 games. A 2014 Toronto Maple Leafs fifth-round draft pick, the junior from Dearborn, Michigan,has a goal in the NCAA championship tourney.

Ohio State University forward Dakota Joshua hopes to lead the Buckeyes to an NCAA Frozen Four title (Photo/The Ohio State University Athletics).

Joshua has a chance to score more as Ohio State faces the University of Minnesota-Duluth on Thursday, April 5, at the Xel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Buckeyes senior forward Christian Lampasso was the Buckeyes’ sixth-leading goal-scorer with 10 to go along with 3 assists in 35 games in the regular season. The 23-year-old from Amherst, New York’s Twitter handle is @formerlydreadsy, nod to his Haitian heritage and the dreadlocks he used to wear under his hockey helmet.

Ohio State University forward Christian Lampasso shed his dreadlocks but hasn’t lost his scoring touch for the Buckeyes (Photo/The Ohio State University Athletics).

Defenseman Justin Wade helped secure the blue line for the  University of Notre Dame in 2017-18. Wade, a 23-year-old senior from Aurora, Illinois, was fourth on the team in blocked shots last season with 42. He also led the Fighting Irish in penalty minutes with 54 in 33 games.

The Fighting Irish play Michigan on Thursday.

University of Notre Dame defenseman Justin Wade and the Fighting Irish are back in a familiar spot – the NCAA playoffs.

After failing to win gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Jordan Greenway rejoined Boston University’s team hoping to win a Frozen Four championship trophy to go with BU’s 2017-18 Hockey East title.

But his quest ended when the Terriers lost to the University of Michigan Wolverines 6-3 in the Northeastern Final on March 24.

The 6-foot-5 junior forward from Canton, N.Y., had 12 goals and 21 assists in 34 regular season games for the Terriers. Greenway,  a 2015 Minnesota Wild second-round draft pick and the first African-American player on a U.S. Olympic hockey team, notched a goal in five games in PyeongChang.

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Greenway didn’t make it to the Xel Energy Center with the Terriers, but he made it with the Wild after he signed a three-year entry level contract with the team after BU was eliminated from the NCAA tournament.

Forward Erik Foley was Providence College’s leading scorer in the 2017-18 season with 16 goals and 19 assists in 36 regular season games.

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Foley, a 2015 Winnipeg Jets third-round draft pick, is joined on the Friars by forward Vimal Sukumaran. A sophomore from Montreal, Sukumaran  was ninth on the team with 10 goals and 8 assists in 38 regular season games in 2017-18.

The hockey season ended for Foley and Sukumaran when the Friars lost to Notre Dame 2-1 in the NCAA quarterfinals on March 24.

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His name changed but his game remained the same. Minnesota State University senior forward C.J. Suess, changed his last name from Franklin and took his mother’s maiden name to honor her.

Despite the new name on the back of his jersey,  he remained the same hard-nosed, high-scoring  player for the Mavericks.

The 23-year-old Forest Lake, Minnesota, led the team with 22 goals and 21 assists in 40 games in 2017-18. His 22 goals tied him for twelfth among NCAA Division I hockey players.

Suess, a Winnipeg Jets 2014 fifth-round draft pick, also led by example. He was the Mavericks’ team captain for last two seasons.

His season ended on March 23 when the Mavericks lost to rival University of Minnesota-Duluth 3-2 in overtime in a first-round contest.

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Tampa Bay draftee Mathieu Joseph to play for Canada at 2017 junior championshp

20 Tuesday Dec 2016

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Congratulations to forward Mathieu Joseph, a 2015 Tampa Bay Lightning fourth-round draft pick, for being selected to play for Team Canada in the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.

Team Canada's Mathieu Joseph (Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Team Canada’s Mathieu Joseph (Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Joseph, 19, will represent Canada for the first time at any level internationally when he takes to the ice for the tournament that begins December 26 in Toronto and Montreal.

Canada will open with a tough matinee match against Russia at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre while the United States plays Latvia in an evening contest at the arena.

 Joseph is the second-leading scorer on the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 25 goals and 20 assists in 29 games. The 120th overall pick in the 2015 National Hockey League Draft has scored 80 goals and 91 assists in 176 QMJHL games since the 2013-14 season.

Mathieu Joseph in action against the Czech Republic in exhibition game play during the 2016 National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Mathieu Joseph in action against the Czech Republic in exhibition game play during the 2016 National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp. Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Joseph got an early Christmas present in December when the Lightning signed him to a three-year entry-level contract on the eve of the IIHF tournament.

Joseph’s game is about high energy and enthusiasm – traits he carries on and off the ice. He’s a gregarious personality, something he inherited from his parents.

“I’m a pretty outgoing guy,” he told  Canada’s TSN. “Honestly, it’s easy for me to talk. My family has been raised like that. My parents are like that, maybe not as hyper per se, but I”d say they raised me like that.”

Joseph isn’t the only one in his family who was recognized this month for his hockey prowess. His younger brother, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph of the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders, was selected to play in the 2017 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Quebec City on January 30, 2017.

Charlottetown Islanders' Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

Charlottetown Islanders’ Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph has 4 goals and 23 assists in 32 QMJHL games this season. NHL Central Scouting lists him as a player to watch and projects him to be a second or third-round pick at the 2017 draft to be held June 23-24 at Chicago’s United Center.

USA Hockey will announce its final 23-man  U.S. roster   for the IIHF world juniors on Dec. 24. Three players  of color who were also chosen in the 2015 draft are in the hunt for roster spots: Caleb Jones, a defenseman for the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks and an Edmonton Oilers fourth-round pick; Boston University forward Jordan Greenway, a Minnesota Wild second-round draft choice; and Providence College forward Erik Foley, a Winnipeg Jets third-round pick.

Three from diverse 2015 NHL Draft vie for Team USA roster spots for World Juniors

06 Tuesday Dec 2016

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Twenty-seven players, 23 spots.

That’s the math problem that Team USA will try to solve as it whittles its roster for the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship,to be held in Toronto and Montreal Dec. 26, 2016 to Jan. 5, 2017.

USA Hockey announced Monday that 27 players have made the preliminary roster for the tourney and will attend a training camp Dec. 16-20 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, N.Y. The final 23-man roster will be announced on Dec. 24.

Three players of color, all members of National Hockey League Draft class of 2015, are vying for jobs on the U.S. squad. They are:

Portland Winterhawks' Caleb Jones

Portland Winterhawks’ Caleb Jones

Caleb Jones, defense, Portland Winterhawks, Western Hockey League.  Jones is the younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones, who starred in Portland before the Nashville Predators selected him with the fourth overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft. Jones joined the NHL after competing in the World Juniors.

Now Caleb Jones is making a name for himself in Portland. He’s fifth on the Winterhawks in scoring with 3 goals and 22 assists in 28 games. His 25 points is tops among the team’s defensemen. He’s tied for second in assists among WHL defensemen.

The Edmonton Oilers chose Jones in the fourth round of the 2015 draft and signed him to an entry-level NHL contract in April.

Portland Winterhawks defenseman Caleb Jones is fifth on his team in scoring (Photo/Dayna Fjord/Portland Winterhawks).

Portland Winterhawks defenseman Caleb Jones is fifth on his team in scoring (Photo/Dayna Fjord/Portland Winterhawks).

“Caleb has had a chance in the past to represent USA at several international events but I know the opportunity to play in the World Junior tournament on the biggest stage is something he’s always looked forward to,”said Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks head coach and general manager. “I am confident he will impress at the camp.”

Jordan Greenway, forward, Boston University, Hockey East. Greenway, a

Jordan Greenway, Boston University

Jordan Greenway, Boston University

6-foot-5, 230-pound sophomore is second on the Terriers in scoring with 6 goals and 7 assists in 13 games. He’s tallied 3 game-winning goals so far this season.

The Minnesota Wild drafted Greenway in the second round with the 50th overall pick of the 2015. His younger brother, defenseman J.D. Greenway, plays for the University of Wisconsin. The Toronto Maple Leafs chose him in the third round with the 72nd overall pick of the 2016 draft.

Boston University sophomore Jordan Greenway is second on the Terriers in scoring (Photo/Richard T. Gagnon)

Boston University sophomore Jordan Greenway is second on the Terriers in scoring (Photo/Richard T. Gagnon)

Providence College's Erik Foley

Providence College’s Erik Foley

Erik Foley, forward, Providence College,  Hockey East. Foley leads The Friars in scoring with 6 goals and 8 assists in 14 games. He also leads the team with 3 power play goals and 2 game-winning goals. The Winnipeg Jets plucked Foley in the third round with the 78th overall in the 2015 draft.

If Foley makes the USA roster, he’ll have company from Rhode Island. Friars Assistant Coach Kris Mayotte was named to the U.S. National Junior Team in June.

 

 

Providence College forward Erik Foley outskates Ohio State University player for the puck.

Providence College forward Erik Foley outskates Ohio State University player for the puck.

And Foley also may end up playing against a fellow Friar in Toronto and Montreal as teammate Kasper Björkqvist was named to Finland’s preliminary roster for the World Juniors on Monday.