Ryan Leonard has stamped his name forever in the Boston College hockey lore book. The Washington Capitals’ top prospect was the star of the show as his number-two-ranked Eagles took down the number-one-ranked Boston University Terriers in the latest edition of the historic Green Line Rivalry.
The 2023 eighth-overall draft selection opened the scoring in the first regular season college hockey game between the nation’s top two ranked teams in 22 years. Leonard, a freshman, now has 13 goals in his last 18 games for Boston College. Only the sophomore Cutter Gauthier (17) has outscored him on the team this season.
Leonard struck 3:43 into the second period shortly after jumping off the bench into the offensive zone. The young winger, who celebrated his 19th birthday just five days ago, fired his trademark, hard shot by netminder Mathieu Caron.
The goal made the jam-packed Conte Forum go absolutely wild as Leonard did his best to pump them up even further with his celebration. The cheapest tickets on the secondary market for the two-game, mini-series between both teams were reportedly around $170.
Period 3️⃣ incoming.
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📈 https://t.co/v35a54mx4A pic.twitter.com/8wNZIJnbjw— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) January 27, 2024
Team USA’s gold medal winning star wasn’t done there though as he was the lone player in the game to record multiple points. He also grabbed an assist on the game-winning tally scored by Gabe Perreault in the second period.
After doing the hard work in the defensive zone, Leonard fed regular linemate Will Smith a pass up the ice. Smith then came down on a two-on-one with Gabe Perreault and Perreault made no mistake after receiving a deft feed, putting the Eagles up two.
BU would eventually get a goal from Jack Hughes (not that one) in the third period but two empty net goals sealed the deal for BC, 4-1. BU still leads the all-time series with a record of 139-132-21 but BC is now on a two-game win streak with the chance to make it three on Saturday.
With a win in the second game, BC would move to the top of the Hockey East standings, leaping BU by one point.
Same time tomorrow? pic.twitter.com/lRMERdRZjT
— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) January 27, 2024
While any win over your bitter rival is a big one, this victory held even greater importance due to the surrounding context. The two schools first met one another on the ice back on February 6, 1918. Even with that sort of history, this was the first time they had ever matched up as the top two ranked teams.
Additionally, the sheer amount of likely future NHL star talent on the ice was impressive. While BC has more higher-end talent, BU has a roster that includes 14 drafted prospects as well as the 2024 projected first overall pick, Macklin Celebrini.
No. 1 vs. No. 2. A historic weekend coming up for two historic NCAA programs 🔥🍿 pic.twitter.com/ngUyg2x6P6
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 26, 2024
