Ryan Leonard extended his point streak to 14 games with two points (1g, 1a) in no. 1 ranked Boston College’s 6-0 win over unranked Merrimack College on Saturday. The Eagles have wrapped up their regular season with a 26-6-2 record and finish as Hockey East regular season champions.
The 20-year-old winger opened the game’s scoring with his NCAA-leading 29th marker of his sophomore campaign. Leonard received a feed from linemate James Hagens in the slot and rifled a pinpoint wrister past goaltender Nils Wallstrom.
With Eagles netminder Jacob Fowler posting a 27-save shutout, the goal stood as the game-winner. Leonard has more game-winning goals (9) than any other player in the nation.
The Washington Capitals top prospect later added an assist on Gabe Perreault’s second goal of the game. The two-point game gives him 46 points (29g, 17a) in 34 games this season.
Boston College will now enter Hockey East tournament play, where they’ll have an immediate bye into the quarterfinals on March 15 as the top seed.
Leonard had a big conference tournament last year, posting six points (2g, 4a) in three games. The Eagles ultimately won the conference championship, defeating Boston University 6-2 in the final game.
Leonard will likely sign his entry-level contract with the Capitals once BC’s postseason ends. Capitals general manager Chris Patrick revealed Friday that the team factored Leonard’s possible NHL cap hit into their recent trade deadline plans.
