Four hockey moments caught our eye, including a championship-winning goal-scorer finding his stick, a unique 700th NHL game, a bench-clearing brawl and more.
Jake Quillan scores in overtime to make Quinnipiac the NCAA men's hockey champions.The first full week of April featured a nice long weekend, but it also means post-season hockey in some leagues is in full swing while others are about to enter it. April's arrival gave us plenty to discuss from various areas of the sport.
Quinnipiac's Golden Goal-Scorer Finds His Stick
The NCAA men's hockey championship final between Minnesota and Quinnipiac this past weekend will go down as one of the best in tournament history, with the Bobcats taking their first title.
Jake Quillan's overtime-winner was a moment he'll never forget, but in the ensuing celebration, he threw his gloves and stick in the air. His stick wound up in the crowd in Tampa. After the celebrations, Quillian went to Twitter to get it back.
Whoops.
This story appears to have a happy ending as a Michigan fan replied to let him know about the location of the stick.
In another reply, Azeem said he'll send the stick back to Quillan as soon as he and Quinnipiac can formally get into contact. It was one of the funnier stories to wrap up what was an amazing men's Frozen Four.
Jason Demers Plays In Game No. 700 In San Jose
Before this past Saturday afternoon, Jason Demers was stuck at 699 career NHL games since the end of the 2020-21 season when he last played with the Arizona Coyotes. This weekend not only saw Demers called up to the Edmonton Oilers after spending the bulk of this season with AHL Bakersfield, but he was also able to play in career game No. 700 against the San Jose Sharks in San Jose, a place where he played six of his 13 NHL seasons.
The brief call-up saw him catching up with many people close to him in San Jose in a very special game for the veteran blueliner.
Demers not only appreciated the gesture, but Sharks captain Logan Couture was grateful as well – and critical of how the Coyotes scratched him before he could reach his milestone a couple of seasons ago.
Allowing Demers to play in his 700th NHL game in a market that means so much to him is one of the better gestures this season from around the league.
Bench-Clearing Brawl Erupts in Women's Div. IIIA Championship
There are seven tiers of the IIHF women's World Championship featuring more than 40 countries. This next clip comes from the sixth tier, the Div. III Group A championship in Brasov, Romania.
The hosts, Team Romania, faced off against Team Bulgaria in the final game of the round-robin tournament. Whoever won would finish fourth in the standings, while the other would finish fifth of six teams.
After Bulgaria cut Romania's lead to 3-2 early in the third period, the hosts scored seven unanswered goals to make it 10-2, with shots at 72-12 in favor of Romania. The game was already chippy, with some elbowing, cross-checking, unsportsmanlike conduct and game misconduct penalties being dished out earlier in the match. But after the game ticked down to the end, chaos ensued.
Eighteen players received 25-minute penalties for fighting after the game, and Romania received a 20-minute penalty for abuse of officials.
At the end of it all, Team Hong Kong finished first in the tournament standings to win gold, and they will move up to Div. II Group B next year.
How Many Chicken Nuggets Can Fill A Goal Crease? Ask The Toronto Maple Leafs
In the hockey world, there are many questions to answer, where will the NHL expand to next? Who will draft Connor Bedard? None of these questions are as important as wondering how many nuggets can fill a goal crease.
Numerous members of the Toronto Maple Leafs were asked this after practice. There were reasonable answers from Mark Giordano, who suggested 120 nuggets, to Ryan O'Reilly's very specific number of 274, to Alex Kerfoot's outrageous suggestion of 50,000.
There has to be a follow-up video where we see the Maple Leafs on the ice settling this debate.