Fun with Numbers

As we discussed last week, College Hockey Inc.'s stats database is pretty awesome. I played around with it for a little bit to look for some interesting numbers and trends, and here's what I found:

--Colorado College senior forward Alex Krushelnyski is having a very good season. He currently has 9 goals and 18 assists for 27 points, which ties him for 19th nationally in points. But what is really remarkable is that Krushlenyski finds himself in the top 20 nationally in scoring despite not having scored a point while on the power play. The only other player in the top 100 nationally in scoring to do this is Bentley's Justin Breton, who is tied for 96th overall. Everyone else in the top 20 in scoring has at least six points via the man advantage.

Krushelnyski has looked great this year, and has become a borderline NHL free agent prospect. The fact that he's been so effective 5-on-5 and not just racking up soft points with the man advantage has to be a big positive.

-Meanwhile, Minnesota State's Matt Leitner has been the most effective player in college hockey on the power play, registering 17 of his 30 points on the power play.. 14 of those power play points have been assists, and the biggest beneficiary of that has been teammate Eriah Hayes, who is tied for 2nd nationally with seven power play goals. As a team, the Mavericks trail only Union and Minnesota in terms of scoring power play goals.

-Western Michigan's Dane Walters leads the nation in faceoff percentage at .679, though he's won just 163 face-offs. Among players that have won at least 250 face-offs this year, only Minnesota's Nick Bjugstad and Massachusetts' Branden Gracel crack the 60% mark.

-Mercyhurst's Daniel O'Donahue has scored 5 of his 20 total points on an empty-net. Canisius defenseman Logan Roe has scored three of his four points with an open net.

-Game-winning goals is a flawed stat, but Boston College's John Gaudreau has factored into the scoring of 10 game-winning goals this year. Half of Miami's Curtis McKenzie's 16 points have come on game-winning goals.

-Speaking of the flaws of game-winning goals being considered a "clutch" stat: Minnesota has scored 10 game-winning goals in the first period this year, more than double any team outside the WCHA. Minnesota State is second with 6, followed by North Dakota and St. Cloud with 5. When it comes to game-winning goals scored in the third period or later, UMass-Lowell, Merrimack, and number one Quinnipiac are tied for the national lead with 8.