Seasons End for Emery, Spence in NCAA Frozen Four Semifinal

After hard fought outings from the University of North Dakota and the University of Michigan, New York Rangers prospects EJ Emery and Malcolm Spence have seen their seasons come to an end.

In an exciting evening of college hockey, the University of Wisconsin and Denver University prevailed and will face-off against each other in the Frozen Four Championship Saturday, Apr. 11 at 5:30 p.m ET. In case you missed it, here's a quick recap of the semifinals, as well as one final retrospective on two of the Rangers' top prospects' seasons.

EJ Emery, Defenseman, University of North Dakota

The Rangers 2024 first round draft pick came out of the semifinal match-up with two shots on goal, a blocked shot, and a -1, as he was out there for the game winning gial against. North Dakota did not get off to a great start in this one as Wisconsin was all over them in the opening period. They could not gain possession and finished the period with just four shots on goal. The real issue came in a 27 second span where the Badgers put up a pair of goals to take a 2-0 lead.

There wasn't much North Dakota could really do on the first goal. It was just a fantastic shot from far out that went through traffic and beat netminder Jan Spunar—who was otherwise excellent for 59 minutes and 33 seconds of the game—up high. North Dakota didn't need an immediate answer, but they needed to prevent Wisconsin from building off the goal and they failed to do that. They allowed Ryan Botterhill to take an easy breakout pass, walk right into the slot, and beat Spunar on a shot he definitely will wish he could have back.

The second goal was the one Emery was on the ice for and, frankly, did not look great on. Granted, it was a tremendous effort from Botterhill, who entered the zone with a burst of speed. But watching Emery struggle to catch up and stumble into the crease as the puck trickled in, was not an encouraging scene for Rangers fans.

I've tried to be optimistic about the Emery pick, and it is still early on for him, meaning there's plenty of time for things to change. But after watching these college hockey playoffs and hearing what The Athletic's Scott Wheeler had to say about him on episode 78 of Blueshirt Bandwidth, I'm not feeling great about Emery's future with the Rangers. He'll undoubtedly be back at North Dakota for his junior year next season and could follow a similar trajectory as Drew Fortescue, but he needs to take a massive step forward next season to give the Rangers something to feel good about moving forward.

North Dakota had ample chances to get back in the game, including a 5-on-3 power play in the second period. But Wisconsin smothered them and just did not allow for them to generate any high danger offense. The moment that really defined this game was on that 5-on-3 when Badgers captain Ben Dexheimer threw his body in front of a one timer from the point that he ate right off the ankle to defend his team's lead. Wisconsin played a sound defensive game, took advantage of their opportunities, and—when push came to shove—just wanted it more. Ellis Rickwood scored in the final minute of the game to bring North Dakota within one, but Wisconsin held them off to win the game 2-1.

At the end of the day, Emery just isn't the type of player who is going to end up on the highlight reel. He's not the type of player who can take control of a game, nor is he the one you turn to in a game like this one where you need someone to be the difference maker. It also hasn't helped that he's been completely overshadowed by Keaton Verhoeff, another right-handed defenseman who is expected to be a top-three pick in this year's draft class. While there's nothing wrong with playing a role and defensive-defensemen are always a need for NHL teams to have success, you do have to wonder if that type of player is one you should be drafting as high as the first round (especially when Cole Hutson, Harrison Brunicke, and Sam O'Reilly were all still on the board.

Malcolm Spence, Forward, University of Michigan

While Wisconsin/North Dakota was only close towards the end, Michigan/Denver was a much closer game and had more even and intense pace right from the start. Malcolm Spence would play a big role in Michigan's efforts as the freshman was deployed on the top line, playing an energetic and aggressive game that resulted in him picking up an assist in his team's 4-3 loss in double overtime.

Midway through the first period, Denver struck first as a rough turnover in the defensive zone set them up for a pretty passing play that ended with Brendan McMorrow setting up Kyle Chyzowski for a one timer destined for the back of the net. With just under four minutes to go in the opening period, Josh Eernisse fired a shot off an offensive zone face-off win that soared to the back of the net, tying the game up at one for the Wolverines.

Almost an exact minute later, Michigan captain T.J. Hughes capitalized on a rebound to give his team the lead heading into the first intermission. However, it wasn't long in the second period before Denver would tie it. A fantastic zone entry from Sam Harris set up Cale Ashcroft for a shot at the point that went through traffic to beat goaltender Jack Ivankovic to make it a 2-2 hockey game.

It's worth noting that, on top of playing on Michigan's top line, Spence was getting power play time which resulted in him picking up an assist midway through the third period. Prior to that, Spence had a quality chance of his own as he ended up on a partial breakaway but was stopped by the glove of Johnny Hicks. Spence had a great burst of speed on the rush which resulted in him colliding hard with the Pioneers goaltender, leaving him extremely slow to get up.

Spence helped set up a shot from Jayden Perron at the point and provided a screen in the slot to give his team another lead, this time 3-2. Spence would finish what became a long night with an assist, three shots on goal, a blocked shots, and a -1 rating. Denver would tie the game with 2:46 to go, forcing overtime. With about seven and a half to go in the second overtime, a shot in the slot from Kent Anderson found the back of the net, ending Michigan's season in heartbreaking fashion. Credit to Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks who stopped 49 of 52 Michigan shots on goal.

While it was a brutal end, Spence has nothing to hang his head about, as he had a very good freshman year. The OHL-NCAA transition is one we're still learning about and he has quickly established himself with a top college program, scoring 25 points in 40 games played. Spence should be due for a standout sophomore year and as long as he can build off his solid freshman campaign, he will continue to establish himself as one of the Rangers' top prospects.

Spence was a similar case to Gabe Perreault for the Rangers: A versatile winger who had some first round expectations but fell significantly on draft day, leaving him to the Rangers with the 43rd overall pick in round two. I firmly believe there is a higher ceiling for Spence that lands him in a middle-six role long term, but that will absolutely depend on how the next year or two plays out for him. He has all the makings for being the type of player Chris Drury is looking to surround the Rangers with, blending tenacity and skill.