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U.S. College Hockey - Playoffs start for some, end for others

While their junior team is battling in the BCHL playoffs, some former Trail Smoke Eaters are either beginning or ending their post-season quest in various  U.S. collegiate hockey divisions.

At the Division 1 level, former Smokie captain Kevin Limbert and the Yale University Bulldogs will get the weekend off before competing in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament.

Yale, which is ranked third in the national poll, finished with an overall record of 23-5-1 on the season.

Limbert, a junior at the university, had six goals and 14 points in 29 games.

Yale was second in its conference and earned a first-round bye.

Meanwhile, the Jones brothers of Montrose, begin the first round of the ECAC playoffs tonight when Quinnipiac University hosts Brown University.

Connor Jones led Quinnipiac in scoring this season with nine goals and 22 points in 34 games while Kellen Jones was tied for second on the team with seven goals and 21 points in 34 games.

Quinnipiac finished eighth in the ECAC and posted an overall record of 13-13-8.

Over in the Atlantic Hockey Conference, former Smokie Pat Copeland begins his senior year playoffs against American International tonight at the West Point Academy.

Copeland, a co-captain with the Army team, had two assists in 29 games this season.

Former Trail goaltender Grant Rollheiser continues to play second fiddle with the Boston University Terriers.

The team wraps up its regular season tonight against Northeastern University.

Rollheiser has appeared in only five games this season and sports a 3.98 goals against average. In three seasons at BU, Rollheiser has appeared in 24 games.

Four ex-Smokies playing Div. III hockey in the U.S. saw their seasons end in overtime last weekend.

Former Trail goaltender Cole Anderson, the last Smokie netminder to lead his team into the second round of the playoffs, wrapped up his collegiate career with Amherst College last Saturday.

Anderson kept his team in the game for almost four periods before Bowdoin College pulled out a 4-3 win in the New England Small School Athletic Conference tournament.

Anderson finished the season with a 10-8-2 record and a 2.44 goals against average.

He played four seasons with the Lord Jeffs. He posted a remarkable 2.07 goals against average and a .927 save percentage in 73 games.

In the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament, a trio of former Smokies also saw their year come to an end in overtime.

The Geneseo University Knights hockey team, which includes former Trail captain Ryan Bulach, Stefan Decosse and David Arduin, fell 3-2 in overtime to Plattsburg last Saturday.

Bulach forced overtime, with an assist to Decosse, with 69 seconds left in regulation time of their quarter-final game.

Arduin finished the season with nine goals and 20 points in 26 games while Decosse had three goals and 16 points in 21 games. Both players are juniors at the university.

Bulach, a sophomore, had nine goals and 15 points in 25 games.