Schaefer’s Historic Night And a Controversial Call Hand Mammoth a 3-2 Overtime Loss

It was looking to be a quiet night for Matthew Schaefer against the Utah Mammoth defense.

Utah was holding Schaefer in check, only managing one shot on goal heading into overtime. He was playing tough hockey, leading the Islanders in time on ice despite awkwardly skating to the bench twice in pain, but Utah wasn’t allowing him to make an impact on the offense.

But despite all of the adversity, it was Schaefer who handed Utah Mammoth its first overtime loss of the season — all while becoming the youngest player in NHL history to score a game-winning goal in the regular season.

The lane opened for the Islanders when JJ Peterka decided to keep following New York’s Bo Horvat. Rather than switching with Lawson Crouse to pick up Schaefer, Peterka stayed behind Horvat.

But when Nate Schmidt picked up Horvat, Peterka was left without a man to guard and on the wrong side of the ice. With the sudden opening, Matthew Barzal took advantage of the 2-on-1, passed to Schaefer, and history was made.

"I think we knew we had better for sure," said Schaefer "In the second and third, we wanted to come out hard, and then we got a great bounce there to tie us up. Then we fought hard, and Barzzy (Barzal) found me. It was a great game and really hard fought."

On his way to making history, Schaefer also overtook future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby, who previously held the record. But Crosby was a whole 31 days older when he set it; Schaefer, on the other hand, earned the mark at just 18 years and 70 days.

Never having a chance to possess the puck, the Mammoth were forced to keep covering the Islanders throughout overtime. Though Karel Vejmelka was able to save the first two shot attempts, Utah still was never able to get its own shot at scoring. 

"So, yeah, when you don't have the puck, it's all about coverage, communication, and making sure you're not getting tested," said Crouse. "Obviously, they're two great players. I mean, Horvat's got one of the better sticks in the league right now, and Barzal has incredible speed and skill and incredible passing and vision. So yeah, it's unfortunate."

Before the game even got to overtime, the Mammoth looked like it was in firm control of the game, leading 2–1 halfway through the third. But like in its 4–2 loss to Ottawa, Utah would find itself on the wrong end of yet another controversial call.

Rather than Utah having its own goal disallowed, like in the Ottawa game, this time an Islanders goal from forward Jonathan Drouin was allowed to stand despite him clearly kicking the puck toward the net.

In most cases, any time a puck is scored with a kicking motion, the goal is disallowed. But as explained in the NHL's own video review, Schmidt was seen touching the puck just before it crossed the goal line and it was deemed that his "stick propelled the puck into his own net."

The NHL does acknowledge that Drouin does indeed kick the puck as well, but because the puck touched Schmidt’s stick, the goal was still allowed to stand.

"It's an instinctual thing," said Schmidt. "In hindsight, do I wish I would have pulled my stick back so they would have called it back? Yeah, but that's gonna be really hard for me to do. You're trying to get it out then I almost step on Vejmelka in the process."

While the goal was allowed to stand in this game, there is still a compelling argument that says the goal should have been disallowed. 

As rule 37.4 of the NHL's official rules stats, "A goal cannot be scored on a play where an attacking Player propels the puck with his skate into the net (even by means of a subsequent deflection off of another Player) using a 'distinct kicking motion.'"

When watching the replay, it’s clear that Schmidt’s stick only touches the puck for a brief second. He never gains possession, and the puck hardly alters its path even after touching his stick. Saying Schmidt propelled the puck in feels like a bit of a stretch considering the path of the puck never changes direction.

Ironically, if Schmidt hadn’t touched the puck at all, the goal would have been disallowed without a second thought. But instead, Utah found itself tied at 2–2, with the referees’ call proving to be costly.

Though the Mammoth still came away with a point in the standings, it was a tough way to lose, considering it has only managed two wins against the Buffalo Sabres in its last eight games.

To make matters worse, Utah looked like the better team for the majority of the night, albeit with another rough performance on the power play, going 1-for-6. But even then, Utah was able to break a seven-game drought without a power-play goal.

And with its next game against an impressive Anaheim Ducks team on the road, Utah will have to fight hard to get out of its recent funk.

Graham Ike scores 20 points and No. 19 Gonzaga outlasts Arizona State 77-65

Graham Ike scored 20 points, Tyon Grant-Foster had 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, and No. 19 Gonzaga outlasted Arizona State 77-65 on Friday night. Up 13 at halftime, Gonzaga struggled offensively through most of the second half as the aggressive Sun Devils (2-1) trimmed the margin to five. The Zags kept Arizona State at bay behind their defense and consecutive 3-pointers by former Sun Devils guard Adam Miller that pushed the lead to 67-52.

Observations from Blues' 6-5 Shootout Loss Vs. Flyers

ST. LOUIS – Another one that got away.

How many times have we said that about the St. Louis Blues this season?

This time, it came in the form of a pair of two-goal leads.

The Blues got a point, but it felt like losing another one despite getting a big offensive night, only to lose 6-5 in a shootout against the Philadelphia Flyers at Enterprise Center on Friday.

Robert Thomas, Jimmy Snuggerud and Jordan Kyrou each had a goal and an assist, while Jordan Binnington made 26 saves. But the Blues blew two two-goal leads, 3-1 in the second period and 5-3 in the third period to fall to 6-8-4 (16 points) and a date with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Let’s look at Friday’s game observations:

* Blowing a pair of two-goal leads – The Blues had this game in hand multiple times.

They had a goalie (Sam Ersson) on the ropes, allowing five goals on 17 shots (.706 save percentage).

When they took command with a 3-1 lead on goals by Snuggerud at 9:42 of the first period, then Justin Faulk at 6:54 of the second period (on a Cam Fowler assist, his 500th NHL point), that’s when the mistakes started:

The response wasn’t good.

Cam Fowler, who had two assists in the game and reached 500 points in the NHL, lost coverage at the net when Christian Dvorak popped in and backhanded in a rebound 23 seconds after the Faulk goal, it’s a one-goal game again:

And when Trevor Zegras was parked at the net front and tied the game at 18:24, it opened got the Flyers back on level ground, and it came after Pavel Buchnevich (we’ll get to him later) missed a great chance to make it a 4-2 game moments earlier, then Colton Parayko was beaten to the wall by Owen Tippett as the puck was then at the blue line, and a shot got to the net for the tip past Binnington:

But the Blues regained the advantage in the third period, when coach Jim Montgomery moved Brayden Schenn back between Dylan Holloway and Kyrou, a line that carried the Blues on their shoulders in the second half of last season, and Holloway’s third in three games made it 4-3 just 40 seconds into the final period:

And when Thomas scored on a one-timer from the slot, off a pretty feed from Snuggerud, at 4:56 of the third, the Blues were up 5-3 and should have had that game under control:

But again, they didn’t.

Dvorak scored at 7:53 to make it 5-4 after Matthew Kessel slipped to the ice trying to turn and move up with the puck, creating a turnover and shot from the slot:

And when Tippett tied it 5-5 at 10:27, it marked a plethora of errors, including at the end, Mathieu Joseph vacating the high slot where Tippett was, and ultimately, three Blues wound up screening Binnington on the shot:

“Quite high to be honest,” Montgomery said when asked of the level of disappointment and frustration blowing two two-goal leads. “I didn’t like that we gave up the first two-goal lead. Those were some net front miscues and then the last two goals were guys not owning their quadrants or turnovers. Regardless, we scored five goals. You’ve got to win that game. There’s got to be more desperation in us.”

* All possession in OT, no shots at the net – The Blues, unlike their 4-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken last Saturday in overtime, had majority of the puck in the extra session, but they cycled it out on multiple occasions and really never generated the kind of chances that would quantify winning.

They had a couple looks, and Fowler had one great opportunity from the inner edge of the left circle that was stopped, and Snuggerud had a puck roll off his stick with some pressure from behind cutting to the net from the left side.

“There’s a lot of speed. It’s a fast game,” Snuggerud said. “I thought we had good chances and in overtime.”

What has to be most peculiar is that even with all the possession, how do the Blues allow the Flyers to make TWO changes to get fresh guys on the ice when they have possession?

That was a big issue and can’t happen.

Players failing to recognize the odd-man chance when players are changing was puzzling.

“We’ve had a lot of success. Coach (Steve) Ott has done a real good job and it’s worked a lot in past years of building, taking it back out of you don’t like your entry,” Montgomery said. ‘I think we were a little impatient. I think we could have hit the last time Thomas got it. I forget who had the puck, they stopped, they hit him coming late and that led to a good opportunity. I think it was 21’s opportunity when he skated in, which I thought were in on the hands or he might have scored. But we’re not having the same purpose of attacking inside the dots.

“We don’t put teams on their heels in those situations. Twice they changed, and the guy with the puck didn’t see it and he didn’t bypass them so we could have a 3-on-2. I think that was the bigger mistake that we made, the natural execution on the 3-on-3. They changed when we took it out and we let them change. It was still 3-on-3. You’ve got to see it, you’ve got to go.”

“We didn’t do a good enough job keeping them in three-quarter,” Thomas said. “We let them change twice even though we had the possession. We’ve got to be a lot smarter there (and) set up the next guys. If you have the puck, they should never be able to change. Your guys should be able to change at least once, maybe even twice, get them tired and take advantage of it.”

And despite the difference in possession in OT, the Flyers somehow still managed to outshoot the Blues 6-1.

* Top guys produced – The Blues need their top end players to make plays, and to score.

They got seven points (four goals, three assists) from Thomas, Kyrou, Snuggerud and Holloway. They generated enough, despite the low volume of shots on goal (47 attempts), from their top end guys.

Kyrou made a savvy read picking off a Zegras pass in the neutral zone and darting in along the right side before beating Ersson from the right dot for a 1-0 lead at 1:19 of the opening period:

“Yeah, but at the end of the day, you need everyone to win,” Snuggerud said. “Not saying we were top heavy or bottom heavy today. Everyone in the lineup needs to be at their best if we want to win games. I thought we had chances as every line. We just have to bear down at the end of the game.

“… As the games go on, more and more games, I feel like you build more and more chemistry. As a team, I feel like that’s what we’re really most worried about right now keeping our energy up throughout the whole game and bearing down and finishing with a win.

“… Any time you score five goals in a game you should be happy because we were creating offense, but on the flip side defensively, I feel like you don’t want to give up that much as well. It’s living and learning and we have to keep moving forward.”

“Yeah, we had some chances,” Thomas said. “We’ve still go to get better.”

* Blues blowing points in OT, SO – Four games, four losses for the Blues in overtime and the shootout.

That’s four points banked, but the potential of an extra point left on the table in those four games.

“Those are big extra points,” Thomas said. ‘We’ve got to find a way to get those done, especially in overtime. We’ve got to bear down and get those in the net and if it comes to shootout, we have our spots, we have our stuff we need to do. We just didn’t hit them there.”

* Buchnevich turnover, ensuing penalty shot – Pavel Buchnevich nearly cost the Blues the extra point in overtime after losing a puck, turning it over that would have resulted in a Zegras breakaway. But the Blues forward was able to trip Zegras from behind at 2:51 of OT, awarding the Flyers forward a penalty shot.

Binnington would make the save when Zegras tried beating him five-hole. It prolonged the game, but it came after another lengthy possession for the Blues.

“I think he had to,” Montgomery said of Buchnevich. “It’s the same situation that would occur, but usually when a forward doesn’t have too much time to think, he’s going to trust his instincts. You understand why he did it. To me, the turnover’s the issue. Not what happens next.”

Also an issue, Buchnevich is not producing offensively at all. Nothing.

He was a plus-1 but had just one shot on goal and two missed nets in 18:40. It’s the 11th time in 18 games Buchnevich has produced zero points.

* Skinner’s debut – Defenseman Hunter Skinner got the traditional rookie lap at the start of warmups, a dream-come-true playing in his first NHL game:

And it wasn’t a knock-your-socks-off game for the 24-year-old, but he managed his ice time (10:45) well with four hits and was a plus-1 in the game.

“I thought he was aggressive,” Montgomery said. ‘He was fine, but my brain’s more on how we give up two two-goal leads.”

* Dvorak line torched Blues – Dvorak (two goals, one assist), Tippett (one goal, three assists) and Zegras (two goals, one assist, shootout winner) combined for 10 points in the game and were all the offense the Flyers needed.

They were allowed to have their way throughout the game, and it wasn’t even the line that Montgomery said the Blues focused on as much because he was playing Thomas’ line against the line of Matvei Michkov, Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny.

“For whatever reason, their second line gave us fits,” Montgomery said. “I was matching Thomas against Couturier’s line. That’s their top line. And their second line gave us fits defensively.”

* Schenn rejoins familiar linemates – At the start of the third, Montgomery reunited Brayden Schenn with Holloway and Kyrou, and it paid dividends.

It set the tone for what the Blues were hoping would be a win when Kyrou set up Holloway for a left-circle shot to give the Blues a 4-3 lead just 40 seconds into the final period:

“Yeah, and it paid off with that fourth goal,” Montgomery said. “Sometimes you’re going to have games where you’re not on. I thought Schenn was skating so I moved him up and I dropped (Dalibor) Dvorsky back on the third line at left wing.”

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Matthew Schaefer Calls Game: No. 1 Pick Delivers OT Dagger As Islanders Beat Utah For Fourth Straight Victory

SALT LAKE CITY -- No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer scored at 2:06 of overtime to beat the Utah Mammoth 3-2 in overtime and extend the New York Islanders' winning streak to four games.

With that goal, Schaefer became the youngest player in NHL history at 18 years and 70 days to score an overtime goal, surpassing Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (18 years, 101 days). 

Schaefer took a big hit and sacrificed the body to block a shot in the second and third period respectively, grinding to help his team to victory. 

“Big game. I mean, we fought back, we fought hard," Schaefer said. "I don't think our first was the best, but we just kept fighting, we kept getting better. So I think we deserved that win.”

Despite a slow start to the game, the Islanders found themselves up 1-0 at 7:13 of the first thanks to another Emil Heieneman tally, scoring his eighth goal of the season -- two short of his career-high. 

J.J. Peterka and and Dylan Guenther scored before the end of the first, but Jonathan Drouin evened the score at 13:44 of the third after he kicked a puck toward call that Nate Schmidt put into his own net. 

That led to overtime where Schaefer did his thing. 

David Rittich was phenomenal, turning aside 27 of 29. 

The Islanders have now tied the Penguins in points with 22, but Pittsburgh owns the regulation wins tie-breaker -- nine to seven. They sit only two points back of the Carolina Hurricanes for the second seed in the Metro. 

The Islanders move on to Colorado, where they'll battle Brock Nelson and the Avalanche on Sunday night. 

Islanders win third straight OT game after Matthew Schaefer's goal downs Mammoth, 3-2

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Matthew Schaefer scored on a slap shot 2:08 into overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Utah Mammoth 3-2 on Friday night for their third straight extra-time victory.

Jonathon Drouin and Emil Heineman also scored for the Islanders (10-6-2) in their fourth straight win, and Tony DeAngelo had two assists. David Rittich stopped 27 shots — including all 16 after the first period.

Schaefer, the 18-year-old defenseman selected No. 1 overall in this year’s NHL draft, has 15 points — most among NHL rookies.

Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka scored for the Mammoth in the Utah franchise’s 100th game. Karel Vejmelka had 18 saves.

The Mammoth are the best in the NHL in limiting shots on goal and they outshot the Islanders 29-21 as they dropped to 5-1-1 at home.

New York tied it 2-2 with 6:16 remaining when the puck went off Jonathon Drouin’s skate and was touched by Utah defenseman Nate Schmidt’s stick as it passed over the goal line. The goal was initially disallowed but reversed after video review.

Heineman opened the scoring 7:13 into the first period — the second straight contest he notched the first goal of the game.
Peterka tied it with just under 7 minutes remaining in the first with his sixth of the season.

The Mammoth ended their seven-game power-play goal drought when Guenther’s slap shot went over Rittich’s shoulder during a 5-on-3 with 1:25 left in the opening period to take a 2-1 lead. That marked the first time this season the Islanders gave up a goal with a two-man disadvantage.

The Islanders beat Las Vegas in overtime Thursday and was in the second half or a back-to-back but matched the Mammoth’s energy with rugged defense and deft power-play kills, squelching five of six opportunities.

Up next

Islanders: At Colorado on Sunday for the fifth game of their road trip.

Mammoth: At Anaheim on Monday.

It's Time For The Penguins To Call On A Top Forward Prospect

There's no doubt that the Pittsburgh Penguins did not get off to the start they wanted to in the first game of the NHL Global Series. 

Pittsburgh dropped the contest, 2-1, in overtime to one of the league's bottom teams this season in the Nashville Predators, and - honestly - they're lucky to have even earned a point. They were outplayed for the final 40 minutes of the game and were bailed out by goaltender Arturs Silovs.

Of course, the Penguins still have the second game against Nashville on Sunday to conclude the Global Series, and they could very well still walk away from their road trip to Stockholm, Sweden with three out of four points. While that is the best they can do at this point, the Penguins need to bank points.

They have lost five out of their last six games for a 1-3-2 record. Seven of their next eight contests may be against current non-playoff opponents, but they haven't exactly been playing inspired enough hockey lately to instill confidence that they'll get the better of those games. Maybe the early-season success was a mirage, and maybe this is who they truly are.

Or, maybe it's not. Maybe, their key injuries are simply getting the better of them right now, and they could use some kind of boost to their roster.

And - maybe - a solution is waiting in the wings at the AHL level in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS).

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) on XWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) on XBrozer gets us going!!

Center Tristan Broz has eight goals and 13 points in 15 games on the AHL season, including four goals in the last five games. The 23-year-old forward - selected in the second round (58th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft - impressed in training camp this year with two goals in four games and was one of the final cuts before NHL rosters were announced.

The Penguins are in a pretty dire situation with their injuries. Top-line winger Rickard Rakell - last season's leading goal-scorer at 35 - is out with a broken hand for at least another month, and second-line winger Justin Brazeau had six goals and 12 points in 12 games and will be out until around mid-December. Before both players went down, the Penguins were one of the league's best teams in the scoring and goal differential departments, and - since Brazeau's injury - the Penguins have been mired in that 1-3-2 spell and have only scored 14 goals in contrast to the opposition's 19. 

Their injuries are making a legitimate difference right now because they're testing the team's scoring depth at the forward position. But, at the time of each player's injury, they were two of the team's top-three goal scorers - and that certainly doesn't lend to the Penguins being able to find the back of the net with regularity. 

October Penguins' Prospects Update: ForwardsOctober Penguins' Prospects Update: ForwardsIt's a new season, and with the month of October in the books, that means it's time for the first&nbsp;<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' prospects update of the season.

It has also forced them to move 18-year-old rookie center Ben Kindel - who had been thriving as the team's third-line center - into a top-line role with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. Even though Kindel has been fine in that role, it has hampered the Penguins' ability to roll four lines, and they're a much deeper team with Kindel as their third-line center.

And that's the issue the Penguins face right now: If they move Kindel back into that role, who plays with Crosby? They could move the snakebitten Ville Koivunen up in the lineup, but that would take a capable player away from Kindel. They could move Tommy Novak up, but that would affect the Malkin line and pose the same problem. 

Having Broz in the picture - in addition to guys like Kindel and Koivunen - gives the Penguins some options in terms of deployment. Broz is a capable two-way center and could very well slot in the third-line center role, allowing the team to keep Kindel with Crosby. They could also bump Koivunen up with 87 and allow Broz and Kindel to play together on a line, which shouldn't be an issue since Broz has played on the wing.

Sep 22, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tristan Broz (26) plays the puck during the first period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Simply put, it will be weeks before the Penguins are even close to full health. Given how close the Eastern Conference standings are, they can't afford to throw away valuable points in this upcoming stretch of games against teams that they, on paper, should beat. 

Right now, the Penguins can't roll four lines effectively, and they need another set of young, fresh, capable legs to shore up their bottom-six depth. There's no guarantee that Broz will pan out at the NHL level, but calling him up certainly shouldn't hurt things, and there is a good chance that he's an upgrade over what they currently have.

So, it's time for the Penguins to begin ushering in more youth on the roster. Giving Broz the call should be the first thing the Penguins do when they return to Pittsburgh next week.

Takeaways: Penguins' Lack Of Injury Depth Exposed In 2-1 Loss To Predators During First Game Of Global SeriesTakeaways: Penguins' Lack Of Injury Depth Exposed In 2-1 Loss To Predators During First Game Of Global SeriesDespite all of the excitement and fanfare surrounding the start of the 2025-26 Global Series, Friday simply wasn't the night for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>.

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab  to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!    

Transfers Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. have double-doubles as No. 6 Michigan wins at TCU

Transfer forwards Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. both had double-doubles and No. 6 Michigan won 67-63 at TCU on Friday night. Lendeborg, the transfer from UAB, had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Johnson from Illinois had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Michigan (3-0) overcame 22 turnovers and held on to beat a Horned Frogs team that had won six of its previous seven games when hosting a top 10 team.

Freshman Cameron Boozer scores 35 as No. 4 Duke beats Indiana State 100-62

Lendeborg, the transfer from UAB, had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Johnson from Illinois had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Michigan (3-0) overcame 22 turnovers and held on to beat a Horned Frogs team that had won six of its previous seven games when hosting a top 10 team. Trey McKenney added 11 points for the Wolverines, including a three-point play with 6:24 left that made it 51-49 and put them ahead to stay.

Canucks Hronek Pulled From Game Against Hurricanes By Concussion Spotter

The Vancouver Canucks had to finish their game against the Carolina Hurricanes without a key member of their defensive core. With 12.7 seconds left in the third, Filip Hronek all of a sudden left the ice. According to Head Coach Adam Foote, Hronek was pulled from the game by the concussion spotter and did not return.

Looking at replays, the most likely incident that caused Hronek to be pulled from the game happened with 2:05 left in the third. After clearing the puck, Hronek was elbowed in the head by Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov. Despite clear contact to the head, Svechnikov did not receive a penalty on the play. 

As expected, the hit has drawn plenty of criticism online from Canucks fans and media members. Hronek's agent also made his feelings known, posting the clip on "X" and writing, "Here we go again! The National Concussion League. Open season on NHL players' brains. No call on the play. If only the referee were in a position to have a clear view of the play."

Nov 14, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek (17) gets ready to take a shot against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

Vancouver continues its three-game road trip on Sunday as they pay a visit to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last season, Tampa Bay picked up victories in both games and has won nine of its previous 10 games against the Canucks. Game time is scheduled for 2:00 pm PT. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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Mirkovic’s 27 points and 21 rebounds carry No. 14 Illinois to 84-65 win over Colgate

David Mirkovic scored 27 points, 19 in the second half, and grabbed 21 rebounds Friday night as No. 14 Illinois stayed undefeated with an 84-65 victory over Colgate. Mirkovic, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Montenegro, became the first Illinois player to have 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game since Nick Weatherspoon in 1972. Keagon Wagler added 19 points and six rebounds and Kylan Boswell scored 11 for the Fighting Illini (4-0), who outrebounded Colgate 49-29 and had 22 offensive boards that led to 22 second-chance points.