Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thompson’s Late Goal Lifts UNH over Merrimack
The Whittemore Center in Durham was bustling at the start of the game between UNH and
divisional rival Merrimack College. UNH was looking to improve on their dismal game against
Brown University and Merrimack came in riding the tails of another victory over Boston College.
Merrimack certainly looked like they had something to prove during the first period when they
came out skating strong. It wasn’t long before UNH seemed to wake up and maintain puck
While the score remained 0-0 through the first period, there were some spectacular defensive
plays by both teams, including a massive open ice hit by UNH defenseman Blake Kessel.
Merrimack goaltender Joe Cannata made an incredible save during a UNH powerplay, robbing
speedy senior Phil DeSimone on a breakaway opportunity. The best chance for UNH came
during the final seconds of the first period with a solid minute of maintained pressure in front of
the Merrimack net, but they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. The score remained 0-
0 through the end of the first period.
The game remained scoreless through the second period with both teams continuing their
excellent defensive play. Neither team seemed to be able to form a cohesive attack against
the other. Merrimack’s captain Adam Ross was solid in front of his own net while Brett
Kostolansky was equally as effective in front of UNH goaltender Matt DiGirolamo. Shots on
goal at the end of the period were 27-18 in favor of Merrimack, but DiGirolamo was stellar in
net to keep UNH in the game.
Merrimack opened up the scoring in the third period with a powerplay goal by Chris Barton
assisted by Stephane Da Costa. UNH responded with a goal by defenseman Damon Kipp,
assisted by Paul Thompson and DeSimone. The second UNH goal was scored by Thompson
and assisted by senior captain Mike Sislo and DeSimone. Both teams seemed determined to end
the game on a physical note, as the period was also littered with a slew of penalties that resulted
in an extended time of 4 on 4 play that both teams were able to successfully kill off.
The three stars of the night were awarded to Merrimack forward Barton, UNH goaltender
DiGirolamo and UNH's Thompson.
Merrimack wins season series, upends BC 5-3
Merrimack capitalized on powerplays late in the game to hold onto a 5-3 win over Boston
College infront of a sold out crowd at Lawler Arena in North Andover, Ma. The Warriors
improved to 4-2-3 in Hockey East as a result of Friday's win.
BC started the scoring early in the first period after converting on a hitting from behind
penalty seeing Cam Atkinson with his ninth goal of the season. Merrimack added a pair
of goals less than a minute apart which was led by a Stephane DaCosta breakout pass to
Jesse Todd after the Warriors had successfully killed off a roughing penalty. BC added a
goal late in the period after some traffic infront of the net leaving Merrimack Goaltender
Joe Cannata shaken up. Cannata was able to continue for the remainder of the game.
Physical play took over the game in the second period as play was fairly even.
Merrimack’s Ryan Flanigan snuck past the BC defense at the 13 minutes mark of the
period to beat John Muse for the period's only goal.
Merrimack’s Chris Barton knocked in a rebound early in the third in hopes of putting the
game out of the Eagles’ reach but a powerplay goal buried by BC’s Patrick Wey off of a
Cannata rebound brought BC within one goal halfway through the third.
Boston College was mounting a comeback and controlled play through the latter part of
the third but were bit by penalties after a Brian Gibbons major for charging.
DaCosta netted an empty net goal on the subsequent powerplay to secure the win for the
Warriors.
Emotions spilled over in the final seconds of the game as 16 minutes of penalties were
handed out adding fire to the entertaining season series between the two teams.
College infront of a sold out crowd at Lawler Arena in North Andover, Ma. The Warriors
improved to 4-2-3 in Hockey East as a result of Friday's win.
BC started the scoring early in the first period after converting on a hitting from behind
penalty seeing Cam Atkinson with his ninth goal of the season. Merrimack added a pair
of goals less than a minute apart which was led by a Stephane DaCosta breakout pass to
Jesse Todd after the Warriors had successfully killed off a roughing penalty. BC added a
goal late in the period after some traffic infront of the net leaving Merrimack Goaltender
Joe Cannata shaken up. Cannata was able to continue for the remainder of the game.
Physical play took over the game in the second period as play was fairly even.
Merrimack’s Ryan Flanigan snuck past the BC defense at the 13 minutes mark of the
period to beat John Muse for the period's only goal.
Merrimack’s Chris Barton knocked in a rebound early in the third in hopes of putting the
game out of the Eagles’ reach but a powerplay goal buried by BC’s Patrick Wey off of a
Cannata rebound brought BC within one goal halfway through the third.
Boston College was mounting a comeback and controlled play through the latter part of
the third but were bit by penalties after a Brian Gibbons major for charging.
DaCosta netted an empty net goal on the subsequent powerplay to secure the win for the
Warriors.
Emotions spilled over in the final seconds of the game as 16 minutes of penalties were
handed out adding fire to the entertaining season series between the two teams.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Brown Leaves UNH Feeling Blue Before Thanksgiving Break
It was a slow start for UNH at an unusually quiet Whittemore Center on Tuesday night. Non-conference foe Brown University came out skating strong with great puck possession. The first scoring opportunity came during a UNH powerplay after a hooking penalty was called on Brown’s junior forward Jared Smith. A usually solid UNH powerplay unit could not score on Brown’s goaltender Mike Clemente.
After a few close saves by goaltender Matt DiGirolamo, UNH finally outmuscled Brown on a breakaway after taking advantage of a turnover in the neutral zone. With just 2:24 left in the first period, UNH senior captain Mike Sislo scored on an assist by Paul Thompson.
The second period saw a slew of Brown goals starting just a minute into the period when sophomore forward Chris Zaires scored, assisted by senior Harry Zolnierczyk. Less than a minute later, Brown scored again on an unassisted breakaway shot by Bobby Farnham. After several shots on net, UNH was finally able to put the puck past Clemente on a goal by defenseman Brett Kostolansky assisted by Phil DeSimone.
Brown was simply relentless with their presence in front of the net in the final minutes of the period and Jeremy Russell able to score on DiGirolamo while assisted by Jack MacLellan.
After the final whistle of the second period, Sislo and Zolnierczyk received matching penalties for some pushing and shoving that the referee interpreted as unsportsmanlike conduct. The period started with some intense 4 on 4 action as both teams looked fired up and ready to put pucks on net. DiGirolamo went into a full split to stop an attempt by Brown after UNH’s defense faltered in the netural zone. UNH was finally able to score on the powerplay with a hard, unassisted wristshot by Sislo. Brown returned the favor with a goal by Zolnierczyk, but with 2:30 left in the third period, UNH pulled DiGirolamo for the extra attacker and scored two unanswered goals by Blake Kessel and Mike Borisenok.
The score remained the same through the overtime period. While UNH had a commanding lead of shots on goal (41-27) the team seemed relieved to skate to a draw after such a flat start to the game.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
York re-signs with BC
Boston College is bringing back the NCAA's winningest active coach for a run at immortality.
Jerry York, winner of 858 games and four national titles (Bowling Green 1984; Boston College 2001, 2008, 2010) signed a five year extension with the Eagles, which will keep him in Chestnut Hill through 2015. It will give him a real opportunity to tackle Ron Mason's all-time NCAA D-I record of 924 wins.
If York stays true to his 22 win per year average, he'll best Mason in the 2013-14 season.
York has led BC to seven Hockey East titles, nine Frozen Four berths and three national titles in his sixteen years at the helm of his alma mater.
Jerry York, winner of 858 games and four national titles (Bowling Green 1984; Boston College 2001, 2008, 2010) signed a five year extension with the Eagles, which will keep him in Chestnut Hill through 2015. It will give him a real opportunity to tackle Ron Mason's all-time NCAA D-I record of 924 wins.
If York stays true to his 22 win per year average, he'll best Mason in the 2013-14 season.
York has led BC to seven Hockey East titles, nine Frozen Four berths and three national titles in his sixteen years at the helm of his alma mater.
Rankings Rewind
Although Boston College (8-4-0) hopped up three spots and Maine (6-3-3) dropped seven when USCHO released its most recent D-I rankings, the biggest story of the week was Merrimack.
The Warriors came in at 18th nationally, the first time in the program's 22-year history in D-I that they're ranked (they were, incidentally, not ranked in the USA Today poll, and come in at 17 in the Pairwise rankings).
While Boston University (7-1-4, Number 2) didn't gain anything in the polls after splitting with UNH (6-2-3), the Wildcats did move up a notch to number six.
BU also ranks highest in Hockey East in the Pairwise rankings, at six. UNH is seventh and Boston College eighth, with Maine tied for thirteen with Minnesota.
For the complete USCHO rankings, click here. Pairwise rankings, complements of College Hockey News, are here. For a comparison between the rankings, read Mike McMahon's Eagle-Tribune blog here. Additional thanks to Mike for helping determine when Merrimack's first D-I season was.
The Warriors came in at 18th nationally, the first time in the program's 22-year history in D-I that they're ranked (they were, incidentally, not ranked in the USA Today poll, and come in at 17 in the Pairwise rankings).
While Boston University (7-1-4, Number 2) didn't gain anything in the polls after splitting with UNH (6-2-3), the Wildcats did move up a notch to number six.
BU also ranks highest in Hockey East in the Pairwise rankings, at six. UNH is seventh and Boston College eighth, with Maine tied for thirteen with Minnesota.
For the complete USCHO rankings, click here. Pairwise rankings, complements of College Hockey News, are here. For a comparison between the rankings, read Mike McMahon's Eagle-Tribune blog here. Additional thanks to Mike for helping determine when Merrimack's first D-I season was.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Hockey East Week 7 Awards
In perhaps the most thoughtless selection process of the season, Boston College was awarded Hockey East's Team of the Week award. The Eagles, who had been 3-4-0 in their previous seven games, swept a two-game set with third-ranked Maine at Conte Forum, outscoring Hockey East's best scoring team 8-1 over the two games.
They did it on the strength of stellar work by senior goaltender John Muse, who got the Pure Hockey Defensive Player of the Week mention for the second time this season and the first time since the opening weekend of the year.
Meanwhile, across town, Northeastern freshman Rob Dongara was awarded the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week award for his effort in a three-point weekend for the Huskies, including an assist on Wade MacLeod's game-winner Saturday night at Matthews Arena.
Northeastern and BC weren't the only teams to have strong weekends, though. Merrimack took four points from Umass-Lowell in a sweep of their weekend series, and junior Jesse Todd was awarded for his efforts by being named Athletic Republic Co-Player of the Week. Todd, whose first collegiate hat trick on Friday night boosted the Warriors to a 4-3 win over Lowell, shared the honors with UNH's Paul Thompson. Thompson totaled five points on the weekend, scoring two of the Wildcats' goals on Friday in helping UNH topple BU - the Terriers' first defeat of the season - and added a goal and an assist on Saturday when BU exacted revenge back at Agganis Arena.
They did it on the strength of stellar work by senior goaltender John Muse, who got the Pure Hockey Defensive Player of the Week mention for the second time this season and the first time since the opening weekend of the year.
Meanwhile, across town, Northeastern freshman Rob Dongara was awarded the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week award for his effort in a three-point weekend for the Huskies, including an assist on Wade MacLeod's game-winner Saturday night at Matthews Arena.
Northeastern and BC weren't the only teams to have strong weekends, though. Merrimack took four points from Umass-Lowell in a sweep of their weekend series, and junior Jesse Todd was awarded for his efforts by being named Athletic Republic Co-Player of the Week. Todd, whose first collegiate hat trick on Friday night boosted the Warriors to a 4-3 win over Lowell, shared the honors with UNH's Paul Thompson. Thompson totaled five points on the weekend, scoring two of the Wildcats' goals on Friday in helping UNH topple BU - the Terriers' first defeat of the season - and added a goal and an assist on Saturday when BU exacted revenge back at Agganis Arena.
BC Drops Maine 4-1
CHESTNUT HILL, MA – The second of two meetings between the Eagles and the Black bears on Sunday afternoon saw the Eagles pick up where they left off and pick up their 8th win of the season with a score of 4-1.
A cautious first period for both teams, as it appeared neither team had their legs to start to the contest. There wasn’t the same aggressiveness as we saw on Friday night.
Much like Friday night, special teams continue to haunt Maine as Boston College capitalized on the powerplay with a goal from left-winger Paul Carey, his 12th of the season. Carry, parked in front of the net, tapped home a rebound off a shot form the point by Cam Atkinson. Also assisting on the goal was Brian Gibbons.
Maine found their legs for the second half of the first period, as they were able to generate several scoring chances, some a point blank range. Much like the last game, BC goalie John Muse held his ground and kept Maine off the board.
John Muse was one again square to the puck on every shot and gave nothing to the shooter.
A cautious first period for both teams, as it appeared neither team had their legs to start to the contest. There wasn’t the same aggressiveness as we saw on Friday night.
Much like Friday night, special teams continue to haunt Maine as Boston College capitalized on the powerplay with a goal from left-winger Paul Carey, his 12th of the season. Carry, parked in front of the net, tapped home a rebound off a shot form the point by Cam Atkinson. Also assisting on the goal was Brian Gibbons.
Maine found their legs for the second half of the first period, as they were able to generate several scoring chances, some a point blank range. Much like the last game, BC goalie John Muse held his ground and kept Maine off the board.
John Muse was one again square to the puck on every shot and gave nothing to the shooter.
Hockey East week 7 power rankings
Lest anyone forget that there are teams in Hockey East not located in Durham, Orono or on Commonwealth Avenue, Merrimack and Northeastern were big winners in-conference on a weekend that created more questions than it answered.
1) Boston University Terriers (5-1-4, 7-1-4 overall)
Tough to move the Terriers from their last week’s spot since they did finally lose a game, but equally as tough not to move them up as they expanded their lead in the standings. Yes, they beat UNH convincingly at home, but they wouldn’t have done it had the Wildcats not committed three own-zone turnovers that led to goals in the second period of Saturday night’s game.
“We assisted on four of their goals,” said UNH coach Dick Umile of the Saturday night loss. “They finished, so give them credit for that, but we just handed them the puck.” Still, the return of defenseman David Warsofsky to the offense helps, and continued contributions from their freshman class (three of whom tallied Saturday night) definitely help their cause.
What doesn’t help their cause? Losing captain Chris Connolly for 4-6 weeks with a broken finger. Allowing 40-plus shots in back-to-back nights. And a prevailing sense of complacency that’s begun to show up. While the Terriers are racking up come-from-behind wins, it’s uncertain whether that’s helping a freshman class that’s so critical to BU’s success. Usually, playing from behind with a young team doesn’t translate to success when the calendar turns to March.
They move up in part due to Maine’s weak performance on Friday and due also in part to the fact that a majority of the games - the most important ones, in particular - in the conference aren’t played on the Whittemore Center’s olympic-size rink that they struggled so mightily on.
2) University of New Hampshire Wildcats (4-1-2, 6-2-3 overall)
The Wildcats could easily have been number one had they continued their strong play on Saturday. And they did...for about 21 minutes.
If BU’s the deepest team in Hockey East, UNH might be the most complete team in the conference, and they certainly have the best goaltender, but coach Umile’s reluctance to put anyone else in net may be starting to wear on Matt DiGirolamo, who admitting after Saturday’s loss to the Terriers that while he’s honored to be the number one guy all the time, it is a big challenge.
3) Boston College Eagles (6-3-0, 8-4-0 overall)
Coming into the weekend, BC had done nothing but struggle over its past three weeks, and the news wasn’t getting better. Kevin Hayes remained in street clothes and Tommy Cross was going to miss at least another four weeks after injuring his left knee shortly after his right knee sprain healed.
But now? John Muse is looking like a Hobey Baker candidate again; the top lines are scoring and the blue-liners are shutting down the best scoring team in the conference. We’ll see just how good BC is in a couple weeks when they face off with BU, but their stock rose quite a bit in the last 72 hours.
Still, they lost on home ice to UNH. And in what winds up being a fairly short season, home losses to other great teams are going to keep you from reaching the top.
4) University of Maine Black Bears (4-2-1, 6-3-3 overall)
They went in to Chestnut Hill Friday night on a tear, scoring at will and doing just enough defensively to stay ahead of their opposition. The offense-first approach that coach Tim Whitehead espouses caught up to them at Conte Forum, however, as the Bears went down 4-0 and 4-1 in consecutive games.
Against lesser teams, Maine may be a top-five team, but they need to improve defensively and get better goaltending from their tandem of Dan Sullivan and Shawn Sirman if they want to make some serious noise in Hockey East.
5) Merrimack College Warriors (3-2-3, 4-2-4 overall)
A very impressive two weekends for Merrimack, who tied then-number one BU twice and beat Lowell twice this past weekend. They’re doing it with strong goaltending from junior Joe Cannata, but are also getting points up front.
Still, there are two very evident chasms in Hockey East; Merrimack’s the victim of the first, as they’re a long ways from catching up to their competition in Boston, New Hampshire and Maine.
6) Providence College Friars (3-3-3, 5-3-3 overall)
Providence and Northeastern each took three points from each other this season, but it’s worth noting that, excepting a 2-1 loss at BU in early October, Providence hasn’t exactly faced Hockey East’s best and brightest - Merrimack’s the only other above-.500 team they’ve skated against, winning 2-0 at home.
When they have played the bottom-feeders, they haven’t necessarily performed well against the other squads (sure, they’re 1-0-1 against UMass, but have lost to Lowell and Northeastern and tied UVM).
We’ll get a better picture of Providence when they face Maine in a two-game series in two weeks, but until then, they sit in the middle based solely on their total points and nothing more.
7) Northeastern University Huskies (2-4-2, 2-7-3 overall)
Tough to tell just what this Northeastern’s team’s going to be. When they play together, they have a lot of potential, but they don’t seem to buy into the team-first philosophy.
But when they do, they have nights like Saturday - a 5-0 victory over Providence - when Chris Rawlings is impenetrable and the power play - loaded with young, explosive talent - goes 3-for-5 and look every bit like the team that uprooted the established BU/BC ruling class two years ago.
Much like BC, there are still plenty of questions surrounding the Huskies. But they improved their standing greatly by going 1-0-1 last weekend, and if they can keep the momentum going, they just may be a force to be reckoned with before things are said and done in March.
8) University of Vermont Catamounts (1-3-2, 1-4-3 overall)
Vermont, who remained idle last weekend, falls two spots, proving that sometimes, it’s better to play anyone than it is to take a weekend off.
9) University of Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks (2-8-0, 2-8-2 overall)
Then again, in the case of Lowell, sometimes it doesn’t matter whether you play or not, you still don’t go anywhere. If UMass wasn’t still 0-for the season, the River Hawks would be playing doormat this weekend.
10) University of Massachusetts Minutemen (0-3-3, 0-6-3 overall)
UMass has a chance to get their first W of the season at home Tuesday against an offensively inept UVM squad. But they’ll need more than defense to do it when Hockey East’s two worst teams face off for the first time this season. Until they’re able to score that win, however, they’re going to keep warming the Power Rankings bench.
1) Boston University Terriers (5-1-4, 7-1-4 overall)
Tough to move the Terriers from their last week’s spot since they did finally lose a game, but equally as tough not to move them up as they expanded their lead in the standings. Yes, they beat UNH convincingly at home, but they wouldn’t have done it had the Wildcats not committed three own-zone turnovers that led to goals in the second period of Saturday night’s game.
“We assisted on four of their goals,” said UNH coach Dick Umile of the Saturday night loss. “They finished, so give them credit for that, but we just handed them the puck.” Still, the return of defenseman David Warsofsky to the offense helps, and continued contributions from their freshman class (three of whom tallied Saturday night) definitely help their cause.
What doesn’t help their cause? Losing captain Chris Connolly for 4-6 weeks with a broken finger. Allowing 40-plus shots in back-to-back nights. And a prevailing sense of complacency that’s begun to show up. While the Terriers are racking up come-from-behind wins, it’s uncertain whether that’s helping a freshman class that’s so critical to BU’s success. Usually, playing from behind with a young team doesn’t translate to success when the calendar turns to March.
They move up in part due to Maine’s weak performance on Friday and due also in part to the fact that a majority of the games - the most important ones, in particular - in the conference aren’t played on the Whittemore Center’s olympic-size rink that they struggled so mightily on.
2) University of New Hampshire Wildcats (4-1-2, 6-2-3 overall)
The Wildcats could easily have been number one had they continued their strong play on Saturday. And they did...for about 21 minutes.
If BU’s the deepest team in Hockey East, UNH might be the most complete team in the conference, and they certainly have the best goaltender, but coach Umile’s reluctance to put anyone else in net may be starting to wear on Matt DiGirolamo, who admitting after Saturday’s loss to the Terriers that while he’s honored to be the number one guy all the time, it is a big challenge.
3) Boston College Eagles (6-3-0, 8-4-0 overall)
Coming into the weekend, BC had done nothing but struggle over its past three weeks, and the news wasn’t getting better. Kevin Hayes remained in street clothes and Tommy Cross was going to miss at least another four weeks after injuring his left knee shortly after his right knee sprain healed.
But now? John Muse is looking like a Hobey Baker candidate again; the top lines are scoring and the blue-liners are shutting down the best scoring team in the conference. We’ll see just how good BC is in a couple weeks when they face off with BU, but their stock rose quite a bit in the last 72 hours.
Still, they lost on home ice to UNH. And in what winds up being a fairly short season, home losses to other great teams are going to keep you from reaching the top.
4) University of Maine Black Bears (4-2-1, 6-3-3 overall)
They went in to Chestnut Hill Friday night on a tear, scoring at will and doing just enough defensively to stay ahead of their opposition. The offense-first approach that coach Tim Whitehead espouses caught up to them at Conte Forum, however, as the Bears went down 4-0 and 4-1 in consecutive games.
Against lesser teams, Maine may be a top-five team, but they need to improve defensively and get better goaltending from their tandem of Dan Sullivan and Shawn Sirman if they want to make some serious noise in Hockey East.
5) Merrimack College Warriors (3-2-3, 4-2-4 overall)
A very impressive two weekends for Merrimack, who tied then-number one BU twice and beat Lowell twice this past weekend. They’re doing it with strong goaltending from junior Joe Cannata, but are also getting points up front.
Still, there are two very evident chasms in Hockey East; Merrimack’s the victim of the first, as they’re a long ways from catching up to their competition in Boston, New Hampshire and Maine.
6) Providence College Friars (3-3-3, 5-3-3 overall)
Providence and Northeastern each took three points from each other this season, but it’s worth noting that, excepting a 2-1 loss at BU in early October, Providence hasn’t exactly faced Hockey East’s best and brightest - Merrimack’s the only other above-.500 team they’ve skated against, winning 2-0 at home.
When they have played the bottom-feeders, they haven’t necessarily performed well against the other squads (sure, they’re 1-0-1 against UMass, but have lost to Lowell and Northeastern and tied UVM).
We’ll get a better picture of Providence when they face Maine in a two-game series in two weeks, but until then, they sit in the middle based solely on their total points and nothing more.
7) Northeastern University Huskies (2-4-2, 2-7-3 overall)
Tough to tell just what this Northeastern’s team’s going to be. When they play together, they have a lot of potential, but they don’t seem to buy into the team-first philosophy.
But when they do, they have nights like Saturday - a 5-0 victory over Providence - when Chris Rawlings is impenetrable and the power play - loaded with young, explosive talent - goes 3-for-5 and look every bit like the team that uprooted the established BU/BC ruling class two years ago.
Much like BC, there are still plenty of questions surrounding the Huskies. But they improved their standing greatly by going 1-0-1 last weekend, and if they can keep the momentum going, they just may be a force to be reckoned with before things are said and done in March.
8) University of Vermont Catamounts (1-3-2, 1-4-3 overall)
Vermont, who remained idle last weekend, falls two spots, proving that sometimes, it’s better to play anyone than it is to take a weekend off.
9) University of Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks (2-8-0, 2-8-2 overall)
Then again, in the case of Lowell, sometimes it doesn’t matter whether you play or not, you still don’t go anywhere. If UMass wasn’t still 0-for the season, the River Hawks would be playing doormat this weekend.
10) University of Massachusetts Minutemen (0-3-3, 0-6-3 overall)
UMass has a chance to get their first W of the season at home Tuesday against an offensively inept UVM squad. But they’ll need more than defense to do it when Hockey East’s two worst teams face off for the first time this season. Until they’re able to score that win, however, they’re going to keep warming the Power Rankings bench.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Huskies Get First Home Win In Rout
Behind five different goal scorers, Northeastern got it’s first home win of the season, defeating Providence 5-0 at Matthews Arena Saturday night.
The Huskies came out and established their presence early on and they were rewarded when senior assistant captain Wade MacLeod scored his fifth goal of the season to put his team up 1-0.
Ian O’Connor took a slashing penalty late in the opening period that carried over into the second the NU capitalized 31 seconds into the frame as Steve Silva put home a loose rebound in the crease.
In the third period, the Huskies got goals from three freshman in Anthony Bitteto, Braeden Pimm, and Jamie Oleksiak. The game quickly turned into a rout and Northeastern cruised for the final 10 minutes.
12 different members of the team registered points and Chris Rawlings got his fourth career shutout, making 29 saves.
“It’s about time I’ll tell you that much,” said Bitetto who discussed his first home win after the game.
MacLeod, who scored his 100th point in Friday night’s tie, said that he thinks the team is headed in the right direction.
“Yeah I think just the last couple weeks we’ve been working on the offensive zone, cutting back and I think we’re generating a lot of speed down low and it’s tough to match us when all four lines are going,” MacLeod said.
The Huskies next game will be the day after Thanksgiving in Burlington against the Vermont Catamounts. The Friars will have an out of conference battle at Holy Cross next Saturday.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Boston College Blank Maine 4-0
CHESTNUT HILL, MA – The boisterous crowd at Conte Forum did not leave disappointed as the No. 9 Boston College Eagles rolled over No. 3 University of Maine 4-0. This was the first of a two meetings in three days, both to be played at Boston College.
Four different scorers found the back of the net for the Eagles tonight and special teams played a big role in the win.
The game started out a bit rough with a 5 minute major for boarding against Maine Sophomore Joey Diamond. The parade to the penalty box didn’t stop there as both Boston College and Maine traded penalties for most of the period.
More sloppy play lead to a breakaway for Maine’s Gustav Nyquist but he was hauled down leading to the most exciting play in hockey, a penalty shot. Goalie John Muse maintained his composure and wasn’t fooled by Nyquist’s deke attempt to keep the game scoreless. To Nyquist’s credit, the puck flipped a little on him right before finishing his move.
Maine’s undisciplined play in the period help the Eagles open the scoring at 14:46 with a goal by Junior Paul Carey. Carry, parked in front of the net, buried the puck after some nice passing by the Eagles powerplay unit. Brian Gibbons and Joe Whitney assisted on the goal.
Boston College quickly followed with short-handed goal by Gibbons after some poor communication between the Maine defender and goalie Dan Sullivan. Sullivan attempted to send the puck around the net but Gibbons picked it off and fired it into the open net.
A scary moment at the start of the second as Maine’s Assistant Captain Jeff Dimmer got knocked into the boards. He left the ice with some help and could not put any weight on his right leg. He did not return to the game.
The Eagles found the back of the net for the third time at 7:34 of the second when Tommy Atkinson snuck a low shot under Dan Sullivan. This was Atkinson’s first goal of the season and also his first goal of his collegiate career.
Maine’s best chance of the night to finally get on the board came with a long 5 on 3 man advantage. The Black Bears couldn’t solve John Muse or the aggressive penalty kill of BC. Maine kept shooting from the point and looked unsure about who should pull the trigger.
The third period saw Boston College chase Maine’s goalie from the net with another goal on the powerplay. Center Pat Mullane fired a bullet from the top of the faceoff circle to the top right corner through some traffic. Sullivan didn’t have a chance.
Backup goalie Shawn Sirman came in relief and made all 6 shots he faced.
John Muse stopped all 32 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season and improving his record to 6 wins and 2 loses.
As the final buzzer sounded, emotions boiled over as players on both teams got into a scrum. Penalties for both teams were handed out. Muse, when asked about if there would be any carry over on Sunday, simply relied “No. Sunday is a new game.”
After the game, Maine’s coach Tim Whitehead summed up his team’s effort. “Special teams cost us tonight. The 5 on 3 not capitalizing there.”
Whitehead saw the penalty shot as a missed opportunity for his club. “It was big. You never know if it’s going to be important but if scored there that gives us momentum.”
Whitehead would not state who would be starting on Sunday.
Boston College Coach Jerry York really enjoyed the emotion out of the crowd for tonight’s game. “I thought the crowd was a real factor today. We had a lot of support.”
As for the team, Coach York felt that the team was much more solid for 60 minutes compared to the past few games.
Zac’s Three Stars
1st Star – Boston College – G John Muse
John wasn’t flashy but he stopped everything he faced. He was calm on the penalty shot early in the game and made a couple of spectacular saves to keep Maine off the board.
2nd Star – Boston College – F Brian Gibbons
With a goal and an assist, Gibbons help lead the offense for the Eagles and finished with a +1. His short-handed goal snuck Maine in the first.
3rd Star – Boston College – D Brian Dumoulin
2 assists for the big defenseman tonight. Played in all situations and was one of the reasons why Maine couldn’t generate much offense.
Four different scorers found the back of the net for the Eagles tonight and special teams played a big role in the win.
The game started out a bit rough with a 5 minute major for boarding against Maine Sophomore Joey Diamond. The parade to the penalty box didn’t stop there as both Boston College and Maine traded penalties for most of the period.
More sloppy play lead to a breakaway for Maine’s Gustav Nyquist but he was hauled down leading to the most exciting play in hockey, a penalty shot. Goalie John Muse maintained his composure and wasn’t fooled by Nyquist’s deke attempt to keep the game scoreless. To Nyquist’s credit, the puck flipped a little on him right before finishing his move.
Maine’s undisciplined play in the period help the Eagles open the scoring at 14:46 with a goal by Junior Paul Carey. Carry, parked in front of the net, buried the puck after some nice passing by the Eagles powerplay unit. Brian Gibbons and Joe Whitney assisted on the goal.
Boston College quickly followed with short-handed goal by Gibbons after some poor communication between the Maine defender and goalie Dan Sullivan. Sullivan attempted to send the puck around the net but Gibbons picked it off and fired it into the open net.
A scary moment at the start of the second as Maine’s Assistant Captain Jeff Dimmer got knocked into the boards. He left the ice with some help and could not put any weight on his right leg. He did not return to the game.
The Eagles found the back of the net for the third time at 7:34 of the second when Tommy Atkinson snuck a low shot under Dan Sullivan. This was Atkinson’s first goal of the season and also his first goal of his collegiate career.
Maine’s best chance of the night to finally get on the board came with a long 5 on 3 man advantage. The Black Bears couldn’t solve John Muse or the aggressive penalty kill of BC. Maine kept shooting from the point and looked unsure about who should pull the trigger.
The third period saw Boston College chase Maine’s goalie from the net with another goal on the powerplay. Center Pat Mullane fired a bullet from the top of the faceoff circle to the top right corner through some traffic. Sullivan didn’t have a chance.
Backup goalie Shawn Sirman came in relief and made all 6 shots he faced.
John Muse stopped all 32 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season and improving his record to 6 wins and 2 loses.
As the final buzzer sounded, emotions boiled over as players on both teams got into a scrum. Penalties for both teams were handed out. Muse, when asked about if there would be any carry over on Sunday, simply relied “No. Sunday is a new game.”
After the game, Maine’s coach Tim Whitehead summed up his team’s effort. “Special teams cost us tonight. The 5 on 3 not capitalizing there.”
Whitehead saw the penalty shot as a missed opportunity for his club. “It was big. You never know if it’s going to be important but if scored there that gives us momentum.”
Whitehead would not state who would be starting on Sunday.
Boston College Coach Jerry York really enjoyed the emotion out of the crowd for tonight’s game. “I thought the crowd was a real factor today. We had a lot of support.”
As for the team, Coach York felt that the team was much more solid for 60 minutes compared to the past few games.
Zac’s Three Stars
1st Star – Boston College – G John Muse
John wasn’t flashy but he stopped everything he faced. He was calm on the penalty shot early in the game and made a couple of spectacular saves to keep Maine off the board.
2nd Star – Boston College – F Brian Gibbons
With a goal and an assist, Gibbons help lead the offense for the Eagles and finished with a +1. His short-handed goal snuck Maine in the first.
3rd Star – Boston College – D Brian Dumoulin
2 assists for the big defenseman tonight. Played in all situations and was one of the reasons why Maine couldn’t generate much offense.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Huskies Comeback To Tie Friars
Northeastern overcame a two-goal deficit in Providence to salvage a tie with the Friars as neither team could score in overtime and the game finished at 3-3.
Senior captain Tyler McNeely got the game tying goal 6:57 into the third period on a power play opportunity that completed the comeback. McNeely, who was perched right on the doorstep, took a pass from linemate Wade MacLeod that went across the crease where McNeely was to bang the puck into the net.
“I thought we were really flat for the first 10 minutes and then I thought we got better and I was really happy with the way we played the rest of the way,” Huskies head coach Greg Cronin said.
The Friars opened the scoring when forward Jordan Kremyr scored his third goal of the season just over three minutes into the game. They then added to their lead when defenseman Eric Baier got his second goal of the season seven minutes later to make it 2-0 just 10:31 in the game.
The Huskies got on the board late in the period when freshman forward Rob Dongara poked home a rebound for his third goal of the year. The goal gave some life to the Huskies as they were outplayed by Providence for most of the first period.
“If we play like we did the last 50 minutes and eliminate the first 10 minutes when Providence was skating through us and winning battles then we’d be good,” Cronin said.
Ben Farrer put the Friars up 3-1 when he beat Huskies goaltender Chris Rawlings high glove side 14:06 into the second period.
But the Huskies started their comeback when center Mike McLaughlin got his fifth goal of the season when he deflected a shot from Garrett Vermeersch past Friars goaltender Alex Beaudry.
The comeback was completed with McNeely’s goal and the Huskies had the better of the chances in the extra period but they couldn’t convert anything else.
“We were down 3-1 so it’s nice to come back but I think we felt with the way we played in the third period, we would’ve liked to get another goal,” Cronin said.
Rawlings made 36 saves for NU and Beaudry was good for 34 saves of his own on the PC side as the Friars outshot the Huskies 39-37.
This is Northeastern’s first point since they beat UMass-Lowell back on October 23.
Providence is now unbeaten in their last seven games, the longest they’ve gone without a loss since the 2002-2003 season.
Northeastern is now 1-7-3 on the season while Providence is at 5-4-3. The two teams will do it all over again tomorrow at Matthews Arena with the puck dropping at 7 p.m.
At the least, Cronin said he felt like his team is moving in the right direction. “I thought tonight we felt confident and we made a lot of plays with the puck. It was a good stone to build off of.”
Senior captain Tyler McNeely got the game tying goal 6:57 into the third period on a power play opportunity that completed the comeback. McNeely, who was perched right on the doorstep, took a pass from linemate Wade MacLeod that went across the crease where McNeely was to bang the puck into the net.
“I thought we were really flat for the first 10 minutes and then I thought we got better and I was really happy with the way we played the rest of the way,” Huskies head coach Greg Cronin said.
The Friars opened the scoring when forward Jordan Kremyr scored his third goal of the season just over three minutes into the game. They then added to their lead when defenseman Eric Baier got his second goal of the season seven minutes later to make it 2-0 just 10:31 in the game.
The Huskies got on the board late in the period when freshman forward Rob Dongara poked home a rebound for his third goal of the year. The goal gave some life to the Huskies as they were outplayed by Providence for most of the first period.
“If we play like we did the last 50 minutes and eliminate the first 10 minutes when Providence was skating through us and winning battles then we’d be good,” Cronin said.
Ben Farrer put the Friars up 3-1 when he beat Huskies goaltender Chris Rawlings high glove side 14:06 into the second period.
But the Huskies started their comeback when center Mike McLaughlin got his fifth goal of the season when he deflected a shot from Garrett Vermeersch past Friars goaltender Alex Beaudry.
The comeback was completed with McNeely’s goal and the Huskies had the better of the chances in the extra period but they couldn’t convert anything else.
“We were down 3-1 so it’s nice to come back but I think we felt with the way we played in the third period, we would’ve liked to get another goal,” Cronin said.
Rawlings made 36 saves for NU and Beaudry was good for 34 saves of his own on the PC side as the Friars outshot the Huskies 39-37.
This is Northeastern’s first point since they beat UMass-Lowell back on October 23.
Providence is now unbeaten in their last seven games, the longest they’ve gone without a loss since the 2002-2003 season.
Northeastern is now 1-7-3 on the season while Providence is at 5-4-3. The two teams will do it all over again tomorrow at Matthews Arena with the puck dropping at 7 p.m.
At the least, Cronin said he felt like his team is moving in the right direction. “I thought tonight we felt confident and we made a lot of plays with the puck. It was a good stone to build off of.”
Hockey East Week 7 Preview
Eight Hockey East teams are in action again this weekend as the four top-ten ranked squads face off with each other yet again in a battle for conference supremacy.
Boston University (2/2) takes on upstart UNH (7/8) in a home-and-home series that could threaten BU’s position alone atop the Hockey East standings. The Terriers still have a strong grasp on the top spot with 12 points to second-place Maine’s nine, but UNH is right behind the Black Bears with 8 and could tie for first with a sweep of the weekend series.
Look for a big weekend from the overdue David Warsofsky (2-7=9), and if the energy that Chris Connolly (5-7=12) showed against Merrimack last weekend is any indication, expect him to continue his torrid point-scoring pace. And don’t be surprised if outstanding freshmen Sahir Gill (3-7=10) and Charlie Coyle (4-4=8) join in, either. They’ve all been excellent in support of junior goaltender Kieran Millan (1.92 GAA, .938 Sv. %), who will have his hands full with a smart, experienced UNH team.
That squad features Paul Thompson (3-7=10), Mike Sislo (5-3=8), Phil DeSimone (3-7=10), Dalton Speelman (4-3-7) and Blake Kessel (1-6=7), their own standout two-way defenseman, but much of the weight of handling BU will fall on the shoulders of junior netminder Matt DiGirolamo. DiGirolamo has been superb in net (2.38 GAA, .924 Sv. %) all season, but has really risen to the occasion in conference play, where he’s yet to lose a game while posting a goals against of 1.36 and a save percentage of .952. Yes, folks, those are Tim Thomas numbers.
Meanwhile, at the end of the green line, Boston College (10/9) plays host to Maine (3/3) in a two-game home set that could prove a deciding point in BC’s season. Although it’s still early, BC has fallen hard the past three weeks without defenseman Tommy Cross (knee) and could do theselves a lot of favors by getting points in both games this weekend.
It’ll be senior goaltender John Muse (1.72 GAA, .945 Sv. %) for the Eagles against juniors Spencer Abbott (8-8=16), Gustav Nyquist (4-11=15) and friends in a battle of upperclassmen who more than excel at their craft face off against each other. That’s not to say that Boston College doesn’t get scoring; ask Cam Atkinson (4-8=12) and Joe Whitney (1-8=9) about that. But Muse has been their stopper and their one constant through a season that’s featured more than a few rough patches.
BC may get Cross back this weekend, but it’s likely that they keep him on the pine until next weekend, when the Eagles face off with Vermont on Sunday, in an attempt to let him shake any rust before BU and BC renew acquaintances the first weekend in December.
Providence, who has quietly built up a point total (eight) that matches BC and UNH, will have their hands full with a Northeastern team that’s nothing if not feisty. Greg Cronin’s bunch is mired in a five-game losing streak and has only won one of their ten games this season. Meanwhile, the Friars - who opened their season with a 3-2 victory of the Huskies at home, will find themselves in a battle with a Northeastern squad that will play recklessly in hopes of notching their first win in three weeks.
Whether or not Northeastern’s able to harness their energy is what will determine if they can get any points from Providence. The Huskies aren’t made of scoring machines - seniors Wade MacLeod (4-3=7) and Tyler McNeely (3-4=7) lead the team in scoring - but they do have a fantastic backstop in Chris Rawlings, who’s been the victim of shoddy defense by the guys in front of him.
There’s rumblings that Cronin’s seat may be getting warm, which is usually enough to inspire a team to step up their play, but there’s been little from Northeastern this season to suggest that they’re interested in playing a team game at all. Against a team like Providence that spreads the scoring around and plays consistent, if not spectacular, defense, Northeastern figures to have their hands full.
In the last series of the weekend, a streaking Merrimack squad plays a home-and-home with next door neighbor UMass-Lowell. While the Warriors spent last weekend pushing BU to the limit - twice - Lowell took the weekend off, so the RiverHawks should come into this series pretty fresh. Or really lazy. That’s the problem with only playing on weekends.
Merrimack was mere votes away from being ranked in this week’s USCHO poll, and Lowell, much like Northeastern, is still trying to figure out just who they are as a team. It will be youth against experience, as Joe Cannata, (1.94 GAA, .941 Sv %) will look to backstop a Merrimack team led by Stephane Da Costa (3-5=8) into Hockey East’s elite.
Boston University (2/2) takes on upstart UNH (7/8) in a home-and-home series that could threaten BU’s position alone atop the Hockey East standings. The Terriers still have a strong grasp on the top spot with 12 points to second-place Maine’s nine, but UNH is right behind the Black Bears with 8 and could tie for first with a sweep of the weekend series.
Look for a big weekend from the overdue David Warsofsky (2-7=9), and if the energy that Chris Connolly (5-7=12) showed against Merrimack last weekend is any indication, expect him to continue his torrid point-scoring pace. And don’t be surprised if outstanding freshmen Sahir Gill (3-7=10) and Charlie Coyle (4-4=8) join in, either. They’ve all been excellent in support of junior goaltender Kieran Millan (1.92 GAA, .938 Sv. %), who will have his hands full with a smart, experienced UNH team.
That squad features Paul Thompson (3-7=10), Mike Sislo (5-3=8), Phil DeSimone (3-7=10), Dalton Speelman (4-3-7) and Blake Kessel (1-6=7), their own standout two-way defenseman, but much of the weight of handling BU will fall on the shoulders of junior netminder Matt DiGirolamo. DiGirolamo has been superb in net (2.38 GAA, .924 Sv. %) all season, but has really risen to the occasion in conference play, where he’s yet to lose a game while posting a goals against of 1.36 and a save percentage of .952. Yes, folks, those are Tim Thomas numbers.
Meanwhile, at the end of the green line, Boston College (10/9) plays host to Maine (3/3) in a two-game home set that could prove a deciding point in BC’s season. Although it’s still early, BC has fallen hard the past three weeks without defenseman Tommy Cross (knee) and could do theselves a lot of favors by getting points in both games this weekend.
It’ll be senior goaltender John Muse (1.72 GAA, .945 Sv. %) for the Eagles against juniors Spencer Abbott (8-8=16), Gustav Nyquist (4-11=15) and friends in a battle of upperclassmen who more than excel at their craft face off against each other. That’s not to say that Boston College doesn’t get scoring; ask Cam Atkinson (4-8=12) and Joe Whitney (1-8=9) about that. But Muse has been their stopper and their one constant through a season that’s featured more than a few rough patches.
BC may get Cross back this weekend, but it’s likely that they keep him on the pine until next weekend, when the Eagles face off with Vermont on Sunday, in an attempt to let him shake any rust before BU and BC renew acquaintances the first weekend in December.
Providence, who has quietly built up a point total (eight) that matches BC and UNH, will have their hands full with a Northeastern team that’s nothing if not feisty. Greg Cronin’s bunch is mired in a five-game losing streak and has only won one of their ten games this season. Meanwhile, the Friars - who opened their season with a 3-2 victory of the Huskies at home, will find themselves in a battle with a Northeastern squad that will play recklessly in hopes of notching their first win in three weeks.
Whether or not Northeastern’s able to harness their energy is what will determine if they can get any points from Providence. The Huskies aren’t made of scoring machines - seniors Wade MacLeod (4-3=7) and Tyler McNeely (3-4=7) lead the team in scoring - but they do have a fantastic backstop in Chris Rawlings, who’s been the victim of shoddy defense by the guys in front of him.
There’s rumblings that Cronin’s seat may be getting warm, which is usually enough to inspire a team to step up their play, but there’s been little from Northeastern this season to suggest that they’re interested in playing a team game at all. Against a team like Providence that spreads the scoring around and plays consistent, if not spectacular, defense, Northeastern figures to have their hands full.
In the last series of the weekend, a streaking Merrimack squad plays a home-and-home with next door neighbor UMass-Lowell. While the Warriors spent last weekend pushing BU to the limit - twice - Lowell took the weekend off, so the RiverHawks should come into this series pretty fresh. Or really lazy. That’s the problem with only playing on weekends.
Merrimack was mere votes away from being ranked in this week’s USCHO poll, and Lowell, much like Northeastern, is still trying to figure out just who they are as a team. It will be youth against experience, as Joe Cannata, (1.94 GAA, .941 Sv %) will look to backstop a Merrimack team led by Stephane Da Costa (3-5=8) into Hockey East’s elite.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Hockey East Power Rankings - Week 6
Eight Hockey East teams faced off against one another this past weekend. All but one of them secured at least a point for their efforts. For that reason, the premier edition of the Hockey East power rankings is bookended by the two teams that met last weekend in Alfond Arena: Northeastern and number three Maine.
1) Maine Black Bears (4-0-1 Hockey East, 6-1-3 overall)
It’s hard to argue with a team whose one loss came on the road to an elite CHA opponent in Michigan State, especially if that team crushed then-number 2 North Dakota on consecutive nights and skated to a draw with number one-in waiting Boston University.
What is arguable is the way the Mainers have won. They’re averaging 4.5 goals per game thus far, including a 4.25 average in conference play. Freshman Dan Sullivan (4-1-1, 2.24 GAA, .901 Sv % in seven games) hasn’t been stellar, but he’s been more than good enough to keep a Black Bears team with five double-digit scorers (most notably Spencer Abbott and Gustav Nyquist) afloat thus far.
Offense can fade, and it certainly doesn’t win championships, but they’re not ranked number three nationally for no reason, and right now Maine is getting it done.
2) Boston University Terriers (4-0-4, 6-0-4 overall)
Of course, you might argue that the team that’s yet to lose a game is the one who deserves a number-one ranking, especially since they’re ranked higher nationally (2/1) than is Maine (5/3). But the Terriers are lucky to have at least half of their draws, being outplayed by Lowell and Maine at home, and back-to-back ties with Merrimack aren’t exactly momentum-builders, especially when you take thirteen penalties at home.
Fortunately for BU, junior Kieran Millan’s work in net has kept them in games they probably didn’t belong in. It helps that the defense is blocking nearly 20 shots per game as well.
With New Hampshire and Boston College on the horizon for BU, they’ll have a chance to redeem themselves. But right now, despite being the most complete team in the conference, they’d be lucky to skate even with teams near the bottom of the standings.
3) University of New Hampshire Wildcats (3-0-2, 5-1-3 overall)
I contemplated ranking UNH above BU because of the stellar work that junior Matt DiGiloramo has done in net for the Wildcats, but decided it’d be for the better for the two teams to sort that out themselves this weekend at Agganis. So I’ll do just that.
Like Maine, UNH has gone an awful long time without a loss, last falling at Miami on October 8th by a 6-3 score, which they promptly reversed to beat the then-third ranked RedHawks the next night. They’ve earned points in six straight, mixing in a tie with Michigan and a 7-4 thumping of homestanding Cornell in for good measure.
While UNH prefers to do it with defense (head coach Dick Umile has compared DiGirolamo to Chris Terreri), they also boast dual double-digit scorers in seniors Paul Thompson and Phil DeSimone, and have a pretty solid complement after that, including senior captain Mike Sislo (5-3=8 totals), sophomore forward Dalton Speelman (4-3=7) and junior defenseman Blake Kessel (1-6=7). They’re an experienced team that’s used their maturity to beat then-number one BC at Conte Forum and seem to get better every time they take the ice.
4) Merrimack Warriors (1-2-3, 2-2-4 overall)
In a young season, Merrimack’s captured four points from BC and BU, defeating the then-top-ranked Eagles and milking two ties out of then-number one BU. Are they giant killers? Hardly. But they’re good enough to take points away from good teams, and as long as junior Joe Cannata keeps up his strong play between the pipes, the Warrior’s are going to have a chance to contend.
Where they struggle is on the board. Past sophomore import Stephane de Costa (3-5=8) and senior Joe Cucci (3-4=7), none of North Andover’s finest have scored more than five points in the team’s nine games and each of the leading scorers is a minus-one.
Still, this is a team that can do some damage with Cannata. The question is whether his shoulders are broad enough to carry the team for another four months.
5) Boston College Eagles (4-3-0, 6-4-0 overall)
Should a top-ten ranked team be placed behind one that isn’t ranked at all? In a fair world, absolutely not. But BC, as recently as three weeks ago the number-one team in the nation, has lost three conference games since that point, two to teams in the bottom half of the league and another at home to UNH.
Whether or not it’s the sole reason for their struggles, the slide has coincided with the loss of assistant captain Tommy Cross to another knee injury. Cross is anticipated to be back in the next couple weeks, but from the looks of things, BC’s going to need him at 100% or better in three weeks when BU comes knocking at their door as the Comm Ave rivalry is renewed again.
6) Vermont Catamounts (1-3-2, 1-4-3 overall)
If Merrimack gets credit for drawing twice with a number-one ranked team, then Vermont has to get some love for splitting a series with a once-number one, even if that team (BC) is flailing at the moment.
Prior to welcoming BC to Burlington last weekend, Vermont had yet to win a game. After facing off twice with the Huskies, they’ve won one. And since power rankings are all about improvement...
7) Providence Friars (3-2-2, 5-4-2 overall)
It’s hard to judge a team that travels to Alabama and sweeps UAH over the weekend, mostly because it’s Huntsville and they shouldn’t have a hockey team anyway. That said, it’s what Providence did, and while that type of performance doesn’t earn the any points, it extended their winning streak to six games, and with nobody else in the conference stepping up, it’s enough to put them firmly in the mix.
8) University of Massachusetts Minutemen (0-3-3, 0-6-3 overall)
From the great to the good to the mediocre, there isn’t a lot of dropoff in Hockey East’s top seven. But the bottom three? That’s another story entirely. And, to be fair, UMass is only this high because they at least played this past weekend, earning one point in a Saturday tie with UNH.
The Minutemen, to be sure, are an experienced team. But their experience hasn’t even won them a game in six tries, and if they want to stay this high in the rankings, they’ll need to start scraping together some Ws.
9) University of Massachusetts-Lowell RiverHawks (2-6-0, 2-6-2 overall)
The RiverHawks are improving, for sure. But the moral of this story is that if you don’t play, it hurts your place in the rankings. Unless you play and you happen to be Northeastern...
10) Northeastern University Huskies (1-4-1, 1-7-2 overall)
You may not know this, but that train in Unstoppable actually does have a conductor. His name is Greg Cronin and he’s on a fast track to nowhere at all as coach of the Huskies.
It’s not that they keep losing, it’s how Northeastern’s done it: squandering leads, allowing late goals, having a power play operating at less than eight percent efficiency. Cronin’s squad is young - he’ll be quick to point that out - but he’s been unable to harness their energy and teach the to play a team game.
Chris Rawlings continues to be strong in net for Northeastern, but his shoulders aren’t big enough to carry 20 other guys.
There’s been rumor that Cronin’s job may be in jeopardy, but changing coaches won’t solve Northeastern’s problems. Only a concerted team effort will swing things in the right direction, and that type of collaboration is a long, long ways off.
1) Maine Black Bears (4-0-1 Hockey East, 6-1-3 overall)
It’s hard to argue with a team whose one loss came on the road to an elite CHA opponent in Michigan State, especially if that team crushed then-number 2 North Dakota on consecutive nights and skated to a draw with number one-in waiting Boston University.
What is arguable is the way the Mainers have won. They’re averaging 4.5 goals per game thus far, including a 4.25 average in conference play. Freshman Dan Sullivan (4-1-1, 2.24 GAA, .901 Sv % in seven games) hasn’t been stellar, but he’s been more than good enough to keep a Black Bears team with five double-digit scorers (most notably Spencer Abbott and Gustav Nyquist) afloat thus far.
Offense can fade, and it certainly doesn’t win championships, but they’re not ranked number three nationally for no reason, and right now Maine is getting it done.
2) Boston University Terriers (4-0-4, 6-0-4 overall)
Of course, you might argue that the team that’s yet to lose a game is the one who deserves a number-one ranking, especially since they’re ranked higher nationally (2/1) than is Maine (5/3). But the Terriers are lucky to have at least half of their draws, being outplayed by Lowell and Maine at home, and back-to-back ties with Merrimack aren’t exactly momentum-builders, especially when you take thirteen penalties at home.
Fortunately for BU, junior Kieran Millan’s work in net has kept them in games they probably didn’t belong in. It helps that the defense is blocking nearly 20 shots per game as well.
With New Hampshire and Boston College on the horizon for BU, they’ll have a chance to redeem themselves. But right now, despite being the most complete team in the conference, they’d be lucky to skate even with teams near the bottom of the standings.
3) University of New Hampshire Wildcats (3-0-2, 5-1-3 overall)
I contemplated ranking UNH above BU because of the stellar work that junior Matt DiGiloramo has done in net for the Wildcats, but decided it’d be for the better for the two teams to sort that out themselves this weekend at Agganis. So I’ll do just that.
Like Maine, UNH has gone an awful long time without a loss, last falling at Miami on October 8th by a 6-3 score, which they promptly reversed to beat the then-third ranked RedHawks the next night. They’ve earned points in six straight, mixing in a tie with Michigan and a 7-4 thumping of homestanding Cornell in for good measure.
While UNH prefers to do it with defense (head coach Dick Umile has compared DiGirolamo to Chris Terreri), they also boast dual double-digit scorers in seniors Paul Thompson and Phil DeSimone, and have a pretty solid complement after that, including senior captain Mike Sislo (5-3=8 totals), sophomore forward Dalton Speelman (4-3=7) and junior defenseman Blake Kessel (1-6=7). They’re an experienced team that’s used their maturity to beat then-number one BC at Conte Forum and seem to get better every time they take the ice.
4) Merrimack Warriors (1-2-3, 2-2-4 overall)
In a young season, Merrimack’s captured four points from BC and BU, defeating the then-top-ranked Eagles and milking two ties out of then-number one BU. Are they giant killers? Hardly. But they’re good enough to take points away from good teams, and as long as junior Joe Cannata keeps up his strong play between the pipes, the Warrior’s are going to have a chance to contend.
Where they struggle is on the board. Past sophomore import Stephane de Costa (3-5=8) and senior Joe Cucci (3-4=7), none of North Andover’s finest have scored more than five points in the team’s nine games and each of the leading scorers is a minus-one.
Still, this is a team that can do some damage with Cannata. The question is whether his shoulders are broad enough to carry the team for another four months.
5) Boston College Eagles (4-3-0, 6-4-0 overall)
Should a top-ten ranked team be placed behind one that isn’t ranked at all? In a fair world, absolutely not. But BC, as recently as three weeks ago the number-one team in the nation, has lost three conference games since that point, two to teams in the bottom half of the league and another at home to UNH.
Whether or not it’s the sole reason for their struggles, the slide has coincided with the loss of assistant captain Tommy Cross to another knee injury. Cross is anticipated to be back in the next couple weeks, but from the looks of things, BC’s going to need him at 100% or better in three weeks when BU comes knocking at their door as the Comm Ave rivalry is renewed again.
6) Vermont Catamounts (1-3-2, 1-4-3 overall)
If Merrimack gets credit for drawing twice with a number-one ranked team, then Vermont has to get some love for splitting a series with a once-number one, even if that team (BC) is flailing at the moment.
Prior to welcoming BC to Burlington last weekend, Vermont had yet to win a game. After facing off twice with the Huskies, they’ve won one. And since power rankings are all about improvement...
7) Providence Friars (3-2-2, 5-4-2 overall)
It’s hard to judge a team that travels to Alabama and sweeps UAH over the weekend, mostly because it’s Huntsville and they shouldn’t have a hockey team anyway. That said, it’s what Providence did, and while that type of performance doesn’t earn the any points, it extended their winning streak to six games, and with nobody else in the conference stepping up, it’s enough to put them firmly in the mix.
8) University of Massachusetts Minutemen (0-3-3, 0-6-3 overall)
From the great to the good to the mediocre, there isn’t a lot of dropoff in Hockey East’s top seven. But the bottom three? That’s another story entirely. And, to be fair, UMass is only this high because they at least played this past weekend, earning one point in a Saturday tie with UNH.
The Minutemen, to be sure, are an experienced team. But their experience hasn’t even won them a game in six tries, and if they want to stay this high in the rankings, they’ll need to start scraping together some Ws.
9) University of Massachusetts-Lowell RiverHawks (2-6-0, 2-6-2 overall)
The RiverHawks are improving, for sure. But the moral of this story is that if you don’t play, it hurts your place in the rankings. Unless you play and you happen to be Northeastern...
10) Northeastern University Huskies (1-4-1, 1-7-2 overall)
You may not know this, but that train in Unstoppable actually does have a conductor. His name is Greg Cronin and he’s on a fast track to nowhere at all as coach of the Huskies.
It’s not that they keep losing, it’s how Northeastern’s done it: squandering leads, allowing late goals, having a power play operating at less than eight percent efficiency. Cronin’s squad is young - he’ll be quick to point that out - but he’s been unable to harness their energy and teach the to play a team game.
Chris Rawlings continues to be strong in net for Northeastern, but his shoulders aren’t big enough to carry 20 other guys.
There’s been rumor that Cronin’s job may be in jeopardy, but changing coaches won’t solve Northeastern’s problems. Only a concerted team effort will swing things in the right direction, and that type of collaboration is a long, long ways off.
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