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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