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.
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