2011 Hockey East Playoffs: Merrimack Looks To Beat BC, Win First Conference Championship

It was a Friday night in late October when Boston College defenseman Tommy Cross got tangled up fending up a Merrimack forward and found himself down on the ice. The result was a sprained knee, which sidelined Cross for two months.

The result of the game - the first of three between Merrimack and BC on the season - was a 3-2 Eagles win. It was the last time that Merrimack - which went 2-1 in the season series against each of the teams that finished above it (BC, New Hampshire and Boston University) in Hockey East - would lose to the Eagles.

Saturday night at TD Garden, Merrimack will play in its first conference championship in its 21 years at the Division-I level, while Boston College has a chance to even the season series and, more importantly, take home its tenth Lou Lamorello Trophy as champion of the Hockey East tournament.

Cam Atkinson leads BC with 4-1=5 totals against Merrimack this season, while Stephane Da Costa leads Merrimack with 1-4=5 totals against the Eagles.

Da Costa, who returned three weeks ago from a knee injury of his own, has re-ignited a Merrimack offense that struggled through five games without him, scoring only ten goals - a far cry from the 5.2 goals per game that they averaged with him in the lineup in 2011.

Meanwhile, Cross has stabilized the blue line for BC, providing a consistent threat to go both ways with an ability to shoot the puck and a fearlessness when it comes to getting deep and working in the cycle with the Eagles’ forwards. His return has been welcomed by John Muse, who - despite owning a school-record 16 postseason wins - has relied on his offense to keep him in games, rather than the other way around.

On the other end, Joe Cannata suffered a few butterflies early in his first-ever appearance at TD Garden Friday night, where he muffed the first puck he saw - a dump attempt that was deflected off a Merrimack stick - and watched it go into the net behind him. The goal was overturned as UNH was ruled offsides, and Cannata only let one puck past him the rest of the night.

The title game will feature two teams that can score at will, but are also very adept at shutting opposing teams down - BC is first overall in scoring offense and defense, while Merrimack sits second in the conference in both categories. They’re one-two on the power play and one-three on the power play, and one-two in special teams overall. Muse and Cannata are first and second in goals against and in wins on the season, and both teams have five players in the top 25 of conference scoring.

It’s fitting that the two most statistically complete teams in the conference are playing one game to decide who hoists the conference trophy. Boston College will go for its seventh straight win on TD Garden ice when they lace up the skates on Saturday, but don’t expect Merrimack’s lack of experience to factor in; the Warriors didn’t look at all like rookies on Saturday night when they played their first game in 13 seasons in Boston.

It’s BC’s game to lose, but they’re up against a team they’ve already lost to twice this season. And perhaps more importantly, a team that doesn’t have any interest in what they should or shouldn’t do, but only what they accomplish.

2011 Hockey East Playoffs: Merrimack Edges UNH To Advance To First-Ever Conference Title Game

BOSTON, MA - Merrimack College joined Hockey East in 1990. 21 years later, they’re finally going to their first conference championship.

An early error by Joe Cannata was overturned, and Elliott Sheen scored twice for the Warriors, who knocked off two-seed UNH with a 4-1 win Friday night.

A dump by Blake Kessel hit a Merrimack defenseman’s stick and hopped over Cannata’s glove and into the Merrimack net only 24 seconds in, but the Wildcats were ruled offsides on the play and the goal was overturned.

“Good thing I’m not a shortstop,” Cannata deadpanned after the game, acknowledging that he started a little slow, but that the goal being disallowed didn’t do much to help.

Some seven minutes later, Stevie Moses scored the only goal his team would tally, getting the puck in the slot and blasting it over Cannata’s shoulder.

Three minutes later, a listless attack by UNH’s Mike Sislo was thwarted by Merrimack’s Ryan Flanigan, who picked off the puck and started a two-man shorthanded break with Stephane Da Costa. After Da Costa drew two UNH defenders, he fired the puck over to Flanigan who beat Matt Di Girolamo with a snipe over his glove.

Sheen scored what would turn out to be the game-winner on a deflection of Brendan Ellis’ shot from the point at 16:15 of the first period. Ellis would assist on Mike Collins’ goal 14 minutes into the third, and Sheen capped off the scoring by potting an empty-net short-handed goal with only seven seconds remaining.

Of Merrimack’s first trip to the conference championship game, Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy said that his players and administration deserve all the praise.

“When I first got here, I was worried that my assistant coaches’ names weren’t going to be announced correctly pre-game,” said Dennehy, who’s turned the program around from a perennial bottom-dweller to sudden national title contender in a matter of six years.

Merrimack will face top seed Boston College, which defeated Northeastern, 5-4, earlier Friday night.

Hockey East All-Rookie Team Announced

Hockey East has announced its All-Rookie team, and BU and Northeastern are the big winners. Each school had two student-athletes make the list, while Maine, UMass, BC and Merrimack each had one. Below is the list:


G: Dan Sullivan, Maine (York, Pa.)
D: Anthony Bitetto, Northeastern (Island Park, N.Y.)
D: Adam Clendening, Boston University (Wheatfield, N.Y.)
F: Bill Arnold, Boston College (Needham, Mass.)
F: Charlie Coyle, Boston University (East Weymouth, Mass.)
F: Mike Collins, Merrimack (Boston, Mass.)
F: Michael Pereira, Massachusetts (West Haven, Conn.)
F: Brodie Reid, Northeastern (Delta, B.C.)

Both Pereira and Coyle were unanimous selections.

Hockey East Playoffs: March Sweeps - BC, UNH, Merrimack Advance In Two Games

at Boston College 4, UMass 2 - Boston College wins series, 2 games to zero

CHESTNUT HILL, MA - Thanks to Jimmy Hayes, Boston College has some accessories to add to their 2011 hardware.

Hayes registered a hat trick, scoring first for the Eagles, potting the game-winner and registering an empty-net goal with 23 seconds to go as regular-season champion Boston College swept UMass out of the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East playoffs.

Joe Whitney had the other goal for BC, which advances to the conference semifinals for the seventh straight season. Chase Langeraap opened the scoring for the Minutemen only 21 seconds in, giving UMass hope with its second strong start in as many nights, but it wasn’t to be for Toot Cahoon’s squad.

John Muse made 18 saves to preserve the win for the Eagles, who went 1-for-5 on the man advantage, while UMass wasn’t able to convert on their five man-advantage chances.

at New Hampshire 4, Vermont 3 - UNH wins series, 2 games to zero

DUHRAM, NH - It had been a long two seasons for Dick Umile, whose UNH teams hadn’t advanced past the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East playoffs since 2008. A year after winning the opening game of a series with Vermont before falling 1-0 in the next two, they left nothing to chance.

After UVM’s Ben Albertson opened the scoring at 3:49 of the second period, the Wildcats answered with three straight goals. Austin Block scored on a partially screened breakaway at 17:14, and Stevie Moses tipped Brett Kostolansky’s blast from the right point 42 seconds later to give second-seeded UNH a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Paul Thompson extended the lead to 3-1 on a wicked wrister  at 9:06 of the third, but Vermont came back to tie it at three with less than four minutes to go. UNH captain Mike Sislo responded, scoring his 13th goal with exactly three minutes remaining.

Despite going 0-for-8 on the power play, UNH outshot Vermont 39 to 28. The Catamounts were 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

Matt Di Girolamo stopped 25 shots for the win.

at Merrimack 6, Maine 2 - Merrimack wins series, 2 games to zero

ANDOVER, MA - Mark Dennehy’s squad celebrated its second home playoff series the right way this time, skating Maine out of the building as the Warriors advanced to Boston for just the second time in team history.

Carter Madsen recorded a hat trick for Merrimack, which also got goals from Mike Collins, Ryan Flanigan and Jeff Velleca. Flanigan added three assists for his first career four-point night.

Jeff Dimmen and Brian Flynn scored for Maine, which struggled to find an answer for Merrimack’s aggressive forecheck. After not allowing five goals once all season, Dan Sullivan let five pucks past him for the second straight night, before giving way to Shawn Sirman in the third period.

Despite the teams being whistled for a combined 66 penalty minutes, Merrimack had only three power play chances. They converted on one of them, while Maine’s vaunted power play attack was held quiet on their four opportunities.

Joe Cannata made 29 saves to earn the win for Merrimack, which hasn’t played in the Hockey East quarterfinals since 1998.

Hockey East Power Rankings

Standings:

Boston College (20-6-1) 41 points

UNH (17-6-4) 38 points

BU (15-6-6) 36 points

Merrimack (16-8-3) 35 points

Maine (14-8-5) 33 points

Northeastern (10-10-7) 27 points

Vermont (6-14-7) 19 points

UMass (5-16-6) 16 points

Providence (4-16-7) 15 points

Lowell (4-21-2) 10 points

1. Boston College - It doesn’t matter how they do it or who they do it with, Jerry York’s squad just wins. That usually bodes well in March.
2. Boston University - Until losing to Northeastern on Saturday night at Agganis Arena, the Terriers hadn’t lost a Hockey East game since January 21st, a span of ten games. Jack Parker’s teams usually step up in March, but they’re going to need to do some more stepping to have a chance to play for the NCAA Championship.
3. UNH - Another weekend in March, another series that UNH came out on the wrong end of. The guys say they’re hungry and they want it; history says it doesn’t matter. Could this be the year that UNH kicks the trend and starts writing a new chapter?
4. Maine - Nobody in a Black Bears sweater should feel comfortable about facing Merrimack at Lawler Arena for the right to advance to Boston. But if Dan Sullivan can continue his strong play, the offense will take care of the rest and Maine could be a very dangerous team in a few weeks.
5. Merrimack - Though they don’t like letting opponents see them, there are chinks in the armor of Mark Dennehy’s squad, and heading into the playoffs losing three of four doesn’t bode well for a team lacking serious post-season experience.
6. Northeastern - Just when you thought he might have hit a well, Sebastien Leplante proved work isn’t yet done, coaching the Huskies to a 4-3 win over BU at Agganis Arena. If Northeastern taught us anything these past three weeks, it’s that they’re not a team to be taken lightly.
7. Vermont - The Cats will return to a murder scene on Friday when they re-visit the Whit on Friday night. The memories of last year’s UVM dismantling of UNH are no doubt still strong in the minds of everyone who was there, but whether or not this Vermont squad can find what it takes to keep up with the Wildcats is very much up in the air.
8.  UMass - The Minutemen could have given up when they went down 3-0 to Maine on senior night at the Mullins Center. They could have thrown in the towel and hoped Merrimack would beat Providence so their backslide into the playoffs continued. But instead, they went out and got it, proving that there may still be some fight in Toot Cahoon’s troops. Enough to knock off BC? Probably not. But hey, at least they made it there.
9. Lowell - They’re not good. They’re very unpolished. But the RiverHawks showed some promise at the end of the season, taking points in three of their last four games. They’ll be a year wiser and a year more experienced next year, which puts them in a better spot than the only team below them.
10. Providence - Tim Army’s tenure as coach of the Friars is likely over after six years which concluded with the Friars missing the playoffs for the third straight season. They’ll also lose their three top scorers (and five of their top seven) and will likely look in a new direction to get things turned around - though that goal is a long ways off.

Let's Take The Internet Connections Away From the BU Kids

I don't flame much. I don't enjoy it - well, maybe a little - and I don't think that it's right to step on another writer's creative works. However, I don't consider myself to be above a few good potshots when they're deserved.

That said, when I do flame, it's usually in the direction of one of the two schools located on Comm Ave. It's always good-natured and never ill-meaning - the spirit of competition is, after all, just that. But when something like this piece from Boston University's Shep Hayes - clearly, the red-headed stepchild of the lineage that produced Jimmy and Kevin and Rutherford B. - hits my timeline (which is definitely the new "lands on my desk"), I really can't resist.

(The comment which I submitted for moderation, which I'm pretty sure covers everything that went wrong in those 1,000 words and even more sure won't be approved:

Except for the part where NU and BC tied at Conte, 7-7 and the part where Northeastern won 2-1 the next night at Matthews and the part where BC was the number one team in the country.And the part where BU didn’t deserve two points from their embarrassing 5-4 win in December. And the part where Northeastern beat Merrimack at Lawler – a feat only accomplished by Lowell this season.And definitely the part where an ECAC team is regarded as less of a weak link than the Huskies. And the part where Cronin has done a magical job recruiting top-flight talent while standing in the shadows of Parker and York.And the part where, while BU was on a 4-7-2 slide after being unjustly anointed national Number One, Northeastern went 6-3-3, and didn’t lose to any teams that currently sit in the bottom-third of the most embarrassing conference in college hockey. And they certainly didn’t lose to them by five goals.And the part where NU had the third-most freshman applicants of any school in the nation this year. And the part where they’ve worked in unison with the Colleges of the Fenway to improve the Roxbury and Fenway area.Maybe you should take a note from your own writing and – you know – do some research.

But other than that, quality journalism. 

/end rant)

In full disclosure, I am - nearly - a Northeastern product. I'll graduate from NU with my Master's in just over four weeks, which will likely open up a world of opportunities for me in the unemployed-or-at-least-grossly-underpaid sector. But I am not a homer - even if I do consider Punters to be the greatest bar in the world.

If you're going to write about hockey, write about hockey. If you're going to write about a school's social position, write about that. If you're going to write about a weekend series, do that. But don't lump it all together in some half-hearted defense of your own institution's struggling numbers, urban sprawl and nearness to all the most wonderful neighborhoods in Boston, especially when the dark cloud of Allston hovers over your campus - Allston and the Fens, by the way, are basically 1 and 1a in the Boston crime scene, thanks in no small part I'm sure to some combination of watering holes, college students and terrible decisions.

And, if you're going to write about hockey, at least check the box scores before you reflect on games that only happened two weeks ago. I get that final scores are mundane details in the grand scheme of things and that rankings mean next to nothing - otherwise Yale wouldn't be ranked - but they might be relevant in a piece that talks about hockey. Maybe.

BU, last I checked, was a big journalism school. I know lots of people who graduated with degrees in Journalism from BU, and some of them are even doing pretty well for themselves. They are, as Shep intimates, an "academic research" school. They also seem to wonder why Northeastern hates them so much.

Maybe that's why it was written - to spread the flames and re-ignite the rivalry. But I doubt it. BU fans don't really care about Northeastern. They care about BC, UBurger, themselves and nobody else - that's evidenced when they chant things like "BC sucks" even though they're playing Lowell.

Like I said, I never wish ill will towards anyone. That said, Shep, I'm sure that you're a great guy. I really like your name, and I'm always beyond happy to see that I'm not the only white kid who can grow a curl-fro. I hope that your (ridiculously overpriced) BU education takes you far in life.

And I also hope that this travesty of a piece of journalism winds up being nothing more than a blemish on your record when all is said and done.

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.

Hockey East Week 6 Preview

Now that the Hockey East season has hit its first of two full strides (the other coming, of course, in the next calendar year), it’s finally time to figure out just who’s who in what so far seems to be a most lopsided of conferences. 

With UMass Lowell taking the weekend off following a strong come-from behind win against Vermont and Providencevisiting sunny Huntsville, Alabama for a two-game set with UAH, that leaves eight teams scrapping for points in Hockey East. And scrap is what most of them will have to do, as each of the conference’s four top ten teams has a two-game series on tap with an unranked - and, for all practical conversation, unremarkable - opponent. 

Perhaps the biggest of these discrepancies will start on Commonwealth Avenue Friday night and finish in North Andover on Saturday, as newly-ranked number one Boston University plays a home-and-home with Merrimack. 

After the jump, a preview of this weekend's four Hockey East series...