Hockey East Class of 2011: How Did They Fare?

The ECHL, AHL and NHL regular seasons have all come to a close, and with the seasons ending, so too are many Hockey East 2011 alums done playing for the season. 

Of all the alums, former Northeastern captain Tyler McNeely impressed the most during a brief stint in the AHL, netting five goals, recording four assists and finishing with a plus-nine rating in ten games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Both Stephane Da Costa (Merrimack) and Matt Campanale  (UNH) donned NHL sweaters, but neither registered a point during their play with Ottawa and the New York Islanders, respectively. 

John Muse impressed in his lone start with the Portland Pirates, stopping 33 of 35 shots in an overtime win. Former teammate Cam Atkinson played in five games for Springfield, scoring three goals and adding two assists. 

Former BU captain Joe Pereira played a single game with the Worcester Sharks before being traded to Bridgeport, where he scored five points in ten games. 

Hockey East player of the year Paul Thompson played in four games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, tallying three points and a plus-four rating. 

ECHL

UMass - F Chase Langeraap (SC) 8 GP, 2-0=2, +2
Merrimack - F Joe Cucci (SC) 2 GP, 0-0=0, Even
Vermont - F Josh Burrows (BKR) 7 GP, 1-0=1, +5

AHL

BC - F Cam Atkinson (SPFLD) 5 GP, 3-2=5, +2
BC - F Jimmy Hayes (RFD) 7 GP, 0-0=0, Even
BC - F Joe Whitney (POR) 1 GP, 0-1=1, +1
BC - G John Muse (POR) 1-0-0, 1.85 GA, .943 Sv %
BU - F Joe Pereira (WOR) 1 GP, 0-0=0, Even; (BPT) 10 GP, 2-3=5, +1
BU - D David Warsofsky (PRV) 10 GP, 0-3=3, +3
Maine - F Tanner House (OKC) 6 GP, 1-4=5, +3
Maine - F Gustav Nyquist (GRP) 8 GP, 1-3=4, +1
Maine - D Jeff Dimmen (POR) 7 GP, 0-1=1, -4
Maine - D Mike Banwell (ALB) 4 GP, 0-1=1, -5
Maine - D Josh Van Dyk (ABB) 1 GP 0-0=0, Even
UMass - G Paul Dainton (SPFLD) 2-2-0, 2.63 GA, .912 Sv %
Merrimack - F Chris Barton (BPT) 1 GP, 0-0=0, Even
Northeastern - F Wade MacLeod (SPFLD) 9 GP, 1-2=3, -5
Northeastern - F Tyler McNeely (BPT)  10 GP, 5-6=11, +9
UNH - D Matt Campanale (BPT) 5 GP, 0-0=0, Even
UNH - F Paul Thompson (WBS) 6 GP, 1-2=3, +4
UNH - F Mike Sislo (ALB) 3 GP, 0-0=0, -5
Vermont - D Kevan Miller (PRV) 6 GP, 0-0=0, +2


NHL

Merrimack - F Stephane Da Costa (OTT) 4 GP, 0-0=0, -1
UNH - D Matt Campanale (NYI) 1 GP, 0-0=0, Even

Checking in on the Hockey East Class of 2011

Now that the flurry of post-post-season comings and goings are over, it's time to see how the Hockey East class of 2011 is faring in their post-collegiate careers.

Since his season ended - perhaps prematurely - at the hands of Notre Dame, Stephane Da Costa is the only Hockey East-er to head straight to the NHL. Playing for the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, Da Costa recorded a shot, but no points and was a minus-one in the Sens' 4-2 loss to the suddenly frisky Toronto Maple Leafs.

Other HEA alums who are poised to see time at the NHL level in the next season include reigning conference player of the year Paul Thompson, who has three point (1-2) in three games for the Wilkes-Barre Penguins and is a plus-four - a surprise for a player who didn't do much back-checking as a student-athlete. His former linemate Mike Sislo signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the New Jersey Devils on Sunday; while Sislo will finish the season at AHL Albany this year, he could compete for time in a Devils roster full of holes next season.

Former Boston College standout Cam Atkinson has played in two games with AHL Springfield (MA), and is 2-2=4 in those games with a plus-one rating. His former teammate Jimmy Hayes has played three games for the Rockford IceHogs - AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks - but is yet to register a point and is a minus-one in those games. Don't be thrown by the AHL's website saying that he's playing D for Rockford - he's still on the right wing.

Ex-Maine Black Bear Gustav Nyquist has 1-2=3 totals through four games with Detroit Red Wings' affiliate Grand Rapids, and has a plus-one rating as well.

Below are the stats for all Hockey East 2011 alums through their first few days/weeks as professionals:

ECHL

UMass - F Chase Langeraap (SC) - 8 GP, 2-0=2, +2
Merrimack - F Joe Cucci (SC) - 2 GP, 0-1=1, Even
Vermont - F Josh Burrows (BKR) - 7 GP, 1-0=1, +5


AHL
BC - F Cam Atkinson (SPFLD) 2 GP, 2-2=4, +1
BC - F Jimmy Hayes (ROC) 3 GP, 0-0=0, -1
BU - F Joe Pereira (WOR)- 1 GP, 0-0=0
BU - D David Warsofsky (PRV) - 7 GP, 0-1=1, +1
Maine - F Tanner House (OKC) 3 GP, 1-1=2, +1
Maine - F Gustav Nyquist (GRP) 4 GP, 1-2=3, +1
Maine - D Jeff Dimmen (POR) 2 GP, -1
Maine - D Mike Banwell (ALB) 1 GP, 0-0=0, -1
UMass - G Paul Dainton (SPFLD)- 1-2-0, 2.71, .923
Merrimack - F Chris Barton (BPT) - 1 GP
Northeastern - F Tyler McNeely (BPT) - 6 GP, 2-1=3, +4
Northeastern - F Wade MacLeod (SPFLD)- 5 GP, 1-0=1, -1
UNH - D Matt Campanale (BPT) - 1 GP
UNH - F Paul Thompson (WBS) - 3 GP, 1-2=3, +4
Vermont - D Kevan Miller (PRV) 3 GP, 0-0=0, Even


NHL

Merrimack - F Stephane Da Costa (OTT) - 1 GP, -1



Signings

Merrimack Captain D Adam Ross - ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings
UNH Captain F Mike Sislo - NHL New Jersey Devils (assigned to Albany)
Maine D Josh Van Dyk - NHL Edmonton Oilers (assigned to Abbotsford, has not yet played)

Hockey East: Where Do They Go From Here?

Of Hockey East’s top 15 scorers in 2010-11, only two - Maine’s Brian Flynn and Spencer Abbott - will be returning to school in the fall of 2011. With a large crop of offensive talent having graduated and the cornerstones of a strong junior class - BC’s Cam Atkinson and Jimmy Hayes and Maine’s Gustav Nyquist among them - cashing in their NHL paychecks (and let’s not forget all-world sophomore Stephane Da Costa from Merrimack, either), the teams that succeed in the conference next year are going to be those who get a lot of production from their youngsters.

The top 25 returning scorers are as follows:

Spencer Abbott, Maine 17-23=40
Brian Flynn, Maine 20-16=36
Alex Chiasson, BU 14-20=34
Ryan Flanigan, Merrimack 16-18=34
Brian Dumoulin, BC 3-30=33
David Vallorani, Lowell 12-19=31
Jesse Todd, Merrimack 17-14=31
Riley Wetmore, Lowell 14-16=30
Mike Collins, Merrimack 14-16=30
Pat Mullane, BC 8-21=29
Daniel Hobbs, UMass 12-16=28
Chris Connolly, BU 10-18=28
Sebastian Stalberg, Vermont 9-19=28
Brodie Reid, Northeastern 11-17=28
Corey Trivino, BU 8-20=28
T.J. Syner, UMass 9-18=27
Karl Stollery, Merrimack 6-21=27
Blake Kessel, UNH 5-22=27
Charlie Coyle, BU 7-19=26
Paul Carey, BC 13-13=26
Stevie Moses, UNH 14-12=26
Adam Clendening, BU, 5-21=26
Michael Pereira, UMass 12-13=25
Sahir Gill, BU 6-19=25
Chris Kreider, BC 11-13=24

By school:
BU (6) 50-117=167
Merrimack (4) 53-69=122
BC (4) 35-77=112
UMass (3) 33-47=80
Maine (2) 37-49=76
Lowell (2) 26-35=61
UNH (2) 19-34=53
Vermont (1) 9-19=28
Northeastern (1) 11-17=28
Providence (0)

Strangely, Northeastern - despite returning only one top-25 scorer - is in some of the best shape of all the schools. Merrimack will be a different team without Da Costa, BC will be a much younger team that will have to work harder to open the ice for guys like Kreider and Mullane, and while BU could be a threat, the way they mailed it in a few weeks ago leaves a lot of question marks.

A look at the total offense each team has lost:

BC (5) 75-93=168
UNH (6) 55-105 = 160
Maine (6) 51-87=138
Merrimack (8) 36-94=130
Northeastern (5) 48-74=122
Providence (7) 34-57=91
Vermont (7) 29-43=72
Lowell (5) 16-24=40
BU (2) 22-21=41
UMass (7) 16-16=32

The picture becomes clearer. Is there any reason why BU shouldn’t walk to a Beanpot and Hockey East title? If there is, it’s either UMass or UNH, two schools which proved that they can get offense from underclassmen without any problem. But the effect of losing players isn’t just felt in points. UNH’s Sislo-DeSimone-Thomspon line was the best the league had last year; Northeastern’s line of Wade MacLeod, Steve Silva and Tyler McNeely was one of the reasons the Huskies had such a strong second half. While BC announced the promotion of Tommy Cross from Assistant Captain to full-fledged team leader earlier this week, both of those teams are losing their captains (UNH, it seems, will name Kessel its captain for 2011-12 sooner than later).

Of course, there’s still time for underclassmen to sign with agents and depart. There are very strong and very talented recruiting classes coming to Vermont, Boston College and UNH - more on those at a later date. There’s the chance that coaching staffs may recognize their offensive deficiencies and change their game to stymie opponents and try to win a bevy of 2-1 games. But that’s hardly par for the course in Hockey East.

BC will still be good. UNH will still be good. Providence will again be awful, as they rebuild from the loss of nearly 50% of their offense and their coach. Lowell should improve under new leadership. UMass, Northeastern and Vermont are the wild cards. BU should be great. Maine will likely slip a bit.

But this is all on paper. The same paper on which Boston College should have thumped Colorado College. The same paper where UNH had no chance against Miami. The same paper where Merrimack couldn’t be ranked in the top-five nationally if everyone else let them six months ago.

That’s the problem with an extended offseason. There’s always too much time to think.

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.

Home Cooking: All Higher Seeds Win On First Full Night Of Hockey East Playoffs

at Boston College 4, UMass 1

CHESTNUT HILL, MA - Jimmy Hayes showed up at just the right time. After the Minutemen outshot the Hockey East regular season champs 6-1 through the first ten minutes of the game, Hayes beat UMass goaltender Paul Dainton to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

They wouldn’t look back.

Cam Atkinson scored his league-leading 28th goal of the year just 14 seconds into the second period, and by the time UMass’ Daniel Hobbs scored a power play goal at 11:52 of the middle frame, the Minutemen were already down 3-0 and BC cruised to a 4-1 victory at Conte Forum. John Muse stopped 26 shots to preserve the win for Boston College, which moved a win away from its seventh straight appearance in the Hockey East semifinals.

Dainton stopped 31 shots for UMass, but it wasn’t enough as Toot Cahoon’s squad couldn’t find the depth to skate with BC or the offense to make up for it.

UMass had eight opportunities with the man advantage, but was only able to convert once. BC went 1-for-6 on the power play.

The Minutemen and Eagles face off at 7 PM Saturday night at Conte Forum with UMass’ season on the line.

at New Hampshire 3, Vermont 1

DURHAM, NH - Stevie Moses nearly registered more shots himself than his entire team did a week earlier, recording 10 attempts on net, and closing the scoring off a beautiful feed from Mike Borisenok early in the third period to cap a 3-1 Wildcats win.

Despite being outshot 14-4 in the first period, UNH took an early lead on Paul Thompson’s 27th goal of the season at 4:23. It seemed as though that might be the game-winner for a long time, as Matt Di Girolamo was superb against a solid Catamounts attack.

The lone Vermont goal came when Sebastian Stalberg - who had a great chance in the first on a wrap-around that Di Girolamo sprawled backwards with his arm over his head to glove away - was able to pry lose a rebound and put the puck between the UNH goaltender’s legs.

UNH was successful on its only power play chance when Phil DeSimone scored the game’s second goal with four seconds remaining in a Dan Lawson tripping penalty. Vermont went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

Di Girolamo stopped 32 Vermont shots to earn the win in his first career Hockey East playoff game.

UNH and Vermont go at it again Saturday night as the Wildcats look to avenge last season’s early playoff exit when they beat the Cats 7-4 on Friday night but lost successive 1-0 decisions on Saturday and Sunday and were unable to advance in the Hockey East tournament.

at Boston University 5, Northeastern 2

BOSTON, MA - BU spotted Northeastern an early lead when Brodie Reid scored his ninth goal of the year at 3:25 of the first period, but pushed back to even the series and extend their season for at least one more game, winning a 5-2 decision at Agganis Arena.

Joe Pereira tallied twice for the Terriers, including an empty-net goal with just 35 seconds remaining, and Matt Nieto, Kevin Gilroy and Ryan Ruikka added markers for BU, which struggled to find any offense in a 4-2 loss to Northeastern on Thursday night.

Jamie Oleksiak also scored for Northeastern, making it a 3-2 game after two periods, but BU was too much for the Huskies in the third. Clay Witt, who has faced BU in three of the five games that he’s played this season, made 29 saves in relief of Chris Rawlings, who allowed three of the six shots he saw to go by him.

Kieran Millan made 30 saves to earn the win for BU, which needs to at least advance to the Hockey East semifinals to have a chance at playing in the NCAA tournament.

Despite drawing ten Northeastern penalties, BU was only able to convert on one power play. Northeastern went 1-for-7 with the extra man.

The series will pause briefly as Agganis Arena hosts the America East Men’s Basketball Championship on Saturday before resuming Sunday night at 7 PM with both team’s seasons on the line.

at Merrimack 5, Maine 4

ANDOVER, MA - The Black Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead nearly halfway through the action, and it looked like the Warriors were going to suffer a similar fate to the one they experienced two weeks ago in Orono.

Three unanswered goals later, Merrimack was in charge and held off multiple attempts at a comeback to take a 1-0 series advantage.

Gustav Nyquist scored his 50th career goal for Maine to open the scoring, and added two assists later to finish with three points. Robby Dee scored twice for the Black Bears and added an assist as well.

While Maine held Joe Cucci and Mike Collins pointless on the night, Merrimack found its scoring from lower down the lineup chart. Elliott Sheen scored twice and Ryan Flanigan added a goal and an assist, as the Warriors’ third line contributed three goals and two assists on the night.

Dan Sullivan - who’d been strong in net recently for Maine - gave up five goals on 24 shots. It was the first time Sullivan had given up five goals all season, though he was pulled twice in games in which he gave up three goals in a period.

The Black Bears lost despite going 3-for-5 on the power play and holding Merrimack to only three man-advantage chances, which they converted one of. 

Joe Cannata stopped 20 Maine shots to earn the win.

The series continues Saturday night, presumably with Maine’s season on the line. Saturday’s game will be televised on NESN and starts at 7:30 PM.

Hockey East Playoff Matchups Announced

With the conclusion of the regular season, the Hockey East playoff matchups have been determined - and mercifully, without the use of any tiebreakers. Boston College’s 4-3 win over UNH on Saturday night gave them first place in the conference, while Northeastern’s 4-3 win over Boston University ensured that they’ll be heading right back to Agganis Arena to face the Terriers in the quarterfinals. Maine - which swept Merrimack in Orono by a composite score of 11-1 just a week ago - will face the Warriors at Lawler Arena and Vermont will return to the Whittemore Center, where last year it ousted homestanding UNH in the opening round of the playoffs.

(8) UMass at (1) Boston College
Boston College swept the season series, winning two games at the Mullins Center and a third at home against the Minutemen. Cam Atkinson has a team-high six points (1-5=6) against UMass, and John Muse was in net for all three BC wins. 

(5) Maine at (4) Merrimack
After losing 7-1 at Lawler Arena in early January, the Black Bears welcomed Mark Dennehy’s team back to Maine by beating them handily, 4-0 and 7-1 just last weekend. Chris Barton (1-3=4) leads the Warriors in scoring against Maine this year, while Gustav Nyquist (1-4=5) leads Maine, but there are three Black Bears that have registered four points against Joe Cannata, who’s been suddenly fallible in the last two weeks of the season. In 160 minutes against Merrimack, Dan Sullivan has allowed five goals, four of them coming in the January game. Cannata has allowed 10 goals in 135:55 against Maine.

(6) Northeastern at (3) Boston University
Since the 2009 Beanpot, every game between the Terriers and the Huskies has ended in a tie or in a one-goal differential. Clay Witt has been on the decisive end of two games against BU this season, going 1-1 with a .915 save percentage. Anthony Bitetto (0-3=3) leads the Huskies in scoring against Kieran Millan (2-1-0) and the Terriers, while Charlie Coyle (1-4=5) leads BU in scoring against their neighborhood rivals. 

(7) Vermont at (2) New Hampshire
UNH seems to have had Vermont’s number this year, going 2-0-1 with a 5-1 and 6-1 victory. Paul Thompson (3-3=6) and Mike Sislo (0-6=6) lead the Wildcats in scoring against Keven Snedden’s squad, and  Tobias Nilson-Roos (2-0=2) leads the Catamounts in scoring. Matt Di Girolamo has been in net for each - and every - game for UNH this season, posting a .941 save percentage against Vermont.