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.

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.