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

Hockey East Playoffs: BC Puts Northeastern On Ice, Advances To 6th Final In 7 Years

Northeastern vs. Boston College
BOSTON, MA - Boston College overcame an early deficit, shaky goaltending, some questionable calls and a late charge by Northeastern to advance to their 15th Hockey East championship and their sixth in seventh years.

Senior captain Tyler McNeely opened the scoring for Northeastern at 13:48 of the first period when he knocked a puck into BC’s Joe Whitney and into the Boston College net. The Huskies had numerous chances when John Muse wasn’t able to control rebounds early on, but weren’t able to extend their lead.

Boston College senior Brian Gibbons responded with a goal of his own at 16:05 of the first, and after one the two teams were tied, despite Northeastern having controlled play in the BC end for much of the period.

They weren’t able to sustain the energy in the second, however, as a series of bad penalties led to BC power play goals by Kevin Hayes and Tommy Cross, and a third goal by Steven Whitney, which the sophomore from Reading, MA scored on the backhand, reaching across his body while being taken to the ice by Northeastern’s Jamie Oleksiak. The shot crossed up Huskies netminder Chris Rawlings, who watched the puck soar above his left shoulder.

Rawlings was pulled in favor of Clay Witt after the second period, and Northeastern responded how they’ve always responded in front of the freshman goalie all season long: with vigor and energy. Despite allowing another goal to Pat Mullane, the Huskies drew three Eagles penalties in 3:16. Garrett Vermeersch scored on a 6-on-3 advantage after Greg Cronin pulled Witt for the extra attacker and Wade MacLeod scored his second goal of the game with just 1:03 to play to make it a one-goal game.

BC’s power play finished 3-for-6 on the night, while Northeastern went 2-for-9.

The Huskies weren’t able to get the equalizer, however, and Muse - who stopped 33 shots on the night - earned his school-best 16th postseason win.

Maine Sweeps Merrimack, UNH Holds Off Northeastern: Hockey East Saturday Highlights

New Hampshire 6 at Northeastern 3
BOSTON, MA - While at the helm of Northeastern’s squad, Greg Cronin was a one-goalie coach. Only four games into his tenure as interim head coach, Sebastien Laplante was forced to make a mid-game change in net as Chris Rawlings let in five of 31 shots he saw and Northeastern suffered only its second conference loss in six weeks. UNH’s first line shook off its struggles from the night before, scoring three times - and the members of the third line each earned two points.
Tyler McNeely registered his 100th career point on an assist of Wade MacLeod’s third-period goal during an impressive Northeastern comeback that was silenced by Stevie Moses’ second goal of the night, an empty-netter coming at 18:32 of the third period. Paul Thompson continued his pursuit of the Hobey Baker trophy, also scoring twice to put the game out of reach for the Huskies. Matt Di Girolamo stopped 33 shots to preserve the win, his 19th of the season. With Merrimack unable to earn a point over the weekend, UNH will face BC in a home-and-home on Friday and Saturday with first place in Hockey East at stake.



at Boston University 3, Vermont 1
BOSTON, MA - On Friday night, the Terriers took a 3-0 lead in the third period before letting the Catamounts score three unanswered goals to tie the game. They wouldn’t suffer a similar fate again on Saturday. Chris Connolly, Alex Chiasson and Matt Nieto scored for the Terriers to earn a measure of revenge following the Cats’ comeback in the previous night’s game, winning the weekend series and leapfrogging Merrimack to move into third place in Hockey East.
Kieran Millan continued his strong play of late, stopping 27 shots to backstop the Terriers to their ninth straight Hockey East game in which they earned a point. With the win, BU clinched home ice for the Hockey East quarterfinals.



at Boston College 2, UMass 1
CHESTNUT HILL, MA - The Eagles started hot and held on to earn two more points and stay within a point of first-place UNH as they head into their final weekend series with first place on the line. Barry Almeida and Pat Mullane scored for Boston College, and T.J. Syner tallied for the Minutemen, who maintained their tenuous grasp on eighth place with Providence’s loss to Lowell. John Muse stopped 24 shots for the Eagles to preserve the win and record his 21st win, which ties him with Merrimack’s Joe Cannata for first in Hockey East.



at Maine 7, Merrimack 1
ORONO, ME - After Mark Nemec scored 2:20 into the first period, the Black Bears used an even hotter start to the second period to put enough distance between them and Merrimack to pull away. Brian Flynn and Jeff Dimmen scored 34 seconds apart in the first 1:15 of the second period to put Maine up 3-1. Before the second period was over, Maine extended its lead to 5-1, and continued to pile on in the third.
Five Black Bears finished the night with multiple points, among them Dimmen (2-1=3) and Flynn (1-2=3) as Merrimack struggled to find its poise as the night - and its chances at a top-two seed in Hockey East - slipped away. Dan Sullivan didn’t allow a goal for the first 22:49 of the game, pushing his shutout streak to 202:49, besting the school shutout streak held by Jimmy Howard by nearly ten minutes.



at Lowell 7, Providence 2
LOWELL, MA - After a strong start to the season, Providence all but guaranteed themselves that they won’t be making an appearance in the Hockey East playoffs for yet another year. David Vallorani had a four-point night (2-2) and Riley Wetmore scored twice. Three other RiverHawks posted multiple-point nights as Doug Carr stopped 27 shots to preserve the win.

The Morning thaw: UNH secures home ice, McNeely in line to make history

After their commanding 6-1 victory over Vermont at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Friday night, UNH has become the first team in Hockey East to clinch home-ice advantage in the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East Playoffs...both Boston College and Merrimack can clinch home-ice tonight. BC needs only a tie or a Maine tie/loss to clinch, and Merrimack needs a win and a Maine loss to clinch...Merrimack heads to Alfond Arena for a two-game set with Maine next weekend...Northeastern captain Tyler McNeely is one point away from his 100th career point. He would join BC's Cam Atkinson, Brian Gibbons and Joe Whitney; Maine's Gustav Nyquist; Merrimack's Chris Barton; New Hampshire's Paul Thompson, Mike Sislo and Phil DeSimone and Northeastern's Wade MacLeod as the only current players in Hockey East with 100 points.