Glass released from BU

Citing a "pattern of miconduct," reports indicate that Boston University head coach Jack Parker has removed junior forward and Washington Capitals prospect Andrew Glass from the squad. Glass had played in 15 of BU's 19 games this year, registering two assists and three goals and earning a plus-one overall rating.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Hockey East Friday Recap

Providence 1, at Boston College 4 - CHESTNUT HILL, MA - The returning Brian Dumoulin was the only Eagle to tally multiple points, recording two assists as third-ranked Boston College won its sixth straight game. Dumoulin, along with Patrick Wey and forward Chris Kreider, helped the United States junior squad to a bronze medal earlier in the week at IIHF Championships in Buffalo.
Each of BC's four lines scored once in the game, with Cam Atkinson recording his league-leading 16th goal of the season, and assistant captain Tommy Cross returned and earned an assist on Kreider's sixth goal of the season. Andy Balysky's third goal of the year was the lone tally for the Friars.

Lowell 2, at New Hampshire 5 - DURHAM, NH - Paul Thompson recorded a hat trick, scoring on an empty net with two seconds remaining in the game, leading the Wildcats to their fifth straight Hockey East win. Blake Kessel and John Henrion rounded out the scoring for New Hampshire, who jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Lowell struck twice late in the second, with Matt Ferriera and Riley Wetmore scoring two-and-a-half minutes apart.
Matt DiGirolamo stopped 27 of the 29 shots he saw and Thompson recorded an assist on Kessel's goal to increase his league-leading point-per-game total to 1.81. Down 4-2 in the third, the RiverHawks pulled goaltender T.J. Massie with 2:24 to play, but weren't able to draw any closer.

Northeastern 5, at UMass 3 - AMHERST, NY - After spotting the Minutemen a two-goal lead following the first play, the normally dull Northeastern power play lit the lamp three times in the second, adding a fourth for good measure before the period ended and an empty-net goal to round out the scoring in the third. Chase Langeraap, Conor Sheary and Michael LeComte tallied for UMass, who lost their fourth straight after getting points in their last three Hockey East contests of 2010.
Garrett Vermeersch, Brodie Reid, Wade MacLeod, Steve Quailer and Rob Dongara scored for the Huskies, whose power-play - 16% heading into the game - went 3-for-6 on the night. Chris Rawlings stopped 27 of 30 shots to earn his fourth victory of the year. With BC's win, Northeastern moved ahead of Providence into 6th place in Hockey East.

Boston College Drop Providence College 4-1

BOSTON, MA - The Eagles continue their winning ways into 2011 with a decisive win over Providence College 4-1.  This marks the 14th win of the season and puts their current Hockey East winning streak to fou games.  This is the first game of a home and home series with Providence.  

Prior to the start of the game, the crowd congratulated Chris Kreider, Brain Dumoulin, and Patrick Wey for their bronze medal win at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo this week.

Returning to the line up for Boston College was forward Kevin Hayes and defenseman Tommy Cross.  Both players add depth to the roster and give coach Jerry York a more complete roster going forward.  Cross didn’t take long to get back on the scoresheet as he earning an assist on the team’s third goal.  “It felt good to be back on the ice and to help” said Cross after the game.  

Neither team seemed comfortable to start the first period.  Providence was more aggressive in terms of hitting but they couldn’t sustain any sort of forecheck.  Boston College were having difficulties moving the puck through the neutral zone however once near  the Providence net, they were generating chances.  

BC opened the scoring at 12:51 on a delayed penalty with the extra attacker.  With offense coming from their fourth line, Bill Arnold buried the rebound after a scramble in front of Providence goalie, Alex Beaudry.  Arnold’s goal was assisted by Barry Almeida.

Goalie John Muse made a highlight reel save against co-Captain Kyle MacKinnon after Muse looked beaten on his glove side with a nifty deke.  Muse  was able to reach back and grab the puck out of the air and maintain the lead.

Boston College, known for their aggressive penalty kill, did not disappoint as The Eagles had several scoring chances in the first period while a man down.  Cam Atkinson finally buried a short handed scoring chance late in the period to give BC a 2-0 lead.  The goal was Atkinson’s 16th of the season and was assisted by Brian Gibbsons.

Providence finally solved Muse with some good offensive pressure in The Eagles zone.  Andy Balysky fired a shot over Muse’s glove after breaking free in the slot.  

The scoring didn’t stop for BC as they manged to add two more goals in the second period.  After creating some strong chances on the powerplay, Chris Kreider finished the tic-tac-toe by re-directing the puck just as the Providence regained full strength. The Eagles scored their 4th goal of the night after some hard work by Steven Whitney as he undressed the Providence defenseman and slipped a pass over to Paul Carry for his ninth of the season.  

Outside of a couple of big save, Muse was solid again for The Eagles as he continues to give his team a reason to win every game.  His confidence is at an all-time high as he challenges the shooter on almost every shot.  “Muse is at the top of his game” according to his coach.  

Coach York felt that the three returning players from the World Junior tournament really provided a jump for the team and helped secure the victory.  “We are just starting to play well as a club.”

All four lines were involved with scoring tonight and BC’s aggressive penalty lead to a short handed goal.  This is the kind of hard work that the team is going to need night in and night out to stay at the top of Hockey East.

Boston College won’t be back home until January 22 against UMass-Lowell.

Hockey East Week 12 Preview

As Hockey East returns from a nearly month-long break this weekend, many of its top teams will be looking to re-gain the midseason form they lost over the holidays. No. 4 UNH, felled at home by St. Lawrence last weekend, will have an opportunity to bounce back against two of their own conference’s poorer teams in Lowell and UMass. No. 15 Boston University, who’s only won two of its last nine games after a 6-0-4 start and punctuated its slide with a 4-1 defeat at No. 10 Rensselaer and a 6-1 shellacking at the hands of Brown over vacation, will hope to benefit from good scheduling as well when they travel to Vermont.
It won’t be so easy for No. 3 Boston College, the only ranked conference team to go unblemished over the vacation, as they have a home-and-home set with a feisty Providence squad that looks to start rounding into shape as March nears, nor for No. 9 Maine who travels to No. 17 Merrimack to take on the Warriors in a one-game set.
Northeastern, who faces off at UMass on Friday night, will hope that UNH roughs up Lowell before the RiverHawks come to Matthews Arena for a Saturday night showdown.

No. 3 Boston College (9-4-0, T-1st place) vs. Providence (3-4-4, 6th place) - @ BC Friday, @ PC Saturday
The Eagles continued to improve their stellar play throughout December, going 4-0 for the month. They’ve done most of it with offense, although John Muse (12-3-0, 2.02 GAA, .934 sv%) has been fantastic between the pipes for the defending National Champions. After going 3-3 in their first six games without junior defenseman and assistant captain Tommy Cross, BC has won seven of their last eight, including convincing weekend sweeps of both Maine (4-0, 4-1) and BU (9-5, 5-2) and looks every bit the national champion they were last year.
Cam Atkinson (15-11=26) and reigning Hockey East Player of the Month Brian Gibbons (10-15=25) have carried the brunt of the offensive load, but expect senior Joe Whitney (2-14=16) and BC’s trio of USA junior team stars Chris Kreider (5-6=11), Brian Dumoulin (0-10=10) and Patrick Wey (1-3=4) to each have strong second halves. With Cross healthy and back in the lineup, expect the forwards to get more active leaving the zone and causing even more problems for Providence.
Providence, meanwhile, is still searching for some consistency in a season that they’ve failed to win more than two consecutive games in. They haven’t got it from their forward lines - seniors Kyle MacKinnon and Ian O’Connor lead the team in points with 15, and sophomore Tim Schaller is the only other Friar in double figures - and they haven’t got it in net from junior Alex Beaudry (6-6-5, 3.01 GAA, .905 sv%). Their power play (8 for 82, 9.8%) is worst in the league and they’ve relied heavily on quick starts to earn points (18 points in the first period, 29 in the second two).
Don’t expect BC to be the team to allow Providence those quick starts, although if the Friars can find the hot stick early, the Eagles’ depth will help them to weather the storm. Providence’s next six games are against top-ten teams (BC, UNH and Maine), so there’s no time like the present for the Friars. If they get it right the next few weeks, they could make some noise come March. If not, they’ll likely be watching the Hockey East tournament from home.

No. 4 UNH (8-1-2, T-1st Place) vs. Lowell (2-10-0, 10th place) Friday, @ UMass (2-4-3, 8th place) Saturday

The Wildcats’ 2-1 overtime loss to St. Lawrence on Sunday hurt more than it seemed to: the top line of Mike Sislo (8-16=24), Paul Thompson (11-14=25) and Phil Desimone (4-16=20) never got going; their typically stingy defense caved at the wrong time; the trademark monster second-half game never materialized and Matt DiGirolamo continued to look tired at the end of the game. Sure, UNH didn’t lose any points to a conference foe for their shortcoming, but it was the type of game that can leave a sour taste in a team’s mouth heading into the second half of their season.
Unfortunately for an already abysmal Lowell team, they’re going to be the victims of a week of very hard work by Dick Umile’s charges. UNH started and ended the first half of its Hockey East campaign on extended point streaks - their lone blemish was a 4-2 loss at BU in which they spent too much time in the box to contend. They look to start the second half in the same way, and Lowell and UMass aren’t likely to pose threats - UNH has already shutout both teams in 3-0 victories and a hungry (and angry) Wildcat squad may have worse in mind for their opposition this weekend.

Northeastern (3-6-3, 7th place) at UMass (Friday), vs. Lowell (Saturday)

For a Northeastern squad looking to keep their season from capsizing, there could be little better way for the winter to start. Since a hard-fought 5-4 loss at BU in early December, the Huskies haven’t faced any competition - the month off should prove long enough for Greg Cronin’s baby bunch to forget about everything they struggled with in the fall (see: teamwork) and put their heads together in an effort to make a push over the next few months.
Or it could be just what the team needed to unravel completely. Either way, UMass (8th in scoring defense) and Lowell (10th) should give Northeastern’s promising freshman forward class of Brodie Reid (2-7=9), Rob Dongara (1-3=4) and Cody Ferriero (1-1=2) a chance to find their groove. If the freshmen are able to take advantage of Paul Dainton (3-4-2, 2.79 GAA, .917 sv%) on Friday and - presumably - Marc Boulanger (0-4-1, 4.26 GAA, .864 sv%) on Saturday, Northeastern should be able to roll behind the experience of senior forwards Wade MacLeod (6-8=14), Tyler McNeely (6-6=12) and Steve Silva (3-6=9) and the active two-way defense.
Of course, it helps that Chris Rawlings (3-7-4, 2.44 GAA, .925 sv%) will be facing two of Hockey East’s least daunting offensive attacks. If the guys in front of him are able to stay out of the box, Rawlings should be able to start worming himself back into the discussion for Hockey East’s best goaltender with a strong effort over this weekend.

No. 15 Boston University (6-3-4, 3rd place) vs. Vermont (1-6-3, 9th place)

The Terrier topspin has left everyone in crimson and white a bit dizzy, and they hope to right their ship before  it turns into a downward spiral when they play a one-game set on Sunday afternoon in Burlington. Nothing that BU has done since starting the season 6-0-4 and climbing to Number One has been pretty, and while 4-1 and 6-1 losses to ECAC competition ruined the holiday season on Comm Ave, it was the 5-4 victory over Northeastern that should really have BU fans on their toes.
After quickly falling behind 2-0 early to the Huskies, BU clawed back and took a 4-2 lead into the third. But before the Agganis Arena faithful could shout out the few pesky but vocal Northeastern fans that came along for the ride, the Huskies had tied it up and it took a late man-advantage goal by Alex Chiasson to seal the win for a BU team that never should have struggled to begin with.
Coack Jack Parker said the team would get better and would be stronger come January. This just in: they haven’t and they aren’t. despite being in third place in the standings, BU’s looking up quite a ways - not just at BC and UNH, but at the shadow of their own expectations, which the young squad has struggled mightily in.
For a team that has eight scorers with double-digit points, the concern isn’t if things start to click again, it’s when. They get assistant captain Chris Connolly (6-8=14) back from a broken finger that sidelined him since Thanksgiving, and should benefit from his experience and veteran presence on the ice and in the locker room. BU is a very well-coached hockey team and they’re going to be exceedingly anxious to get back on the ice. That’s not going to bode well for Vermont, a team that’s next-to-last in conference in both scoring offense and defense and with the league’s worst overall special-teams play (including the worst penalty kill in Hockey East). Expect BU to start the game jumpy, anxious and maybe even a bit nervous. But once they settle in, expect it to be a long night for Rob Madore (3-10-4, 3.17 GAA, .897 sv%) and the rest of the Catamounts.

No. 9 Maine (6-3-2, 4th place) vs. No. 17 Merrimack (5-4-3, 5th place)

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but if the season ended Monday, this would be a game for home-ice advantage in the Hockey East quarterfinals. So it might be kind of a big deal.
The real story is the battle of juniors: Maine’s Spencer Abbott (11-11=22) and Gustav Nyquist (6-16=22) against Merrimack goaltender Joe Cannata (9-4-4, 2.06 GAA, .924 sv%). On the other end of the ice, Merrimack’s Stephane da Costa (8-12=20) will try to have his way with whichever goaltender Maine decides to throw out there - although judging by his recent success, freshman Martin Oullette (2-1-1, 2.17 GAA, .909 sv%) will probably get the call over Shawn Sirman (2-0-2, 2.61 GAA, .911 sv%) and Dan Sullivan (5-4-1, 2.59 GAA, .891 sv%).
If strong goaltending cancels out each team’s top lines, expect Maine forwards Robby Dee (8-11=19) and Joey DIamond (8-7=15) to tilt the ice in Maine’s favor. Joe Cucci (3-11=14) and Karl Stollery (4-10=14) have had strong first halves, but they’re unlikely to be able to generate the kind of offensive power that Maine’s second and third lines can.

Hockey East monthly awards released - goalies getting some love

Hockey East has released their monthly awards for December 2010, and goaltending fans will be able to have their cake and eat it too.

Boston College F Brian Gibbons (4-4=8 in four games) helped lead new No. 3 BC to a blemish-free month and helped himself to Athletic Republic Player of the Month honors. Gibbons recorded multi-point games in all but one December contest. BC's Cam Atkinson (4-5=9); Maine's Robby Dee (3-4=7) and UNH's Paul Thompson, UNH (4-3=7) were runners-up.

UNH netminder Matt "It's not Delivery, it's.." DiGirolamo (3-0-0, 1.35 GAA; .950 sv%) was selected as the Pure Hockey Goaltender of the month after backstopping the Wildcats to three conference wins, including stealing two points at Maine on December 10th. DiGirolamo stopped 76 of 80 shots he saw during the month. Merrimack Junior Joe Cannata (2-1-0, 1.33; .951) received an honorable mention.

Maine's revelation in net, Martin Oullette, received Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month honors after going 2-1-0 with a 1.96 GAA and .925 save percentage. Oullette earned his first career win in December, a 5-0 victory over Providence. Runners up were Providence's Derek Army (2-1=3); Lowell's Derek Arnold (0-4=4) and UNH's Jeff Silengo (2-1=3), who scored the game-winning goal in UNH's 4-3 OT win at Maine on December 10.

January 4th Rankings Rewind - Yale still flying high, Eagles looking frisky

It’s been nearly two months since Boston College (9-5-0, Hockey East; 13-5-0 overall) was the highest-ranked team in Hockey East. Following UNH’s loss against St. Lawrence, however, the Eagles have regained a hold on that distinction, rising to number three nationally as the Wildcats (8-1-2, 10-3-4 overall) fell to fourth.

Maine (6-3-2, 9-5-4) is the only remaining Hockey East team ranked in the top ten earning the ninth ranking in the most recent USCHO polls (11th in the USA Today polls). The Black Bears fell to 7/8 Miami before beating Cornell in the consolation game of the Florida College Classic shortly before New Year’s. Meanwhile, Boston University, who fell to Rensselaer and Brown over the December break, continued its fall from grace to the 14th spot in the USCHO polls, 15th in the USA today poll. The Terriers (6-3-4, 8-5-6), who started 6-0-4, were ranked number one before their recent 2-5-2 slide.

Merrimack (5-4-3, 9-4-4) rounds out the Hockey East presence in the USCHO polls, coming in at 17th, a spot which they’ve been unable to break past this season, which is their first being nationally ranked as a Division-I team.

At 12-1-1, Yale maintains their hold on the number one spot in the nation, with 14-5-2 North Dakota stepping into the number-two slot vacated by UNH. Minnesota-Duluth rounds out the top five.

Return from vacation - the Power Rankings edition

After a month or so off (about how long it took BU fans to get over getting slapped around by Boston College), we’re back in action here at Sieves the Day. And what better way to get excited about Canada-USA than by talking about some high-quality American junior hockey?

Without further ado, here’s the Hockey East halfway-mark power rankings:

1) Boston College (13 GP, 9-4-0 HE, 13-5-0) - The Eagles didn’t do much during Hockey East’s hiatus, but that may have been the best thing they could have done, as conference contenders UNH, BU and Maine each lost games to out-of-conference opponents. BC beat Mercyhust 4-1 just before the new year, but spent the rest of their break recovering from a torrid first half of the season which saw the Eagles struggle uncharacteristically after losing assistant captain and star blue-liner Tommy Cross.

Without Cross, the Eagles rediscovered their wide-open approach and started lighting the lamp at will, highlighting their fall by scoring 14 in a two-game weekend tilt with BU that started the weary Terriers on a tailspin they’re still trying to end.

Assuming his pesky knees have healed from their fall semester-injuries, Cross should be back - something the Eagles will appreciate, with defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Patrick Wey having spent their break working in Buffalo with the U.S. National Junior team at the IIHF Championship. His physical presence on the ice, not to mention his leadership in the locker room, should stabilize a BC team that’s started to forge a strong identity for itself in the past six weeks, and looks to continue to build upon that positive momentum over the next three months.

2) UNH (11 GP, 8-1-2 HE, 10-3-4) - After reigning national number one Yale put up double-digits on Holy Cross in a New Years’ weekend victory, Hockey East’s cream of the crop had a chance to make a statement of their own in an inter-conference tilt against the ECAC’s St. Lawrence. And they did. The wrong kind of statement.

The Wildcats had to scrap from behind at home to tie the game late, then lost a shift into overtime. It’s possible that coach Dick Umile’s one-man tandem in net is growing a bit old on junior Matt DiGirolamo (10-3-4, .923; 2.32), who once looked like a stud cold but recently has looked liked he needs to be put out to pasture.

UNH still has the ability to score well (the first line of Paul Thompson, Mike Sislo and Phil DeSimone has accounted for 23 goals and 69 points total), which they’ll need to keep up if they expect to continue to challenge a sprinting BC squad for the Lou Lamoriello trophy come March, because the defense-first approach they’ve been using is a crumbling foundation with DiGirolamo struggling.

3) Maine (11 GP, 6-3-2 HE, 9-5-4) - Tim Whitehead’s squad split their winter break, falling to a tough Miami squad but holding off Cornell in overtime to capture third place in the Florida College Classic before returning home to trounce the US under-18 squad in Portland. There’s no rest for the weary, however, as six of the Black Bears’ first eight games back come against nationally-ranked opponents.

The offense, highlighted by juniors Spencer Abbott (11-11=22) and Gustav Nyquist (6-16=22), finished the fall portion of its Hockey East schedule stagnant, and they’ll need to get back on track if Maine wants to make a play for post-season contention, because they’re definitely not getting it from their back end, and both Dan Sullivan and Shawn Sirman have struggled in net. Martin Oulette (2-1-1, .909; 2.17) was a late-2010 revelation for the Black Bears in the crease, but the freshman can’t be expected to handle all the work in the nine weeks ahead.

4) Merrimack (12 GP, 5-4-3 HE, 9-4-4 - Merrimack beat two tough squads on the road last week, winning in overtime at Army and two nights later beating RIT in Rochester, 5-3. It was, by all marks, a terribly unimpressive break - but it wasn’t a negative one.

The Warriors have found point-producers to complement import Stephane da Costa (8-12=20), and continue to get great play between the pipes from junior Joe Cannata (9-4-4, .926; 2.04). It won’t be enough to get them to the Hockey East finals, but with two months to get the rest of the squad going, Merrimack could do some serious damage late in the season.

5) Boston University (13 GP, 6-3-4 HE, 8-5-6) - Since then-number one BU tied Merrimack on November 13th (giving them a nation’s best 6-0-4 record), the Terriers are 2-5-2, including losses to Brown and Rensselaer during the conference intermission and losing twice to arch-rival BC by a combined total of 14-7.

They’ve stopped blocking shots, continue to struggle on special teams and aren’t getting the goaltending that had them undefeated through ten games.

They’ve been without co-captain and offensive leader Chris Connolly, who’s been out with a broken finger, but the young and talented Terrier squad needs to shape up quickly before the Hockey East season passes them by. If they don’t, they’re liable to give head coach Jack Parker his second coronary in a year.

6) Northeastern (12 GP, 3-6-3 HE, 3-9-4) - They may not be good enough to earn the sixth ranking, but they have the potential to be there, and of Hockey East’s bottom half, they’re the only team that’s shown any interest in playing to their abilities - even if they only do it when playing against better teams.

If Greg Cronin can squeeze out the best juices from his talented youngsters in January and February, Northeastern’s a team that could break some hearts in March - they’re not a team that will get a home series in Hockey East’s quarterfinals, but they play better on the road anyway, and if star goaltender Chris Rawlings gets some defense in front of him, look out for the Huskies

7) Providence (11 GP, 3-4-4 HE, 7-6-5) - the only other team in Hockey East that has the potential to make any noise the rest of the year, the Friars are yet to face a truly tough test this season - having only played Merrimack and BU once - but they’ll get plenty of them in the weeks ahead, as only five of their final sixteen games are against unranked opponents (Lowell and Vermont twice, UMass once).

Their three conference wins have all been at home, and by a combined total of four goals. They haven’t developed a consistent scoring threat, haven’t received noteworthy goaltending and are just bad enough to be competitive in a conference with three truly awful hockey teams. Those teams, in no particular order, are UMass (9 GP, 2-4-3 HE, 3-9-3); Vermont (10 GP, 1-6-3 HE, 3-10-4) and UMass-Lowell (12, 2-10-1 HE, 2-14-2).

I’d write about them, but I have an American flag to put on and go run naked through the streets while blaring Hendricks’ “I am a real American.” And lots and lots of bad American beer to drink.

But on the plus side, at least it’s not Labatt.