By: James Duffy
Weekend Review
Three weeks into the NCAA Hockey season, with every Hockey East team now having played a real game, it looks like we’re starting to get an early picture of where most teams stand this season.
Providence College still held their championship form this weekend. After raising their National Championship banner on Friday night, the #3 ranked Friars defeated Holy Cross 4-1, led by goaltender Nick Ellis’ 31 save performance. Boston University raised a banner of their own this weekend before a 4-1 win as well, hoisting the Hockey East regular season banner and taking down Wisconsin afterwards for their first win of the season.
UMass Lowell continued their great start to the new year, sweeping Colorado College over the weekend. Goalie Kevin Boyle continues to lead the River Hawks, as he is now 3-0 on the year with a .957 save percentage. Massachusetts had a similarly strong showing last weekend, beating Sacred Heart in their only contest 5-2. Dennis Kravchenko tallied a hat trick for the Minutemen, and added an assist, earning himself Warrior Hockey Player of the Week honors.
Vermont, looking to ride the momentum of a huge win over Minnesota, struggled against Omaha, who rose to the #2 spot nationally after beating UVM twice. Merrimack slaughtered Clarkson on Friday by a score of 7-1, and on Saturday beat St. Lawrence 3-1 to stay undefeated. Collin Delia got both wins for the Warriors and senior forward Brian Christie had four points on the weekend.
UMass, UMass Lowell, Providence and Merrimack are the only remaining teams in Hockey East without a loss on the season.
Scores
Friday, October 16:
Wisconsin 0-6 Boston College
Clarkson 1-7 Merrimack
Bentley 3-2 Northeastern
Notre Dame 7-4 Penn State
Maine 1-1 Union
Sacred Heart 2-5 Massachusetts
St. Lawrence 3-2 New Hampshire
Arizona State 1-5 Connecticut
Omaha 4-3 Vermont
Colorado College 2-3 UMass Lowell
USA Under-18 Team 7-4 Boston University (Exh.)
Holy Cross 1-4 Providence
Saturday, October 17:
Notre Dame 3-5 Penn State
Maine 0-2 Union
Colorado College 1-2 UMass Lowell
Clarkson 4-3 New Hampshire
Northeastern 1-4 Bentley
Omaha 3-1 Vermont
Wisconsin 1-4 Boston University
St. Lawrence 1-3 Merrimack
Tuesday, October 20:
Maine 0-4 Quinnipiac
The Week Ahead
17 games will be played this weekend with every team in action, and several highlight games on the slate.
Play within the conference kicks off this weekend, and six Hockey East teams will compete against one another. UMass Lowell and Merrimack, two undefeated teams, will have a home-and-home series on Friday and Saturday, with both teams looking to rise further in the rankings. Connecticut and Boston University will do the same on Saturday and Tuesday. New Hampshire and Massachusetts will go at it for just one game, with puck drop on Friday night at 7.
Notre Dame will have a tough test, hosting Minnesota Duluth, the 5th ranked team nationally, for a pair of games in South Bend. Northeastern will hit the road and travel to Minnesota for two, looking to take advantage of the still winless Golden Gophers. Vermont will take on the #1 team in the nation twice when North Dakota comes to town, and they’ll look to use home ice to their advantage.
National Rankings
Currently ranked Hockey East teams, according to USCHO (last weeks ranks in parenthesis).
Providence – #3 (2)
Boston College – #4 (4)
UMass Lowell – #7 (9)
Boston University – #8 (6)
Merrimack – #19 (NR)
Others receiving votes:
Massachusetts: 39
Notre Dame: 25
Vermont: 19