Hockey East News and Notes: Providence Stays Unbeaten, Merrimack Explodes, and Polls Shift

We are three weeks into the college hockey season, and in Hockey East, the results have been a bit of a mixed bag. There were strong sweeps by New Hampshire and Merrimack. Providence, the only unbeaten team in the league, stayed that way with a Friday night win. Boston College split a weekend series with St. Cloud State. Boston University headed to Burlington, Vermont, and had a tough time with the Vermont Catamounts, splitting that series with late third-period and early overtime goals. Meanwhile, UMass Lowell had a difficult weekend at home hosting Arizona State.

The national polls reflected the league’s up-and-down weekend. While seven Hockey East teams landed in this week’s USCHO Men’s College Hockey Poll, five of those teams reside near the bottom of the rankings. Providence College leads the pack at No. 9, followed by Boston University (No. 14), the University of Connecticut (No. 16), Boston College (No. 17), Merrimack College (No. 18), the University of Massachusetts (No. 19), and Northeastern University (No. 20). Keep in mind, only 16 teams make the NCAA Tournament field come March.

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Merrimack Routs Minnesota State

The defending league champion Merrimack College Warriors put on an offensive display at Lawler Arena, scoring 12 goals across a two-game sweep of Minnesota State. Defenseman Seamus Powell, named the league’s Army ROTC Defender of the Week, registered four assists over the weekend. His lone assist on Friday set up the game-winner in a 4-3 victory, followed by a three-assist effort in Saturday’s 8-2 rout. Forward Nick Pierre chipped in with a three-goal weekend.

UNH Relies on Goaltending to Sweep Colgate

New Hampshire leaned on dominant goaltending to secure a home sweep of Colgate. Michael Simpson was named the Stop It Goaltender of the Week after going 2-0-0, allowing just two goals and stopping 32 of 34 shots. He finished the weekend with a 1.00 GAA and a .941 save percentage, including a 15-save performance on Saturday for his first collegiate shutout. Forward Nick Ring contributed a goal and two assists over the two games, scoring Saturday’s game-winner to extend his point streak to four games (3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points).

Vermont and Boston University Trade Blows

Vermont split its home weekend with Boston University. On Friday night, Hockey East Player of the Week goaltender Jacob Oster made a stellar debut for the Catamounts, stopping 24 shots in a 2-1 victory. Oster stopped 56 of 59 shots over the weekend for a .949 save percentage. On Saturday, Tyler Ritchie provided dramatic heroics for the Terriers, scoring the game-tying goal with 56.3 seconds remaining in regulation before netting the game-winner 56 seconds into overtime to give BU the win.

Providence Stays Unbeaten Against Union

Providence took care of business against Union on Friday night, earning a 3-2 overtime victory to remain undefeated. Graham Gamache netted the OT winner off an assist from Quinn Martel, who recorded two assists on the night. Logan Sawyer opened the scoring for the Friars, also assisted by Martel.

Boston College and St. Cloud State Split

Boston College split its home series with St. Cloud State. On Thursday night, Louka Cloutier stopped all 28 shots he faced, and Oscar Henning scored twice as the Eagles secured a 4-0 shutout for their first win of the season. St. Cloud State turned the tables on Saturday with a 5-3 victory, building a 3-0 lead by mid-game and holding off BC’s comeback attempt. The Eagles are now 4-5-0 all-time against St. Cloud State.

UMass and Northeastern Non-Conference Split

UMass and Northeastern squared off in a two-game non-conference set. On Friday night, a pair of Václav Nestrašil goals helped the Minutemen score four unanswered tallies in a 4-1 victory. On Saturday, Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week goaltender Sam Caulfield made 34 saves in a 4-1 Huskies win. Caulfield stopped 40 of 42 shots on the weekend, posting a 1.60 GAA and a .952 save percentage. Forward Miguel Marques added two goals and an assist across the series, scoring the opening goal in both contests.

UMass Lowell Dropped by Arizona State

UMass Lowell dropped two games at home to Arizona State. Under new head coach Dave Hakstol, the Sun Devils got a late goal from Lukas Sawchyn with 2:23 remaining on Friday night to capture a 5-4 win. On Saturday, missed opportunities proved to be the River Hawks’ downfall, as going 0-for-4 on the power play and 1-for-7 on the weekend hindered their attack. Despite outshooting Arizona State 44-27 on Saturday, UMass Lowell fell 4-2.

UConn and Colorado College Trade Games

UConn split an inter-conference series with Colorado College. On Friday, the Huskies pulled off a 3-2 overtime upset behind two goals from Ethan Gardula, including the game-winner. Goaltender Kam Hendrickson turned aside 27 shots in the victory. Colorado College responded on Saturday night to earn the weekend split.

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