BOSTON — Maine senior Brian Flynn scored 1 minute, 29 seconds into the overtime, as Maine defeated New Hampshire, 5-4, in the second game from Fenway Park Saturday night.

While Flynn factored in just one of Maine’s five goals, linemates Spencer Abbot and Joey Diamond gave the Black Bears great efforts with three assists and two goals and an assist, respectively. The line as been Maine’s most consistent all season, and its performance on such a large stage could be big for the Black Bears moving forward.

Fore New Hampshire, the same issues they’ve experienced for most of the season showed up again. While the offense eventually found its stride after struggling early on, UNH’s team defense let it down once again. On the penalty kill, the Wildcats allowed three goals to Maine. Kevin Goumas picked up a pair of goals for UNH, including a shorthanded goal with two teammates in the box.

What I Saw

• The teams spent the second half  of periods playing more conservatively than the first. As the periods moved forward and the ice softened, the players shifted from their usual aggressive play. All nine of the goals scored in the period came came in the first half of a period or a minute or two after. Play slowed from that point on, and the teams opted for shorter shifts and essentially eliminated any risky passing plays. Late in regulation, both teams were more forceful, especially UNH, but the hesitance was obvious throughout the game. (more…)

The WCHA needed a big weekend to salvage it’s at-large hopes for the NCAA Tournament in March. And while it posted a winning record thanks to a late-Saturday rally, a 7-4-1 record on the weekend isn’t exactly what was needed.

What’s truly disappointing is what could have been for the league this weekend. Denver blew a two-goal lead Friday in a 3-2 loss. Minnesota State blew a 3-2 lead late in the third period Friday, allowing two goals in 1:16 in a 4-3 loss. CC had a two-goal lead Saturday and tied. A 10-2-0 record this weekend would have been an unquestioned success. A 7-4-1 record? Not so much.

(more…)

BOSTON ― In the first game of the Frozen Fenway celebration of hockey, Massachusetts defeated Vermont, 3-2, in overtime. With both teams competing at Fenway Park for the first time, UMass defenseman Mike Marcou scored on a rebound late in the extra frame. The Minutemen gave Vermont ample opportunity to score on the power play, including a five-minute chance late in the game through part of overtime.

What I saw

The Catamounts took advantage of many UMass penalties and scored twice on the power play. Vermont spent the last 2:43 of the game on the power play after UMass forward Patrick Kiley received a five-minute, game misconduct penalty for hitting from behind. The remainder of that penalty continued into overtime, providing Vermont with ample opportunities to break the tie.

Special teams, especially the man advantage, has been a weakness for Vermont all season. And Saturday afternoon, it cost the team a victory.

In the first period, UMass responded to Vermont’s first goal 15 seconds later. It was a critical response for the Minutemen at that stage in the game, as the team was having trouble establishing sustained pressure.

The game also included two game misconducts from separate circumstances, and one five-minute major penalty. The teams finished with a combined 53 penalty minutes.

(more…)

BOSTON — Boston University took over sole possession of first place in Hockey East with a 4-2 win over Merrimack on Friday night. The Warriors (11-4-3, 7-3-1 HE) opened the scoring with a Josh Myers goal 4:31 in, but BU (11-6-1, 9-4-1 HE) responded with two goals in the next minute from Justin Courtnall and Alex Chiasson. Alexx Privitera made it 3-1 with a power-play tally later in the period, and Sahir Gill finished off the scoring with one of his own late in the second. Kieran Millan made 42 saves in the win.

What I saw

-After going 0-for-6 on the power play last Saturday against Notre Dame, BU went 2-for-4 Friday. The Terriers converted on each of their first two power plays thanks to some great puck movement. The first setup started when Adam Clendening fed Chris Connolly, who then found Chiasson with a great centering pass that Chiasson redirected past Joe Cannata (32 saves). The second came on a beautiful pass from below the goal line by Matt Nieto that found Privitera all alone at the back door for an easy tap-in. The blue-line pairing of Clendening and Privitera on the top unit looked particularly dangerous.

-The Terriers also improved on faceoffs, going 28-for-60 after winning just 19 of 59 in South Bend. No one was spectacular, but everyone was right around 50 percent, which is really all BU can reasonably expect after losing not just its top two centers, but also its top two faceoff men. Perhaps the most notable contributor was Chiasson, who, although listed as the top-line right wing, took the majority of faceoffs when his line was on the ice and wound up going 7-for-13. (more…)

Michigan defenseman Jon Merrill will be in the starting lineup tonight, as the sophomore makes his season debut against Lake Superior. Merrill, a rare bright spot for Team USA last week at the World Junior Championships (WJC), had been suspended for the entire first half of the season, missing 22 games. Stay tuned to CHN through the weekend, as we’ll have much more to come on Merrill’s return, including a feature story by early next week. (more…)

I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and I’m excited for what promises to be another great second half of action in the WCHA.

I will jump back into the power rankings prior to next weekend, but I did want to stress how important the nonconference action this weekend should not be overlooked.

Because there are no WCHA games on the schedule, many will look at this weekend’s games and think “who cares?” Well, you shouldn’t care — if all you care about is winning the MacNaughton Cup. January means it’s time to start looking at those Pairwise Rankings a little closer, and for those of you who haven’t checked them out yet, you can find them here.

I am, by no means, a Pairwise expert — very few are. But I can tell you this with certainty: Only two WCHA teams are in good NCAA Tournament position as we head into the second half, as Minnesota Duluth (No.2) and Minnesota (tied for 4th) are the only two locks as of right now. Colorado College is square on the bubble, and would likely be one of the last one or two at-large teams in.

(more…)

Much like the teams themselves, my power rankings are back from break. There isn’t much movement at the top, although it’s worth noting that BC and Merrimack haven’t done a whole lot lately to distance themselves from the pack. There’s plenty of shuffling going on between the five and nine spots, though, as none of those teams are in the same place as they were before break.

1. Boston College (13-7-0, 9-4-0 HE) — Before break: 1

BC opened the second half with a 4-2 loss to Michigan in the first round of the Great Lakes Invitational, but bounced back with a 2-1 win over Michigan Tech in the consolation game. The Eagles are just 6-6-0 over the last two months, but they still rank in the top two in Hockey East in offense, defense and special teams net. After freshman Brian Billett had started four straight in net, junior Parker Milner got the start and win Friday.

2. Merrimack (11-3-3, 7-2-1 HE) — Before break: 2

Merrimack lost 3-1 to Union just before break, then started the second half with a 6-6 tie against St. Lawrence and 3-0 win over Holy Cross in the Ledyard Bank Classic. The Warriors finished December with a 2-3-2 record, but those are their only three losses of the season. Shawn Bates tallied two goals and three assists over the weekend and now has a five-game point streak. Merrimack continues to lead the country in defense with 1.88 goals against per game. (more…)

Air Force – The weekend marked the return of Jason Torf to the Falcons’ net. But it wasn’t the way the Falcons or Tord wanted to return. Torf came on in relief of Stephen Caple in the Falcons’ 7-1 loss to Denver on Saturday. After recording an assist against Colorado College on Friday, John Kruse’s five game point streak was ended against Denver. Kruse had three goals and five assists during that streak.

AIC – The Yellow Jackets are off until Jan. 10 when they face RPI.

Army – The Black Knights took part in the UConn Hockey Classic, where they finished third. Mike Hull had a goal and assist for the Black Knights. The Black Knights were shut out but UConn but then rebounded with a come from behind win against RPI in the consolation game. (more…)