LOWELL, Mass. — Less than a year removed from the worst season in program history, UMass-Lowell is now first in both the Hockey East standings and the PairWise thanks to a 3-0 win over Merrimack on Friday. Derek Arnold scored two goals in the victory, Riley Wetmore tallied a goal and two assists, and Doug Carr stopped all 31 shots he faced.

Arnold’s first goal, which came 55 seconds into the third, was initially waved off, as the referee indicated he had knocked in a rebound with his arm. The call was overturned after video review, and Arnold said after the game that the puck did go in off his shoulder, but that he hadn’t moved his arm at all to redirect it.

Arnold’s second goal came on a power play with 2:57 to go when he blasted a one-timer through Joe Cannata’s (39 saves) five-hole from the top of the left circle. Wetmore sealed the victory with 1:34 left when he slid a backhander into an empty net from the neutral zone.

What I saw

-Merrimack had a power-play goal waved off with 4:24 left in the second. Dan Kolomatis threw a shot on net from the right point and Josh Myers tipped it past Carr, but video review showed that Myers’ stick was above the crossbar. It would’ve been a huge goal not just because it would’ve broken a scoreless tie, but also because it would’ve given the Warriors some much-needed momentum after Lowell dominated play for most of the second. (more…)

Durham, NH. – Northeastern scored a quick goal, 30 seconds into the game, off the stick of Robbie Vrolyk but failed to capitalize on the momentum falling to New Hampshire, 3-2. After failing down by one early UNH scored four minutes later on a goal off by, Stevie Moses. The goal was his 20^th of the season from a tight angle right through the pads of Husky goaltender, Chris Rawlings. UNH scored again later in the first on an Austin Block goal that caromed off of Northeastern goaltender, Chris Rawlings foot and into the net.

After an evenly played second period where UNH would receive another goal off the stick of Austin Block, a tip from a point shot by Damon Kipp, UNH would take a 3-1 lead into the third period. In the third period, UNH used a stifling neutral zone trap, where Northeastern was able to get off only five shots in the period. With Rawlings pulled, Northeastern would score a late goal with the net empty off the stick of Mike McLaughlin but it was not enough as UNH got the all important two points.

UNH with the win stayed in a tie for sixth place with providence, who defeated Maine on home ice 4-3 to keep pace with the Wildcats. With the win UNH moves three points ahead of Northeastern who dropped into a tie for eighth and ninth place with Massachusetts, who came up with a huge 3-2 victory against Boston University at Agannis Arena. (more…)

Back to normal posting here on a Thursday… but because of a death in the family, I will not be able to watch much hockey this weekend. For any breaking news in the WCHA check out the main page — Adam and the gang are the best in the business.

Without further ado, here are this week’s rankings, including a new No. 1:

1 — Minnesota (Last week: 2)

The Gophers were idle last week but jump a spot because UMD split in Anchorage. The week off could do wonders for guys like Kyle Rau and Nick Bjugstad, who because of the World Junior tournament, have been going almost nonstop since mid-September. This bye week comes not too early, but not too late, and should allow the Gophers to get into quite a rhythm starting this weekend in Denver.

2 — Minnesota Duluth (Last week: 1)

Anchorage is never an easy place to play, but the Seawolves had gone two months without a victory. The Bulldogs are stuggling right now and if not for J.T. Brown last weekend, the Bulldogs might have been swept. His four-goal outburst in Friday’s win provided the entire margin of victory in a 4-1 victory. He added another goal Saturday to make things interesting but UAA scored just two minutes later to put things away. North Dakota comes to Amsoil this weekend in what could be a very entertaining series.

3 — North Dakota (Last week: 3)

The Fighting Sioux have their name back (at least until the next twist in this story) and are locked in a three-way tie for fifth in the WCHA entering this weekend. With the other two teams tied with UND set to play each other this weekend, North Dakota has a chance to pull ahead of both with three or four points in Duluth.

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The standings have stayed remarkably close at the top and bottom of the Hockey East standings, with three points separating the top five. Boston University begins the coming weekend in first place followed closely by Umass-Lowell one point behind. Merrimack and Boston College are two points behind tied for third and Maine is three points behind in fifth place. Three points also separate sixth to ninth place as New Hampshire, Providence, Northeastern and Massachusetts will head into the home stretch fighting for positioning and their playoff lives.

With the standings so close, every conference game will be huge in the coming weeks. The three Boston schools and Vermont will play only one game in conference this weekend, while everyone else will play two. After this weekend Maine and New Hampshire will be the only two teams that will have games in hand on anyone else. Two game weekend series will become the norm in the final three weeks, but for this weekend we have eight conference games. Here’s to previewing this weekend’s tilts. (more…)

Not much changes in this week’s power rankings with many teams splitting their weekend series. Air Force jumps back to No.1 with a sweep of RIT while Niagara continues to rise after a seven game winning streak. Outside of the top four teams in the power rankings, there was very little shakeup from last week. And teams tightly packed in the standings, every game from hereon out is huge.

1. Air Force – The Falcons regain the top spot with a sweep of RIT. They are unbeaten in six straight games but will be tested against a very hot Niagara team this weekend.

2. Mercyhurst – The Lakers ended Niagara’s seven game winning streak but now will be on the road for four of their last six games. It starts this weekend with a home-and-home against Robert Morris. (more…)

This weekend further separated the top half from the bottom half, as every matchup between a top-five team and bottom-five team went to the favorite. Within those two groups, though, there was once again plenty of movement. The top five should give us one of the best races for the regular-season title in league history.

1. Massachusetts-Lowell (18-7-0, 13-6-0 HE) — Last week: 1

The River Hawks stay in the top spot after taking care of business against Vermont, as they beat the Catamounts 3-1 on Friday and 6-4 on Saturday. Lowell has now won four in a row and 13 of its last 16. Scott Wilson had two goals and three assists on the weekend and leads all Hockey East rookies with 13 goals and 26 points. The River Haws now enter their toughest stretch of the season, as their next six games read Merrimack, Maine, BU, BU, Merrimack, Merrimack.

2. Boston University (17-8-1, 13-6-1 HE) — Last week: 4

BU picked up a big 4-1 win at Merrimack on Friday before beating Harvard 3-1 in the first round of the Beanpot. Chris Connolly led the way with two goals and an assist Friday, while Wade Megan tallied a pair of goals Monday. It might not seem fair to move the Terriers ahead of a Maine team that swept them just two weekends ago, but their win on Friday put a little bit of distance between them and the Black Bears in the standings. (more…)

BOSTON – Boston College trumped Northeastern tonight 7-1 in the first round of the 60^th Beanpot Tournament. Two shorthanded goals by junior Steve Whitney helped lead the Eagles to the victory. For Northeastern, it was another disappointing loss for a team that hasn’t seen a Beanpot championship in 23 years.

Earlier today, Wade Megan scored two goals to give Boston University a win over Harvard. They’ll face off against rival BC next Monday to determine the 2012 Beanpot winner. 

What I saw

BC looked ever the confident, calm, cool and collected team that they are when they took the ice in the first and quickly propped themselves up 2-0. On the other hand, Northeastern looked shaky from the start. Maybe it was the nerves of playing for something their predecessors haven’t been able to win for 23 years, maybe it was the lack of top scorers Steve Quailer and Cody Ferriero, whatever the reason the Huskies didn’t play their best tonight.

But a few of BC’s veteran players did, and that’s what not only gave them a win, but also gave them a blowout. Senior Barry Almeida scored a power play goal and one assist and junior Steven Whitney going for two shorthanded goals.  Even young players had on nights; with freshman Johnny Gaudreau scoring two goals and tallying one assist in his first Beanpot.

What I thought

This was a sheer outmatching of talent. Especially without top scorers Quailer and Ferriero, Northeastern was simply outplayed by the incredibly skilled Eagles. The Huskies managed Friday night against a basically evenly skilled UMass team, but it was clear they struggled tonight without two of their first line skaters.

Northeastern needs to shoot the puck. Shots on goal were 46-23 in BC’s favor, and the fact that BC took twice the shots they did says it all. It’s been a problem for this team all season, especially when it comes to success and the power play. They’re going to have to change that up if they want to stay in playoff position or see any success in the postseason.

Despite the massive win, BC is going to have to work a little harder to beat the number one team in the country next week. They played incredibly well tonight, but BU will be the real test.

What they said

“We, as a team, haven’t been playing as well as we are capable of. We were just looking forward to getting that win, we were on track we swept UNH last weekend and we just wanted to keep things rolling. Coming out here and beating Northeastern seven to one, I think that as a team we’re playing really well and it should carry over into next weekend.”

— Johnny Gaudreau

“They outplayed us, they outcoached us, they wanted it more than us. They were much more hungry, they were strong on the pucks, right from the get go they took it to us.

“We get schooled today, bad…It was like boys against men tonight.”

— Jim Madigan

What they didn’t say

Jim Madigan is always positive in regards to the “rock” of his team, goaltender Chris Rawlings. He explained his decision to start Clay Witt in the third by saying that the team wasn’t playing well in front of Rawlings, and at 5-1 there was no need to keep him in when he’s needed in a conference game Friday. Regardless of how his team was playing in front of him, Rawlings let in goals tonight that he shouldn’t have, and that had nothing to do with anyone but himself.

When asked if playing BU in the final Beanpot game was a more exciting experience than playing Northeastern or Harvard, Steven Whitney began his answer with a long pause and one word, “um”. He went on to say it was “a little bit” more exciting, but the long pause said it all. The two teams have played in 21 Beanpot championships, and it’s clear that the real Beanpot rivalry is between these two.

What else you should know

BC and BU will face off next Monday in the Beanpot final. It will be the twenty-second time the two teams have met in the championship in the history of the tournament.

BC’s seven goals are good for the most scored in the first round since 1997, and they matched their seven goals from last year’s 7-6 overtime win against the Huskies.

The BC senior class is now 6-1 in Beanpot appearances, trying for their third championship in a row.

This is Northeastern’s fifth straight loss to Eagles. They haven’t seen in a win against BC in almost a year, the last time being Feb. 19, 2011. In addition, Jim Madigan becomes the eighth first year coach to lose in his first Beanpot appearance.

While the Beanpot loss has to sting, Northeastern must regroup quickly with a road game at UNH looming at the end of the week. At eighth place, the Huskies need two points to keep themselves in playoff position and fend off ninth place UMass, a team that’s just a win behind them. A win Friday would bump Northeastern up above, UNH, currently tied for sixth and one point ahead.

BOSTON — Wade Megan scored twice and Kieran Millan made 29 saves, as Boston University defeated Harvard, 3-1, in the first Beanpot Seminal Monday night at the TD Garden.

Megan scored the second and third Terrier goals after Matt Nieto gave BU a 1-0 lead at 8 minutes, 14 seconds of the first period. Both of Megan’s goals came the second period and effectively put the Crimson away. Alex Killorn’s 15th goal of the season cut the BU lead to 3-1 at 15:27 of the second period, but Harvard failed to draw any closer.

The Terriers will play the winner of the second semifinal, between Boston College and Northeastern, next Monday night.

What I Saw

• Kieran Millan was very sharp throughout the game for BU. The senior made 19 saves through two periods — hardly a staggering amount — but Harvard created some quality scoring chances off the rush and with long possessions. Millan brushed all but one of the attempts aside and covered pucks well. With BU leading, 1-0, in the first, Harvard freshman Colin Blackwell broke in alone on Millan and looked to have the senior beat with a pretty forehand fake. Millan recovered, however, and kicked out the left pad just as the freshman released his shot. Blackwell and other Harvard players kept the pressure on throughout the game, trying to cut into the Terriers’ lead. Millan never relented, though, matching the Crimson and sealing the victory with impressive saves late in the game. (more…)

Air Force – The Falcons are back on top of the Atlantic Hockey standings. After a slow start to 2012, the Falcons are off and running, riding a six game unbeaten streak. The Falcons swept RIT this weekend, surrendering just two goals. Jason Torf received both starts in net and produced his first shutout of the season on Friday. Tim Kirby had a goal and two assists. He has recorded points in eight of the last 10 games.

AIC – The Yellow Jackets scored just one goal while being swept by Holy Cross. Niellson Arcibal scored his sixth of the year to account for the Yellow Jackets only scoring.

Army – The Black Knights are riding a winning streak for the first time this season. Their 9-1 victory over the Royal Military Academy. Mike Hull, Zak Zaremba, and Danny Colvin all scored twice for the Black Knights. Marcel Alvarez chipped in with three assists. Matt Walsh made his first appearance of the season in net,  stopping both shots he faced. (more…)

As the second half of the season races by and most teams are in hot pursuit of crucial conference points, four Boston teams gather at TD Garden in pursuit of something else, hardware and bragging rights.

The first Monday of February is upon us, and it’s Beanpot time.

The tournament brings with it storylines of Beanpots past: this year all four coaches have won the tournament as players for their respective teams.

All four teams also enter the tournament coming off wins. The only team with the weekend off, Boston College defeated University of New Hampshire 3-2 last weekend. Boston University took two points from #4 Merrimack with a 4-1 win on Friday while Northeastern secured a more comfortable position for playoff hopes by breaking their 7^th place tie with University of Massachusetts with a 4-3 overtime win. In ECAC play, Harvard trumped Quinnipiac 6-3, also on Friday.

These four teams are coming in hot, all poised for playoff contentions in their respective leagues.

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