There’s not much movement at the top this week, but there’s plenty of jostling for spots five through nine, with the team at the top of that group making a push to crack the top four.

1. Boston College (6-1-0, 6-1-0 HE) — Last week: 1
The Eagles extended their winning streak to six by beating Maine 4-2 on Friday and UMass 3-2 on Sunday. Bill Arnold, Michael Matheson and Patrick Wey all had three-point weekends, while Patrick Brown scored with under four minutes to go to give BC the win Sunday. The Eagles went 4-for-8 on the power play and are now operating at 40.0 percent on the season, good for tops in the nation.

2. New Hampshire (5-1-1, 3-1-1 HE) — Last week: 2
The Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season when they fell to UMass 2-1 in overtime Friday, but they rebounded with a 4-0 win at Maine on Sunday. Casey DeSmith stopped all 42 shots he faced Sunday to earn his second shutout in three games, and he now leads Hockey East with a .947 save percentage. Greg Burke and Austin Block each scored a pair of goals on the weekend.

3. Boston University (4-2-0, 3-1-0 HE) — Last week: 3
The Terriers split a weekend series at North Dakota, losing 4-2 on Friday before winning by the same score on Saturday. Sean Maguire stopped 31 of 34 shots and performed much better Friday than in his first start, while Matt O’Connor improved to 4-0-0 with the win Saturday. Danny O’Regan tallied two goals and an assist on the weekend, and is now tied for the team lead in goals with four.

4. Providence (4-3-1, 3-2-0 HE) — Last week: 4
The Friars barely hang onto fourth after splitting a series at Vermont. Mark Jankowski scored what proved to be the game-winner in Friday’s 3-2 win, but then the Friars got shut out 2-0 on Saturday. They had just seven shots on goal through two periods in that loss before putting 17 on net in the third. Brandon Tanev, Kyle Murphy and Alex Velischek all had two-point games on Friday.

5. Merrimack (4-3-1, 3-1-1 HE) — Last week: 7
The Warriors jump up two spots after sweeping Northeastern with a 5-2 win Friday and a 4-2 win Saturday. Mike Collins registered five points in the series to bring his season total to 12, three more than anyone else in the conference. Jordan Heywood also had a big weekend, tallying three goals and an assist. His four goals are first among Hockey East defensemen, and his eight points are tied for first.

6. Massachusetts-Lowell (1-3-1, 0-2-1 HE) — Last week: 5
The River Hawks had the weekend off, but they drop one spot as Merrimack leapfrogs them. They have a big opportunity to get back to .500 this weekend, as they host Maine for a pair.

7. Massachusetts (2-4-0, 1-4-0 HE) — Last week: 8
Darren Rowe scored 3:08 into overtime to give the Minutemen a 2-1 upset win over UNH on Friday. They then lost to BC 3-2 on Sunday. Kevin Boyle stopped 53 of 57 shots on the weekend and appears to have won the starting goalie job. Steven Guzzo, Troy Power and Conor Allen all had two-point weekends. UMass went 2-for-5 on the power play and now ranks second in the league on the man advantage.

8. Vermont (1-2-2, 1-2-2 HE) — Last week: 9
After losing 3-2 to Providence on Friday, the Catamounts picked up their first win of the season on Saturday as Brody Hoffman stopped 24 shots in a 2-0 shutout. Chris McCarthy had three points on the weekend, while Jacob Fallon had two. Vermont went 2-for-8 on the power play and 9-for-9 on the penalty kill.

9. Northeastern (2-4-1, 2-4-1 HE) — Last week: 6
The Huskies fall three spots after getting swept by Merrimack. They’ve now gone 0-4-1 in their last five, and they’ve scored just seven goals during that span. Special teams have also been a problem, as Northeastern ranks ninth in the league on the power play at 9.4 percent and ninth on the penalty kill at 75.0 percent.

10. Maine (1-8-0, 0-4-0 HE) — Last week: 10
Another weekend, another two losses. The Black Bears have now lost six in a row, and they’ve been outscored 24-5 in those six games. They rank last in Hockey East in offense, last in defense and last in special teams net.

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012 - 6:51 pm | Blogs, Hockey East, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings