AMHERST, Mass. – Colgate rallied for four goals in the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit and complete the weekend sweep of Massachusetts with a 5-2 win Saturday night at the Mullins Center.

Kurtis Bartliff, whom Colgate coach Don Vaughan called out to step up before the game, scored twice for the Raiders, including the game-tying goal four minutes, 39 seconds into the third period, while Tyson Spink and Kyle Baun each scored a power play goal.

Spencer Finney had a quiet night between the pipes, but was strong, making 31 saves and shutting out the Minutemen over the final two periods of play.

Kevin Boyle’s night was quite the opposite. The sophomore goaltender was solid for the first two periods, but fell apart in the final 20 minutes. He finished with 18 saves on the night.

What I Saw

• It appeared UMass was on its way to a grind-it-out, low-scoring victory throughout the second period and the early part of the third period with a 2-1 lead and Boyle playing strong. However, the third period belonged to the Raiders in every way possible. The rally started on a goal that falls solely on the shoulders of Boyle. Bartliff’s shot was a low-quality attempt at the net in which the puck deflected off the midsection of Boyle, and trickled between his legs before he could even locate it. The momentum continued to swing in Colgate’s favor when Joel Hanley was called for a questionable elbowing call that UMass coach John Micheletto was clearly upset about 8:51 into the period. That’s when the power play got back to work and Baun hit Tyson Spink with a cross-ice feed from the slot and Spink buried the puck into a wide open net, something similar to what the unit did to the Minutemen penalty kill the night before. Suddenly, Colgate had the 3-2 advantage as UMass reverted back to the struggles that plagued it on Friday. A pair of greasy goals from Billy Rivellini and Bartliff in front of the net were the finishing touches on a lopsided third period.  (more…)

North Andover, Mass.-  Harvard and Merrimack played to a 0-0 deadlock after one period and then Harvard stormed out in the second period to take a 2-0 on one shift. Tommy O Regan scored the first goal of the second period as he found a puck that boucned in the air and put it in the net for a 1-0 Harvard lead three minutes, 13 seconds into the period. But Harvard was not done as O’ Regan found a streaking Desmond Bergin 31 seconds later in the left slot and Bergin put it past Merrimack goalie, Sam Marotta for the 2-0 lead. Merrimack would respond on a shorthanded faceoff at 6:27 of the second period on a goal by Rhett Bly. Five minutes later Mike Collins would send a puck to the back of the net to send the teams into the second intermission tied at two goals apiece.

The teams would skate an even third period to head into overtime. At the end of the third period, Harvard captain Danny Biega took a five minute major for kneeing on Merrimack College forward Brian Christie. This meant that the Warriors were on the power-play for the entire overtime. They killed the penalty and escaped Lawler Arena with a 2-2 tie against Merrimack. (more…)

AMHERST, Mass. – The first line of Tylor Spink, Tyson Spink and Kyle Baun accounted for Colgate’s first four goals to carry the Raiders to a convincing, 6-4 win over Massachusetts Friday night at the Mullins Center.

Tylor Spink and Baun each found the back of the net twice while Tyson Spink notched three assists. Three of the all-freshmen line’s goals came on the power play, which also included fellow freshman Mike Borkowski at the point.

Colgate goaltender Spencer Finney had some inconsistencies between the pipe, but his 31 saves were enough to secure the win. UMass goalie Kevin Boyle had little support in front of him at crucial moments, and the six goals he allowed revealed that as he could only come up with 19 saves on the night.

What I Saw

• That Raiders first line really dominated play on Friday, and it was especially clear in the first 40 minutes of play as Baun and the Spink twins were responsible for all four Colgate goals in that span, three of which were on the power play. The second power play goal came five minutes, 50 seconds into the second period with the Raiders leading 2-1. Tyson Spink fed Baun out in front of the net, and some hesitation by the Minutemen defense left Tylor Spink wide open on the other side. Baun passed it over to Tylor Spink from the slot, who quickly wristed home the goal to make it 3-1 Colgate. Later in the second period, it happened all over again. This time, it was Tyson Spink who gave to his brother an empty net in front of Boyle with a pass from the slot following more poor defensive zone play by UMass to give the Raiders a commanding, 4-1 lead heading into the third period.  (more…)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Boston College was 10.5 seconds away from giving Jerry York his record-breaking win, but Nick Saracino ruined the celebration plans when he banged home a loose puck to tie the game at 3-3. The Eagles had a few chances to win it in overtime, but Providence’s Jon Gillies (26 saves) made a couple big saves to preserve the 3-3 draw.

The Eagles (11-2-1, 9-2-1 Hockey East) took a 1-0 lead 12:39 into the game when Pat Mullane won an offensive-zone faceoff and Johnny Gaudreau managed to chip the puck past Gillies. BC added to its lead with 6:54 left in the second when Michael Matheson scored a power-play goal on a shot through traffic.

Derek Army cut the lead in half 22 seconds into the third when he split the BC defense and beat Parker Milner (34 saves) with a backhander. Matheson restored the two-goal lead 1:34 later with his second goal of the game, but then Noel Acciari answered for the Friars (7-6-2, 5-4-1 HE) 12 seconds after that. The score stayed that way until Saracino’s late heroics.

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Durham, NH.- It was a made for TV game that wasn’t televised and it had every makings of a game that mattered. BU raced out to a 1-0 lead four minutes, 39 seconds into the first on a goal by Wade Megan. This goal would be the lone goal of a tightly played first period as BU took the 1-0 lead into the intermission. The Terriers would add two more at 4:01  and 8:03 of the second period to give the visitors a 3-0 lead over the host Wildcats. The lead was enough as the Terriers would hold off a late charge by UNH to take home the 3-2 victory.

UNH falls to 11-2-2 on the season and 8-2-1 in Hockey East, while Boston University improves to 9-5-0 and 7-4-0, The win moved the Terriers within three points of second place UNH and within four of Boston College in the Hockey East standings, as the Terriers remain in third place in the conference. (more…)

Dartmouth got an early goal from captain Mike Keenan at two minutes, 33 seconds of the first period and Vermont would respond nine minutes later to send the game into the first intermission deadlocked at one. The second period was the Dustin Walsh show, as he ripped a snipe in the slot past Hoffman just 29 seconds into the stanza and made it 3-1 with four minutes remaining. The lead was enough for Dartmouth, as they never looked back and defeated Vermont 4-2. Dartmouth improves to 7-2-2 on the season, while Vermont falls to 3-8-3.

What I Saw

• Vermont actually played one of the most confident games I have seen from them in the past two seasons. They were poised with the puck and played pretty good defense for the most part. The goals that Dartmouth scored on the night were on poor defensive coverage by the Catamounts, lapses that often happen against good teams, such as Dartmouth. (more…)

There’s a new No. 1, and eight other teams are also in a different spot than last week. Let’s get right to it.

1. Minnesota (10-3-2, 5-3-2 WCHA) — Last week: 2
The Gophers pulled right up to Denver’s bumper last week, and a split with UNO, combined with Denver dropping three of four points to Wisconsin, is just enough for them to make the pass this week. They continue to play strong defense, as they lead the league with 1.87 goals against per game and haven’t allowed more than 27 shots in any of their last eight games. Erik Haula had three points in the series and extended his point streak to 10 games.

2. Denver (9-4-1, 7-2-1 WCHA) — Last week: 1
The Pioneers drop out of the top spot after mustering just one point in a home series against Wisconsin. They came close to not getting any points, but Joey LaLeggia scored with 1:16 left in regulation to force overtime (and the tie) on Friday. They’re now 0-3-1 in their last four games. After scoring three or more goals in nine of their first 10 games, they’ve scored just one in three of their last four.

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For the first time since Oct. 24, we have a new No. 1. In case you forgot, I had Lowell first to start the season. Swing and a miss. Anyway, let’s get right to it.

1. New Hampshire (11-1-2, 8-1-1 HE) — Last week: 2
UNH had been knocking on the door for weeks, and this weekend BC cracked it open just enough for the Wildcats to squeeze through. They swept Lowell with a pair of 5-2 wins, completing the season sweep in the process. Grayson Downing tallied two goals and two assists on the weekend, while Dalton Speelman, Kevin Goumas, Nick Sorkin and Jeff Silengo all had three points. UNH now leads the conference in offense, defense and special teams net.

2. Boston College (11-2-0, 9-2-0 HE) — Last week: 1
The Eagles had their 10-game winning streak snapped by BU on Friday, but they bounced back with a 5-2 win over their archrivals on Saturday. With the victory, Jerry York tied Ron Mason’s all-time wins record. Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist on Friday before having his 15-game point streak snapped on Saturday. The second line of Kevin Hayes, Bill Arnold and Brendan Silk combined for three goals and three assists on Saturday.

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Another week and the same No.1 in our Power Rankings. The standings are still tight but Niagara is starting to pull away at the top. Only four points separate second place and sixth place. Just like many thought at the beginning of the season, the race to Rochester is going to be a tight and highly contested one.

1. Niagara – Could there possibly be a chink in the Purple Eagles armor. They fell behind in both games against Sacred Heart and needed to come from behind. They face RIT tonight and travel to Bowling Green on Saturday.

2. Holy Cross – The Crusaders earned just one point and suffered their first conference loss since Nov. 3 and they won’t have a chance to make up those points until after the New Year. They face Penn State for a pair this weekend. (more…)

It is starting to become clear to me that we may finally have a top team in ECAC hockey, and that team is Quinnipiac. I was reluctant to put them there mainly because of one loss to AIC in early November, but I stand corrected and they have used this loss to propel them  into an eight game unbeaten streak. Quinnipiac’s success has put the conference on alert but Yale is also on an impressive four game winning streak. Both teams look strong and have overtaken the supposed top two of just a few weeks ago, Dartmouth and Union. Without further ado, here are this weeks Power Rankings…

1. Quinnipiac (10-3-2, 6-0-0) – Last Week 4

Quinnipiac is one of the hottest teams in the country going 7-0-1 in their last eight games and are unblemished against fellow conference foes. They are also this week’s CHN Team of the Week. The Bobcats now sit three points clear in the ECAC standings of Dartmouth and have more than proven themselves for this ranking. Last weekend they swept a pair of games on the road against Union and RPI. The former was last weeks number one team in these rankings and the Q held them to a paltry 20 shots on goal. Eric Hartzell was named ECAC goaltender of the week as he stopped 41 of 42 shots sent his way, on the weekend. (more…)