NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – For the first time ever, Massachusetts-Lowell is alone in first heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The River Hawks took over the top spot and clinched home ice by beating Merrimack 3-1 on Sunday. They also moved up to fourth in the Pairwise. The Warriors remain in sixth place, three points out of a home ice spot.

Josh Holmstrom scored twice in the first period to give Lowell (21-9-2, 15-8-2 HE) an early 2-0 lead. The first goal came 6:58 in when he set up in front of the net and redirected a Joe Houk shot from the left halfwall. A little more than four minutes later, he scored on the power play when Scott Wilson found him alone in front. Lowell upped the lead to 3-0 seven minutes into the second when Joseph Pendenza fed a charging Greg Amlong for the freshman defenseman’s first career goal. Shawn Bates cut the lead to 3-1 early in the third, but that was as close as Merrimack (14-14-6, 12-10-3 HE) would get.

(more…)

BOSTON – Vermont beat Boston University 5-2 on Saturday to gain some separation in the race for a playoff spot. The Catamounts are now two points ahead of eighth-place Maine and three points ahead of ninth-place Massachusetts. The Terriers, meanwhile, missed out on a chance to keep pace with the top pack. They are now three points out of first and two points out of home ice.

The Catamounts opened the scoring 3:24 into the game when Matt White capitalized on a shorthanded breakaway. Brett Bruneteau added to the lead three minutes later when he beat Sean Maguire (37 saves) from a seemingly impossible angle. Matt Nieto cut the lead in half late in the second on a power-play goal — his sixth goal in the last three games. Michael Paliotta made it 3-1 early in the second, and the score stayed that way until Garrett Noonan scored a shorthanded goal 7:29 into the third to pull BU within one.

Kyle Reynolds gave Vermont some insurance with 1:38 to go, then Chris McCarthy scored an empty-netter in the closing seconds. Brody Hoffman made 26 saves in the win. With the loss, the Terriers dropped one spot, to 17th, in the Pairwise.

(more…)

Durham, NH - UNH and UMass skated to a tentative 0-0 tie after one period, but UNH would take advantage in the second period with two goals. John Henrion opened the scoring at one minute, 10 seconds of the second period as Casey Thrush and him came in on a two on 1. Thrush sent a pass to a wide open Henrion and the score would be 1-0 UNH. Henrion later scored on the power-play coming around the net on a wicked wrister that beat Masterlerz glove side, high to send UNH into the second intermission leading the Minutemen 2-0.

Matt Willows would open the scoring in the third period, as Dan Correale sent him in behind the UMass defense and Willows beat Masterlerz through the five-hole and it was 3-0 UNH. UNH would add an empty-net goal on the John Henrion hat-trick marker and the Wildcats picked up the 4-0 win.

UNH moves into a one point lead in the Hockey East Standings ahead of BC, Providence, and UMass-Lowell, while UMass falls into ninth place out of the playoffs with the loss. UNH’s lead could be short-lived as Lowell will take on Merrimack in a 4 pm matinee at the Lawler Arena tomorrow. With games still pending UNH moves up to fourth place in the ever important Pairwise Rankings, which would give them a number one seed if the NCAA tournament were to begin today. (more…)

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Providence scored four goals in fewer than four minutes to start the third period, rolling to a 5-1 win over Boston College at Conte Forum on Saturday. Noel Acciari’s first-period strike gave PC a 1-0 lead that held up until the third period, when the Friars erupted.

Nick Saracino started the scoring in the third at 1 minute, 42 seconds of the period. Tom Parisi and Chris Rooney quickly added two more before Acciari capped the scoring for the Friars.

Providence goaltender Jon Gillies made 20 saves before Quinn Smith ended his shutout with 1:20 left in regulation.

The win lifts PC back into first place, tied with BC and Massachusetts-Lowell. In terms of the Pairwise, BC falls all the way to No. 9 with the loss after starting the day at No. 4, with the rest of Saturday’s games still to be played.

What I Saw

• Whether the cause was the commercials or frequent stops, there was very little flow on Saturday afternoon. This played into the Friars’ hands to an extent. BC doesn’t need rhythm or lengthy possessions to create offense, but it doesn’t hurt when they get it. Keeping BC from establishing much below the circles, though, can take away a part of their game. The Friars also kept the Eagles shifty forwards from generating much off the rush. It wasn’t a perfect game for PC, but it’s about as well as a club can expect a road game to go.

(more…)

Durham, NH- In a game that neither team wanted to make mistake in, UMass took an early 1-0 lead on UNH at 12 minutes, and 19 seconds as Michael Pereira found a puck and beat Casey Desmith glove-side, high. That lead would hold through the first intermission until UNH got on the board as Eric Knodel sent a shot from the point in on net that Matt Willows tipped past UMass goaltender, Steve Masterlerz. The game went into the third period tied 1-1 and it stayed that way until UMass’ Eddie Olczyck got open on the weak side and beat Desmith to give UMass a late 2-1 lead over UNH.

But the fun had  just begun. Just when it seemed UMass was going to skate away with a victory, UNH’s John Henrion, on a similar play to the UMass go-ahead goal found the back of the net with 3.7 seconds left to go in regulation to tie the game at 2 and send it into overtime.The game would stay that way throughout the overtime period, as both goalies made spectacular saves to salvage the point, as UNH and UMass skated to a 2-2 tie. The tie drops UNH into third place in the standings from a four-way tie for first , while UMass drops into a tie with Maine for the eighth and final playoff spot. The tie also drops UNH in the Pairwise rankings, from fourth to fifth. (more…)

BOSTON — Boston University defeated Vermont, 3-1, Friday night at Agganis Arena. Junior winger Matt Nieto scored all three Terrier goals to earn his first-career hat trick. Freshman goaltender Sean Maguire stopped a career-high 49 shots in the win.

The win gives BU a two-game winning streak, as it looks to reassert itself in the Hockey East playoff race. BU is now tied for fourth with Providence — one point shy of third-place New Hampshire and one point up on sixth-place Merrimack.

Vermont remains in seventh place. However, the Catamounts lead has fallen to one point. Massachusetts and Maine are currently tied for eighth place.

What I Saw

• More fantastic performances from freshman goaltenders. UVM goaltender Brody Hoffman had little opportunity on any of the three goals Nieto scored on Friday. Ditto for the goal Maguire allowed to Vermont’s Chris McCarthy. The roles for Hoffman and Maguire have been different this season. Maguire has split time with fellow freshman Matt O’Connor, and Hoffman has played nearly every minute of the season for UVM. On Friday, they both made a series of brilliant saves along with the simple ones goaltenders need to stop to give their team a chance to win. Hoffman’s 29 saves don’t exactly compare to Maguire’s 49, but both deserved a win on the night.

(more…)

LOWELL, Mass. – Massachusetts-Lowell remained in a tie for first place in Hockey East after beating Merrimack 4-0 on Friday night. The River Hawks are now tied with Boston College at 30 points, while the Warriors slipped to sixth, three points back. Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves to pick up his fourth shutout of the season and improve to 12-0-0 in his last 12 starts.

The game was scoreless through two periods, but the River Hawks (20-9-2, 14-8-2 HE) finally broke through 5:50 into the third. Jake Suter pinched in from the point before feeding Adam Chapie in the slot for the redirect. Derek Arnold made it 2-0 a little less than three minutes later when he tipped a Ryan McGrath shot past Sam Marotta (21 saves). Arnold and Colin Wright finished off the scoring with a pair of empty-netters.

With the win, Lowell climbed to seventh in the Pairwise. Despite the loss, Merrimack (14-13-6, 12-9-3 HE) actually moved up one spot to 28th, although its RPI and TUC record obviously took a hit.

(more…)

BOSTON — Boston University defeated Merrimack, 5-2, Tuesday night at Agganis Arena. The win ended a five-game home winless streak for the Terriers. Meanwhile, the loss extended Merrimack’s own winless streak to three games.

Matt Nieto scored twice in the game and added an assist to pace the Terriers’ offense. Freshman goaltender Matt O’Connor made 32 saves to earn his first victory since Dec. 6 against New Hampshire.

What I Saw

• BU eliminated the issues that cost it so many points in January and February. The Terriers were efficient in their own zone for the most part. They didn’t give Merrimack anything in transition, nor did they allow any second or third chances. Basically, the Terriers played as well as can be expected of them after playing as poorly as can be expected for most of 2013 thus far. Tuesday night was a positive step for BU. Allowing X shots on goal may seem like a red flag, but Merrimack quickly found themselves with a multi-goal deficit to erase. At that point, they started sending everything toward the goal. O’Connor was up to it all.

• Merrimack created offense for most of the game, including the first period. In the early portion of the game, the score could’ve been flipped in Merrimack’s favor. O’Connor kept the Warriors scoreless, and the Terriers worked well in transition to create some chances. As the deficit swelled, the Warriors inflated their shot total by basically sending everything they could at O’Connor. There were rebounds to capitalize on, but the Terriers defensemen kept the low slot and goalmouth clear before the Warriors could generate much.

• BU’s best scorers were present and accounted for all night. Nieto picked up two goals, Cason Hohmann, Evan Rodrigues and Wade Megan added the others. BU scored on the rush, jamming rebounds home and with some nice shots. Tuesday was the type of offensive effort BU needs to play as late into March as it wants to. Depth scoring is important, but BU needs its best players to lead the way offensively as they did against Merrimack.

(more…)

Chestnut Hill, Mass - It was a game that had all the meaning in the world, as Boston College entered the night in a three-way tie atop the Hockey East standings and UMass-Lowell entered the night two points back in fifth place. The first period would go the way of Lowell as the River Hawks would score a power-play goal at ten minutes, 41 seconds of the period off a slap-shot by Scott Wilson just above the left faceoff circle. BC would respond two minutes later as Travis Jeke took a weak shot towards the net that found Bill Arnold all alone in front and Arnold beat Hellebuyck over the shoulder. But 26 seconds later, Josh Holmstrom would give the River Hawks the lead back on a shot BC goaltender Parker Milner probably should have had. Lowell would take that 2-1 lead into the first intermission, which hold through the second intermission.

Bill Arnold would add his second of the night at 8:40 of the third period to tie the game at two going into the late stages of the game. Christian Folin would score a crucial goal with 4:47 remaining in the game to give the River Hawks a late lead that they wouldn’t relenquish, as the UMass-Lowell jumped into a four-way tie for first place in Hockey East with BC, UNH and Providence College. (more…)

The ascent of Providence, Massachusetts-Lowell and Merrimack to the top of the Hockey East standings this season led many to point to goaltending as the deciding factor in success or failure in college hockey. Certainly, having a high-quality, reliable netminder is important, and the impact of a great goalie is unquantifiable, especially in the postseason. More than just the man between the pipes, though, Providence, Merrimack and Lowell have another thing in common: they win games because the skaters in front of their goaltender play strong defense.

The way these teams defend are different. They are equally effective, though. Connor Hellebuyck, Sam Marotta and Jon Gillies are very good players. The skaters on these teams, however, are vital to the goalies’ ability to win games. Last weekend, Lowell swept Boston University in a series that brilliantly illustrated the value of a strong defensive philosophy. BU didn’t play poorly in either game. Still, they managed very little offense — just one goal in 120 minutes — and seemed entirely inept offensively. This is uncharacteristic of the Terriers, even during this run of bad play that has been their second half. Lowell simply prevented BU accomplishing anything, especially once they established a lead. The River Hawks executed their system perfectly both nights, and BU had almost no answer for it.

Similarly, Merrimack and Providence play strong defense as well. They allow more shots than Lowell, but they don’t give up many quality scoring chances. At the moment, Lowell allows the fewest shots on goal per game in the league (27).

Compare that to Massachusetts, which allows a shade more at 27.2 per game. The Minutemen, though, have one of the league’s worst defenses in Hockey East. They give up far more grade-A scoring chances than Lowell. Moreover, whatever combination of Kevin Boyle, Jeff Teglia and Steve Mastalerz just isn’t as good as Hellebuyck and Doug Carr. UMass allows far more quality scoring chances than other clubs and has looked defensively uninterested for most of the season.  (more…)