My intention tonight was to write a story on the Spirit of the Maverick trophy. It’s why I came down here. And with the teams tied at 1 headed to overtime, it looked like I was going to get the perfect scenario for such a story — a tie. An outcome where neither coach would be too overjoyed or disappointed and would be more than happy to engage in some rivalry trophy chatter…

Then overtime happened.

First, the important stuff. Under a minute into the extra session, UNO goaltender Ryan Massa was struck in the crease by Minnesota State defenseman Evan Mosey. Mosey was ridden into the goal by a Omaha defender and there was contact in the crease. Massa was motionless on the ice for several minutes and medical personnel was quick to get to him on the ice. After a delay of about 15 minutes, Massa was taken off the ice on a stretcher, and presumably taken to the hospital.

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BOSTON — The first period ended with Boston University leading Providence, 4-0, and, despite a strong effort in the final 40 minutes, the Friars failed to inch much closer, falling to BU, 6-1. The teams will play the second game of a home-and-home series Saturday night at Schneider Arena in Providence. The game will also decide the season series between the two clubs; PC defeated BU, 5-3, on Oct. 14.

Adam Clendening assisted on three of the Terriers’ goals, and six different players scored for BU. Kieran Millan made 36 saves in the game, preventing PC from mounting anything resembling a comeback Friday night.

What I Saw

• Despite the five-goals loss, Providence played a good game. With BU leading 1-0 and eventually 2-0, the Friars went on the power play twice and created plenty of offense. Losing the battle in front of Millan, the Friars failed to capitalize on the second and third chances they generated. Following the game, PC coach Nate Leaman praised his club, pointing to a few tough bounces in front of Alex Beaudry leading to BU’s first three goals. The Friars outshot BU 20-11 in the second period, but a few key saves from Millan prevented PC from developing any momentum. Shane Luke’s goal at 8 minute, 59 seconds of the second period looked to spark the visitors to an extent, but nothing came of it. To say BU won this game solely due to some puck luck isn’t exactly fair to the Terriers. Still, to say the Friars lost, 6-1, because they were bad is equally unfair to the Friars. (more…)

AMHERST, Mass. ― In a battle between two teams trying to secure places in the Hockey East playoffs, Massachusetts defeated Vermont at the Mullins Center, 4-3, behind senior captain Danny Hobbs’ first-career hat-trick.

Sophomore defenseman Conor Allen scored the game-winning goal near the end of the third period, finishing a rebound opportunity that UVM goalie Rob Madore failed to properly secure.

UMass survived poor overall play in the second period, while scoring three goals in the third. Freshman goalie Steve Mastalerz started for UMass and played well in his follow-up performance to shutting out Boston College last weekend.

Hobbs’ hat trick was the second for the Minutemen this season. Allen scored three goals against Holy Cross in November.

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Not much was decided last weekend in the first one back in a while for conference teams. All 12 teams were in action against each other and there were 4 splits among the 6 series.

The big movers were Michigan Tech and Denver, who secured home sweeps over Alaska-Anchorage and Bemidji State, respectively.

Four more conference series are on tap this weekend, with Minnesota Duluth looking to avoid the Alabama-Huntsville trap with a series in Duluth this weekend. Michigan Tech will also host Northern Michigan in a single game Saturday night in Houghton.

If you feel inclined, give my column on hits from behind a read. It is here or linked on the main homepage. I have received plenty of feedback on Twitter regarding the column (follow me @CHNDanMyers if you’re not already). Clearly this is an issue that is front and center right now in all of hockey, especially with the increase in the number and the severity of concussions. Hitting from behind and shots to the head are clearly “culture” things that need to be changed from the youth levels up. But we can’t afford to wait 20 years for the next generation of hockey players to work their way up. Some changes need to be made now, and I made my own suggestion for the college game in the column. Check it out…

I will be in Mankato this weekend reporting on one of the more unique — and forgotten — aspects of the UNO-MSU rivalry, the Spirit of the Maverick Trophy. I will try to get to Mariucci for a spell on Saturday as well…

Now, onto this week’s power rankings:

1 — Minnesota Duluth (Last week: 1)

UMD saw its 17-game unbeaten streak end in a 2-1 loss Saturday night at Nebraska-Omaha. It’s too bad because it would have been nice to see how far that thing could go. Had they won or tied, the Bulldogs host Huntsville this weekend, where they’d be favored. Next weekend, they host Michigan Tech, where they’d be favored. In two weeks, they play at Alaska-Anchorage, where they’d be favored. It’s quite possible Duluth could have brought a 24-game unbeaten streak into its series with North Dakota in mid-February. That would have been good stuff. Instead, UMD should have no trouble starting a new streak this weekend. But I’ve said that before…

2 — Minnesota (Last week: 2)

Kent Patterson was brilliant in a losing effort last Friday night at North Dakota and only a late goal by UND prevented Minnesota from pushing that game to overtime. A split at North Dakota is nice, but it doesn’t do much to silence those that feel the Gophers are slipping. Since a 9-1 start over the first month and a half, Minnesota is a .500 team.

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1. Mercyhurst – The Lakers have lost just once in the last six games and have jumped over Air Force for the top spot in Atlantic Hockey. They continue their six game road trip at Holy Cross this weekend.

2. RIT – The Tigers started the 2012 off by beating ranked teams in back-to-back games. After losses at Wisconsin, the Tigers had back-to-back shutouts of Sacred Heart, scoring 13 times. The Tigers face off against surging Bentley this weekend.

3. Air Force – The Falcons haven’t won since the start of the New Year and have just two ties to their name. The Falcons even suffered their first home loss of the season to Bentley. They’ll look to turn things around against Army. (more…)

After two weekends filled with Frozen Fenway festivities, Hockey East fans can now turn their full attention to the seven week stretch that leads to the playoffs. For some teams, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Massachusetts and Vermont, most notably, the points earned in these games are at a premium and are necessary if they wish to continue their seasons in March. With only six points separating positions four through nine in the standings, every game will have a huge impact on the standings.

Now that we are out of the non-conference schedule season, other than the Beanpot tournament and Maine’s two game home set against Huntsville, we can look forward to more meaningful battles on the ice between conference foes.  This weekend, eight out of ten Hockey East teams will face off in crucial two game series that have the potential of swinging the standings eight points in their favor. Here is my weekly take on trying to preview the weekend’s matchups. (more…)

For the first time since the start of December, there’s a new No. 1 in my power rankings. There’s plenty of movement after that, too, as only the bottom two teams are in the same spot as last week.

1. Boston University (13-6-1, 10-4-1 HE) — Last week: 2

The Terriers trailed by two goals in both of their games this weekend, but managed to come away with a pair of 4-3 wins over Northeastern on Friday and Harvard on Saturday. They’ve won three straight and 10 of their last 12 to move into first in Hockey East and third in the PairWise. Wade Megan tallied two goals Friday and now leads the team with 10, while Chris Connolly registered his first two goals of the season Saturday.

2. Boston College (14-8-1, 10-5-1 HE) — Last week: 1

BC suffered a shocking 4-0 loss at UMass on Friday before rebounding with a 2-1 win over Northeastern at Fenway Park on Saturday. Freshman Brian Billett gave up three goals on 13 shots before being pulled Friday, while rarely used senior Chris Venti picked up his first career win Saturday. The Eagles are 6-7-1 in their last 14, and the offense has been the biggest problem of late. They’ve scored just 10 goals in their last six games. (more…)

New Hampshire senior Stevie Moses scored four times on Saturday in the Wildcats’ 4-1 win over Darmouth. A big win for UNH, no doubt, and a good sign for Moses, who is among the upperclassmen charged with helping UNH escape its dreadful first half of the season.

The four-spot moved Moses into the league lead and fourth in the nation in goals with 16 on the season, which would normally lift him into the discussion for player of the year or at least a spot in the favorable portion of this post. But, the streakiness of Moses’ season is one of many reasons the Wildcats enter this weekend’s home-and-home with Merrimack in eighth place. As I said, Moses leads the league in goals, but eight of 16 goals have come in two games — one of which was against Alabama-Huntsville.

Scoring four on Dartmouth? Well done. Scoring four on UAH? He could’ve missed the game entirely, and the Wildcats still would have won by four goals — UNH defeated the Chargers, 9-1. Moses is a great hockey player, easily one of the two or three fastest guys in the league with a dangerous wrist shot. But with half of his scoring production coming in two non-conference games, and his team treading water, Moses’ season is hardly as impressive as his numbers suggest.

Three Up

Spencer Abbott, Senior, Forward, Maine

Putting Spencer Abbott on this list may seem like a joke, especially after the point just made about Moses. Abbott received similar flack at the end of the first after a nine-point weekend against a struggling Vermont team accounted for more than one-third of his first half output.  (more…)

What a weekend it was in Atlantic Hockey. The standings keep getting tighter and tighter, with eight teams within five points of first. You can even expand that to nine teams with a shot at at the top, if you include Canisius just eight points out.

Air Force – The Falcons have struggled since the start of the New Year. They are winless in four games and culminated with the Falcons first home loss of the season to Bentley on Saturday. Jason Torf received his first start since Oct. 8 and played well, surrendering just two goals. But the Falcons couldn’t muster any offense. Brad McBride recorded his first career assist on one of the Falcons three goals. Kyle De Laurell scored his conference leading 14th goal of the year while Cole Gunner added his 16th assist to also lead the conference.

AIC – The Yellow Jackets returned from a month off and went 1-2 in their three games. Their lone win, though, came against Atlantic Hockey leaders Mercyhurst. Adam Pleskach had three goals and an assist in the three games to extend his point streak to eight games. Nielsson Arcibal goes one better than Pleskach, extending his point streak to nine games with a goal and four assists. Blake Peake had the best week of his AIC career. The sophomore had a goal and four assists in the three games. He had just three points on the season entering the week. (more…)

Some don’t think too highly of outdoor hockey games. The points made by these members of the media and fans are never wrong, and their opinions are certainly valid. For players, outdoor games typically mean bad ice, odd adjustments and a whole mess of distractions that can pull the focus from the win. For fans, it means inflated ticket prices, three hours in the freezing cold, bad sightlines and potential for a truly mediocre experience.

I’ve never found myself on the side of those who generally hate these games, even as they’ve become more common and lost some of their appeal. While it usually just means more work for us and forced, often contrived storylines, the players almost always speak highly of their experience. They genuinely seem to enjoy it, so I’m all for it as long as college hockey players say they want to do it.

With all of that said, I’m glad this season’s glut of outdoor hockey is over. In Hockey East, it was Frozen Fenway, which concluded with Boston College’s 2-1 win over Northeastern Saturday afternoon. There were three Hockey East games played on Yawkey Way this season, and they were all pretty good games. But, like I said, I’m glad it’s over. We have seven weekends of league games remaining, with a few midweek matches and the Beanpot mixed in there, before the postseason begins. And now that all of the games will take place indoors for the remainder of the year, we’re in for a truly fantastic finish in Hockey East.

Non-conference wins are good, but Northeastern has some work to do in Hockey East

Northeastern pieced together a 7-0-1 run that included a win at Michigan, a sweep of Notre Dame and a tournament championship in Minneapolis after losing to Massachusetts on Nov. 12. The Huskies positioned themselves on the bubble for an at-large bid, and helped other clubs in Hockey East out with the wins. (more…)