Five weeks of the 2012-13 season have passed. Boston College put together another four-point weekend and currently has a five-point lead over Merrimack and New Hampshire. While the Eagles have at least games in hand on every conference foe, BC is most certainly the heavy favorite for the league’s regular season title at this point. Early as it is, the Eagles’ class is evident. There’s less fire power in the Heights, but the issues in goal that set BC back a bit last season are gone.

Through six games, Parker Milner has a .932 save percentage and a 1.99 goals-against average. Somehow, these numbers are step back from the ridiculous run he put together in his final 19 starts last season. In front of Milner, the Eagles’ blue line has rounded in to shape well. There is no Brian Dumoulin or Tommy Cross, but BC coach Jerry York seems pleased with his defensemen. Uncertainties exist for BC. Still, its minor problems are nothing from those plaguing some of Hockey East’s other teams.

After the break: It’s time for Maine fans to face reality; UMass may have found its No. 1; and BU has some serious potential. (more…)

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Michael Matheson and Patrick Brown game-tying and game-winning goals in a 7-minute, 10-second span to lead Boston College past Massachusetts, 3-2, Sunday at Conte Forum. The Minutemen took a 2-1 lead at 1:42 of the third period on a Troy Power goal, but they wasted a late lead for the second time this season against the Eagles.

The Eagles took a 1-0 lead just 1:23 into the game on a Bill Arnold power-play goal, and Steven Guzzo answered midway through the period with an extra-man marker of his own. UMass goaltender Kevin had another strong outing, stopping 28 shots, including 14 in the first period. BC’s Parker Milner made 29 saves. However, the biggest saves of the game should be credited to BC defenseman Isaac MacLeod. With UMass leading, 2-1, Milner fell just outside his crease, but MacLeod dropped to his knees on the goal line, stopping shots from Michael Pereira and Branden Gracel to keep the deficit at one.

What I Saw

• BC’s freshman defenseman don’t look like freshmen. Even with the goal from Matheson, this wasn’t the best game for BC’s young group of blue liners. Matheson, Teddy Doherty and Colin Sullivan are all capable of becoming premier defensemen in college hockey, and it almost seems inevitable that they will. Neither of them were perfect on Sunday. They struggled at times with UMass’ speedy forwards. Guzzo caught Matheson flat-footed on UMass’ first goal. Guzzo won a faceoff back to Joel Hanley and headed straight for the net. Milner saved Hanley’s shot, but Guzzo was all alone to slide the rebound home. Occasional mistakes happen with all players and even first-round draft picks will see those problems more often as freshmen. Regardless, Matheson recovered from the early mistake to play a strong game, including the game-tying goal at 9:13 of the third period. Again, none of the trio were spectacular on Sunday, but they all look extremely comfortable on the ice.  (more…)

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Merrimack beat Northeastern 4-2 Saturday night to sweep the weekend series and win the season series. Jordan Heywood scored what proved to be the game-winner with 3:28 remaining in the game. He took a pass from Mike Collins, walked in from the left half-wall and beat Chris Rawlings (29 saves) with a snap shot. Justin Hussar tacked on an empty-netter at the buzzer.

Vinny Saponari opened the scoring for Northeastern (2-4-1, 2-4-1 HE) 12:05 into the game when he took a pass from Mike McMurtry and beat Rasmus Tirronen (24 saves) for his first goal of the season. McMurtry added to the lead with a power-play tally six minutes later when he tipped in a Kevin Roy one-timer.

The Warriors (4-3-1, 3-1-1 HE) came storming back in the second, though. Shawn Bates cut the lead in half 2:51 into the middle frame when he collected his own blocked shot and beat Rawlings on the second opportunity. Collins tied the game with 27 seconds left in the period when a Vinny Scotti shot left him with a rebound right in front. (more…)

AMHERST, Mass. – Darren Rowe scored on a power play right out of a timeout three minutes, eight seconds into overtime to lift Massachusetts to a 2-1 win over New Hampshire Friday at the Mullins Center. Kevin Goumas was sent off for a minor at the 2:09 mark in overtime for obstruction-interference to give UMass the man-advantage that led to the game-winning goal. Greg Burke scored the lone goal for UNH with 34 seconds remaining in the first period and Conor Sheary tied it 12:21 into the second for his first tally of the year.

Casey DeSmith made a solid 34 saves for UNH, including 13 in a third period which the Minutemen controlled a good portion of. Kevin Boyle made 25 saves on 26 shots faced for UMass, earning him his second win of the season.

The win gives UMass coach John Micheletto his first Hockey East win as head coach while the Wildcats suffer their first loss of the season.

What I Saw

The game-winning goal for UMass was exactly the way Micheletto drew it up out of the timeout. Sheary won the faceoff in the UNH zone and kicked it out to Conor Allen at the point, who fed in close Shane Walsh and found Rowe back door for the easy shot on a wide open net in front of DeSmith. It was a perfectly executed play out of the timeout that the Wildcats overplayed, making it easy for Rowe to slip behind and create a scoring opportunity. (more…)

BOSTON – The Merrimack defensemen scored five goals to lead Merrimack University past Northeastern in a 5-2 victory. The return of Kyle Bigos sparked a physical game in which the defense made all the difference in terms of scoring. Captain Jordan Heywood got it started at 8:44 in the first period to give the Warriors en early 1-0 lead, but assistant captain Ludwig Karlsson answered for the Huskies at the end of the first to even things out.

Heywood notched his second of the night at 19:21 in the first, and the 2-1 score remained until the third period when Bigos got past goaltender Bryan Mountain less than two minutes into play, kicking off a flurry of offense from the Warriors’ defensemen. Brendan Ellis and Dan Kolomatis would also get on the board with goals in the third, Kolomatis’ coming off an empty net opportunity from Merrimack’s own zone.

Northeastern saw a spot of hope when freshman Kevin Roy netted one by flipping the puck up and over the head of goaltender Sam Marotta to give the Huskies their second goal of the night, but it wasn’t enough to get past Merrimack in a frustration and penalty-filled match.

The two teams will meet again Saturday at Merrimack for part two of the home-and-home weekend.

What I Saw

• Kyle Bigos is back in a big way after suffering a lower-body injury in the season opener. His physical play gave Merrimack the boost they needed after a start that included a loss to Northeastern and a pair losses at the hands of Alaska-Fairbanks. His goal came at the tail end of a 5-on-3 advantage resulting from boarding from Joe Manno and hitting from behind and a game misconduct for Braden Pimm, but that’s not to discredit Bigos’ contribution. Bigos might bring with him the risk of penalty minutes, but the commanding play he brought tonight only means good things for Merrimack. (more…)

The first full conference game weekend is in the books and little is decided on the fate of certain teams. It is too early to see if UNH’s strong, undefeated October will lead to anything in terms of success. If one thing is for certain we should have known that Boston College would emerge as the early favorite and this has been the case. This week’s power rankings saw a lot of movement but those two teams continue to hold the top two spots.

While most teams are engaging in conference action this weekend, Boston University will head west for the matchup of the week nationally when they tangle with national power North Dakota. I think most fans in Hockey East would love to be in North Dakota, but in any case there are many games locally that might catch your attention. Here’s to previewing all the action from Hockey East: (more…)

At the end of the season’s first month, some teams are right where we thought they’d be, while others have started faster or slower than we expected. One thing we know for sure is that there will continue to be some surprises in November. Here’s how the teams stack up heading into the new month.

1. Boston College (4-1-0, 4-1-0 HE) — Last week: 1
The Eagles swept Lowell, winning 1-0 on Friday and 6-3 on Sunday. Parker Milner made 38 saves Friday to earn his second straight shutout and steal two points in a game in which BC was outshot 38-20. The offense certainly picked it up Sunday, though. The second line of Kevin Hayes, Bill Arnold and Destry Straight combined for four goals and four assists, and freshman defensemen Teddy Doherty and Michael Matheson combined for five assists. The power play went 3-for-5 in the game.

2. New Hampshire (4-0-1, 2-0-1 HE) — Last week: 2
The Wildcats remained undefeated with a 4-3 win over Northeastern on Friday, followed by a thrilling scoreless tie on Saturday. Kevin Goumas and Austin Block each had a goal and an assist in Friday’s win, and John Henrion scored the game-winner with less than a minute to go in regulation. Casey DeSmith saved all 34 shots he faced Saturday to earn his first shutout of the season. The Wildcats did a great job avoiding the penalty box, as they gave Northeastern just two power plays all weekend. (more…)

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Mike Collins scored twice for Merrimack as the Warriors forced a 2-2 tie against Vermont to take three of four points on the weekend. The Warriors (2-3-1, 1-1-1 Hockey East) opened the scoring with 3:05 left in the first when Brendan Ellis walked in from the left point and found Collins at the back door.

They held the lead for nearly a full period before the Catamounts (0-1-2, 0-1-2 HE) tied it. Pete Massar poked the puck past a Merrimack defender, walked in alone and beat Rasmus Tirronen (31 saves). Vermont took the lead just 34 seconds later when Nick Luukko shot through a pile of bodies on a delayed Merrimack penalty.

The Warriors battled back in the third, though. Josh Myers drew a penalty while charging hard to the net on a 2-on-1, and Merrimack capitalized on the ensuing power play. After Brody Hoffman (32 saves) turned away one quality chance, Collins found a loose puck in the left circle and buried his second goal of the game. The Warriors got another power play in overtime, but they couldn’t capitalize. (more…)

BOSTON — Freshman goaltender Matt O’Connor made 28 saves, and fellow rookie Danny O’Regan scored twice to lead Boston University past Massachusetts, 5-2. O’Regan first goal extended BU’s lead to 2-0 at the time, and his second marker pushed the advantage to 3-1. Sophomore Cason Hohmann continued his hot start scoring a pair of goals, including an empty-net goal to seal the win. Hohmann’s first came 43 seconds after UMass’ Joel Hanley cut the BU lead to 3-2.

The win helps the Terriers recover from last week’s 4-1 loss to New Hampshire. UMass, on the other, suffered its second consecutive defeat. Still winless in the league play, the Minutemen host BU Saturday night at the Mullins Center in Amherst.

What I Saw

• BU’s underclassmen were its best players once again. Against Providence on Oct. 13, Hohmann led the way for the Terriers with a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win over the Friars. O’Connor stopped 26 shots that night, and he continued his strong start on Friday night against UMass. O’Connor stopped 28 shots against the Minutemen, including 11 in a second period UMass controlled for long stretches. The Terriers upperclassmen are among some of the league’s best players. Wade Megan picked up his second goal of the season to open the scoring, and others put together strong efforts. It was O’Regan, Hohmann and several other BU underclassmen leading the way Friday night, though. (more…)

LOWELL, Mass. — Parker Milner stopped all 38 shots he faced to lead Boston College to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Massachusetts-Lowell on Friday. The River Hawks (1-2-1, 0-1-1 Hockey East) controlled play for the vast majority of the game and nearly doubled up BC (3-1-0, 3-1-0 HE) in shots, but they couldn’t solve Milner, who earned his second consecutive shutout. Steven Whitney scored the game’s lone goal 3:17 into the third when he took a pass from Johnny Gaudreau in the high slot and beat Doug Carr (19 saves) with a quick snap shot.

What I saw
-The River Hawks dominated most of this game, but just couldn’t get one past Milner. They outshot BC 12-4 in the first (at one point it was 9-1) and registered eight grade-A chances to BC’s three. Some of the River Hawks’ best looks came on their first power play, just over a minute into the game, but they put a few shots wide and Milner stopped the rest. Even 5-on-5, Lowell was able to pin the Eagles in their own zone for extended stretches. The second and third periods were more of the same. The River Hawks continued to win the lion’s share of foot races and puck battles. Although shots were closer in the second (15-11 Lowell), grade-A chances were 13-4. In the third, it was 11-5 in shots and 7-3 in quality chances. Getting shots but not goals has been a problem all season for the River Hawks — they’ve registered at least 38 shots in all four of their games, but they only have five goals to show for it. (more…)