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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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…)

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…)

Manchester, NH. –  Dartmouth got off to a quick start against UNH at the Verizon Wireless Arena, scoring first, but the Wildcats responded 7 minutes later on a 5 on 3 goal, by Stevie Moses, and never looked back winning 4-1. Stevie Moses scored four goals on the night as the UNH first line ran laps around Dartmouth defenders, who didn’t seem to have an answer for it. The win was the second in a row for UNH improving their season record to 8-11-2 heading into a huge two weeks of Hockey East Play, arguably their most difficult and important two week stretch of the season.

The powerplay and defense, which both have been awful at times this season proved to be the strong points in the game for the Wildcats. The powerplay, which had not scored in a seven game stretch going all the way back to November 28 recorded two crucial goals in the middle stages of the game. Casey Desmith hardly got tested in the first two periods as the New Hampshire defense did a great job stifling Dartmouth’s offense usually before it hit the attacking zone. Active sticks, physical play, and blocking shots became the norm in the game as the Wildcats held the Dartmouth offense to just eight shots in the first two periods. Casey Desmith made 22 saves in the game and has only given up one goal in his last six periods of play.

What I Saw                 

-Defense was the name of the game for Wildcats and when they play well defensively they usually win the game. In their eight wins this season, New Hampshire has given up just ten goals in those eight games. Tonight’s effort was furious and spirited from the start as the Wildcats have put together two solid, defensive performances in a row.

-Casey Desmith stopped everything that he should have and did a great job with rebound control. He smothers the puck and has great ice vision. He wasn’t tested much on the night but when he was he was impressive. Although he was only tested 8 times in the first two periods, he was solid and was only beaten on a pretty 3 on 1 where Doug Jones sent a pretty pass to a wide open Matt Lindblad, where he buried it past Desmith on a play that Desmith had no chance on. Desmith made a few great sprawling saves in the third period but Dartmouth could not beat him.

-Dartmouth could hardly get into any type of offensive rhythm all night. With New Hampshire possessing the puck throughout the first two periods, the offense did not have chance to connect. The only goal came after a New Hampshire powerplay on an odd man rush. Although they scored first in the game, it seemed as though Dartmouth never gained the momentum in the first period and thus UNH responded and pulled away. (more…)

BOSTON — Northeastern blew a 2-0 first period lead and watched Boston University score four consecutive goals, falling, 4-3, to the Terriers in the teams’ first meeting of the season. In front of a sold out Matthews Arena, the Huskies scored twice in the final 1 minute, 22 seconds of the first period, with goals from Alex Tuckerman and Ludwig Karlsson.

Karlsson added a second later in the game to cut BU’s lead to 4-3 with 3:07 remaining in regulation. The Terriers held on, though, shutting the Huskies down in the final few minutes. The win lifts BU into first place in Hockey East, two points ahead of second-place Boston College, which lost to Massachusetts Friday night, and three points clear of third-place Merrimack, which defeated Maine, 6-2. Northeastern falls to ninth place in the league, one point back of eighth-place New Hampshire and two points short of seventh-place UMass.

What I Saw

• Northeastern really struggled on the breakout in the final two periods. Pressuring the Huskies with one forward high in the zone and the other two waiting on the half-wall, BU prevented the Huskies from generating any offense outside of its transition game. In the first period, stoppages were sparse, as the teams traded chance after chance, with Kieran Millan and Chris Rawlings keeping both clubs scoreless until the Huskies struck in the final minutes. When the second period began, the Terriers began pressuring Northeastern more aggressively and essentially eliminated anything resembling an effective breakout. The second BU goal, which tied the game, 2-2, came after terrible decision-making by NU forward Justin Daniels, and relentless pressure from Ryan Santana caused a turnover and left Wade Megan open in the slot for an easy goal. The problems persisted on the power play, too, as the Huskies’ struggles continued. The one for five on the man advantage Friday lifted the Huskies to a robust 10.3 percent on the season. (more…)

BOSTON — Boston University took over sole possession of first place in Hockey East with a 4-3 win over Northeastern at Matthews Arena on Friday night. It was BU’s fourth straight win in league play and its ninth victory in the last 11 games overall. The Terriers trailed 2-0 at the end of one, but responded with goals from Adam Clendening, Wade Megan and Evan Rodrigues in the middle frame. Megan added his second of the game and 10th of the season early in the third to make it 4-2, and BU (12-6-1, 10-4-1 HE) managed to hang on for the win. Kieran Millan made 31 saves.

What I saw

-Wade Megan continued to show why he belongs on the top line. He played on the third line for most of the first half, but got bumped up to the top unit following the departures of Corey Trivino and Charlie Coyle over break. He has three goals in three games since the promotion, and his 10 goals on the season are the most among players still on the team (Trivino had 13 before his dismissal). Megan’s two goals Friday night were both one-timers set up by nice plays from his teammates — Ryan Santana on the first and Alex Chiasson on the second — but they showcased his ability to finish when he gets the puck in scoring areas.

-Chiasson continued to be a revelation on faceoffs. Trivino and Coyle were BU’s top two faceoff men in the first half, and the Terriers lost 40 of 59 draws in their first game without those two, leaving plenty of questions about who was going to step up in the faceoff circle. Well, Chiasson has certainly done his part to answer those questions. He won 13 of the 19 draws he took Friday night after going 7-for-13 last Friday in his first game taking faceoffs full-time. Coach Jack Parker used Chiasson in every situation, including penalty kills and key defensive-zone draws late in the game. Simply put, Chiasson has quickly become BU’s most reliable faceoff man. (more…)

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Last week’s power rankings saw no movement in the top four, but plenty in the bottom six. This week is the opposite. There are some changes near the top, but everything after that is the same.

1. Boston College (13-7-1, 9-4-1 HE) — Last week: 1

It’s hard to think of a team that’s 5-6-1 in its last 12 as the league’s best, but no one has done enough to dethrone BC yet. The Eagles tied Merrimack 2-2 on Sunday in their only game of the weekend. Brian Dumoulin assisted on both goals, moving him up to second among Hockey East defensemen with 17 points on the season. Freshman Brian Billett stopped 22 of 24 shots and hasn’t allowed more than three goals in any of his six starts.

2. Boston University (11-6-1, 9-4-1 HE) — Last week: 4

Like BC, BU’s only non-exhibition game of the weekend was against Merrimack. Led by a 42-save performance from Kieran Millan, the Terriers beat the Warriors 4-2 on Friday night. They’ve now won eight of their last 10, beaten BC twice during that stretch, and moved into a first-place tie with BC in the standings. So it’s safe to say they’re knocking on the Eagles’ door. Senior captain Chris Connolly still hasn’t scored a goal this season. (more…)