Durham, N.H.- On a night that New Hampshire started a local product, Casey Desmith, and scored first BU spoiled the night by being opportunistic and beating New Hampshire 2-1. Kieran Millan, who has been inconsistent on the season, stole the show making impressive save after impressive save.

Wade Megan tied the game early in the second for the Terriers and three minutes later Corey Trivino scored the eventual game winner off a funky carom off the board as the two goals proved to be enough to defeat New Hampshire.

What I saw

-Boston University stifled UNH’s offense and kept them to low percentage shots, especially in the second period. In that second period, BU buried its two opportunities as Wade Megan took advantage of a two on one powerplay rush to bury it behind UNH goaltender, Casey Desmith. Nearly three minutes later Sahir Gill took a strange bounce off the back boards and passed to a wide open Corey Trivino who put it into the net giving the Terriers a 2-1 advantage, in which case they would never look back.

-Freshman Casey Desmith played a poised and controlled game, in his first collegiate start. He put his team in a position to win and stopped everything he had a chance too. The defense in front of him did the things that they haven’t in front of Matt Di Girolamo and it showed in the performance by the young local product, Desmith. (more…)

After a weekend filled with sweeps and upsets, Hockey East will embark on a relatively light weekend in terms of games. This weekend sends all but Merrimack and Vermont on the holiday break, where many teams have upwards of 20 days off to reflect on the half that was. This is also a great time to reflect on where your team is and where the league is. With only five games on the docket Thursday-Saturday, positioning and going off on a positive note will be the goal of all Hockey East teams.

I hate to sound like a broken record in the past two weeks, but more kudos has to go out to Northeastern. Not one college hockey fan in the country, including myself, would have ever predicted that the Huskies would go out to South Bend and take two against Notre Dame, but they did. In the past three games Northeastern has defeated Notre Dame twice and Michigan, all on the road. Northeastern will return to Hockey East conference action after a successful two weeks against CCHA foes. (more…)

Boston College coach Jerry York’s decision to surround center Bill Arnold with wingers Chris Kreider and Johnny Gaudreau has already resulted in minor bursts from the trio. It’s been two games, and each player’s minor scoring droughts have morphed in point streaks. Should York keep the gifted group together for this weekend’s test in Lowell, this list could include the names of its most usual suspects when we officially close the first half.

For now, some interesting names enter the final weekend of the first half on some equally interesting streaks. On the other end, three players vital to their respective teams’ success are coming off forgettable weeks — or even months — that have contributed to extended losing streaks.

Three up

Spencer Abbott, Senior, Forward, Maine

The Black Bears ended a three-game losing streak on Nov. 18 with a 2-2 tie in Amherst, Mass., against Massachusetts. Since, the club has pieced together a three-game winning streak punctuated by an easy 5-2 win over Vermont in Burlington on Saturday night.

In the middle of their sweep of the Catamounts was senior winger Spencer Abbott who began the weekend with five-point night on Friday. His three goals and two assists spurred a 6-4 win. In the second game, Abbott suffered a minor set back, picking up a mere four points — two goals and two assists — in Maine’s victory that clinched the season series with UVM. (more…)

After minimal movement in last week’s power rankings, this week’s look like a stock market with all the rising and falling. Last week’s top three teams all lost at least once over the weekend, while four of the next five teams all earned sweeps.

1. Boston College (11-5-0, 8-3-0 HE) — Last week: 2

Merrimack’s two losses opened the door for BC to claim the top spot after splitting a pair of quirky games with BU. The Eagles lost 5-3 on Friday despite outshooting BU 45-15, then won 6-1 on Saturday despite being outshot 41-31. Freshman goalie Brian Billett picked up his second straight win Saturday, while Chris Kreider and Bill Arnold each had two goals and an assist on the weekend. BC leads the league with 3.69 goals per game.

2. Merrimack (9-2-1, 6-2-1 HE) — Last week: 1

The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season Friday with a 2-1 overtime defeat at Providence. The next night was worse, though, as they got smoked 6-1 at home by the Friars. Although Merrimack still leads the conference in team defense, it has plummeted to eighth in offense after scoring more than three goals just once in its last six games. Outside of Ryan Flanigan, Jesse Todd and Mike Collins, no Warrior forward has more than five points. (more…)

BOSTON — A night after after a troubling 5-3 loss to Boston University on Friday, six different Boston College players scored, as the Eagles earned their first win of the season over the Terriers at Agganis Arena with a 6-1 victory.

While BU’s win on Friday clinched the season series in Hockey East play, BC coach Jerry York viewed the weekend as a net positive. Aside from strong contributions from the players BC relies on, depth players and freshman goaltender Brian Billet pieced together strong weekends for the Eagles, who remain in first place in Hockey East.

What I saw

• The Boston College power play still can’t find it’s stride. The crisp, effortless puck movement York demands from his players is there, as is the creativity that gives opponents fits. But the finish is still lacking on the man advantage. On Friday, the Eagles finished two-for-11 on the power play and posted an 0-for-5 on Saturday night. York is happy with the overall direction of his power play units, and it’s likely that a few bounces will fix whatever ails them. Still, it’s rare to see a BC team so poor in this area of the game. There are a few elements missing from years past — BC has no real power forwards and lacks a point man capable of running the advantage as Joe Whitney did in his four seasons at the Heights. As the season progresses, any of the wildly talented players on the BC could fill these rolls, but no one has done yet. (more…)

Durham, NH- Doug Carr made 28 saves in the first period alone and led the River Hawks to a 5-3 victory at the Whittemore center, on Saturday night. The win for UMass-Lowell was their first victory at the Whittemore Center since November 2003, as the River Hawks continue to impress and build confidence on an already successful season.

UNH came out with a jump in their step and sent 29 first

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Merrimack gave Providence eight power plays in the second period, including a five-minute major and an extended 5-on-3, and the Friars capitalized en route to a 6-1 win and a weekend sweep of the previously undefeated Warriors (9-2-1, 6-2-1 HE). Jordan Heywood was ejected for contact to the head just 45 seconds into the second, and Providence (8-6-1, 6-3-0 HE) scored three times on the ensuing five-minute power play with two goals from Drew Brown and another from Tim Schaller. The Friars finished the game 5-for-13 on the man advantage.

What I saw

-The Friars totally dominated the second period. They got the five-minute power play when Heywood was ejected, and that proved to be all they needed in terms of an opening. They scored three goals on the extended man advantage and maintained the momentum from there. Providence wound up registering 12 of the period’s first 13 shots and outshooting the Warriors 20-5 in the frame.

-There was a lot of hitting and a lot of extracurricular activity. Friday’s game in Providence was a physical one according to those who were there, and that animosity definitely carried over into Saturday’s game. “We don’t like them and they don’t like us,” Heywood said during a TV interview after the first period. Heywood then proved his own point with his hit to the head early in the second. Both teams finished their checks all game, and seemingly every other whistle resulted in some sort of shoving match. (more…)

Lowell, MA. –  UMass-Lowell  raced out to a 2-1 first period lead in front of the largest home crowd in River Hawk history and stifled a strong UNH comeback in the third period to pick up the crucial Hockey East victory against the Wildcats. Doug Carr, the impressive sophomore, was again lights out for the River Hawks stopping 33 UNH shots on the night, including 18 out of 19 in the third period.

With the win over New Hampshire, Lowell improves to an impressive 8-4-0 on the season and has propelled themselves into fourth place in the Hockey East standings with a 5-3-0 record in the conference.

What I saw

-UNH had another road meltdown, where turnovers and missed assignments have seemingly become the norm. The third period was better for the Wildcats but they also dug themselves into a second period, 3-1, hole and were never able to bury the third and tying goal despite numerous chances in the third period.

-Doug Carr had another very impressive outing for the River Hawks making 18 saves in the third period alone and 33 in the game. His performances of late have been next to spectacular and tonight he made every save look easy. The New Hampshire offense entered the game as the Hockey East’s leader offensively but was stifled during the first and second periods. (more…)

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Kieran Millan had one of his best games as a Terrier, stopping 42 of 45 shots as BU beat BC 5-3 at Conte Forum on Friday despite getting tripled up in shots. BU opened the scoring 10:15 in when Charlie Coyle walked through the left circle on the power play and beat Parker Milner (10 saves) with a snap shot over the right arm. The Terriers (8-4-1, 6-3-1 HE) added to the lead seven minutes later when Yasin Cisse caught a great pass from Alexx Privitera and beat Milner on a breakaway for his first collegiate goal. Garrett Noonan made it 3-0 BU midway through the second before BC (10-5-0, 7-3-0) finally got on the board with a goal from Bill Arnold. Cason Hohmann and Corey Trivino also scored for BU.

What I saw

-The Terriers continued to look great on the penalty kill for the first half of the game. They barely allowed BC to get set up on two power plays in the first period, as they applied consistent pressure to the puck carrier and forced BC into turnovers and bad shots. That continued on BC’s first power play of the second, but BU appeared to tire after that, as the Eagles began to pepper Millan beginning with their fourth power play of the game.

-Although BU scored two power-play goals, its man advantage didn’t really look that good. The Terriers struggled to gain possession in the offensive zone for much of their first three power plays. They finally got set up in the last 30 seconds of their first one and made it count when Coyle scored, but it was far from a good-looking power play all things considered. The Terriers scored again on a five-minute power play in the third, but that only came after two-plus minutes of doing absolutely nothing. The box score will show that the Terriers went 2-for-6 on the man advantage, but they didn’t look nearly as good as they have recently. (more…)

After a long weekend of non-conference games, most Hockey East teams will return to a sense of normalcy this weekend. Six Hockey East schools will embark on crucial home and home series’ this weekend where positioning will be the key of the weekend, while Maine and Vermont will play two, in Burlington.

As is always the case when Boston College and Boston University play each other, the two teams will take center stage this weekend in an important home and home series. Kudos must be given for Northeastern’s big win last weekend out at Yost against Michigan, a 4-1 win, but Northeastern will make another trip to the CCHA to play Notre Dame twice in another crucial series for them and Hockey East. (more…)