Boston University’s weekend started on a low note. A trip to Providence ended in a 5-3 loss to the Friars that shocked Hockey East and college hockey as a whole. Twenty-four hours later, national title contender Denver skated onto the ice at Agganis Arena for its second game in a weekend tour of Commonwealth Avenue.

BU coach Jack Parker was hardly thrilled with the effort, but the Terrier defeated The Pioneers, 4-3, stemming a late DU comeback. While it was a Beau Bennett holding minor with 19 seconds remaining in regulation that finally killed the DU rally, a strong first 40 minutes showed the Terriers what could await this season if they’re at their best.

What I saw

• Something special may come from the Terriers second scoring line of sophomore winger Matt Nieto, sophomore center Charlie Coyle and junior winger Alex Chiasson. Three of the most gifted BU players have pieced together some beautiful sequences in the early going, but they have yet to truly take over a game. On Saturday, each registered a point with Chiasson and Nieto scoring goals on breakaways. Neither score came with the entire line on the ice, but, as the group, gains timing, it could quickly become the league’s best come Hockey East Tournament time.

• Max Nicastro and Sean Escobedo showed their usual flashes of dominance as a defensive pairing, but still never seem to neutralize a forward line like juniors with that much experience should. Denver’s team speed and puck movement may have a little to do with that. Still, the Terriers seem to be without a true No. 1 defensive unit. Looking around the country at the teams shouldering the “favorite” label in terms of national title contenders, BU is certainly not the only club with some questions on the blue line. Even the Pioneers have their questions. But Nicastro and Escobedo are capable of becoming that group. Now would be a great time. (more…)

Northeastern surprised Friday night, shutting down New Hampshire, 4-0 — a score not many were expecting from the matchup.

The Huskies opened their scoring with a goal by Braden Pimm followed by two more quick ones from Zak Stone and Justin Daniels, all three goals within three minutes of each other. Mike McLaughlin sealed it for Northeastern when he put the team up by four in the final period. This offensive success only further aggravated an already frustrated UNH, and the tension started to show with a few scuffles late in the game.

What I saw

The defensive pairing of Luke Eibler and Josh Manson was crucial for Northeastern. The defensemen were plus-3 and plus-2, respectively, making several of the blocks that helped Chris Rawlings in goal and boosted the Northeastern’s offense.

You can depend on UNH to be fast, you can’t really say the same for Northeastern. But the Huskies kept up with the Wildcats’ speed, looking like a quicker and more determined team than the one who barely tied Massachusetts in their home opener last week.

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Boston College coach Jerry York knew to expect a closer contest this time around. His Eagles fell, 4-2, to Denver Friday after steamrolling the Pioneers twice in Denver last year. Despite the loss, the Eagles are good shape heading into Saturday’s game in Durham against New Hampshire.

What I Saw

Ice conditions were a major challenge for both teams Friday night. There was no slush or fog to speak of, but humid conditions in greater Boston led to a less-than-ideal surface.

“The conditions on the ice definitely slowed things down a bit,” York said. “Neither team benefited from it.”

In addition, Friday night’s game was one of the best crowds at the Conte Forum for hockey in recent memory. With attendance of 7,884 (officially a sellout), the arena was mostly filled with students who boisterously cheered on their team, especially through a competitive, back-and-forth third period.

“The atmosphere in the building was as loud and [as much as] a college hockey atmosphere that we’ve had here in a long time,” York said.

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by Joshua Seguin

With the first game in the past, UNH is prepping for a big Hockey East weekend beginning on Friday.

The return to action couldn’t come soon enough for Dick Umile’s team, after BU knocked the Wildcats around to start the season.

Despite the 5-0 loss, Umile and his saw it as a 3-0 game — the fourth g0al coming with an empty-net and the fifth in garbage time.

“Statwise the game was pretty even, we just have to play a full 60-minute game,” UNH coach Dick Umile said.

Umile looking for some finish

After the rough loss against Boston University last Saturday, the word used most around the UNH locker room this week was “finish.”

With multiple grade-A opportunities stopped by BU goaltender Kieran Millan in the early going, the young New Hampshire team has to find ways to score and play better defense, if this season is going to be as successful as the past 10 years for New Hampshire.

As much of the country and region continue to have doubts about the Wildcats, nobody in the dressing room is panicking or looking ahead of Friday.

Players such as John Henrion know that UNH played well enough at times to score goals but cannot get frustrated.

“Millan played well, but we had plenty of chances,” he said.  “We have plenty of guys that know how to score and no one is concerned. We just have to finish. We have a very deep team up front which was very evident from scoring opportunities that were spread across multiple lines and everyone needs to contribute, not just one line.”

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by Cara Spilsbury

1. Boston College

The Eagles are 2-0 on the season so far, the only Hockey East team with two wins, although they have yet to play a conference opponent. The team amassed 11 goals as it won the Ice Breaker tournament, defeating both Michigan State and North Dakota. Sophomore Bill Arnold recorded a team-high five points during the two games. Junior Chris Kreider was named tournament MVP.

2. Boston University

The Terriers opened the season strong by defeating UNH, 5-0. Senior goaltender Kieran Millan recorded his sixth career shutout in the win. The win was the team’s most decisive shutout victory since the 5-0 win against UNH in January 2009.

3. Merrimack

The Warriors faced a tough challenge to open their season, traveling to Orono to face Maine. However, the team rose to the occasion, defeating the Black Bears 2-1. This W marks the first time Merrimack has won at the Alfond Arena since 1997. Jesse Todd scored the game-winning goal short-handed in the second period and goalie Joe Cannata earned his 43rd career win.

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It was about as good a start to the season as Boston University could’ve hoped for. The first two periods were fairly even in terms of play, but the Terriers found the back of the net twice on goals by Wade Megan and Corey Trivino, both of which came on nice setups from Chris Connolly. Matt Nieto scored the backbreaker 1:15 into the third, Alex Chiasson and Kevin Gilroy tacked on insurance markers, and Kieran Millan stopped all 35 shots he faced as the Terriers came away with a 5-0 win over UNH.

What I saw

• BU’s top two lines were dominant. The lines of Chris Connolly-Corey Trivino-Sahir Gill and Matt Nieto-Charlie Coyle-Alex Chiasson seemed to be buzzing around the UNH net all night. Parker moved Gill from center to wing and Coyle from wing to center during the week, and the changes seemed to benefit everyone involved. The Trivino line registered a goal and four assists, while the Coyle line finished with two goals and three assists. Regardless of how Parker arranges up his top two lines going forward, those are six very talented players — four of them are first- or second-round NHL picks — who could give opponents fits all season.
• The Terriers got to the net. This applies to not just the top two lines, but the whole offense. At times last season, BU seemed incapable or unwilling to get to the dirty areas in front of the net and fight for deflections and rebounds. That wasn’t the case Saturday. UNH goalie Matt Di Girolamo rarely had a clear line of vision, and there were Terriers in the vicinity of most of his rebounds. BU wound up with 23 shot attempts from grade-A areas.

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by Joe Meloni

Little went New Hampshire’s way in its season-opening loss to Boston University Saturday night. The Wildcats played even with BU for the first half of the game.

Beginning the period down, 2-0, UNH opened the third looking to start a comeback, but Matt Nieto’s 1:15 in essentially put the game away for the Terriers.There were certainly some growing pains for UNH, but the Wildcats managed to create some offense early. Senior goaltender Matt Di Girolamo was good despite the four goals allowed — the fourth BU score came on empty-net — with 32 saves. On the other end, Kieran Millan frustrated the UNH offense with some spectacular saves, earning the shutout.

What I saw

• UNH’s speed that is always present gave BU some problems in the early stages of the game, leading to a couple power plays in the first period. The UNH man advantage, though, struggled to finds its rhythm as so many do in the first few games of the season.
• Matt Di Girolamo allowed four goals, but the senior goaltender kept New Hampshire even as long as he could. BU created six Grade-A opportunities in the first period, but Di Girolamo stood strong. Poor defending resulted in most of the looks.
• A few tough penalties stymied any comeback chances for UNH, but the penalty kill prevented the Terriers from extending their lead earlier than they did. Di Girolamo played a major role in that. BU didn’t get many shots through, but created quality chances when they did.

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by Joe Meloni

Ultimately, they won’t be satisfied with the point, but the Huskies will take it right now since they were two seconds from beginning the season with a loss. Given the way things are looking at Maine right now — NU trailed the Black Bears, 4-1, in the second when I started writing this — that point Braden Pimm’s shoulder stole from UMass is looking pretty good.

Pimm received credit for the goal, but UMass junior Rocco Carzo’s failed clear with 12 seconds left in regulation gave the Huskies that final chance to best UMass goaltender Kevin Boyle.

What I saw

• Boston University transfer Vinny Saponari’s comfort with his new teammates grew with every shift. While he called Agganis home, Saponari made it clear he was capable of being an impact player in this league. He picked up a pair of assists in the game, including the key play on the sequence that led to Pimm’s game-tying goal with 2 seconds left.

• The Huskies showed some serious potential on offense. The mistakes that plague early-season games where certainly there, but they pieced together some fantastic breakouts and extended possessions.

• On the other end, Northeastern’s defensemen struggled to close down UMass forwards, allowing the Minutemen to make plays in space and along the half-wall. Against teams relying on their speed, giving them too much space is just asking for problems. The sheer size of the Northeastern defensemen will be an asset down low, but the NU blue liners showed little mobility.

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Joe Meloni and his crew of Hockey East writers are all over it. Check back here throughout the season for their thoughts, notes and ramblings.