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…)

For much of Friday’s game between first place Minnesota and last place Minnesota State, it was difficult to decipher who was the top team and who was the bottom one. The answer to said question came in the third period, when in the span of about 10 seconds, the Mavericks had a chance to win, and then lost on a goal at the other end.

Playing shorthanded, MSU senior forward Michael Dorr raced in on a breakaway on Gopher goalie Kent Patterson. His shot whistled well high and wide, directed around the glass and onto the stick of a Gopher. Minnesota charged to the other end and Nate Schmidt set up Erik Haula on a slap shot from the blueline — hit not that especially hard — that somehow found its way into the Maverick net.

MSU head coach Troy Jutting thought it was a shot that should have been stopped, as were the other two that got through senior goaltender Austin Lee.

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The Miami RedHawks swept the CCHA’s monthly awards for November — an exclamation point after a series of performances that have allowed Enrico Blasi’s team to silence the early season whispers. The RedHawks, who didn’t lose a game in the month of November have slowly climbed up the standings, from last place to their current position of sixth — ahead of Michigan (more on that in a moment).

Just days after we published an article here on CHN about the young freshmen who have sparked Miami’s turnaround, the RedHawks went on the road to defeat Providence (6-2) and host Denver (4-2) last weekend to capture the Denver Cup Classic title. It was Miami’s second time winning the tournament after also claiming the crown in 1997.

Junior Reilly Smith was named the CCHA’s Player of the Month — and after scoring a league-leading seven goals, it’s difficult to argue with that selection. Two of Smith’s tallies were game-winners, and perhaps most impressively, the Dallas Stars draft pick didn’t commit a single penalty during November. He capped off the month with a tournament MVP performance at the aforementioned Denver Cup, scoring the game-winning goal against Denver on Saturday night. (more…)

Another change at the top as the red-hot Bulldogs steamroll into December on a mighty-large unbeaten streak:

1 — Minnesota Duluth (Last week: 2)

The Bulldogs are a buzz saw right now and jump up in this week’s rankings despite being idle last weekend. It will be interesting to see how UMD handles their time off and if any rust developed over their 13-day layoff. Their road trip this weekend to Houghton won’t be easy either — the Huskies have lost just once at home this season. But UMD is 8-0-2 over their last 10 contests and have won five in a row, thrashing helpless Minnesota State (ironically the one team to beat Tech in Houghton this season) two weekends ago.

2 — Minnesota (Last week: 1)

The Gophers have struggled on Fridays lately, falling behind early and losing each of their last series lid-lifters against Wisconsin, St. Cloud State and Michigan State. All of those games came on the road however, and the Gophers find themselves with a giant meatball this weekend back at home against Minnesota State. After spending much of the first part of the season on the road — including five of their last six games — Minnesota won’t leave Mariucci Arena until mid-January and play only two road games through Jan. 27.

3 — Nebraska-Omaha (Last week: 5)

If Minnesota and UMD are the top-tier right now, UNO and the next two teams are in that next level. The Mavericks jump up this week because they scored a three-point weekend over St. Cloud State at the CenturyLink Center. If not for a late Ben Hanowski goal Saturday night, it would have been four points. All of the sudden, UNO has a full-blown goaltender controversy. John Faulkner — an All-WCHA pick from a year ago — didn’t even play last weekend and has been supplanted by freshmen Ryan Massa and Dayn Belfour. Perhaps our friend Chuck Schwartz was indeed seeing things clearly about Mr. Faulkner afterall.

4 — Colorado College (Last week: 3)

Yes, they were swept last weekend. But losing a pair of one goal games at Ralph Engelstad Arena is nothing to be ashamed about (although maybe this year it should be… KIDDING of course Sioux fans). I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team get a hat trick from one guy on two consecutive nights and lose both games. CC will get to take their frustrations out on their rivals from the north. If the Gold Pan means anything to these guys, and it does, they’ll need a win Friday at World Arena.

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1.Air Force – The Falcons continue to ride Stephen Caple with a weekend sweep of UConn. The Falcons average just under three goals a game to lead Atlantic Hockey. The Falcons also give up the least amount of goals in Atlantic Hockey. Both point to continued success this season. Cole Gunner leads all Atlantic Hockey freshmen 14 points while classmate is tied for the freshmen lead with five goals.

2. Mercyhurst – The Lakers had lost once in the last eight games before being swept by Wisconsin. Wisconsin out scored the Lakers 12-4 in the two games. It’s the most goals the Lakers have given up in back-to-back games this year. Daniel Bahntage continues to impress in his freshman year. He is tied with Derek Elliott for the team lead with 10 points. (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…)

Much like the rest of us, these power rankings didn’t do a whole lot of moving after Thanksgiving. UNH and Providence flip-flopped, but everyone else stayed where they were last week.

1. Merrimack (9-0-1, 6-0-1 HE) — Last week: 1

In its only game of the last week, Merrimack beat Alabama-Huntsville 6-0 on Wednesday. Joe Cannata registered his first shutout of the season and now ranks in the top three nationally in both goals against average (1.32) and save percentage (.944). Incredibly, the Warriors have still not given up more than two goals in a game yet this season.

2. Boston College (10-4-0, 7-2-0 HE) — Last week: 2

The Eagles fell behind 2-0 against Yale on Saturday, but Barry Almeida scored the tying goal with 2:19 to go in the third and Chris Kreider notched the game-winner with just 39 seconds remaining to give them the 3-2 victory. That snapped a two-game losing streak and helped BC avoid its first sub-.500 month since January 2010. (more…)

Things are getting interesting in Atlantic Hockey. Air Force and Mercyhurst are still at the top of the standings while RIT continues to climb. A weekend sweep has propelled Canisius up to third. And Sacred Heart finally gets a win, against Yale.

Air Force –  Following a winless weekend that knocked them out of first, the Falcons used their week off to their advantage. The Falcons swept UConn and are now back in first. The Falcons went 4 for 12 on the power play, three of those goals coming on Saturday. Tim Kirby scored three goals and added an assist on the weekend. Kyle De Laurell also scored twice, giving him eight on the year to lead the team. (more…)