While everyone in North Andover, Mass., was freaking out because Merrimack did not overtake the top in either national poll, I spent the day informing people of two things: polls are stupid and the Warriors are in great position in the Hockey East standings (second place) and the PairWise (first), which are still the only two metrics that matter.

Merrimack is good, but skepticism is valid 

In September, I pegged Merrimack to finish third behind Boston University and Boston College. I wavered back and forth between a third-place finish and a fourth-place landing, ultimately putting the Warriors third, Maine fourth and New Hampshire fifth. With this, I was really making two pretty big predictions with Merrimack building on last season and UNH’s run of home ice ending.

We have roughly four months of hockey left this season, but I’m looking pretty good — except with the whole thinking Maine’s goaltending wouldn’t be terrible thing.

Friday’s comeback, overtime win at BU cemented the Warriors as one of the two best teams in Hockey East. However, that win over BU, which helped Merrimack improve to 8-0-1, was Merrimack’s first win over what someone could describe a “good” hockey team — and that word only applies if you consider “wildly talented” a synonym for “good.” Knocking Maine off in the season-opener may qualify as well, if only because it was the first game of the season and no one knew Dan Sullivan and Martin Ouellette would be this bad. (more…)

Boston College took down Northeastern University Friday night at Conte Forum 2-1. BC is now 7-1-0 in conference play, while Northeastern is still looking for its second win of the season at 1-6-2.

The Huskies took an early lead in the first period but couldn’t maintain as BC evened the score in the second and sealed the deal with a last second goal from Tommy Cross with under three seconds to play.

What I saw

Northeastern’s defense was clearing puck after puck in the first period. When it came to the second and third periods, they were clearing less and couldn’t push BC back once they got the puck in front of Rawlings.

BC obliterated Northeastern in shots. The Eagles basically doubled Northeastern’s shot number each period, giving them a 36 to 18 shot advantage at the end of the game. The BC defense looked significantly more aggressive than Northeastern’s. (more…)

BOSTON — Merrimack remained unbeaten with a come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win against Boston University on Friday night. Goals from Garrett Noonan and Justin Courtnall staked the Terriers (3-4-1, 2-3-1 HE) to a 2-1 lead, but the Warriors (8-0-1, 6-0-1 HE) fought through a slew of penalties and tied the game with 1:56 remaining when Brandon Brodhag tipped home a Jordan Heywood slapper. They captured their second overtime victory in a row with another tip-in, as Billerica native Connor Toomey deflected a Karl Stollery wrister past Kieran Millan (27 saves) just 22 seconds into the extra session. Joe Cannata made 36 saves for Merrimack.

What I saw

-Merrimack’s freshmen finally found the scoresheet. Through the first eight games of the season, the Warriors had zero points from their rookie class. That changed with the first goal of the game when Arlington native Justin Mansfield chipped a rebound past Millan. Then of course there was the game-winner from Toomey, another freshman. Mansfield and Toomey, along with fellow freshmen Clayton Jardine and Dan Kolomatis, have been playing well this season; they just hadn’t scored yet. If they can build on Friday night and continue to be productive, Merrimack could make the jump from a middle-of-the-pack offense to one of the league’s best. (more…)

For the first time all season, there has been a change at the top of my WCHA Power Rankings. Here they are for you to enjoy:

1 — Minnesota (Last week: 2)

All facets of the Gopher game are rolling right now. They head to Kohl Center this weekend with a chance to dagger a rival for the second weekend in a row.

2 — Colorado College (Last week: 1)

Every once in a while, Joe Howe plays a game where all you can do is scratch your head and wonder, “why?” His effort last Friday in a 7-5 loss to UNO was one of those games.

3 — Minnesota Duluth (Last week: 3)

The Bulldogs are finally looking like defending champs after taking three points from Denver at Magness Arena. That has a chance to be one of those series you look back at in March.

4 — Nebraska-Omaha (Last week: 5)

John Faulkner was bailed out by Dayne Belfour and the Maverick offense in the third period last Friday after he allowed four goals on just 16 shots in 40 minutes. That earned him a spot on the bench Saturday — something that happened just a handful of times last season.

(more…)

We’re entering the second week of conference play for AHA teams. And this week features some games that should be fun to watch, including the only two AHA teams that have yet to lose a game in conference play.

When Robert Morris travels to Mercyhurst on Friday it’ll be a battle of the special teams. The Colonials have the best penalty kill in the nation, clicking along at 95 percent. The Lakers have the second best power play in the conference, seventh in the nation, at 26 percent. (more…)

A month into the season, Merrimack and Boston College appear to be head and shoulders above the rest of Hockey East. After them, there’s a whole bunch of teams trying to break away from the pack and establish themselves as legitimate home-ice squads. Before I get to this week’s power rankings (which will be a weekly feature from here on), it’s worth noting that these rankings are where I see teams right now, not where I see them at the end of the season.

1. Merrimack (7-0-1, 5-0-1 HE)

Given that they’re the only unbeaten team left in the country, it should come as no surprise that the Warriors top this week’s rankings. They possess the nation’s best defense (1.25 goals against per game), led by senior goalie Joe Cannata and his league-leading .939 save percentage. The only knock on the Warriors is that they haven’t played anyone really good yet, although going 3-0-0 at Maine and Vermont (two places that are always tough to play) is pretty impressive.

2. Boston College (8-2-0, 6-1-0 HE)

The Eagles might’ve been No. 1 this week, but then they lost to UMass on Saturday. That game is more of an aberration than anything to actually be concerned about, but it’s just enough to drop them below Merrimack. The Eagles rank first or second in the conference in offense, defense, power play and penalty kill, so you’d have to do a lot of nitpicking to find a weakness here. Led by Chris Kreider (8-7-15) and Bill Arnold (7-7-14), BC has six players averaging a point per game or better. (more…)

Finally, Miami looked like the RedHawks of old, while elsewhere, Ferris State and Northern Michigan had solid and productive weekends.

Some thoughts on the past weekend’s play:

• Ferris State swept its weekend series against Bowling Green, and a pair of Bulldogs were honored this week by the CCHA. Senior forward Jordie Johnston, who was a +5 this weekend with two goals and two assists, was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week. His classmate, Brett Wysopal was also +5 and scored two goals en route to being named the league’s Defenseman of the Week. The Bulldogs are quietly 8-2-0 — the same record as Lake Superior. The Lakers play a pair at Ferris this weekend in a matchup of two of the more surprising teams in college hockey so far this season. (more…)

Well the first weekend of conference play has come and gone, and some things have become clear. Some teams continue to have success (Air Force), some teams are surprisingly struggling (RIT), and yet others just can’t get a win. AHA teams are all over the map in the early going this season, with many teams not separating from the pack yet. (more…)

The top of the various Hockey East scoring leaders looks pretty much the way we expected. Chris Kreider leads the league with 15 points on eight goals and seven assists and three Boston College teammates follow. Strong upperlcassmen like Massachusetts’ T.J. Syner are putting together strong seasons, along with Maine’s dynamic senior duo of Brian Flynn and Spencer Abbot chipping in with consistent production.

We know what we’re going to get from some guys. Others, we expect and don’t get. Then, there are the players that build strong seasons out of almost nowhere. This feature will run throughout the season and assess those performances that have helped teams win a few more games than we all thought they would.

Three Up

Nick Sorkin, Sophomore, Forward, New Hampshire

Since beginning the season 0-4-0, New Hampshire is 4-0-1 in its last five games. While many worried about the Wildcats’ ability to create consistent offense, Nick Sorkin has proven to be that productive, do-it-all center UNH coach Dick Umile has managed to cultivate almost every season. In those fives games, Sorkin has three goals and five assists, pacing the resurgent UNH offense. To his right, Stevie Moses appears to have found his game against, which his a testament to Sorkin’s presence. In the three games before being placed with Sorkin, Moses recorded just one assist. Since being placed along side the sophomore, the speedster Moses has three goals and four assists. (more…)

When both Massachusetts and UMass-Lowell left the ice on Saturday night, each club likely expected its victory to be the most surprising result of the evening.

In Amherst, the Minutemen defeated Boston College, 4-2, for its first Hockey East win of the season. The victory was UMass’ first over Boston College since Casey Wellman’s overtime winner gave the Minutemen a 4-3 decision on Nov. 22 2008. Meanwhile, about 80 miles to the east, Lowell crushed Boston University, 7-1, to pick up its own first league win of the season.

Which win was bigger for which team? Next week will give us more insight in that regard, but, for now, both teams have more confidence than they did when the weekend began. Other results throughout the league told us a few more things, and here’s just some of what I gleaned.

Ryan Flanigan is the most underrated player in Hockey East

Bill Arnold. Chris Kreider. Matt Nieto. Stevie Moses. Brian Flynn.

These are the players people like me talked about in September when we named the premier forwards in Hockey East. Flanigan, however, quietly put together a fantastic junior campaign in North Andover a season ago, including a nine-point performance in the Warriors run to the Hockey East Championship game. (more…)