Orono, Maine. – Maine dominated the first period against Quinnipiac and scored a quick goal 3:41 into the game off the stick of Steven Swavely. The goal came off a face-off where his brother, Jon Swavely tipped the puck and Steven buried it under the arm of Quinnipiac senior goaltender Eric Hartzell. The goal was not enough as Quinnipiac would used a strong performance from their goaltender Eric Hartzell and defeated Quinnipiac 2-1.

The Quinnipiac goaltender was strong all night and helped Rand Pecknold’s troops to the win, possibly in some ways a steal win. The goal early in the second period changed the momentum of the game. When Travis St-Denis scored two minutes into the second it turned a game that Maine was dominating into a game that Quinnipiac actually had a shot to win. Despite not showing much for most of the third period, Quinnipiac got the game winner with 1:26 left to go in the game. The goal proved to be a dagger on opening night for Maine. (more…)

LOWELL, Mass. — Massachusetts-Lowell beat the University of Toronto 5-2 in an exhibition game Saturday. The River Hawks opened the scoring 7:54 in when freshman Michael Colantone buried a Terrence Wallin rebound. Toronto’s Paul Van De Velde tied the game at one two minutes later, but then Joseph Pendenza scored a pair of goals to give Lowell a 3-1 lead after one.

Scott Wilson scored late in the second and freshman defenseman Greg Amlong capped the scoring with a power-play goal in the third. Freshman goalie Connor Hellebuyck played the first half of the game and stopped 12 of 13 shots, while Doug Carr saved seven of eight in the second half. The River Hawks open the regular season against Vermont on Friday.

What I saw
-Redshirt freshman defenseman Dmitry Sinitsyn played his first real game in more than a year. The seventh-round pick of the Dallas Stars wasn’t playing anywhere to start last season due to visa issues, then he committed to Lowell and redshirted the second half while practicing with the team. Obviously both Norm Bazin and the Stars saw a lot of promise in the offensive blue-liner, and he showed flashes of that Saturday, notably leading a couple rushes up ice. Sinitsyn also looked a bit rusty at times, but that was obviously to be expected. Bazin said it will be good for Sinitsyn to watch some video and be able to see where he should be in certain situations. (more…)

Freshman forward Frank Vatrano has withdrawn from Boston College, the school announced on Wednesday. Vatrano, who spent the last two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program, was considered one of the top players in BC’s freshman class. He will return to the Boston Junior Bruins of the Eastern Junior Hockey League, where he played before joining the USNTDP. In doing so, Vatrano maintains his NCAA eligibility.

According to Mike McMahon of The Eagle-Tribune, Vatrano left BC over an “academic issue” related to an admissions test. Coach Jerry York told The Heights (BC’s student paper) that he could not comment on whether Vatrano chose to leave or if he was asked to leave.

“Frank Vatrano has withdrawn from the University,” York told the paper. “Per policy at BC, we’re not allowed to discuss any academic issues. But we’re certainly going to miss him. He’s a terrific young guy and we wish him nothing but the best.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Vatrano was claimed by the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. There was also speculation that he might sign with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In the end, though, Vatrano elected to go to the EJHL.

UPDATE: According to U.S. Hockey Report, Vatrano failed to get through NCAA Clearinghouse, meaning he would have been ineligible to play. USHR also reports that Vatrano still plans on playing NCAA hockey once he gains eligibility, although it may not be at BC.

The Hockey East Writers & Broadcasters Association has picked Boston College to defend its regular-season title. The Eagles received 21 of 25 first-place votes to top this year’s preseason media poll. Massachusetts-Lowell, which tied for second last season, picked up three first-place votes and placed second in the poll. Boston University and New Hampshire rounded out the top four, while Providence, Maine (which got one first-place vote), Merrimack and Northeastern filled spots five through eight. Massachusetts and Vermont occupied the bottom two spots.

I was one of the three people who picked Lowell first. Obviously I have no problem with BC taking the top spot. I get it. The Eagles are the defending national champs and they’ve won three straight league titles. I would not be surprised at all if they did the same thing again this year. But, as of right now, I just think the River Hawks have fewer question marks. They return eight of their top 10 scorers and six defensemen who saw regular playing time, while BC returns just five of its top 10 scorers and three starting defensemen. Both teams return their starting goalie, and both are very good. The Eagles bring in a better recruiting class on paper, but Lowell’s incoming class is nothing to scoff at either. So did I really go out on a limb by picking Lowell? I don’t think so.

My ballot was different in two other places as well. I had Providence ahead of UNH for the fourth and final home ice spot, and I had UMass and Merrimack flipped. UNH could very well make the jump into the top four after finishing sixth last year, especially with Casey DeSmith starting in net from Day 1, but I think the Friars will ride the momentum they built at the end of last season, when they beat Lowell in the quarterfinals to reach the Garden for the first time in 10 years. Providence also brings in one of the best freshman classes in the league.

UMass went through a wild coaching search this summer, which I’m guessing is the main reason my peers have them out of the playoffs. However, the Minutemen return all but three point-scorers from last season, so I think it’s more likely they actually improve on last season’s eighth-place finish. Merrimack, meanwhile, loses star goaltender Joe Cannata and four of its top five scorers, which is why I have the Warriors tumbling to ninth.

The media also picked a preseason All-Hockey East Team. Maine’s Joey Diamond, BC’s Johnny Gaudreau, BU’s Matt Nieto and Lowell’s Scott Wilson were selected at forward (due to a tie, four were named). The two defensemen were BU’s Garrett Noonan and Lowell’s Chad Ruhwedel, while BC’s Parker Milner got the nod in goal. I have no problem with any of that because I picked the exact same team, minus Diamond, who would have been my fourth forward if I could have picked that many.

You can find the full media poll here.

Sixty-eight current or future college players were selected in this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft, and 20 of them represent Hockey East (including future member Notre Dame). Here is a list of all those picks and their expected years of arrival on campus.

Boston University led the way with eight recruits drafted, including five from this year’s incoming class. Eleven other Hockey East players who were ranked by NHL Central Scouting went undrafted, led by surprise non-picks Frank Vatrano (BC, 2012) and Paul DeJersey (Providence, 2012). Both of them were ranked among the top 100 North American skaters.

First Round
14 (Buffalo)- F Zemgus Girgensons (Vermont, 2012)
21 (Calgary)- F Mark Jankowski (Providence, 2012 or 2013)
23 (Florida)- D Michael Matheson (BC, 2012)

Second Round
56 (St. Louis)- F Sam Kurker (BU, 2012)
61 (Dallas)- F Devin Shore (Maine, 2012)

Third Round
75 (Calgary)- G Jon Gillies (Providence, 2012)
79 (Chicago)- F Chris Calnan (BC, 2013)
85 (Boston)- D Matt Grzelcyk (BU, 2012)

Fourth Round
98 (Minnesota)- F Adam Gilmour (BC, 2013)
100 (Washington)- F Thomas Di Pauli (Notre Dame, 2012 or 2013)
107 (Washington)- F Austin Wuthrich (Notre Dame, Soph.)
113 (Pittsburgh)- G Sean Maguire (BU, 2012)

Fifth Round
125 (NY Islanders)- D Doyle Somerby (BU, 2013)
130 (Winnipeg)- G Connor Hellebuyck (Lowell, 2012)
136 (Ottawa)- F Robbie Baillargeon (BU, 2013)
138 (San Jose)- F Danny O’Regan (BU, 2012)
147 (Vancouver)- D Ben Hutton (Maine, 2012)

Sixth Round
177 (Vancouver)- F Wesley Myron (BU, 2012)

Seventh Round
183 (Dallas)- D Dmitry Sinitsyn (Lowell, Soph.)
189 (Carolina)- F Brendan Collier (BU, 2013)

Late Tuesday morning, we learned, first from Fear the Triangle, that UMass coach Don Cahoon had stepped from his post of 12 years. While Cahoon remains silent and John McCutcheon remains as evasive as possible regarding the cause of his former employee’s dismay, some names have come the forefront as possible replacements.

For the most part, fewer than 24 hours after the news broke, we don’t know too much about the candidates. With the season under way in about four months, McCutcheon and his staff will have to move quickly in replacing Cahoon. Below is list of names I’ve heard from some of my sources around the country, while others are nothing more than my own speculation.

The Favorites: (more…)

Boston University defenseman Adam Clendening has signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and will forgo his final two years of school, according to RDS’s Renaud Lavoie. Clendening’s deal is for three years at $650,000 per season, Lavoie reports.

Clendening tallied four goals and 29 assists and earned a spot on the Hockey East First Team last season. As a freshman, he registered five goals and 21 assists and made the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. The Blackhawks picked Clendening in the second round (36th overall) in the 2011 NHL draft.

Rumors circulated in December that Clendening might leave BU mid-season, but he shot those down in an interview with College Hockey News. The rumors naturally popped up again once the season was over, but sources told CHN that the Blackhawks wanted him to stay at BU another season. On Thursday night, Clendening told The Boston Hockey Blog that Chicago showed increased interest lately and that he “felt it was the right time.”

Clendening’s departure leaves BU with five returning defensemen, plus incoming freshman Matt Grzelcyk. The Terriers will almost certainly add another defenseman or two over the summer. One possibility would be Marc Hetnik, who was originally committed for this fall before it was decided that he’d spend another season playing for the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL.

If the Terriers can fill their defensive holes without using Clendening’s scholarship, they could potentially use that to go after USHL Player of the Year Kevin Roy, who is reportedly looking into getting out of his commitment to Brown. The Pipeline Show named BU as one of the schools Roy would be interested in if he does decommit.

Jon Gillies, one of the top goaltending prospects in this summer’s NHL draft, will play for Providence next season, according to multiple reports. Gillies had originally committed to Northeastern, but he chose to decommit earlier this spring when Chris Rawlings elected to stay for his senior season.

Gillies narrowed his choices down to Providence, Notre Dame and the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Andrew Weiss of Future Considerations reported over the weekend that Gillies had eliminated Notre Dame from consideration. Gillies’ pick of Providence over Quebec was reported by both Weiss and Nathan Fournier of the Maine Hockey Journal. He told Weiss that he picked Providence because it allowed him “more time to develop if needed.”

Gillies, a native of South Portland, Maine, played for the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League this past season. The 6-foot-5 netminder led the league with 31 wins and ranked fourth with a .915 save percentage. Gillies was recently ranked sixth among North American goalies in NHL Central Scouting’s final draft rankings.

The Friars now have four goalies lined up for next year’s roster — Gillies, senior Russ Stein, sophomore Julien Laplante and incoming freshman Dylan Wells. Gillies adds to an already-impressive recruiting class for second-year coach Nate Leaman. He joins, among others, fellow NHL draft hopefuls Mark Jankowski and Paul DeJersey, both of whom were ranked among Central Scouting’s top 100 North American skaters.

NHL Central Scouting released its final rankings for the 2012 draft on Monday. As expected, Hockey East is well represented. Eleven players committed to Hockey East schools cracked the top 100 among North American skaters, and 22 (updated to 23) total made the 210-player list. In addition, two Hockey East commits (updated to three) were ranked among the top 35 North American goalies. Below the jump is the full list of Hockey East recruits to make the list. All players are expected to be on campus next season unless otherwise noted. (more…)

The Minnesota State coaching job is officially open for business after the school reassigned Troy Jutting Sunday evening. At a press conference this morning, Athletic Director Kevin Buisman said people have already inquired about the position. He says they will move quickly to fill the position.

I have no reason to think otherwise. Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press, who is the man to follow in this pursuit (@puckato on Twitter), also thinks it would behoove the Mavericks to move quickly on this. And if there really is a shortlist, this thing could get done by the end of the month.

(more…)