The WCHA needed a big weekend to salvage it’s at-large hopes for the NCAA Tournament in March. And while it posted a winning record thanks to a late-Saturday rally, a 7-4-1 record on the weekend isn’t exactly what was needed.

What’s truly disappointing is what could have been for the league this weekend. Denver blew a two-goal lead Friday in a 3-2 loss. Minnesota State blew a 3-2 lead late in the third period Friday, allowing two goals in 1:16 in a 4-3 loss. CC had a two-goal lead Saturday and tied. A 10-2-0 record this weekend would have been an unquestioned success. A 7-4-1 record? Not so much.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...

BOSTON ― In the first game of the Frozen Fenway celebration of hockey, Massachusetts defeated Vermont, 3-2, in overtime. With both teams competing at Fenway Park for the first time, UMass defenseman Mike Marcou scored on a rebound late in the extra frame. The Minutemen gave Vermont ample opportunity to score on the power play, including a five-minute chance late in the game through part of overtime.

What I saw

The Catamounts took advantage of many UMass penalties and scored twice on the power play. Vermont spent the last 2:43 of the game on the power play after UMass forward Patrick Kiley received a five-minute, game misconduct penalty for hitting from behind. The remainder of that penalty continued into overtime, providing Vermont with ample opportunities to break the tie.

Special teams, especially the man advantage, has been a weakness for Vermont all season. And Saturday afternoon, it cost the team a victory.

In the first period, UMass responded to Vermont’s first goal 15 seconds later. It was a critical response for the Minutemen at that stage in the game, as the team was having trouble establishing sustained pressure.

The game also included two game misconducts from separate circumstances, and one five-minute major penalty. The teams finished with a combined 53 penalty minutes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...

BOSTON — Boston University took over sole possession of first place in Hockey East with a 4-2 win over Merrimack on Friday night. The Warriors (11-4-3, 7-3-1 HE) opened the scoring with a Josh Myers goal 4:31 in, but BU (11-6-1, 9-4-1 HE) responded with two goals in the next minute from Justin Courtnall and Alex Chiasson. Alexx Privitera made it 3-1 with a power-play tally later in the period, and Sahir Gill finished off the scoring with one of his own late in the second. Kieran Millan made 42 saves in the win.

What I saw

-After going 0-for-6 on the power play last Saturday against Notre Dame, BU went 2-for-4 Friday. The Terriers converted on each of their first two power plays thanks to some great puck movement. The first setup started when Adam Clendening fed Chris Connolly, who then found Chiasson with a great centering pass that Chiasson redirected past Joe Cannata (32 saves). The second came on a beautiful pass from below the goal line by Matt Nieto that found Privitera all alone at the back door for an easy tap-in. The blue-line pairing of Clendening and Privitera on the top unit looked particularly dangerous.

-The Terriers also improved on faceoffs, going 28-for-60 after winning just 19 of 59 in South Bend. No one was spectacular, but everyone was right around 50 percent, which is really all BU can reasonably expect after losing not just its top two centers, but also its top two faceoff men. Perhaps the most notable contributor was Chiasson, who, although listed as the top-line right wing, took the majority of faceoffs when his line was on the ice and wound up going 7-for-13. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...

Michigan defenseman Jon Merrill will be in the starting lineup tonight, as the sophomore makes his season debut against Lake Superior. Merrill, a rare bright spot for Team USA last week at the World Junior Championships (WJC), had been suspended for the entire first half of the season, missing 22 games. Stay tuned to CHN through the weekend, as we’ll have much more to come on Merrill’s return, including a feature story by early next week. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...

I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and I’m excited for what promises to be another great second half of action in the WCHA.

I will jump back into the power rankings prior to next weekend, but I did want to stress how important the nonconference action this weekend should not be overlooked.

Because there are no WCHA games on the schedule, many will look at this weekend’s games and think “who cares?” Well, you shouldn’t care — if all you care about is winning the MacNaughton Cup. January means it’s time to start looking at those Pairwise Rankings a little closer, and for those of you who haven’t checked them out yet, you can find them here.

I am, by no means, a Pairwise expert — very few are. But I can tell you this with certainty: Only two WCHA teams are in good NCAA Tournament position as we head into the second half, as Minnesota Duluth (No.2) and Minnesota (tied for 4th) are the only two locks as of right now. Colorado College is square on the bubble, and would likely be one of the last one or two at-large teams in.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...

Much like the teams themselves, my power rankings are back from break. There isn’t much movement at the top, although it’s worth noting that BC and Merrimack haven’t done a whole lot lately to distance themselves from the pack. There’s plenty of shuffling going on between the five and nine spots, though, as none of those teams are in the same place as they were before break.

1. Boston College (13-7-0, 9-4-0 HE) — Before break: 1

BC opened the second half with a 4-2 loss to Michigan in the first round of the Great Lakes Invitational, but bounced back with a 2-1 win over Michigan Tech in the consolation game. The Eagles are just 6-6-0 over the last two months, but they still rank in the top two in Hockey East in offense, defense and special teams net. After freshman Brian Billett had started four straight in net, junior Parker Milner got the start and win Friday.

2. Merrimack (11-3-3, 7-2-1 HE) — Before break: 2

Merrimack lost 3-1 to Union just before break, then started the second half with a 6-6 tie against St. Lawrence and 3-0 win over Holy Cross in the Ledyard Bank Classic. The Warriors finished December with a 2-3-2 record, but those are their only three losses of the season. Shawn Bates tallied two goals and three assists over the weekend and now has a five-game point streak. Merrimack continues to lead the country in defense with 1.88 goals against per game. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...

Air Force – The weekend marked the return of Jason Torf to the Falcons’ net. But it wasn’t the way the Falcons or Tord wanted to return. Torf came on in relief of Stephen Caple in the Falcons’ 7-1 loss to Denver on Saturday. After recording an assist against Colorado College on Friday, John Kruse’s five game point streak was ended against Denver. Kruse had three goals and five assists during that streak.

AIC – The Yellow Jackets are off until Jan. 10 when they face RPI.

Army – The Black Knights took part in the UConn Hockey Classic, where they finished third. Mike Hull had a goal and assist for the Black Knights. The Black Knights were shut out but UConn but then rebounded with a come from behind win against RPI in the consolation game. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...

Durham, NH.- New Hampshire came out of a 23 day layoff flat offensively and continuing the defensive woes that plagued them in the first half to lose to Brown 5-2. The loss was the first on home ice for the Wildcats against the Bears in 81 years.

Brown raced out to a 3-0 lead midway through the second period but proceeded to let the Wildcats back into the game. Connor Hardowa scored on a point shot midway into the second period and Nick Sorkin scored early in the third to make the game 3-2 but Brown held on and got a huge goal at 15:29 of the third to ice the game thus skating away with the victory. Marco De Filippo was strong in the Brown net making 39 saves while Matt Di Girolamo was pulled in the third period for UNH after making 15 of 18 saves in lieu of freshman Casey Desmith, who made 5 of 6 saves including a penalty shot save on Brown captain, Jack Maclellan.

What I Saw

-UNH came out flat in the first two periods and Brown took advantage scoring three goals in the third period. UNH had a lot of sustained pressure in the early going of the third period but was only able to capitalize on one of those opportunities.

-Matt Di Girolamo again struggled at times against Brown and was pulled in lieu of Casey Desmith. Casey Desmith again wooed the crowd with his play. With about 6:30 left in the game Brown was awarded a penalty shot when UNH’s Brett Kostolansky covered the puck in the crease. Desmith made a huge pad save on Brown captain, Jack Maclellan. At this point of the third all the momentum was tilting towards UNH but they were unable to capitalize. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...

After a tumultuous few weeks for many Hockey East teams, many teams will look forward to just getting back on the ice for game action. The slate is busy for many teams this weekend as holiday tournaments are abounded. Vermont hosts its annual Catamount Cup, UMass-Lowell is at the UConn Hockey Classic, UMass and Maine head to Florida for the annual Florida College Classic, Merrimack will make the short trip to Dartmouth for the Ledyard National Bank Classic in Hanover NH., Northeastern travels to the annual Mariucci Cup and Boston College is the fourth participant in the annual Great Lakes Invitational at the Joe Louis Arena.

This weekend of non-conference games will go a long way in determining the field of 16 at the end of the season. As the second half of the season begins the countdown to the multiple Frozen Fenway games begins and the long and grinding road to the Hockey East tournament also commences. The stage has been set for some teams to begin dropping and others to continue their ordinary runs to the league playoffs. Here’s to previewing the long weekend of games this New Year’s weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...

Last night, we rewarded the best performers in Hockey East in the first half. Chris Kreider and Joe Cannata were the big winners, as the former received our nod for Player of the First Half and Cannata was the unanimous choice for the league’s top netminder — both players were also named to our first team.

Aside from the various lists and all-conference teams we conducted our own little vote on, we thought more critically about the league. Looking back on some of the best and worst moments from the first half and turning our eyes ahead to the second half, below is a list of some of the most interesting things that have already happened and a few more we think you’ll be talking about throughout the second half.

Most Surprising Player

Chad Ruhwedel, Defenseman, Sophomore, UMass Lowell

Doug Carr, Goaltender, Sophomore, UMass Lowell

Between the five Hockey East writers included in this poll, two chose Ruhwedel and three chose Carr. While that clearly tilted the nod in favor of Carr, it’s only appropriate to credit both players for their remarkable performances guiding UMass Lowell to an unlikely 10-5-0 first half.

Carr has been nothing-short-of fantastic for the River Hawks, and his 1.82 goals-against average and .934 save percentage would typically be good enough for tops in the conference. Joe Cannata’s brilliance is the only thing keeping Carr down at this point, but it’s like UML coach Norm Bazin is more than satisfied with the goaltending he’s received since giving Carr the keys to the River Hawks. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this Post ...