I’ve gotten some questions on Twitter about different playoff scenarios heading into tonight, so I figured it would be a good idea to just run through some of them here. First, let’s take a look at what has already happened.

-Lowell has clinched home ice. Incredibly, it is still the only team that has done so.

-The top eight teams have all clinched playoff spots. Northeastern was already eliminated before this weekend, while Massachusetts got eliminated last night.

OK, now let’s take a look at who can clinch what tonight. Vermont and Maine are the only two playoff teams that have no chance of getting home ice. They will be the seventh and eighth seeds in some order. If they finish tied for seventh, Vermont holds the tiebreaker.

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NORTH ANDOVER — Considering how crazy the Hockey East race has been this season, we should have only expected these final few games to finish in an equal frenzy.

UMass, which needed at least a tie to keep its playoff hopes alive after Maine beat UNH, scored three goals in the last 4:01 — all three with its goaltender pulled — to force overtime. But Merrimack, which needed a win to keep its home-ice hopes alive, got an extra-session goal from Connor Toomey to beat the Minutemen, 4-3, at Lawler Arena on Friday night.

What I saw

– The Minutemen potted three extra-attacker goals in the final 4:01 of the third period. On a power play with more than five minutes to go, UMass head coach John Micheletto pulled his goaltender for the 6-on-4 advantage. The Minutemen cut Merrimack’s 2-0 lead in half before Mike Collins tacked on what looked like necessary insurance later in the period. But, UMass struck twice in the final two minutes, both again with goaltender Steve Mastalerz on the bench, to tie the score.

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DULUTH – Minnesota-Duluth defeats Nebraska-Omaha 5-4 after scoring four straight goals in the second period.  UNO sits in sixth place in the WCHA, but will fall to seventh tonight as Denver is going to defeat Alaska Anchorage.  The drop in standings results in Omaha taking the road for an away game to kick-off the WCHA playoffs, making tomorrow’s game even more important.

The Mavericks hit the board first with a Josh Archibald tally, finishing off the period ahead of the Bulldogs 3-1.  The second period belonged to the Bulldogs, though.  After killing a five-minute major penalty, the Bulldogs scored four straight goals giving them the 5-3 lead to end the second.  Johnnie Searfoss cut UMD’s lead 5-4 in the third period, but were unable to find anymore offensive production to tie the game.

What I Saw

UNO was able to capitalize on missed passes and sloppy play from UMD which allowed them to dominate most of the first period.  Ryan Massa started the game for the Mavericks, but was pulled and replaced by John Faulkner after giving up four goals.  With the exception of the second period, which I’m sure they’d like to have back, UNO played pretty well.

UMD didn’t exactly fly out of the gates to begin the game, but eventually found traction and success after awhile.  The Bulldog power play helped in adding two goals in four attempts, which looked to be firing on all cylinders in each attempt.

What I Thought

Omaha came to play, and quieted Amsoil Arena very early in the game.  The dominant offense UMD had hoped to stop from UNO produced early in the game, but failed when it counted most.  But when momentum was sided with the Mavericks, which was mainly the first period, they displayed a dangerous amount of talent in connecting with one another and moving the puck.

Duluth’s sloppy play allowed UNO to convert early on, but after killing the major penalty, the Dogs caught fire and didn’t look back.  UMD’s special teams continued to perform well from the week before, killing penalties and finding the back of the net when on a man-advantage.  A team that is finally showing some confidence late in the season.

What They Said

UMD coach Scott Sandelin, “We won the battles around the net, the penalty kill was huge and to kill that (Justin Crandall’s major penalty) off and to respond with four goals was huge.”

UMD freshman Austin Farley,”All lines are working well and we’re all clicking.  Our power play is pretty good too and we wanted to win the special teams battle because that’s what it comes down to later.”

UNO junior Ryan Walters, “They gained a lot of momentum for killing it (Justin Crandall’s major penalty) off and as a result they scored four straight goals and we had to come back just like they did.  The third period came along and we got that goal right away and gave ourselves a chance but fell short tonight.”

What Else You Should Know

UMD is locked up to travel for the first round of the WCHA playoffs, but UNO is one point out of playing at home.  Tomorrow’s game could potentially lock the Mavericks up in an away series as well, depending on how Denver does against UAA tomorrow night.

Austin Farley quietly had a four point night with a goal and three assists, and was also one of five Bulldogs with multiple points.

Tomorrow (Saturday) will be the last regular season game for both teams.

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Durham, NH – On a night that could have separated UNH from the pack in Hockey East, as UMass-Lowell lost earlier in the night, the Wildcats laid an egg against rival Maine in front of a national audience on NBCSN. The Black Bears took an early 1-0 lead on UNH on the shorthand as freshman Devin Shore sent drew defenders to the wall and sent a beautiful saucer pass to fellow freshman Steven Swavely who was true to give Maine the early lead. This lead would hold through the intermission and Maine would play a masterful, defensive second period to take a 1-0 advantage into the the final period.

The flood gates opened in the final 11 minutes of the contest, as Kyle Beattie would score a crucial go ahead goal at the nine minute, 18 second mark to put the Black Bears up 2-0. UNH would answer four minutes later, as Dalton Speelman would tip home an Eric Knodel shot to give UNH some life. But Maine would score two quick goals, 20 seconds apart to give Maine a late 4-1 lead. UNH would then respond with two late goals, but it was not enough and Maine would pick up the 4-3 win.

With the win, Maine clinches the eighth and final spot in the Hockey East playoffs and with the loss UNH falls to a third place tie in Hockey East, one point ahead of fifth place Boston University. UNH needs two points on Saturday night against this same Maine team to clinch home ice in the first round the Hockey East playoffs and are assured of not finishing with the one seed. The best UNH could do is a share of a Hockey East title, if Providence and UMass-Lowell tie. But UNH cannot gain the number one seed because they lost the season series against Providence.  Read the rest of this entry »

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LOWELL, Mass. — Led by Jon Gillies’ 31 saves, Providence beat Massachusetts-Lowell 3-0 on Friday to move into a tie with Lowell for first place in Hockey East. The Friars and River Hawks conclude the season Saturday night in Providence with the regular-season title on the line. The winner of the game would win the title outright, while a tie would leave both teams with a share a title.

Providence opened Friday’s scoring 12:50 into the first when Ross Mauermann buried a rebound generated by a Paul de Jersey shot. The Friars made it 2-0 on another rebound goal 6:16 into the second, this time with Kevin Hart following up a Mark Jankowski shot. The lead hit 3-0 on a third-period power play, when a Tim Schaller drive to the net led to a loose puck that Tom Parisi buried.

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BOSTON — Boston University defeated Northeastern, 4-2, on Friday night at Matthews Arena. The win kept the Terriers alive in the race for home ice in the Hockey East tournament. Northeastern was eliminated from contention last weekend, but the loss was still difficult for the Huskies to handle.

BU winger Jake Moscatel, a walk-on, notched his first-career goal to start the scoring for the Terriers at 12 minutes, 19 seconds of the first period. Wade Megan, Danny O’Regan and Matt Lane also scored for BU, with O’Regan becoming the game-winner. NU received goals from Cody Ferriero and  Adam Reid in the loss.

What I Saw

• The Terriers created good traffic in front of Rawlings and sent shots in from the blue line to take advantage of second and third chances. Rawlings’ rebound control has always been issue. BU’s first goal came on a shot from freshman defenseman Ahti Oksanen that Rawlings’ initially saved. Moscatel picked up the rebound and beat Rawlings. The Terriers defensemen are an especially active group offensively. Goaltenders with rebound problems are especially east targets for the group, which wasted little time taking advantage on Friday.

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Ten games take place in Hockey East next weekend. Boston College heads to Burlington, Vt., for a pair. Massachusetts-Lowell and Providence, Boston University and Northeastern and Massachusetts and Merrimack play home-and-homes. Maine travels south for two with New Hampshire.

These 10 games will, finally, clarify the field for the 2012 Hockey East tournament. In a way, this installment is the end of an era for the conference. Notre Dame’s arrival next season will lead to new playoff format that includes automatic qualification for every team. Connecticut comes the year after, which will bring yet another format change. The current plan, which includes the elimination of the ninth- and 10th-place teams, is my preference. After all, the regular season loses some of its value if everyone qualifies just by showing up, but the new formats won’t be any less exciting. We’ll just have to wait an additional week to see teams’ seasons end.

At the moment, Northeastern is the only Hockey East team eliminated. Massachusetts could see its season end on Friday if it fails to earn a point, and Maine wins its first game with New Hampshire. Fortunately for the Minutemen, UNH still has a lot to play for this weekend, and the Wildcats are always looking for a win when the hated Black Bears are in town.

Even Northeastern will see this weekend as a point of pride. A year ago, the Huskies were in the same position, eliminated heading into the final night of the season. However, their overtime win over BU cost the Terriers at least a share of the Hockey East regular season title.

Regardless of a fan’s allegiance, the drama of the weekend will lead to yet another unforgettable end to Hockey East’s final regular season as a 10-team, New England-only league.

(After the jump: A fitting end to a disappointing year for Northeastern, BC’s vulnerability and UML readying to win a championship.)

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — For the first time ever, Massachusetts-Lowell is alone in first heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The River Hawks took over the top spot and clinched home ice by beating Merrimack 3-1 on Sunday. They also moved up to fourth in the Pairwise. The Warriors remain in sixth place, three points out of a home ice spot.

Josh Holmstrom scored twice in the first period to give Lowell (21-9-2, 15-8-2 HE) an early 2-0 lead. The first goal came 6:58 in when he set up in front of the net and redirected a Joe Houk shot from the left halfwall. A little more than four minutes later, he scored on the power play when Scott Wilson found him alone in front. Lowell upped the lead to 3-0 seven minutes into the second when Joseph Pendenza fed a charging Greg Amlong for the freshman defenseman’s first career goal. Shawn Bates cut the lead to 3-1 early in the third, but that was as close as Merrimack (14-14-6, 12-10-3 HE) would get.

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MINNEAPOLIS- It took Minnesota nearly 90 minutes to score a goal this weekend, but once the red light went on its work for the weekend was just beginning.

Redshirt junior Zach Budish scored twice while Erik Haula added 3 assists as the Gophers defeated Denver 5-1 behind a four goal third period. The win gave Minnesota a split in their final WCHA regular season home series before joining the Big Ten in 2013-2014.

The Pioneers took an early 1-0 lead on Scott Mayfield’s 3rd goal of the year and were poised for a second when Ty Loney tipped in a shot past Adam Wilcox 5 minutes into the second. Loney’s goal, however, was ruled to have been played with a high stick and overturned. That led to Budish tying the game at one 9:03 into the second before third period goals by Nick Bjugstad, Justin Holl, Sam Warning  and Budish (on an empty netter) sealed the game for Minnesota. Read the rest of this entry »

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BOSTON — Vermont beat Boston University 5-2 on Saturday to gain some separation in the race for a playoff spot. The Catamounts are now two points ahead of eighth-place Maine and three points ahead of ninth-place Massachusetts. The Terriers, meanwhile, missed out on a chance to keep pace with the top pack. They are now three points out of first and two points out of home ice.

The Catamounts opened the scoring 3:24 into the game when Matt White capitalized on a shorthanded breakaway. Brett Bruneteau added to the lead three minutes later when he beat Sean Maguire (37 saves) from a seemingly impossible angle. Matt Nieto cut the lead in half late in the second on a power-play goal — his sixth goal in the last three games. Michael Paliotta made it 3-1 early in the second, and the score stayed that way until Garrett Noonan scored a shorthanded goal 7:29 into the third to pull BU within one.

Kyle Reynolds gave Vermont some insurance with 1:38 to go, then Chris McCarthy scored an empty-netter in the closing seconds. Brody Hoffman made 26 saves in the win. With the loss, the Terriers dropped one spot, to 17th, in the Pairwise.

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