As the finish line to the regular season begins to come into focus, so does the race for the MacNaughton Cup. Five teams are within five points of the WCHA lead, currently held by St. Cloud State, with many of those schools still having to play one another.

After the break,the effect of outdoor games in the conference race,  a fan in Bemidji wears a bag on his head and Minnesota-Duluth sees their chances of home ice slip away.

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We’re coming down to the last few weeks of the regular season and things are just getting heated up. Teams had a chance to separate themselves from the pack this past weekend but only Niagara was able to extend it’s lead and all but seal their first Atlantic Hockey regular season title. Just seven points separate second place from tenth place. It should be another exciting finish to the Atlantic Hockey season.

1. Niagara – The Purple Eagles are without a doubt the best in Atlantic Hockey. They’ve only lost once in league play and are getting national attention. The Purple Eagles are ranked 15th in the USCHO poll, but more importantly are ninth in the PairWise. The face rival Canisius tonight and Saturday.

2.  Mercyhurst – The Lakers have clawed their way back to where we thought they would be at the beginning of the season. They have points in four straight games and sit in second place. It’s probably the highest the Lakers will climb as Niagara looks poised to claim to the regular season title. The Lakers host Air Force, who trail the Lakers by just three points, for two games this weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

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The first Beanpot Monday is behind us, which means we are about one week away from the stretch run. The standings have done nothing but tighten up over the last few weeks, as Boston College, Boston University and New Hampshire have struggled for consistency. Interesting to note since coming back from break the top three have combined to go 13-15-3, while Maine (who was in last place) has gone 6-3-3 in that same time frame. The top six are now separated by a mere seven points and the fight for home-ice is going to be an interesting battle to the end, but I guess so will the fight for the regular season title.

At press time, there is a huge storm figuring to wreck havoc on the Friday Contests, so please check ahead before you head out to your local rink and of course please be safe. I am going to go ahead and preview the games as if all the games were going to happen as scheduled, but at this time that is seriously doubtful. I will post another blog later if any games are postponed, as the information becomes available. CHN will keep you up to date. Read the rest of this entry »

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Is it possible that Hockey East will only send two teams to the NCAA tournament this year? It’s something that has only happened once in the last 14 years. BC and UNH still look like safe bets, but no one else is any better than a bubble team right now. Lowell dropped out of the top 16 in the Pairwise over the weekend. Merrimack and Providence are being held back by poor non-conference records. BU is still in the top 16, but given the way the Terriers have been playing, you have to wonder how much longer that will last.

My gut feeling is that at least one of those bubble teams will make it. If the Terriers can get back to playing at least close to the level they played at during the first semester, they have a pretty easy schedule that should help them save face. The River Hawks play all Teams Under Consideration the rest of the way, so they can definitely move up if they get hot. The Warriors and Friars have the steepest climb, both because they need the most wins and because they have pretty tough schedules.

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Another interesting weekend in the ECAC and again Quinnipiac remained undefeated in conference play. The Bobcats defeated Yale 6-2 on Saturday to further solidify their hold on the standings. It’s not what’s going on at the top that is intriguing, but its what is happening in the middle that is interesting. A mere three points separate positions three to ten. Union and Dartmouth are tied for third place, while five teams sit in a tie for sixth.

Rensselaer, St. Lawrence and Brown are trending upwards, while Dartmouth and Cornell have trended down in recent weeks. If the season ended today, Quinnipiac would be the number one seed in the NCAA tournament according to the Pairwise, while Yale and Dartmouth would join them in the tournament. The latter is right on the bubble, while Colgate and Union sit on the wrong side of that bubble just out of the tournament. All around interesting stuff going on within the conference as so much parity is reigning supreme.
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In case you missed it, the 61st annual Beanpot kicked off Monday night in the city I call home.

Northeastern defeated Boston University in the tournament for the first time in 25 years. Boston College defeated a fledgling Harvard team without any trouble, receiving a pair of goals from grinder Quinn Smith. The games set up next Monday’s matchups with BU and Harvard playing the consolation game, and Northeastern and BC battling for a Beanpot championship.

The storylines for each club couldn’t be more starkly contrasted. BC is looking for its fourth straight Beanpot title, a feat the program has never accomplished. Northeastern, on the other hand, seeks its first tournament championship since 1988. None of the players on Northeastern’s roster were born the last time the club won the tournament. Despite the dominance of BU and BC in the last two-plus decades, it’s shocking, really, that 25 years could pass without Northeastern winning. The fact that it’s now 20 years without a championship from Harvard is equally astounding.

The “Harvard is all about academics argument” doesn’t hold water in regard to hockey, since its one of the few sports an Ivy League school can still attract top talent in. Similarly, Northeastern’s problems are strange given the improving talent level on St. Botolph Street. Even with their struggles in Hockey East in the last four seasons, the Huskies’ roster features several high-end players.

Watching the two games last night really made the last 20 tournaments even stranger than I already thought they were. There are countless examples of a lesser opponents beating a better team during college hockey’s regular season and even into the regional and national playoffs. Never in the Beanpot, though. BC and Northeastern will play for the tournament championship next Monday, and history tells us the game is in the bag for the Eagles. As does the 9-3 drubbing they handed the Huskies on Jan. 19.

Northeastern coach Jim Madigan, his captain Vinny Saponari and freshman star Kevin Roy — who tallied a hat trick in Monday’s win over BU — unanimously agreed that a quarter decade of failure has nothing to do with next week’s game. They’re right, of course, but a loss would only add to the stigma and frustration for the program and those that follow it.

The Beanpot still matters

BU captain Wade Megan is the most prominent member of the first BU class to graduate without winning the tournament since 1965. After last night’s game, he fought back tears to address the issue. Composing himself just enough to answer questions from them media, Megan expressed his genuine guilt at failing to bring the trophy back to the East End of Commonwealth Avenue. Read the rest of this entry »

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BOSTON — Defeating Harvard Monday night, 4-1, at the TD Garden, Boston College will play for the Beanpot trophy next week. The Eagles won the second of the tournament’s semifinals. Northeastern defeated Boston University, 3-2, in the evening’s first game, both before a sell-out crowd of 17,565. Sophomore forward Quinn Smith scored twice for the Eagles, which offered an overall dominate defensive performance. In next Monday’s final, the Eagles have an opportunity to win their fourth-consecutive Beanpot title — the first school to earn that achievement since Boston University in the mid-1990s.

What I Saw

During the third period, the sense of comfort among the BC fans in the building was tangible as the Eagles seemed firmly in control (3-0 lead), while giving Harvard little space with which to operate. Danny Biega knocked the deficit to two, launching a slap-shot from the point on a screened Parker Milner mid-way through the stanza. Six minutes later, the Eagles firmly determined the outcome, as Steven Whitney skated from his own blue-line into the Harvard zone and scored on a stoic Crimson defense.

Harvard looked about to be escaping the second period only down one goal, having been vastly outplayed in the frame. With two minutes left, however, Smith scored his second of the game. This time it was a long rebound surrendered by Raphael Girard that the sophomore returned past the goalie. Then, just 44 seconds later, the Eagles converted a power play opportunity as defenseman Michael Matheson launched a one-time shot from the right face-off circle directly into the net.

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BOSTON — Advancing to the Beanpot finals, Northeastern defeated Boston University, 3-2, at the TD Garden Monday night. Freshman sensation Kevin Roy scored a hat trick, taking advantage of three crucial BU defensive breakdowns. This is the second time in three years that the Huskies have played in the tournament final. It also marks the first BU senior class since the 1960s to not win a Beanpot trophy. NU will face the winner of Boston College-Harvard next Monday, February 11th.

What I Saw

Playing in his first Beanpot, Roy scored a hat trick, notching goals in each of the three periods. The freshman is a special player and constantly puts himself in position to be successful. The performance was reminiscent of Boston College forward Johnny Gaudreau’s emergence into the national spotlight last year as a freshman, who had four points in BC’s pair of victories. Overall, Roy has a rare hockey vision and consistently creates scoring chances for himself and teammates. His second goal of the game was representative of Roy’s awareness. He got himself to the net on the rush and was rewarded with a simple goal, after BU carelessly turnover the puck. The third goal, however, was probably his most impressive. Roy, again, got himself to the net and was in perfect position to craftily convert the large rebound from BU goalie Matt O’Connor out of the air and into the net.

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Can the standings get any tighter than they are right now? Just five points separate second place Mercyhurst from tenth place RIT. Aside from Niagara (who pretty much have the top spot all but sealed up) and AIC and Sacred Heart (both stuck at the bottom of the standings), every other team has a shot of getting a first round bye. Read the rest of this entry »

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Our top team was idle this weekend, but there’s plenty of movement in the rest of the top six. The No. 2 team pulled a little closer to the top, and teams three through six are all in a different position than last week. The bottom half continues to be much less chaotic, as teams seven through 12 all stand pat for the second week in a row.

1. Minnesota (18-4-4, 10-4-4 WCHA) — Last week: 1
The Gophers had the weekend off, so they stay at the top. They remain second in the Pairwise, but St. Cloud has opened up a five-point lead on them in the race for the MacNaughton Cup. Minnesota does have two games in hand, though.

2. St. Cloud State (17-10-1, 14-5-1 WCHA) — Last week: 2
The Huskies outscored Bemidji 8-1 in a weekend sweep, extending their unbeaten streak to six games. They also now have a three-point lead over second-place UNO, and they’ve climbed to eighth in the Pairwise. Ryan Faragher saved 24 shots on Friday to earn his second shutout of the season, then stopped 21 of 22 on Saturday. Drew LeBlanc notched a goal and two assists in the series, while Jonny Brodzinski scored a pair of goals. LeBlanc leads the WCHA with 30 assists and ranks second in points with 38.

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