As the seasons change and a foot of snow welcomes me outside on 12/12/12, so does the WCHA. And things are getting interesting with the changes.

Yesterday’s top dog Denver has gone from a runaway leader last month to seeing their lead cut down to a single point. Several teams have taken advantage of their recent six-game winless streak and the top half of the WCHA are all within 3 points. That includes the Pioneers’ opponent this weekend, North Dakota, who outshot them twice en route to taking three points and are beginning to look capable of making that near-annual second half run. Although they have failed to sweep an opponent in the WCHA, neither has second-place Minnesota, whose third-period collapse Saturday kept that streak alive.

Regardless, what once looked to be a battle for second has heated up into a second half battle for the final MacNaughton Cup as we know it.

After the break, I discuss the hottest team in the WCHA faces a tough challenge this weekend, Rylan Schwartz is proving his worth and St. Cloud State’s freshmen. Read the rest of this entry »

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Given that only two teams play again before Christmas, this will be the last power rankings until after the holiday tournaments. The toughest call was at the top, where UNH and BC are about as close as you can get. Elsewhere, one of the biggest questions of the second half will be whether or not Lowell can finally get it together and make a run at home ice and NCAAs. The River Hawks move up this week, but they still have a lot of work to do.

1. New Hampshire (11-2-2, 8-2-1 HE) — Last week: 1
The Wildcats barely hang onto the top spot despite losing to BU 3-2 on Thursday. Had BC won on Friday, UNH would’ve dropped back to second, but that didn’t happen. The Wildcats go into break leading Hockey East in offense (3.60 goals per game), defense (1.80 goals allowed per game) and special teams net (+11). Kevin Goumas, who scored a goal against BU, leads the league in points with 24, while Casey DeSmith ranks first in save percentage at .939.

2. Boston College (11-2-1, 9-2-1 HE) — Last week: 2
The Eagles were 10.5 seconds away from reclaiming the top spot and giving Jerry York his record-breaking win, but they were forced to settle for a 3-3 tie against Providence. Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist and goes into break ranking first in the league in goals (11) and second in points (23). Michael Matheson scored the other two goals and now ranks second among freshman defensemen with 10 points. Pat Mullane had two assists and is now third in points with 19.

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For the first time since Nov. 7, we have a new entry in the top six. Minnesota State pulled within striking distance last week, and now they make the move after extending their winning streak to six games. Now the attention in the middle of the pack shifts to whether or not Colorado College can fight its way back, and whether or not anyone else will be able to crack the top seven.

1. Minnesota (11-3-3, 6-3-3 WCHA) — Last week: 1
The Gophers stay at the top after taking three of four points from Colorado College to improve to 5-1-1 in their last seven. Sam Warning, Erik Haula and Zach Budish each registered two points in Friday’s 4-2 win, while Seth Ambroz, Travis Boyd and Nate Schmidt each had two in Saturday’s 4-4 tie. The Gophers continue to lead the WCHA in special teams net, as they are first on the penalty kill (89.5%) and second on the power play (21.2%).

2. North Dakota (8-5-3, 5-2-3 WCHA) — Last week: 4
UND moves up two spots after taking three of four points from Denver. They tied 2-2 on Friday before picking up a big 6-3 win on Saturday. Carter Rowney had five points on the weekend, Rocco Grimaldi had four, and Corban Knight and Drake Caggiula each had three. Knight now has an 11-game point streak. UND outshot the Pioneers 66-43 on the weekend, marking the second straight weekend they’ve allowed fewer than 50 shots.

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NORTH ANDOVER – Merrimack freshman Vinny Scotti came up with the biggest goal of his young career, netting the game-winner with just over seven minutes to play as Merrimack defeated Army on Tuesday night at Lawler Arena, 4-2.

Scotti beat Army goalie Rob Tadazak with a shot after a wide shot by fellow freshman Justin Hussar found its way to his stick at the bottom of the left circle.

What I Saw

– Merrimack threw 94 shot attempts on Army sophomore goaltender Rob Tadazak. The Black Knights blocked a whopping 23 shots, with 46 making their way to Tadazak, who turned aside 42 of the 45 shots he faced (the Warriors added an empty netter). The Warriors offense shrunk the ice for large stretches, with some of the best work in the offensive zone that the Warriors have displayed all season.

– Mac Lalor, normally a defenseman, played the wing on Army’s second line. He potted a pair of goals in just 36 seconds in the third period on the power play, but both goals came from his more familiar spot on the point. Army was in the midst of a power play when Merrimack’s Kyle Bigos was whistled for holding the stick, giving Army a 5-on-3 advantage. They stuck just 10 seconds into the two-man advantage, and 36 seconds later, struck again to, at the time, tie the score at 2-2.

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This past weekend could have been a make or break weekend for Air Force and RIT. And both managed to keep hope alive that they can turn around their seasons. The Falcons earned three points against Bentley, winning 7-4 on Friday before tying 2-2 on Saturday. The Tigers, like the Falcons, swept Sacred Heart to get a huge confidence boost, scoring five times in each game. Both teams have an trouble sustaining winning streaks. They’ll need to if they want to reclaim their spots at the top of the standings. But there is still a long ways to ge before that happens. The Falcons are eight points behind first place Niagara while the Tigers are 10 points back. Read the rest of this entry »

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BOSTON — Boston University defeated Maine, 1-0, Saturday night at Agganis Arena. Garrett Noonan’s first period goal was all goaltender Sean Maguire needed, as the freshman made 28 saves to pick up his second consecutive shutout. Noonan’s third goal of the season came on the power play. BU overloaded the right half of the ice to create space. A Danny O’Regan pass drifted by Evan Rodrigues to Noonan who beat Maine’s Martin Oullette to the near post.

With 5 minutes, 32 seconds left in regulation, BU’s Ben Rosen went off on a boarding major. Despite the five-minute power play, including a 6-on-4 for the final 1:04 of the period, Maine could not beat Maguire.

What I Saw

• Sean Maguire has shaken off the early-season nerves that gave him problems in his first couple starts. Maguire stopped 21 shots on Saturday night and didn’t too troubled making any of them. For young goalies, problems with nerves manifest themselves in poor positioning and a noisy performance. Against Maine, Maguire wasted little movement and kept himself in good position to make important saves. His defense did its job well, keeping his eyes clear and erasing any second chances with quick clears to the corners. Those second opportunities rarely came for Maine ,though, and that’s a credit to Maguire’s calm and confident play. Fellow freshman Matt O’Connor has played well enough to warrant his position as the team’s No. goalie, but a viable second choice could prove vital for BU in the second half. Read the rest of this entry »

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AMHERST, Mass. – Colgate rallied for four goals in the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit and complete the weekend sweep of Massachusetts with a 5-2 win Saturday night at the Mullins Center.

Kurtis Bartliff, whom Colgate coach Don Vaughan called out to step up before the game, scored twice for the Raiders, including the game-tying goal four minutes, 39 seconds into the third period, while Tyson Spink and Kyle Baun each scored a power play goal.

Spencer Finney had a quiet night between the pipes, but was strong, making 31 saves and shutting out the Minutemen over the final two periods of play.

Kevin Boyle’s night was quite the opposite. The sophomore goaltender was solid for the first two periods, but fell apart in the final 20 minutes. He finished with 18 saves on the night.

What I Saw

• It appeared UMass was on its way to a grind-it-out, low-scoring victory throughout the second period and the early part of the third period with a 2-1 lead and Boyle playing strong. However, the third period belonged to the Raiders in every way possible. The rally started on a goal that falls solely on the shoulders of Boyle. Bartliff’s shot was a low-quality attempt at the net in which the puck deflected off the midsection of Boyle, and trickled between his legs before he could even locate it. The momentum continued to swing in Colgate’s favor when Joel Hanley was called for a questionable elbowing call that UMass coach John Micheletto was clearly upset about 8:51 into the period. That’s when the power play got back to work and Baun hit Tyson Spink with a cross-ice feed from the slot and Spink buried the puck into a wide open net, something similar to what the unit did to the Minutemen penalty kill the night before. Suddenly, Colgate had the 3-2 advantage as UMass reverted back to the struggles that plagued it on Friday. A pair of greasy goals from Billy Rivellini and Bartliff in front of the net were the finishing touches on a lopsided third period.  Read the rest of this entry »

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North Andover, Mass.-  Harvard and Merrimack played to a 0-0 deadlock after one period and then Harvard stormed out in the second period to take a 2-0 on one shift. Tommy O Regan scored the first goal of the second period as he found a puck that boucned in the air and put it in the net for a 1-0 Harvard lead three minutes, 13 seconds into the period. But Harvard was not done as O’ Regan found a streaking Desmond Bergin 31 seconds later in the left slot and Bergin put it past Merrimack goalie, Sam Marotta for the 2-0 lead. Merrimack would respond on a shorthanded faceoff at 6:27 of the second period on a goal by Rhett Bly. Five minutes later Mike Collins would send a puck to the back of the net to send the teams into the second intermission tied at two goals apiece.

The teams would skate an even third period to head into overtime. At the end of the third period, Harvard captain Danny Biega took a five minute major for kneeing on Merrimack College forward Brian Christie. This meant that the Warriors were on the power-play for the entire overtime. They killed the penalty and escaped Lawler Arena with a 2-2 tie against Merrimack. Read the rest of this entry »

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AMHERST, Mass. – The first line of Tylor Spink, Tyson Spink and Kyle Baun accounted for Colgate’s first four goals to carry the Raiders to a convincing, 6-4 win over Massachusetts Friday night at the Mullins Center.

Tylor Spink and Baun each found the back of the net twice while Tyson Spink notched three assists. Three of the all-freshmen line’s goals came on the power play, which also included fellow freshman Mike Borkowski at the point.

Colgate goaltender Spencer Finney had some inconsistencies between the pipe, but his 31 saves were enough to secure the win. UMass goalie Kevin Boyle had little support in front of him at crucial moments, and the six goals he allowed revealed that as he could only come up with 19 saves on the night.

What I Saw

• That Raiders first line really dominated play on Friday, and it was especially clear in the first 40 minutes of play as Baun and the Spink twins were responsible for all four Colgate goals in that span, three of which were on the power play. The second power play goal came five minutes, 50 seconds into the second period with the Raiders leading 2-1. Tyson Spink fed Baun out in front of the net, and some hesitation by the Minutemen defense left Tylor Spink wide open on the other side. Baun passed it over to Tylor Spink from the slot, who quickly wristed home the goal to make it 3-1 Colgate. Later in the second period, it happened all over again. This time, it was Tyson Spink who gave to his brother an empty net in front of Boyle with a pass from the slot following more poor defensive zone play by UMass to give the Raiders a commanding, 4-1 lead heading into the third period.  Read the rest of this entry »

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Boston College was 10.5 seconds away from giving Jerry York his record-breaking win, but Nick Saracino ruined the celebration plans when he banged home a loose puck to tie the game at 3-3. The Eagles had a few chances to win it in overtime, but Providence’s Jon Gillies (26 saves) made a couple big saves to preserve the 3-3 draw.

The Eagles (11-2-1, 9-2-1 Hockey East) took a 1-0 lead 12:39 into the game when Pat Mullane won an offensive-zone faceoff and Johnny Gaudreau managed to chip the puck past Gillies. BC added to its lead with 6:54 left in the second when Michael Matheson scored a power-play goal on a shot through traffic.

Derek Army cut the lead in half 22 seconds into the third when he split the BC defense and beat Parker Milner (34 saves) with a backhander. Matheson restored the two-goal lead 1:34 later with his second goal of the game, but then Noel Acciari answered for the Friars (7-6-2, 5-4-1 HE) 12 seconds after that. The score stayed that way until Saracino’s late heroics.

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