BOSTON — New Hampshire freshman Grayson Downing scored 2 minutes into the second overtime to give New Hampshire a 3-2 win over Boston University at Agganis Arena Friday night. The win gives UNH 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series.

Downing stuffed a shot past BU goaltender Kieran Millan after a turnover allowed him to move out in front of the senior netminder uncontested. The goal was his 10th of the season.

What I Saw

• The Terriers were very sloppy in their own zone.  Ultimately, it didn’t hurt BU, with Millan bailing them out on more than occasion. Turnovers on breakouts or on other clearing attempts led to several UNH scoring chances, while a mishandle and some bad bounces led to Downing’s game-winning goal. Ryan Ruikka and Alexx Privitera were the worst offenders for the Terriers. Both players turned the puck over several times with either careless player or indecision. Most BU players looked legless, but the careless mistakes created chance after chance for the Wildcats. UNH’s aggressive two-man forecheck caused some of the BU mishaps, which is going to happen. Eliminating the mental errors that caused the turnovers is a necessity for the Terriers if they plan push this series to a third game.

• Casey DeSmith played Friday’s game like it was an early October battle against an Atlantic Hockey team. The freshman’s play since taking the No. 1 job from Matt Di Girolamo in January has propelled UNH on its current run. When he seized the No. 1 job, UNH’s playoff status was in serious jeopardy. That changed quickly when DeSmith became UNH coach Dick Umile’s first choice. Offensive production picked up, as did the Wildcats’ execution defensively, but DeSmith was the one notable change. UNH outplayed BU for long stretches on Friday, but the Terriers created several quality scoring chances. DeSmith handled most of the opportunities with ease, offering very few rebounds to the Terriers. Entering the season, many credited the Wildcats with having an experienced goaltender — an asset that reveals itself this time of year. Experienced goaltenders play with poise. They’re calm. With a senior in net, they didn’t have that. They do now, and it’s a freshman doing the job. Read the rest of this entry »

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LOWELL, Mass. — Freshman defenseman Zack Kamrass picked a great time to score his first collegiate goal. With 8:31 left in overtime, he collected a rebound off a Joseph Pendenza shot and buried it into an open net to give Massachusetts-Lowell a 3-2 win over Providence and push their quarterfinal series to a decisive Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.

After getting outplayed for much of the opening period, the River Hawks struck first at the 17:28 mark when Chad Ruhwedel kept a puck in at the right point and raced to the slot before flipping a backhander past Alex Beaudry (33 saves). Lowell upped the lead to 2-0 early in the second when Matt Ferreira banged home a loose puck in the crease for a power-play goal.

The Friars came storming back late in the second, though. Myles Harvey cut the lead to one when he ripped a slap shot past Doug Carr (34 saves) from the top of the left circle. Then Stefan Demopoulos tied the game 1:56 later when he knocked in a rebound off a Shane Luke shot. Read the rest of this entry »

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – On a night that the power delayed the game for nearly 20 minutes in the middle of the first period, the Boston College Eagles struggled to get any offense going for nearly 59 minutes of gameplay.  In the end it was two goals in 44 seconds that did the trick, as they defeated the Minutemen 2-1 at Conte Forum.

UMass needed nearly eight minutes to register their first shot in the first period but when they did they quickly found their legs and took the play on BC for the next 50 minutes of play. The big effort in the first two periods was wasted in just 44 seconds late in the second period as Boston College would score two quick goals. The first being a goal right off the faceoff by Pat Mullane and the second being a snipe shot from the high, left slot by Tommy Cross.  Johnny Gaudreau assisted on both goals for the Eagles and it was the third line of the Eagles that proved to be the difference in the game.

In the third period the Minutemen made it a game by scoring a goal seven minutes in to make it a 2-1 game but it was not to be as the Eagles proceeded to take a 1-0 series lead over UMass. Boston College improves their record to 26-10-1, while the Minutemen fall to 13-17-5. Tomorrow night UMass will need a win to stay alive and Boston College can clinch the series with a win. The win kept Boston College in first place in the Pairwise rankings. Read the rest of this entry »

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The CCHA playoffs roll on tonight. Check out our full preview of the quarterfinals, but here are some predictions (I expect to predict no more than two of these series correctly):

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LOWELL, Mass. — The first game of the Hockey East Tournament ended in an upset, as seventh-seeded Providence beat second-seeded Massachusetts-Lowell on Friday night. Derek Army and Matt Bergland led the way offensively with two goals apiece, while Alex Beaudry stopped 33 of the 36 shots he faced. Game 2 is Friday at 7 p.m. The Friars can advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2001 with a win.

The River Hawks opened the scoring 9:59 into the first when a Scott Wilson shot led to a scramble in front that ended with Josh Holmstrom knocking in a loose puck. Army tied the game 5:28 into the second when he ripped a slap shot inside the right post for a power-play goal. The Friars took the lead four minutes later when Andy Balysky knocked home a rebound after Doug Carr (36 saves) stopped a golden chance from Ross Mauermann.

Lowell knotted the game again 2:25 later when Wilson beat Beaudry blocker-side for a power-play goal. Army struck again to give the Friars a 3-2 lead late in the second when he took a pass from Damian Cross on a 3-on-2 and snapped a shot over Carr’s glove. Providence added an insurance marker with 8:30 left in the third when Tim Schaller hit the post and Bergland knocked in the rebound. The Friars would need it, as Matt Ferreira cut the lead to 4-3 with 4:29 to go. Bergland added his second of the game on an empty-netter with 1:35 to go. Read the rest of this entry »

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Hockey East’s official postseason awards will be handed out Wednesday, March 14 and Thursday, March 15. Day 1 will see all minor awards and the league’s all-rookie team, before the major distinctions and other honors are revealed the following evening.

The 2011-12 Hockey East season was a continuation of previous years of excellence from some players and teams. However, it also produced its share of revelations. As such, this was much harder to compile than I initially anticipated. In years past, there’s usually more unanimity for this type of stuff.

Some of the awards we decided were agreed upon by all CHN staffers that took part in my poll. In the next few weeks, we’ll see players and teams in this conference fight for the ultimate honor. Scott McLaughlin, Michael King, Joshua Seguin, Jill Saftel, Mike Machnik, Mike McMahon and I will be with you throughout the Hockey East Tournament up until Joe Bertagna hands out a trophy in nine days. For now, we’re taking the chance to hand out a few of our own. The seven of us voted and bantered, argued and agreed, eventually on the following names.

Let’s see if you agree. Read the rest of this entry »

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Because I cover the league as a whole, I do not receive an All-WCHA ballot. They are distributed by schools and their Sports Information Directors, generally to the local beat writers, radio guys, TV guys, etc. Coaches also get a vote, as do team captains. That’s how these guys are chosen.

Any scribes like myself who are not affiliated with a local daily or with the team itself do not get a ballot unless an SID provides us with one. Perhaps that will change in the new WCHA.

Anyways, without further ado, here is who I would choose if I had a ballot. I have no doubt I’ll be ripped, so you can do that in the comments below:

Read the rest of this entry »

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The first round of the playoffs are done, with all the higher seed winning. While the higher seed won, it’s clear that the craziness from the end of the regular season has carried over into the playoffs. AIC and Sacred Heart both pushed their series to three games. Next weekend is sure to have much of the same.

Canisius at UConn – The Huskies swept Canisius in two games. The Huskies eked out an overtime victory on Friday before Garrett Bartus shut out the Golden Griffins on Saturday. Cole Schneider had two goals and two assists while Brant Harris added a goal and three assists. It’s the third straight year that the Huskies have made it to the AHA quarterfinals. The Huskies will travel to Air Force in the quarterfinals

For the Golden Griffins, the season ends on a sour note but they will be returning much of the same team next year, with four of their top five scorers being sophomores right now. Taylor Law finishes him sophomore season with 26 points, well above the 11 he produced his freshman year. Read the rest of this entry »

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Chestnut Hill, MA. –  Vermont was unable to control the offensive prowess of Boston College and they were stymied on their own offense as they were outscored 8-1 on the weekend by a Boston College team that locked up the regular season conference title. Boston College scored late in the first period off a goal from Destry Straight, his second of the year and they never looked back in the game. Chris Kreider would score his 20^th of the year at 6:50 of the second period and Pat Mullane would score his sixth of the year in the third period to make the lead insurmountable. Bill Arnold would add an empty netter to make it a 4-0 final.

Boston College with the win improved their record 25-10-1 on the season and locked up the regular season title with a two point advantage on second place Boston University. Vermont ends its season at a disappointing 6-27-1. The effort was there for Vermont but it was just not meant to be on the weekend. Boston College with the win moves up to first in the Pairwise rankings and they look poised to keep that through the playoffs. Read the rest of this entry »

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