The look of New England Hockey Journal’s latest Division 1 Top 10 is pretty similar to last week’s as the top four teams were unblemished in their seven combined games.
Providence was the big winner in Hockey East with a pair of seven-goal outbursts against Merrimack, while UMass Lowell also completed a sweep in league play. UMass and Northeastern each won single Hockey East games, but the Minutemen also enjoyed a non-conference victory at Holy Cross for their own two-win weekend.
Elsewhere, Boston University and Maine split an entertaining weekend set at Agganis Arena, while Boston College and New Hampshire split the points up for grabs in a Friday tie.
Quinnipiac took to the road and picked up a big sweep to take the ECAC’s top spot. The Bobcats’ only regional rival in action over the weekend was Harvard, which split its pair with nationally-ranked Arizona State.
In Atlantic Hockey, American International posted a convincing 5-0, 4-0 sweep of Air Force. Bentley split with Army West Point at home, and Mercyhurst took two from Sacred Heart in Connecticut.
Top 10 teams
1. Massachusetts
Record: 10-1 (6-0 Hockey East) / Last week: 1
The Minutemen enter Thanksgiving with a three-point lead in the Hockey East standings after Sunday’s 4-2 triumph over UNH. Sophomore John Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and senior Jacob Pritchard each had a goal and two assists, while sophomore Mitchell Chaffee scored against the Wildcats and in Friday’s 3-1, non-conference win at Holy Cross. UMass became the first team in Hockey East to reach 10 wins on the season after rattling off seven straight.
2. Providence
Record: 7-3-1 (4-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 2
The Friars returned to their winning ways with a Hockey East home-and-home sweep against Merrimack, reaching the seven-goal mark in consecutive games for the first time under eighth-year head coach Nate Leaman. Fourteen different Friars contributed points in the series, with seven scoring goals in Saturday’s 7-5 victory. Freshman Jack Dugan capped off a five-point weekend with one goal and two assists, while junior Kasper Bjorkqvist had three goals and four points over the two games.
3. Quinnipiac
Record: 9-2 (4-2 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 3
Quinnipiac took a one-point lead in the ECAC standings and rides high into the holiday after beating Cornell and Colgate ― 4-2 and 5-0, respectively, on the road ― for their second sweep of the season. The Bobcats had to rally for three third-period goals to beat the Big Red before sophomore Keith Petruzzelli (Wilbraham, Mass.) made 21 saves for his second collegiate shutout and rookie Wyatt Bongiovanni scored twice on the power play the following night.
4. Northeastern
Record: 7-3-1 (4-1-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 4
The Huskies made the long trip to Burlington, Vt., for their lone game of the week count as sophomore Zach Solow scored the lone goal 1:46 into the third period en route to a 1-0 win Friday at Vermont. Cayden Primeau pitched a 26-save shutout.
5. Boston University
Record: 3-5-1 (3-3-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 5
BU saw its four-game unbeaten streak snapped with Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Maine, but the series was split after a 3-2 win in the series opener. Senior Bobo Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) scored once in each game, while junior Dante Fabbro had a three-assist weekend on defense. Sophomore David Farrance tallied the Friday game-winner with 1:11 left in regulation, helping the Terriers cap a 3-for-6 night on the power play. Jake Oettinger eclipsed the 30-save mark for the fourth time this year in Friday’s win, making 14 of his 36 in the first period.
6. Boston College
Record: 3-5-1 (3-1-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 6
The Eagles rallied from two goals down in the third period Friday night and skated to a 2-2 tie with UNH, extending their unbeaten streak to four. Junior David Cotton tied the game with his sixth goal in a four-game span with 6:45 left in regulation after Jack McBain scored his first collegiate goal 2:19 into the third period. Junior Joseph Woll made 29 saves, including 13 in the third.
7. Dartmouth
Record: 3-2 (3-2 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 7
Dartmouth was off over the weekend after pitching a 3-0, Nov. 10 shutout at Yale. The Big Green are home Saturday against former ECAC rival Vermont.
8. UMass Lowell
Record: 6-5-1 (3-3-1 Hockey East) / Last week: Not ranked
The River Hawks earned consecutive victories for the first time all season, taking 5-2 and 3-0 games from UConn in a Hockey East home-and-home. Three skaters had three points apiece in the series, including Tewksbury, Mass., native sophomore Connor Sodergren who doubled his season total with three assists in Friday’s road win. Juniors Kenny Hausinger and Colin O’Neill each had a goal and two assists. O’Neill’s Saturday goal was his first this season. Tyler Wall earned both starts, the latter of which was a 28-save shutout.
9. Yale
Record: 2-2-1 (2-2-1 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 8
The Bulldogs have been idle since a Nov. 10 loss to Dartmouth and will return to action this coming Friday and Saturday at the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
10. Maine
Record: 4-5-1 (2-3-1 Hockey East) / Last week: Not ranked
The Black Bears stopped a two-game skid with a 3-1 win Saturday night at BU, thanks to junior Chase Pearson’s two-goal, one-assist performance and Jeremy Swayman’s 40 saves. The sophomore goaltender made 39 stops in a 3-2, series-opening loss. Pearson finished the weekend with four points as he also assisted in Friday’s game. Junior Mitchell Fossier had a goal and an assist in the victory.
Players of the Week
Jack Dugan
Providence / Fr. / F / Rochester, N.Y.
Dugan continues to tear up Hockey East as a first-year player as he recorded five points in the Friars’ weekend sweep over Merrimack. The Vegas draftee logged his third game-winning goal of the season and an assist on Friday and a one-goal, two-assist effort the next night. The Vegas draftee leads all NCAA rookies with 14 points in 11 games this year.
Tyler Wall
UMass Lowell / Jr. / G / Leamington, Ontario
Wall drew the start in both games and made head coach Norm Bazin’s decision pay off, stopping 66 of the 68 shots he faced in the River Hawks’ two-game sweep of UConn to improve to 4-3-1 on the year. The Rangers prospect made a season-high 38 saves in the series-opening win before a 28-save shutout that included 11 third-period stops the following night.
