“There’s a first time for everything” might be the best way to summarize this week’s events around Division 1 college hockey.
Less than halfway through Greg Carvel’s third season as head coach, UMass completed its rise to the No. 1 spot in the national rankings for the first time in program history on Monday. The Minutemen became the fifth team to sit atop the USCHO poll this season after defeating UConn for its program-record ninth consecutive victory, 7-4.
UMass improved to 12-1 on the season with seven wins in as many November games. The Minutemen had not gone undefeated in a month since December of 1970, achieving that mark Friday with the team’s first seven-goal output since 2014 and sophomore goaltender Matt Murray’s ninth win of the season on Friday.
Sophomore Mitchell Chaffee had four points, on two goals and two assists, for the first time in his career. He and second-year defenseman Cale Makar are tied for the Hockey East lead with 18 points each. Also against the Huskies, freshman Bobby Trivigno recorded his first two-goal game in Hockey East.
UMass was ranked above No. 5 nationally for the first time ever just three weeks ago, checking in fourth. It had most recently been ranked third before taking the top spot from an 11-1-2 St. Cloud State club that suffered its only blemish to Hockey East foe Northeastern on Oct. 27.
Sticking with a first-time theme...
The Battle of Commonwealth Avenue was contested for the 278th and 279th times in history this weekend. However, the century-long rivalry series between Boston University and Boston College had never seen a scoreless tie before Saturday night’s game at Conte Forum.
The teams combined for 68 shots on goal in the game, but BC’s Joseph Woll and BU’s Jake Oettinger were both perfect in goal. A season-high 42 of the saves went Oettinger’s way as he pitched his 10th career shutout, which puts him three away from BU’s career record.
“Jake’s a competitor,” BU head coach Albie O’Connell said. “I know he wasn’t totally happy with his performance (on Friday) and we weren’t blaming him on the loss either, but he’s got a lot of pride. He played with Woll out at the U.S. (National Team Development) Program, so it’s a pretty competitive battle they’ve had over the years. He gave us an opportunity to gain a point in the league, whereas if he didn't have his ‘A’ game we probably wouldn't have gotten a point.”
Woll made 10 of his 26 stops in the third period of Saturday’s game, a night after a 38-save effort in a 4-1 win that moved the Eagles to 4-1-1 over their last six trips to Agganis Arena.
Saturday marked just the fourth 0-0 tie in BU history and the first since John Curry was in net for two in less than a month’s time during the 2006-07 season. BC’s last scoreless draw occurred on Oct. 19, 2007 against North Dakota, but it lasted just two periods due to poor ice conditions in Chestnut Hill.
From campus to a World (Juniors) stage
The IIHF World Junior Championship commences on Dec. 25 in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, and several countries have already released preliminary rosters that contain players from New England schools.
UConn’s Jachym Kondelik, who has a team-leading 1-12-13 line through 15 games, is the lone NCAA product on the initial Czech Republic roster. Goaltender Fille Lindberg of Finland will look to become the third UMass player in four years to represent his country at World Juniors after Makar joined Team Canada and won a gold medal last year.
BU has two players being considered for Canada’s roster in sophomores Shane Bowers and Cam Crotty. The Terriers have at least tied for the most players of any NCAA school at each of the last three World Juniors, including five last year.
The most significant collegiate representation will, of course, be on the United States roster that has yet to be announced, but Dartmouth assistant coach David Lassonde (Durham, N.H.) and Northeastern associate head coach Jerry Keefe (Saugus, Mass.) will serve on the coaching staff for the defending bronze medalists.
Comin’ for the Bobcats
Quinnipiac extended its winning streak to six games with a home-and-home sweep of Princeton, allowing its New England rivals Dartmouth and Yale to move into a tie for second place in the ECAC. Barrington, R.I., native Michael Lombardi had a goal and an assist on the weekend for the Bobcats, earning Rookie of the Week honors in the league.
As for QU’s competitors, the Bulldogs swept the North Country with wins at St. Lawrence and Clarkson, while the Big Green took three points from Cornell and Colgate at home in Hanover, N.H. Both teams are now 4-2-1 in ECAC play this season, trailing the 13-2, 6-2 Bobcats by four points in the standings.
For Yale, seven different players scored goals on the weekend and none of the 14 players contributing points had more than two. Freshman Justin Pearson (Nashua, N.H.) scored his first collegiate goal in the second period at SLU, becoming the third of five freshmen on the team to light the lamp this season; the five rookies has accounted for 17 of 68 total points.
Dartmouth overcame an early Friday deficit and delivered Bob Gaudet’s school-record 309th victory against Cornell, 3-2. Junior Cam Strong scored the game-winning goal and added another the following night, while Adrian Clark was made 20 of his 38 saves in the third period to down the Big Red.
Facts on the Friars
Providence broke a three-game winless streak (0-1-2) with a come-from-behind, 3-1 win Saturday night at New Hampshire. The Friars scored all three goals in the final 9:01 of regulation, coming back from a third-period deficit to win for the first time since March 18 in the Hockey East semifinals against Northeastern.
Senior defenseman Vincent Desharnais scored 10:59 into the final frame for his first goal since Jan. 20, 2017 at UMass Lowell before freshman Jay O’Brien (Hingham, Mass.) put home his first collegiate goal to win the game with 2:32 left. Junior Brandon Duhaime and senior Scott Conway each assisted on two of the Friars’ three goals in the win.
In goal, Hayden Hawkey stopped 55 of the 57 shots he faced on the weekend. The senior stands even with Murray and behind only UMass Lowell’s Tyler Wall in Hockey East with a 1.99 goals against average on the year.
#MaineUp
Maine enjoyed its most successful Hockey East series of the season over the weekend at Vermont with a 2-1 overtime win and 3-3 tie. The Black Bears don’t see league action again until Jan. 11 against Northeastern, but the three-point weekend puts them in a great position entering the second half of the season with fourth-place BC and BU just two points ahead.
Junior Ryan Smith won Friday’s game with his second goal in three games at 1:54 of overtime. The Virginia native has three goals this season, two of which have been game-winners.
Sophomore Jeremy Swayman made 34 stops to earn the win in that game. In the series finale, Swayman logged his fourth 40-save effort of the season, and Eduards Tralmaks scored his second and third goals of the season to give Maine two different third-period leads.
Loose pucks
― Sacred Heart played Robert Morris to a pair of 2-1 scores on the weekend, snapping a five-game winless streak with a Friday win. Freshman Austin Magera has scored two of the Pioneers’ three game-winning goals after beating Colonial veteran Francis Marotte with 4:12 remaining in the series opener, while UMass Lowell transfer Michael Louria scored in overtime for RMU the following night.
― American International is already heading into its semester break on an Atlantic Hockey high. After sweeping Holy Cross, the Yellow Jackets are tied for second in Atlantic Hockey with 15 points and a 7-4-1 record. Last year’s AIC club had three fewer points despite playing in two more games.
― Northeastern ran away with a 9-2 victory over Merrimack in Hockey East action Friday, scoring five goals in the first period and two shorthanded. It marked the Huskies’ first nine-goal outburst since Feb. 13, 2015 against UConn. The Warriors had not allowed that many since Oct. 16, 2005 at Michigan, which was the second game of former head coach Mark Dennehy’s 13-year tenure.
― Fourteen players recorded points for Northeastern, but two Massachusetts natives had particularly strong nights. Wellesley’s John Picking had a career-high two goals and two assists, and Milton’s Ryan Shea posted a plus-6 rating and two assists on the blue line.
― Former Kent School standout Max Kaufman factored into all three Vermont goals in Saturday’s 3-3 tie with Maine, recording his second three-point night as a Catamount. He scored the tying goal with 3:43 to play in regulation.
