This past weekend marked the last full slate for New England’s Division 1 college hockey teams prior to the holiday break. Now, only two games remain prior to Christmas as Yale visits UMass on Tuesday before a Friday night game in Boston between Dartmouth and Boston University.
UMass and Quinnipiac split the results in a long-anticipated series of top regional clubs in Hamden, Conn., and Amherst, Mass. The Bobcats posted a shutout in the series opener before the favor was returned before a sold-out crowd at Mullins Center the following night.
Providence and Northeastern concluded its pre-holiday schedules with convincing Hockey East victories, while BU and UMass Lowell split yet another series in that league. Sweeps were the result for Boston College and Yale in its respective conference play, while Brown earned three ECAC points on home ice.
Finally, Sacred Heart rounded out its calendar with a sweep at RIT. Holy Cross split with Robert Morris, snapping a 14-game winless streak with its 2-0 win on Saturday.
Top 10 teams
1. Massachusetts
Record: 13-2 (7-0 Hockey East) / Last week: 1
The Minutemen played as the nation’s No. 1 team for the first time ever and split a home-and-home set with Quinnipiac. Friday’s 4-0 shutout loss snapped a nine-game win streak, but UMass scored three times in the third period and bested the Bobcats the following night, 3-1. Seniors Ivan Chukarov and Jacob Pritchard scored the tying and winning goals, respectively. Matt Murray made 27 saves in his 10th straight win to open his sophomore year.
2. Providence
Record: 9-4-3 (6-2-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 2
Providence concluded the first semester on a four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-2) that was extended with Friday’s 6-0 win at Merrimack. Senior Hayden Hawkey made 20 saves en route to his 12th collegiate shutout, which puts him one shy of the program record that Jon Gillies (South Portland, Maine) set in 2015. Josh Wilkins and Brandon Duhaime each posted one goal and two assists to lead the offense.
3. Quinnipiac
Record: 14-3 (6-2 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 3
The Bobcats saw their seven-game win streak snapped at UMass, but not before junior Andrew Shortridge pitched a 32-save shutout for the program’s first-ever win against the top-ranked team in the country and the 499th of head coach Rand Pecknold’s career on Friday. Senior Craig Martin scored twice for the second straight game to help QU to the series-opening win. Senior defenseman Chase Priskie scored his ECAC-leading 12th goal and sophomore Keith Petruzzelli (Wilbraham, Mass.) tied his career-high with 37 saves in the loss.
4. Northeastern
Record: 10-3-1 (6-1-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 4
The Huskies won their only game for the fourth straight weekend and extended its win streak to six games, using a five-goal third period to cruise past Merrimack, 7-2. Seven different players scored goals, but freshman Tyler Madden also had three assists, two blocked shots, and a plus-3 rating. Sophomore Cayden Primeau made 27 saves as Northeastern won its 10th game before Christmas for the second straight year.
5. Boston College
Record: 6-6-2 (6-1-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 5
The Eagles lost their first five games of the season, but sweeping UConn in their final home-and-home set of the first half, 4-0 and 3-2, allowed them to enter the holiday break at .500 overall and tied for first in Hockey East. Junior Joseph Woll stopped 58 of the 60 total shots he faced, including 30 in Thursday’s shutout. Julius Mattila scored his first hat trick as an Eagle and had four of his five points for the weekend in the opener, while David Cotton and senior Casey Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) had three apiece over the two games.
6. Yale
Record: 7-2-2 (6-2-1 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 8
The Bulldogs will become the second straight team to bring a lengthy unbeaten streak (six games) to UMass for Tuesday’s game as they beat Rensselaer and Union. Yale defeated the latter opponent in three-goal shutout fashion thanks to a 26-save effort from senior Sam Tucker (Wilton, Conn.). Joe Snively contributed to all three goals, scoring the first two before assisting freshman defenseman Jack St. Ivany on the third. Freshman Justin Pearson (Nashua, N.H.) had an identical line in Friday’s 4-2 win over RPI.
7. Boston University
Record: 5-8-2 (5-5-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 6
The Terriers split with UMass Lowell for the fourth consecutive season, earning a 5-2 road win to complete their final two-game weekend of the calendar year. Senior Bobo Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) and sophomore Shane Bowers scored twice each in the victory, while junior Jake Oettinger made 40 saves for the second time in three games. Carpenter was one of five players to post three points on the weekend, all of them goals to raise his team-leading total to nine. On Friday, sophomore Ty Amonte (Norwell, Mass.) scored for the third time in five games.
8. UMass Lowell
Record: 8-7-1 (4-4-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 9
The River Hawks opened their series with BU on a winning note at Agganis Arena, coming up on the right side of Friday’s 5-3 score. Sophomore Charlie Levesque scored once in each game and finished the weekend with three points. Classmate Connor Sodergren (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored in the victory and also had an assist in Saturday’s game. In goal, senior Christoffer Hernberg made 34 saves and won for the third time this season.
9. Harvard
Record: 4-4-2 (2-3-2 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 9
Freshman Jack Drury and sophomore Jack Donato (Scituate, Mass.) scored the game’s first two goals before senior Michael Lackey posted eight of his 24 saves in the third period in last Tuesday’s 2-1 win at Bentley. The Crimson has allowed two or fewer goals in six of its last seven games and will not resume regular-season action until Jan. 4 against RPI.
10. American International
Record: 7-7-1 (7-4-1 Atlantic Hockey) / Last week: Not ranked
The Yellow Jackets are in the midst of nearly a month-long break, but a 4-2 win over Holy Cross back on Dec. 1 allowed them to enter that stretch on a four-game winning streak that junior Zackarias Skog has backstopped in goal. Junior Blake Christensen leads AIC with 15 points in 15 games, including a winning goal and three points in two games against the Crusaders. Sophomore defenseman Brennan Kapcheck has assists in four of his last five outings.
Players of the Week
Julius Mattila
Boston College / Jr. / F / Tampere, Finland
Mattila logged five points in the Eagles’ home-and-home wins over UConn, including a three-goal, one-assist series opener in Storrs. The hat trick in BC’s second straight shutout was the first of his career and preceded him posting an assist in Friday’s 3-2 home win. Mattila now ranks second on the Eagles with 14 points in 14 games on six goals and eight assists.
Stefanos Lekkas
Vermont / Jr. / G / Elburn, Ill.
Lekkas continued his stellar season with 84 saves on 89 shots in a weekend split at Colorado College. He made 48 saves in Saturday’s 2-1 win, tying a career-high for the second time this season. The Vermont stopper has now eclipsed the 40 mark eight times in his career.
