The final January weekend of Division 1 college hockey action should add a bit more clarity to the tight standings races in Hockey East, ECAC Hockey, and Atlantic Hockey.
Massachusetts and Northeastern kept their places atop Hockey East’s standings after splitting a home-and-home series this weekend, and the Huskies now meet Providence for a pair with the similar possibility of gaining separation in the league race. Similarly, Boston College and UMass Lowell enter their head-to-head set with a three-point difference. UMass is at Maine, Merrimack visits Vermont, and UConn and New Hampshire play a home-and-home.
In the ECAC, Harvard and Dartmouth play a league series at home for the first time during the 2019 calendar year, while Yale hits the road to New York’s Capital District along with Brown looking to separate from a three-way tie for first place.
American International continues its Atlantic Hockey first-place run at Mercyhurst. Bentley visits Canisius in the midst of a hot streak, while Holy Cross and Sacred Heart clash in Connecticut.
The weekend’s lone non-conference series involving a New England program is an interesting one as Boston University hosts an Arizona State club that is aiming to crack the NCAA field as an independent program.
HOCKEY EAST
UMass Lowell (13-8-1, 7-4-1) vs. Boston College (8-11-2, 8-3-2)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Tsongas Center, Lowell, Mass.
What to watch for: The River Hawks have won five games in a row for their longest streak since February of 2017 and outscored opponents by a 17-7 margin during that span. They have also played at least one fewer Hockey East game than three of the four teams above them in the standings entering this set. BC has topped Providence twice in four games, with four of senior captain Christopher Brown’s six goals coming in that span.
Fun fact: UMass Lowell is 28-0 when scoring at least six goals under head coach Norm Bazin, though last Friday’s 6-5 win over Vermont marked only the River Hawks’ second when allowing five goals during his tenure.
Northeastern (15-5-1, 9-3-1) vs. Providence (13-7-4, 6-5-1)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Schneider Arena, Providence, R.I.
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Matthews Arena, Boston
What to watch for: Six points separate these two teams in the standings after Northeastern topped then-No. 1 UMass and Providence lost its third consecutive Hockey East game to BC last Saturday, so the Huskies can add even more distance with a strong showing this weekend in front of sophomore Cayden Primeau. In addition, rookie Tyler Madden looks to extend his seven-game point streak.
Fun fact: All three of last season’s NU-PC games went to overtime. The Friars won the season series, 1-0-1, before earning a 3-2 victory in the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden.
Massachusetts (18-4, 10-2) at Maine (8-11-3, 4-5-3)
Friday, 7:30 p.m./Saturday, 7 p.m. at Alfond Arena, Orono, Maine
What to watch for: The Minutemen dominated play (84-40 in shots) during last weekend’s split with Northeastern but now look to turn around the feeling of last Saturday’s second league loss of the season over two games in Maine. Despite the loss, sophomore Oliver Chau put home three goals and Cale Makar logged seven points over the last four games. The Black Bears trounced BC and tied rival UNH in their last games since hosting a Hockey East series, holding an 11-6 scoring edge over the two games.
Fun fact: UMass senior Jacob Pritchard had a goal and two assists last Friday against Northeastern, marking his fourth multi-point game in the last seven.
Connecticut (7-14-1, 2-10-1) vs. New Hampshire (8-8-7, 4-5-4)
Friday, 7:05 p.m. at XL Center, Hartford, Conn.
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Whittemore Center, Durham, N.H.
What to watch for: UConn has won six straight Hockey East games against UNH since February of 2016 and still looks to post its first league win this season since Nov. 2 during its first game action since a week ago Wednesday against RPI. Two of the Huskies’ seven wins have come since the start of December, including their last two by 5-2 scores. The challenge will be stiff as the Wildcats have gone 6-1-2 in their last nine games with junior Liam Blackburn carrying a 13-game point streak.
Fun fact: UNH head coach Mike Souza (Wakefield, Mass.) was an assistant on Mike Cavanaugh’s (North Andover, Mass.) staff at UConn from 2013-15.
Merrimack (7-17-1, 4-11) at Vermont (8-13-1, 1-10-1)
Friday/Saturday, 7:05 p.m. at Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, Vt.
What to watch for: Hockey East play has been a struggle for the Catamounts all year, but their visitors will also look to break a two-game skid after losing to New Hampshire and Boston University convincingly last week and can post a winning January with a road sweep. The goaltending of UVM’s Stefanos Lekkas and Merrimack’s Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Drew Vogler has kept this series even at 3-3 over the last three seasons, including three consecutive one-goal games.
Fun fact: Merrimack’s Chase Gresock is the lone freshman from a New England club with two game-winning goals during the 2019 calendar year.
ECAC HOCKEY
St. Lawrence (3-18-1, 1-8-1)/Clarkson (16-6, 7-3) at Dartmouth (7-9-2, 6-4-1)/Harvard (8-6-3, 5-5-2)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Thompson Arena, Hanover, N.H.
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Bright-Landry Hockey Center, Allston, Mass.
What to watch for: The Big Green and Crimson both went 1-1 last weekend and finally return to home ECAC play against the North Country foes moving in opposite directions. Clarkson has won eight straight and SLU is in a seven-game slide, but the New England clubs will be looking to repeat the successes of last year’s regular-season series as they posted a combined 7-0-1 mark against the Saints and Golden Knights.
Fun fact: Current Crimson senior Michael Lackey picked up his first collegiate shutout in a 5-0 win over St. Lawrence on Feb. 16, 2018, while junior Adam Fox netted his first career hat trick.
Yale (9-6-3, 7-3-1)/Brown (6-9-3, 3-5-3) at Rensselaer (7-15, 4-7)/Union (11-6-4, 4-5-1)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Houston Field House, Troy, N.Y.
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Messa Rink, Schenectady, N.Y.
What to watch for: The Capital Region of New York awaits Yale and Brown after the two teams they will play had their Mayor’s Cup contest in downtown Albany postponed due to weather. The Bears have won four of their last six games, including one against Union to capture the Three Rivers Classic title, while the Bulldogs split last weekend with Clarkson and St. Lawrence but still remain in a first-place ECAC tie.
Fun fact: All three of Brown senior Alex Brink’s goals this season have come against Union, including two in the Three Rivers Classic finale on Jan. 5. In total, he has six points.
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
American International (12-11-1, 12-7-1) at Mercyhurst (11-13-2, 9-8-1)
Friday/Saturday, 7:05 p.m. at Mercyhurst Ice Center, Erie, Pa.
What to watch for: The Yellow Jackets completed a four-game season sweep of Holy Cross last Saturday, extending their winning streak to three games and their Atlantic Hockey lead to four points over Air Force and Niagara. AIC scored seven goals in those three games, but junior Kyle Stephan scored two game-winners and Zackarias Skog stopped 72 of the 75 shots he faced. Mercyhurst dropped back-to-back games to Niagara last weekend.
Fun fact: Last Saturday’s 3-2 win over Holy Cross marked AIC’s 12th of the season in Atlantic Hockey play, setting a new school record.
Holy Cross (4-14-3, 4-10-2) at Sacred Heart (6-12-3, 6-8-2)
Friday, 7:05 p.m./Saturday, 2:05 p.m. at Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Conn.
What to watch for: Two of the region’s Atlantic Hockey clubs square off again in Bridgeport this weekend. SHU is coming off a 1-0-1 weekend against Air Force, but its visitors enter the series only have the opportunity to jump into a ninth-place tie with two wins. The Pioneers have averaged 6.17 more shots per game than their opponents during the six-game calendar year to date, though they will be looking to improve upon a 1-4-1 record in that span.
Fun fact: Holy Cross junior Patrick O’Leary (Norfolk, Mass.) scored his first collegiate goal during Tuesday’s 4-1 loss at Quinnipiac.
Bentley (8-11-3, 7-7-2) at Canisius (9-12-2, 6-10-1)
Friday, 7:35 p.m./Saturday, 4:35 p.m. at Harborcenter, Buffalo, N.Y.
What to watch for: Bentley has not lost in five games and put itself in solid Atlantic Hockey position after a three-point weekend against RIT, moving within three points of fifth place. Junior Jonathan Desbiens is one of three Falcon skaters who has seven points during the league’s longest active unbeaten streak, which will go up against a Golden Griffin squad that has lost three straight since sweeping North Dakota.
Fun fact: Captain Tanner Jago assisted on two Bentley goals in the final game ever between these two teams at John A. Ryan Skating Arena in Watertown, Mass., a 3-2 win on Jan. 27, 2018.
NON-CONFERENCE
Arizona State (16-9-1) at Boston University (9-9-3)
Friday, 7:30 p.m./Saturday, 7 p.m. at Agganis Arena, Boston
What to watch for: This series is an intriguing one as BU is 5-1-1 in its last seven games and ASU enters as the No. 11 team in the PairWise looking to solidify a NCAA berth. The latter club’s success is thanks in large part to North Andover, Mass., native Joey Daccord, who has made a nation-leading 767 saves in 26 games as a junior, though BU’s Jake Oettinger has amassed a .934 save percentage during his team’s unbeaten run. On the offensive, freshman Joel Farabee has logged 12 points over his last 12 Terrier games.
Fun fact: BU senior Ryan Cloonan broke a streak of 97 consecutive games without scoring a goal in Monday’s 7-2 win over Merrimack.
