Here's how every Hockey East program is shaping up ahead of the 2018-19 season. Last year, Boston College edged Northeastern for the regular-season title.
Boston College
Boston College returns 105 (of 108) goals and 291 (of 304) points scored last year as 24th-year coach Jerry York’s (Watertown, Mass.) lineup did not graduate a single four-year contributor. The Eagles had a quartet of freshmen record at least 10 points during their ninth straight 20-win season, including Logan Hutsko, whose 31 helped him to Hockey East Rookie of the Year honors. Junior Julius Mattila scored a team-leading 13 goals. Seniors Casey Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) and Michael Kim anchor the defense, while St. Lawrence transfer Ben Finkelstein (Burlington, Vt.) will provide a second-half boost. Junior Joseph Woll is back for his third straight season as the starter in net. Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) and Marc McLaughlin (North Billerica, Mass.) are locals among a smaller but talented rookie group. BC posted win streaks of seven and six games last year, though its 0-8-3 non-conference record nixed any chances of grabbing an NCAA bid.
Boston University
Albie O’Connell (Watertown, Mass.) rises to the head coach’s chair to guide a Boston University team that returns two of its top four scorers in senior Bobo Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) and sophomore Shane Bowers. Jordan Greenway (Minnesota) and Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa) left early for the NHL, and the defense loses captain Brandon Hickey to graduation. Chad Krys (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Dante Fabbro, who combined for 16 goals and 40 assists as sophomores, lead the blueliners. They each eclipsed the 25-point mark, which Carpenter also did for the second straight year. Sophomore Logan Cockerill and junior Patrick Harper (New Canaan, Conn.) also return up front, while junior Jake Oettinger will be back in goal. Newcomers always play a role at BU, and this year should be no different with the likes of North Andover, Mass., native Jake Wise and Joel Farabee, who was the Flyers’ top June draftee.
UConn
Connecticut looks to build off last year’s fifth-place, 11-win finish — which was its best since joining the league in 2014 — with two juniors as the top returning scorers after two-time All-Hockey East forward Maxim Letunov (San Jose) and defenseman Joseph Masonius (Pittsburgh) were lost to the NHL a year early. Benjamin Freeman (Falmouth, Maine) posted 21 points to lead the Huskies’ veterans, while Alexander Payusov tied Letunov and graduate Spencer Naas for the team lead with 12 goals. Senior Miles Gendron (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and sophomore Adam Karashik (Ridgefield, Conn.) are the top returning producers on defense, while Adam Huska returns after playing the lion’s share of time in net over his first two seasons. Islanders second-round draftee Ruslan Iskhakov is the top freshman of 12 on the roster.
Maine
Thirteen Maine skaters recorded double-digit points a season ago, and 10 of them return. Juniors Mitchell Fossier set the offensive pace with a 12-22-34 line, with classmate Chase Pearson and his 27 points coming up behind. Sophomore Eduards Tralmaks and senior Brendan Robbins (Nashua, N.H.) were two of four Black Bears to score 11 goals for last year’s 18-16-4 club, which was the first to finish .500 or better at Maine since 2014. Three defenders contributed at least 17 points, including sophomore Brady Keeper and junior Patrick Holway, a Red Wings draftee from Cohasset, Mass. Juniors Patrick Shea (Marshfield, Mass.) and Tim Doherty (Portsmouth, R.I.) also were regular local contributors up front. Boston Bruins prospect Jeremy Swayman grabbed the top goaltending job and posted the league’s third-highest save percentage at .921.
UMass Amherst
Massachusetts posted a 12-win improvement and had the nation’s largest (13 players) and most productive freshman class (67 goals, 169 points) last season, which bodes well for coach Greg Carvel’s third year in Amherst. Defensemen Cale Makar and Mario Ferraro were the stars of the show from a prospect perspective, but John Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) posted a team-leading 13 goals and 28 points, while Mitchell Chaffee and Oliver Chau had 24 apiece. Juniors Josh Couturier (Byfield, Mass.) and Jake McLaughlin had double-digit points from the back as well. Matt Murray played 58.1 percent of the team’s minutes in goal as a freshman. Reigning USHL Forward of the Year Anthony Del Gaizo and his defenseman brother Marc, both from Basking Ridge, N.J., lead the rookie class.
UMass Lowell
UMass Lowell will have to replace its top three defensemen and another 20-point scorer after finishing 2017-18 with fewer than 21 wins for the first time in Norm Bazin’s seven seasons as coach. The good news is that the top three offensive contributors return in senior Ryan Dmowski (East Lyme, Conn.) and juniors Ryan Lohin and Kenny Hausinger. Lohin scored 25 points on 16 assists as Dmowski and Hausinger each netted double-digit goals. Junior Mattias Goransson recorded 13 of his 36 career points last season, while Anthony Baxter also contributed regularly on defense as a rookie. Back is the upperclass goaltending duo of Tyler Wall and Christoffer Hernberg, who finished second in Hockey East with a .921 save percentage as a junior. Defenseman Seth Barton joins the club after Detroit drafted him with its third-round pick over the summer.
Merrimack
Merrimack lost its top three offensive producers and seven total seniors from a season ago, but first-year head coach Scott Borek (Swampscott, Mass.) will have a pair of 20-point scorers with which to work in senior Ludvig Larsson and junior Sami Tavernier. Tavernier’s 13 goals tied current Devils prospect Brett Seney for the lead on last year’s 12-21-4 club. Johnathan Kovacevic leads the returning defensemen after dishing out 15 assists as a sophomore. A major point of confidence is experience in goal as seniors Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Drew Vogler split last season’s 37 starts. Forward Ethan DeStefani (Bedford, N.H.) is part of a local trio in the 10-member incoming class that also includes two transfers in forward Griff Jeszka from UMass and defenseman Matt McArdle from Lake Superior State.
New Hampshire
Mike Souza (Wakefield, Mass.) is in for the retired Dick Umile (Melrose, Mass.) as head coach at New Hampshire, where five of the top six scorers look to help the Wildcats improve upon a 10-20-6 mark. Graduate Michael McNicholas was the offensive pacesetter last year, so sophomore defenseman Max Gildon takes that title among returners with eight goals and 23 points as a freshman. Junior Liam Blackburn was the lone UNH skater to score more than 10 goals. Senior Ara Nazarian (Boxford, Mass.) and sophomore Charlie Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) are the top local ‘Cats, with Nazarian coming off a nine-goal, 22-point year. Sophomore Benton Maass also had double-digit points from a blue line. Austin Prep alum Ryan Verrier (Reading, Mass.) adds depth in back following the graduation of stalwarts Cameron Marks and Dylan Chanter.
Northeastern
Simply replacing the 156 points for which Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Gaudette (Braintree, Mass.), Dylan Sikura and Nolan Stevens combined to provide Northeastern is impossible, but the Huskies built some solid depth around their incredible top line during last year’s 23-win run to NCAAs. Cayden Primeau ran away with the starting goalie job as a freshman, posting a league-best .931 save percentage and 1.92 goals-against. Jeremy Davies returns for his junior year after leading all Hockey East defensemen with 35 points. Sophomore Zach Solow contributed 26 to pace the veteran forwards. As for newcomers, Jordan Harris (Haverhill, Mass.) joins Jim Madigan’s defense corps from Kimball Union, while former Avon Old Farms standout Tyler Madden and Reading, Mass., native Matt Thomson are forwards who spent last year in the USHL. UMass transfer Austin Plevy is a proven Hockey East scorer.
Providence College
Only Denver and Minnesota State have posted more consecutive 20-win seasons than Providence’s five, and Nate Leaman’s club has a strong cast of veterans despite losing top scorers Eric Foley and Brian Pinho to the next level. Leading the way are four juniors, including a 15-goal, 31-point scorer in Josh Wilkins. Brandon Duhaime, Kasper Bjorkqvist and senior Scott Conway are back after posting at least 23 points apiece. Jacob Bryson was the No. 2 playmaker among Hockey East defensemen as 21 of his 25 points were assists. Hayden Hawkey has been steady over the past two years and finished his junior campaign with a 2.04 goals-against, which was second in the league. Philadelphia’s No. 19 pick and former Thayer star Jay O’Brien (Hingham, Mass.) should make a big impact right away.
Vermont
Vermont returns five of its top six scorers, seven defensemen and goaltender Stefanos Lekkas from a 10-20-7 team, but would-be junior Ross Colton bolted to Tampa Bay after posting a 16-7-23 line. Aside from Colton, only sophomore Alex Esposito (West Haven, Conn.) reached the 20-point mark or scored 10 goals. Junior Matt Alvaro was one of four players to register double-digit assists as he led the club with 13, while senior Liam Coughlin (South Boston, Mass.) had 10 and totaled a career-high 16 points. Junior Matt O’Donnell and sophomore Christian Evers lead the way on defense. Lekkas played more than 80 percent of the minutes in each of his first two seasons. The newcomers include Lynnfield, Mass., native John DeRoche, who was the USPHL’s second-leading scorer last year.
