Time flies when you’re having fun.
What seems like as soon as it began, the Hockey East regular season is already nearing its end.
When action resumes with this weekend’s slate of games, exactly one month will be left to decide which team will come out on top as the regular season conference champion and, in turn, which team will receive the No. 1 seed and a shot at earning the at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
With just three points separating the first- and eighth-place teams and only a handful of games remaining, we take a look at a few random Hockey East storylines heading into the stretch run:
Terriers are biting back
It took some time, but after a rocky start to 2019-20, the youngest team in college hockey is heating up at the right time. Under head coach Albie O’Connell, Boston University is 4-2-2 since returning from the break and capped its second-half resurgence with a gutsy, comeback effort over Boston College in an explosive Beanpot semifinal on Monday night at TD Garden.
With so much talent, the Terriers have the skill to keep it moving, but a lot of their success will boil down to the play of their goalies. After an up-and-down first half, graduate student Sam Tucker has given way to freshman Ashton Abel, who’s anchored the second-half charge.
If the goalie situation settles down, BU and its weapons will be hard to suppress in February.
Eagles need to soar again
On the other side of Comm. Ave, Boston College is looking to get back to the red-hot play that it started the second half with.
Although the Eagles have plenty of young talent, it’s the veterans who are leading the charge. After their 10-game win streak came to an end, they won three straight before dropping back-to-back demoralizing overtime games to Maine at home. They bounced back with a road win over UMass to get back into the groove and regain control of first place.
“Four straight games, all one-goal games, we won two and the opposition won two,” Jerry York said Friday, “but that’s what Hockey East is. It was important to get off that slide to get a win.”
With York at the helm, anything is possible for BC. Even with the down regular season they had last year, the tenured coach’s leadership led them to the conference title game. With experience, scoring and a solid netminder, it won’t be long before the Eagles are back firing on all cylinders.
River Hawks leaning on Wall
In the postseason, goaltending can turn any good team into a great one. Insert: UMass Lowell’s Tyler Wall. In his fourth and final collegiate campaign, the senior is having his best season yet.
On a River Hawks squad that’s enjoying one of its best overall seasons in recent memory under Norm Bazin, Wall’s continued stout play will be key to UML entering the final stretch. His .934 save percentage is tied for highest in Hockey East, while he’s allowing just 2.06 goals per game.
Minutemen lacking firepower
The season is long, which is why it’s not uncommon for teams to go through slumps. In the second half, UMass is 4-5-1; in their last three games, the Minutemen have scored only three goals.
Although the offense is averaging 3.15 goals per game, the power play is one of the worst in the country. Through 22 games, they’ve scored just 12 man-advantage goals. If UMass and Greg Carvel want a shot at consecutive regular season titles, they have to fix the scoring woes. And soon.
“I think just not allowing ourselves to get frustrated is the most important thing,” Carvel said. “Just to continue attacking the game, following the game plan, execute, compete, have good attitude. That’s all we can ask – (I'm) not going to tell them anything this week that they haven’t already heard. Just going to ask them to stay committed to our identity and our style of play.”
Friars poised for long run?
Providence got a lot of its tough games out of the way in the first half, and after dropping two of their last three, its only major remaining test is the home-and-home with UMass this weekend. With an explosive offense and the conference’s best power play under coach Nate Leaman, the Friars are set up for a deep run, especially if they use last year’s early playoff exit as motivation.
Even after their first-round dismissal from the conference tournament, the Friars made it all the way to the Frozen Four. And although they brought in 12 freshmen and lost goalie Hayden Hawkey, they still have Leaman and the invaluable experience of playing in key games down the stretch.
Tough month ahead for Huskies
Things are coming together for Northeastern. As the defending Hockey East tournament and two-time Beanpot champions, the Huskies know what it takes to win big games. With coach Jim Madigan and a solid core of veteran captains who have been there, done that in the important games, the conference’s third-best offense is finding its rhythm. It doesn’t get much easier after the Beanpot final on Monday, though, as a slew of big tests await in the final month.
Along with the top penalty kill in Hockey East, if Merrimack transfer and senior netminder Craig Pantano can stay consistent heading into the stretch, an experienced NU team will be dangerous entering the conference playoffs. Before they can get there, they have to get through the gauntlet.
Wildcats clawing for every point
After splitting its series against Providence and then taking three of four points from UMass the following weekend, New Hampshire was on a high heading into its recent series with UConn, but it didn’t go the way it planned. Both nights, the Wildcats fell to the sub-.500 Huskies, 7-4.
UNH is a talented group that’s made noise with a couple of big wins during coach Mike Souza’s second season, but it can’t really afford to get too high and go pointless over another series in February. After the sweep, the Wildcats fell from sixth to ninth inside the standings.
That’s just how tight it is, and it’ll stay that way until it’s all decided in March.
Liam Flaherty can be reached lflaherty24@gmail.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
