Continued streaks and a wild rivalry game were among the highlights of the final full weekend of Division 1 men’s college hockey action in the fall semester.
Our top two teams in New England are in the midst of red-hot runs that have vaulted them in the national rankings. While one is receiving consideration as the best team in the country, another’s recent play is unprecedented in school history.
Just one more game involving a local team will take place before Christmas, as Northeastern travels to LIU on Sunday night. This weekend marked the final major opportunity before the holiday to pick up precious points in the conference standings.
Here is New England Hockey Journal’s latest look at the top teams in the region.
1. Quinnipiac (14-1-3, 10-0-0 ECAC)
The Bobcats have gone 12-0-1 in their 13 games since being shut out Oct. 22 at Maine. Their weekend was dominant, featuring consecutive eight-goal performances — something they haven’t achieved since 2006 — in wins over RPI and Union. Sophomore Collin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) continues to be dynamic as a Union transfer, logging a goal Friday and a goal and four assists Saturday against his former team to run his point streak to nine games. Graf has 26 points, four more than he did all of last season. World Junior-bound freshman Sam Lipkin also had five points against the Dutchmen to conclude a seven-point weekend, while sophomore Jacob Quillan and graduate TJ Friedmann scored twice apiece. Now 14-1-3, sophomore Yaniv Perets allowed just one goal in each game, needing to make only 11 and 16 saves.
Previous ranking: 1Â
https://twitter.com/QU_MIH/status/1601956622791835648
2. Merrimack (13-4-0, 9-2-0 HEA)
Three straight road wins against top-13 opponents Connecticut, Massachusetts and Providence helped the Warriors conclude the first half on a historic note. Fifth-year senior Jordan Seyfert’s second goal within the three-game span came early in the third period and turned out to be the winner in Saturday’s 3-2 triumph over the Friars, which assured the program’s best start as a Division 1 program. Junior Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) had a four-point night as the Warriors began their recent stretch with a 7-3 win over UConn, while graduate linemate Otto Leppanen netted the deciding goal of last Wednesday’s 2-1 decision at UMass with two seconds remaining in the second period. Junior Zachary Borgiel maintained his perfect start against Providence, making 24 saves en route to his seventh straight win.
Previous ranking: 6
3. Harvard (8-2-1, 7-1-0 ECAC)
The Crimson vaulted into the thick of the national picture over the first semester, but the final games before Christmas at Cornell and Colgate last weekend included mixed results. Junior Sean Farrell’s (Hopkinton, Mass.) overtime goal lifted Harvard to its first win at Cornell’s Lynah Rink since 2017 in the Friday night game, but his two goals and an assist in Saturday's game came in 6-4 loss to Colgate. Farrell, who also set up freshman Joe Miller’s strike against Cornell, finished the semester with points in six straight games and totaled 18 in 11 contests. He leads ECAC Hockey with 1.64 points per game. Senior Mitchell Gibson made 22 saves to backstop the team’s seventh ECAC win in eight games to run his save percentage to .930, which ranks second in the conference.
Previous ranking: 3
RISE TO THE TOP: How Sean Farrell has become one of college hockey's best playersÂ
4. Boston University (11-5-0, 7-4-0 HEA)
After coming out on the wrong side of a 9-6 score in Friday’s wild renewal of the Battle of Commonwealth Avenue at Boston College, the Terriers concluded a challenging first half by taking a 3-2 win to claim the Hockey East season series over Connecticut two days later. Senior Wilmer Skoog scored the deciding goal during a three-goal second period as BU earned its third top-10 win. Junior Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.), who was pulled after allowing seven goals at BC, made 19 of his 28 saves in the third period of Sunday’s win. The best weekend of Nick Zabaneh’s junior year included goals in each game and three of his five total points. Despite the loss to BC, senior Matt Brown had one goal and a career-high three assists against the Eagles for his second four-point game of the season.
Previous ranking: 4
5. Connecticut (11-5-3, 8-4-2 HEA)
A 2-4 stretch including Sunday’s 3-2 loss to BU leads the Huskies into the holiday break, but a dominant start (6-0-1 before taking their first loss) has helped them maintain a national ranking for 11 consecutive weeks. Graduate transfer Ty Amonte (Norwell, Mass.) scored the opening goal against his former team before freshman Matthew Wood tallied late for his 15th point of the season, off an assist from team-leading junior Ryan Tverberg. Freshman Arsenii Sergeev had a strong 31-save effort, his first losing decision since Oct. 22 against BU. UConn already played 11 games against ranked foes, winning one on Nov. 29 in its split with Merrimack. After a series against LIU after Christmas, UConn will play Northeastern at Frozen Fenway and in the opener of the new on-campus Toscano Family Ice Forum in January.
Previous ranking: 2
https://twitter.com/UConnMHOC/status/1602052017983148032?s=20&t=UibTFbIYtzywALlu_3Z03Q
6. Providence (9-4-5, 6-1-5 HEA)
The Friars have fallen into a four-game winless drought since Nov. 25. The latest setback was a loss to Merrimack on Saturday. Junior Nick Poisson and freshman Bennett Schimek scored special-teams goals in the second period for the Friars, who allowed just 15 Merrimack shots to get through to freshman stopper Philip Svedeback. Sophomore Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) assisted on both of the team’s goals and has three over his last two games, but he also leads the club with seven goals this season.
Previous ranking: 5
7. UMass Lowell (10-6-1, 5-4-1 HEA)
The River Hawks played their past two games against the same two teams they met at the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland, taking a shootout win over Hockey East rival UMass and edging past Dartmouth 3-2. Seniors Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) and Carl Berglund each had two points in Friday’s win at Dartmouth, with Meehan’s night including his third goal this season. Berglund had two assists to run his team-leading point total to 14. Norm Bazin’s team has the level of depth needed for a repeat tournament run in March, as 20 players scored in the first 17 games. Freshman Dillan Bentley and sophomore Gabe Blanchard joined that list over the last two weeks. Graduate senior Gustavs Davis Grigals leads the nation with a .937 save percentage.
Previous ranking: 8
https://twitter.com/RiverHawkHockey/status/1601394473170219008?s=20&t=UibTFbIYtzywALlu_3Z03Q
8. Massachusetts (7-6-3, 3-6-1 HEA)
The loss to Merrimack on Wednesday was a down end to the first half for the two-time defending Hockey East champions, who have just two wins since October. Sophomore Taylor Makar has scored the lone UMass goal in the past two games, running his season total to six. Makar netted just one over his entire rookie year. UMass has not allowed more than two goals in any game of its 2-1-2 stretch since Nov. 18. After two goaltenders saw time early on, sophomore Luke Pavicich — who played in just four games last season — has won the job outright with a 6-4-3 record and .935 save percentage.
Previous ranking: 7Â
9. Boston College (6-5-4, 5-3-3 HEA)
Friday’s 9-6 win over rival BU sent the Eagles away for the semester with just one regulation loss in their last seven games. Stud freshman Cutter Gauthier showed out in his first rivalry action, scoring two goals and two assists to pace BC in the highest-scoring series game since a Dec. 2, 1986, game during current coach Greg Brown’s freshman year at BC. Gauthier spent time between wing and center during the semester, but his 10 goals and 16 points in 13 games lead the team. Junior Trevor Kuntar scored and set up two other goals against the Terriers. It wasn’t Colgate graduate transfer Mitch Benson’s best game, though 30 saves were enough to help BC emerge in its final game before heading to Arizona State Dec. 30.
Previous ranking: 10Â
10. Northeastern (7-7-3, 6-4-2 HEA)
The Huskies remain fifth in the Hockey East standings as only one of their four consecutive losses has been in league play, but the last two have come against Union and Sacred Heart teams that rank in the bottom half of the Pairwise Rankings. Junior Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.) and senior Matt DeMelis (Hingham, Mass.) scored last Tuesday at Sacred Heart after freshman Jack Williams (Biddeford, Maine) and sophomore Justin Hryckowian lit the lamp against Union. Senior Aidan McDonough (Milton, Mass.) and Hryckowian have 10 goals apiece, but no other Huskies have more than half as many. Junior Devon Levi has played well despite the team’s struggles, pitching three shutouts on the season.
Previous ranking: 9
