The Hockey East schedule is set to resume in earnest this weekend, so this unofficial end to the season’s first half is a perfect time to look at some of the league’s top players thus far. With that, New England Hockey Journal presents its Hockey East midseason award winners and All-Stars.
UMass has been the top team in the standings from the jump and remains at the top of the standings with a 7-0 record in league games, though Boston College has quietly turned things around and tied for that No. 1 spot. The Eagles opened with five consecutive losses outside of league play, but it now stands 6-1-2 in Hockey East action entering the 2019 calendar year.
Northeastern and Providence enter the second half within one point of first place, while Boston University is one point behind those two. However, the Terriers (and UConn) have played two more league games than any other Hockey East team.
The Minutemen have two players each on NEHJ’s Hockey East First, Second, and All-Rookie teams, while BC also has two First Team players. Two New Englanders are also included throughout the three squads.
Player of the Year
Cale Makar, Soph., D, Massachusetts
The No. 4 overall pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2017 returned for his second collegiate year, and he sure hasn’t disappointed for the league-leading Minutemen. The Calgary native has recorded eight points in seven league games, but his 19 points on six goals and 13 assists in 16 overall games are tops among Hockey East defensemen. He also ranks second among his team’s blueliners with a plus-10 rating, including plus-5 in Hockey East games. Depth in back has been a strength for UMass, and Makar leads the charge.
Rookie of the Year
Jack Dugan, Fr., LW, Providence
The Vegas Golden Knights draftee from Rochester, N.Y., has seamlessly slotted into a top-line roal for a Friar club that was already uber-talented. Dugan’s 17 points in 16 games overall slot him second on the team to junior Josh Wilkins, but he has recorded a league-high 13 of them in nine Hockey East games. He leads the league’s first-year class with his goal and point totals, three game-winning tallies, and a .629 faceoff percentage in conference games.
Coach of the Year
Greg Carvel, Massachusetts
Carvel led the Minutemen to their best start in program history with 14 wins in 16 games, including a perfect 7-0 mark in Hockey East play. UMass finished all of last season with nine league wins and 17 overall. His team is complete from the net out as Matt Murray is a perfect 11-0, the defense is high-end with Makar, Mario Ferraro, and freshmen Marc Del Gaizo and Ty Farmer leading the way, and the team has averaged 4.43 goals per league game on offense. On top of all that, the team predicted to finish sixth in the league enters the second half as the PairWise leader.
First Team All-Hockey East
Forward: David Cotton, Boston College
Forward: John Leonard, Massachusetts (Amherst, Mass.)
Forward: Kasper Bjorkqvist, Providence
Defense: Cale Makar, Massachusetts
Defense: Dante Fabbro, Boston University
Goaltender: Joseph Woll, Boston College
Second Team All-Hockey East
Forward: Julius Mattila, Boston College
Forward: Josh Wilkins, Providence
Forward: Mitchell Chaffee, Massachusetts
Defense: Jacob Bryson, Providence
Defense: Jeremy Davies, Northeastern
Goaltender: Matt Murray, Massachusetts
Hockey East All-Rookie Team
Forward: Tyler Madden, Northeastern
Forward: Jack Dugan, Providence
Forward: Jachym Kondelik, Connecticut
Defense: Marc Del Gaizo, Massachusetts
Defense: Michael Callahan, Providence (Franklin, Mass.)
Goaltender: Filip Lindberg, Massachusetts
