It’s been an interesting season for New England’s Division 1 college hockey programs, and it will continue into this weekend with seven clubs competing for conference championships this coming Friday and Saturday in Boston, Lake Placid, and Buffalo, N.Y.
Two of the top three seeds will be included in the Hockey East semifinal field after Massachusetts and Northeastern won their series in straight games. Boston University and Boston College finished off upsets in three games; the Eagles downed second-seeded Providence in back-to-back one-goal affairs to advance back to TD Garden.
New England’s results in the ECAC were mixed. Harvard dismissed Dartmouth in back-to-back games, while Brown did the same in an upset over top-seeded Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn. The Bobcats still have a comfortable position on the NCAA at-large bubble as the No. 5 team in the PairWise Rankings, unlike No. 14 Providence.
Top-seeded American International was the lone New England team to survive Atlantic Hockey’s quarterfinal round. No. 2 Bentley and No. 4 Sacred Heart each were topped in three games.
TOP 10
1. Massachusetts
Record: 28-8 (18-6 Hockey East) / Last week: 1
The Minutemen made quick work of New Hampshire in their first series of the Hockey East postseason at Mullins Center, 5-4 and 6-0. It took sophomore Mitchell Chaffee’s first goal since Jan. 26 to win the series opener at 5:52 of the second overtime period, while freshman Fille Lindberg earned his first of back-to-back wins with 13 saves in relief of sophomore Matt Murray. Sophomore defenseman Cale Makar was one of five Minutemen to record multiple points in Saturday’s shutout and finished the weekend with four points.
2. Northeastern
Record: 25-10-1 (15-8-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 4
Four different players scored goals and ten recorded points as the Huskies swept Maine to advance to the Hockey East semifinals for the third time in four years, earning both wins by 2-1 scores. Sophomore Austin Goldstein’s (Saugus, Mass.) won Friday’s series opener with his first goal of the season at the 4:15 mark of overtime after freshman Tyler Madden opened the scoring in the second period. Senior Brandon Hawkins scored the game-winner on Saturday. Sophomore Cayden Primeau was great in both games, stopping 74 of the 76 shots he faced.
3. Providence
Record: 22-11-6 (14-7-3 Hockey East) / Last week: 2
Junior Brandon Duhaime scored 1:31 into overtime to lift the second-seeded Friars to a series-opening, 5-4 win over Boston College, but the Eagles responded with 4-3 (OT) and 2-1 wins to advance out of the Hockey East quarterfinal round at Schneider Arena. Junior Josh Wilkins scored twice and added two assists in the series, while defenseman Spenser Young (Brentwood, N.H.) netted a pair of goals in the Friday victory. Freshman Jack Dugan led the Friar offense with five assists over the three games, but the hosts were unable to overcome 10 total goals put past senior Hayden Hawkey.
4. Quinnipiac
Record: 25-9-2 (14-6-2 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 3
The top-seeded Bobcats had their league-record streak of 14 consecutive years with at least one playoff series victory come to an end with 2-1 (OT) and 4-3 losses to Brown. Sophomore Alex Whelan factored into all three Saturday goals, scoring twice and assisting on senior Craig Martin’s third-period tally. Junior defenseman Karlis Cukste scored Quinnipiac’s only other goal in the series during Friday’s second period. Freshman Peter DiLiberatore assisted on goals in both games, while junior Andrew Shortridge made 61 total saves.
5. Harvard
Record: 19-9-3 (13-7-2 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 5
Following 3-1 and 4-3 (OT) home wins over Dartmouth, the Crimson is one of the ECAC’s final four teams remaining for the fifth consecutive year. Junior defenseman Adam Fox factored into six of Harvard’s seven goals in the series, scoring Friday’s game-winning goal and adding five assists. Six other players also found the back of the net with junior Nathan Krusko scoring the series-winning goal at the 2:06 mark of overtime. Cameron Gornet continued his strong run of goaltending with 55 saves in the series, adding up to five wins in his last six games.
6. Boston University
Record: 16-17-4 (12-9-3 Hockey East) / Last week: 7
For the 15th time in 18 years, BU will be one of the final four Hockey East teams competing for a championship. The Terriers won their decisive third quarterfinal contest at UMass Lowell, 4-1, after splitting the first two games of the series by 3-0 and 4-6 scores. Junior Jake Oettinger opened the set with a 25-save shutout and had one going for nearly 2 ½ periods on Sunday before Lowell broke his second bid. Freshman Joel Farabee finished the weekend with five points, including two game-winners among his four goals. Sophomore Cam Crotty and juniors Patrick Harper (New Canaan, Conn.) and Patrick Curry all scored two goals apiece.
7. UMass Lowell
Record: 19-13-5 (12-7-5 Hockey East) / Last week: 6
Despite skating on home ice, the River Hawks saw their season come to an end with a 2-1 quarterfinal series loss to BU. Senior Ryan Dmowski (East Lyme, Conn.) finished his collegiate career with a 2-1-3 weekend, posting all of those points in Saturday’s 6-4 win. Junior Kenny Hausinger matched that line while scoring goals in final two games of the set. The aforementioned players lead the club with 14 and 13 goals, respectively. Tyler Wall earned Lowell’s lone win of the series and his 11th of the season with 27 saves.
8. American International
Record: 20-16-1 (18-9-1 Atlantic Hockey) / Last week: 8
The Yellow Jackets advanced to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals for the first time ever following a three-game quarterfinal victory over Army West Point. Junior Zackarias Skog made 20 saves and four different players scored in Friday’s 4-0 win, but the Black Knights responded for a 2-1 triumph. In the Saturday setback, freshman Matus Spodniak scored his first goal of the season in only his fifth appearance. Junior Blake Christensen had a pair of goals to lead the way in Sunday’s 4-1 win to clinch the series. Juniors Hugo Reinhardt (1-2-3) and Nicolas Luka (0-3-3) both had three points on the weekend.
9. Brown
Record: 15-13-5 (8-9-5 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 10
The Bears posted a stunning sweep of Quinnipiac to advance to Lake Placid and the ECAC semifinals for the first time since 2013, earning 2-1 (OT) and 4-3 wins. Junior Jack Gessert scored with 2:48 left in the extra session to earn the first win, while senior Tommy Marchin had two of Brown’s four third-period goals and junior Gavin Nieto made 28 of his 53 saves on Saturday. Junior Brent Beaudoin (Londonderry, N.H.) scored a goal in each game and has marked the scoresheet in Brown’s last four postseason outings.
10. Boston College
Record: 13-21-3 (10-11-3 Hockey East) / Last week: Not ranked
Despite finishing one point ahead of eighth place in Hockey East, the Eagles will play for a league championship after back-to-back wins to complete the quarterfinal round at Providence. Sophomore Logan Hutsko scored both of BC’s winning goals and also had two assists in the series with the series-clinching tally coming 11:55 into Sunday’s third period. Senior defenseman Michael Kim had a 2-3-5 weekend, while freshman Marc McLaughlin (North Billerica, Mass.) scored in each of the first two games. Junior Joseph Woll posted a .921 save percentage and had support from 12 different point scorers in the series.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Adam Fox
Harvard / Jr. / D / Jericho, N.Y.
Fox finished Harvard’s postseason series victory over Dartmouth with a game-winning goal and five assists, including helpers on three of the four goals in Saturday’s series-clinching overtime win. The junior had three points in each game, scoring the deciding tally 11:51 into the third period on Friday. He now has a team-leading 13 multi-point games on the season.
Cayden Primeau
Northeastern / Soph. / D / Voorhees, N.J.
Primeau led the Huskies to back-to-back quarterfinal wins over Maine at Matthews Arena, stopping 74 of the 76 shots he faced en route to his 22nd and 23rd wins of the season. He opened the series with a 41-save effort, helping Northeastern to a 2-1 overtime win. The sophomore made 33 saves on Saturday, including 12 in the third period.
