Friday was not a friendly night to be a ranked college hockey team as UMass, Quinnipiac, and St. Cloud State all lost in conference play. The Minutemen did bounce back from their first Hockey East loss of the season against UMass Lowell with a Saturday afternoon win over local foe American International, while Quinnipiac finished the weekend with a point against Cornell.
Providence continued its eight-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0-1 weekend against Miami, and it’s now New Hampshire that follows the Friars among New England’s hottest teams as it has not lost in a five-game span after defeating Merrimack and tying another regionally-ranked team in the ECAC’s Yale.
Another notable scores from the weekend include Northeastern losing its nation-long unbeaten streak against the same Warriors that lost in the Granite State, while Harvard returned to ECAC play with a win, Brown won the Three Rivers Classic championship, and Boston College fell twice at Arizona State.
Without further ado, here’s the second New England Hockey Journal Division 1 Top 10 of 2019:
TOP 10
1. Providence
Record: 12-4-4 (6-2-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 2
A 4-2 win and 3-3 tie against Miami helped the Friars advance to 5-0-3 over their last eight games. Senior Scott Conway (2-1-3) and freshman Jack Dugan (0-3-3) both had three points on the weekend, while junior Josh Wilkins has factored into the offense in 10 straight games after recording an assist in each game. Conway has goals in five consecutive outings. Senior Hayden Hawkey made 40 saves in the series, including 27 in Saturday’s draw.
2. Massachusetts
Record: 15-3 (7-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 1
UMass Lowell handed the Minutemen their first Hockey East loss of the season, 2-1, but the boys from Amherst recovered for a 6-1 win over American International in Saturday afternoon’s non-conference finale in Springfield. Junior Niko Hildenbrand scored the lone UMass goal against the River Hawks, while freshman defenseman Marc Del Gaizo had a multi-point game for just the second time with a goal and three assists at AIC. Sophomore Matt Murray, who had not lost this season before Friday, stopped 20 shots against the Yellow Jackets.
3. Quinnipiac
Record: 15-4-1 (6-3-1 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 3
The Bobcats went winless in back-to-back games for the first time this season after a 5-4 overtime loss to Colgate and 2-2 tie with Cornell in Hamden, Conn. Freshmen Ethan de Jong and Peter DiLiberatore each scored and junior Andrew Shortridge made 14 of his 30 saves between the third period and overtime on Saturday, helping Quinnipiac take at least a point out of its 14th consecutive ECAC weekend. In the loss, sophomore Odeen Tufto scored his 11th goal of the season and senior Brandon Fortunato had three assists, but the Raiders won with three unanswered goals.
4. Northeastern
Record: 12-4-1 (6-2-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 4
Despite a 42-22 shot advantage, the Huskies were shut out for the first time this season and had their nation-long winning streak of eight games snapped with Saturday’s 1-0 setback to Merrimack at Matthews Arena. Senior Ryan Ruck made 21 saves in his third consecutive start in the absence of sophomore Cayden Primeau who helped the U.S. to its fourth straight World Junior Championship medal.
5. Yale
Record: 7-4-3 (6-2-1 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 7
On a wild Saturday night at Whittemore Center, the Bulldogs built a 4-0 lead through 24:20 of game time before settling for a 5-5 tie with New Hampshire; the two teams scored 10 goals on 48 combined shots. Junior Robbie DeMontis scored twice and added an assist, while senior Joe Snively had three points with the reverse line.
6. UMass Lowell
Record: 9-8-1 (5-4-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 8
The River Hawks only had a Friday game this weekend, but they made it count with a 2-1 win over UMass. Senior Connor Wilson and freshman Reid Stefanson scored goals as Lowell again avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season. Senior Christoffer Hernberg made 33 saves en route to his second consecutive victory in net.
7. Harvard
Record: 6-4-2 (3-3-2 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 9
Harvard has allowed two or fewer goals in seven of its last eight games, but it took an overtime winner from freshman Casey Dornbach to defeat RPI on Friday night, 3-2. Dornbach has averaged 1.5 points per game as the top rookie scorer in the country and is working on a three-game point streak. In addition, senior captain Lewis Zerter-Gossage scored his team-leading ninth goal and classmate Michael Lackey made 24 saves.
8. Boston University
Record: 6-8-2 (5-5-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 6
The Terriers won back-to-back games prior to the holidays and will return to action on Tuesday night at Harvard. During the break, sophomore Logan Cockerill and freshman Joel Farabee helped Team USA earn silver medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
9. Boston College
Record: 6-9-2 (6-1-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 5
BC’s non-conference losing streak was extended to 25 games and will live on until at least the Beanpot after 5-2 and 2-0 losses over the weekend at Arizona State. Senior JD Dudek (Auburn, N.H.) and sophomore Aapeli Rasanen gave the Eagles separate one-goal leads in Friday’s game, but the Sun Devils scored four unanswered goals to earn the win. Junior Joseph Woll made 54 stops on the weekend to keep BC in both games, but North Andover, Mass., native Joey Daccord won the goaltending duel, totaling 67 on 69 shots.
10. New Hampshire
Record: 6-7-6 (2-4-3 Hockey East) / Last week: Not ranked
The Wildcats remained hot with a 2-1 win over Merrimack and 5-5 tie with non-conference foe Yale. Juniors Brendan van Riemsdyk scored twice and Anthony Wyse (Newton, Mass.) had three points against the Bulldogs after freshman Angus Crookshank scored 53 seconds into overtime and allowed the Wildcats to take the Hockey East affair. Sophomore Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) has not allowed more than three goals in eight straight appearances after making 37 stops on the weekend, including 24 in a Friday start and win.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Tommy Marchin
Brown / Sr. / F / Algonac, Mich.
Marchin helped propel the Bears to a pair of victories at the Three Rivers Classic. The captain logged five points during the weekend, scoring twice in the 6-3, championship-clinching victory over Union. He had a goal and two assists in the semifinal win against host Robert Morris, including a helper on junior Zach Guittari’s (Warwick, R.I.) game-winning goal.
Christoffer Hernberg
UMass Lowell / Sr. / G / Espoo, Finland
Hernberg earned his second consecutive Hockey East win and fourth of the season overall, thanks to a 33-save effort in Friday’s 2-1 win at UMass. Twelve came in the third period as the River Hawks handed the nation’s No. 2 team a league loss for the first time this season. The game also marked Hernberg’s second consecutive start with at least 30 saves.
