While UMass Lowell continues to surge up the Hockey East standings and New England Hockey Journal’s Division 1 Top 10, UMass continues to hold down the No. 1 spot entering a critical home-and-home series against Boston College.
The River Hawks swept four Hockey East points with wins over BC and UMass, extending their unbeaten streak to 10 games (9-0-1). Bentley continues to climb towards first-place American International in the Atlantic Hockey race and remains the only Division 1 team with a longer current run than the River Hawks at 11 games (9-0-2).
BC and Northeastern dropped Hockey East contests in their final skates before tonight’s Beanpot title tilt, while Boston University has lost four in a row. Harvard, which is 5-1 in its last six games, is the lone team entering the second Monday of February off a win. However, all four teams still find themselves in the NEHJ ranks.
Providence and Quinnipiac round out the top four after splitting their most recent Hockey East and ECAC weekends, as did New Hampshire. American International returns to the NEHJ rankings following another Atlantic Hockey sweep, while its league rival Sacred Heart amassed the same result and Holy Cross posted its third win in five games.
UConn posted an impressive week in Hockey East action, sweeping Northeastern and Merrimack to move within two points of ninth-place Vermont. Lastly, Dartmouth earned one more ECAC point to remain in the middle of the pack.
TOP 10
1. Massachusetts
Record: 21-6 (13-4 Hockey East) / Last week: 1
The Minutemen swept Boston University in their Hockey East season series with Friday’s 4-2 win in Amherst, but a 2-0 shutout the following night allowed UMass Lowell swept its sister school. Juniors Jack Suter and Jake McLaughlin each scored their first goals of the season against the Terriers as UMass tied a single-season program record for wins. Four players had a multi-point game. Freshman Fille Lindberg and sophomore Matt Murray each started one game in net with Lindberg making 25 saves for the win.
2. UMass Lowell
Record: 17-8-2 (11-4-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 3
The River Hawks played a perfect defensive weekend with shutouts against Boston College and UMass by respective scores of 3-0 and 2-0. Freshman defenseman Chase Blackmun assisted on three of Lowell’s goals during the four-point weekend, including both game-winners from senior Ryan Dmowski (East Lyme, Conn.) and sophomore Chris Schutz. Five different players scored goals over the two games. Sophomore Connor Sodergren (Tewksbury, Mass.) had an assist in each game. Junior Tyler Wall (28) and senior Christoffer Hernberg (31) each pitched a shutout.
3. Quinnipiac
Record: 21-6-1 (10-5-1 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 2
A 4-0 win over rival Yale opened the weekend for the Bobcats, but Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Brown snapped their five-game winning streak dating back to Jan. 19 at Boston University. Junior Nick Germain’s first goal of the season turned out to be the game-winner against the Bulldogs, and the Norwalk, Conn., native also added an assist. Senior defenseman Chase Priskie and sophomore Odeen Tufto both had assists in each game. Junior Andrew Shortridge stopped 48 of the 52 shots he faced over the weekend, including 23 in Friday’s fourth individual shutout of the year.
4. Providence
Record: 16-9-5 (9-7-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 4
The Friars squeezed out a 1-0 win in Friday’s series opener with Maine before a 3-1 loss the following night made it a series split. Senior Bryan Lemos (East Providence, R.I.) netted the lone goal of the series opener 5:10 into the second period, while senior Hayden Hawkey made 28 of his 61 weekend saves to pitch his program-record 14th career shutout. Brandon Duhaime was Saturday’s goal scorer as he tied the game at 1-1 in the opening frame.
5. Harvard
Record: 12-7-3 (9-5-2 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 5
After opening the Beanpot with a 2-1 loss to Boston College last Monday, the Crimson bounced back with a 5-3 win over Union during Friday’s ECAC action. Sophomore Henry Bowlby had the lone goal of the Beanpot setback as one of six Harvard scorers over the two games. Junior defenseman Adam Fox had four assists against the Dutchmen, including three on the power play, while sophomore Reilly Walsh (Andover, N.H.) had one at TD Garden and two on Friday. Senior Michael Lackey made 38 saves over the two games.
6. Northeastern
Record: 16-9-1 (9-7-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 6
The Huskies played a pair of overtime games last week, earning a 2-1 win over Boston University in last Monday’s Beanpot opener before UConn scored with 1:09 left in regulation and then 1:05 into the extra session for a 3-2 decision three nights later. Freshman Tyler Madden scored his second overtime goal in as many Northeastern wins to end the Beanpot contest 51 seconds after regulation. Madden also recorded an assist at UConn, while junior defenseman Jeremy Davies had one in each game. Sophomore Cayden Primeau stopped 55 of the 59 shots he faced in two games.
7. Boston University
Record: 10-13-3 (8-7-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 7
BU will miss the Beanpot title game for the first time since 2014 as a result of last Monday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Northeastern, then its four-game skid extended with a 4-2 loss to Hockey East leader UMass on Friday. Junior Jake Oettinger was busy in goal all week as he made 82 saves on 88 shots, including 47 consecutively in the Beanpot start. Sophomore Shane Bowers and junior Joel Farabee each had a goal and an assist on the week, while junior defenseman Dante Fabbro also scored at UMass.
8. New Hampshire
Record: 11-10-8 (7-7-5 Hockey East) / Last week: 8
The Wildcats split their Hockey East weekend series at Vermont, earning a 1-0 win behind sophomore Mike Robinson’s (Bedford, N.H.) 29 saves before dropping a 4-1 decision. Second-year forward Patrick Grasso scored the lone goal of Friday’s series opener at the 4:07 marker and Robinson did the rest, making 11 of his stops in the third period. Senior Marcus Vela had the only goal in Saturday’s game, while Robinson made 37 stops.
9. American International
Record: 17-12-1 (17-8-1 Atlantic Hockey) / Last week: Not ranked
The Yellow Jackets finished their second consecutive sweep with 3-0 and 5-2 road wins over Army West Point. Junior Zackarias Skog made 27 saves in his fourth shutout and 13th win of the season, setting program records in both categories, on Friday before posting 28 the following night. Sophomore Tobias Fladeby and freshman Luka Maver both scored twice during the series, while juniors Blake Christensen and defenseman Nicolas Luka dished out three assists apiece. Christensen raised his season point total to a program-record 37, including 24 helpers.
10. Boston College
Record: 10-13-3 (9-5-3 Hockey East) / Last week: 10
BC broke a four-game losing streak over the last two Beanpots with last Monday’s 2-1 win over Harvard before suffering a 3-0 loss at UMass Lowell in a Friday night Hockey East contest. Freshmen Patrick Giles and Jack McBain scored the goals in the Beanpot win, with Giles’ being his first of the season. Junior Joseph Woll made 27 saves en route to his ninth win before stopping 23 shots in the loss to Lowell.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Austin McIlmurray
Sacred Heart / Jr. / F / Coral Springs, Fla.
McIlmurray has five goals and three assists during Sacred Heart’s current five-game winning streak, including the last five points in this past weekend’s Atlantic Hockey sweep at Niagara. He scored the deciding goal in Friday’s 4-2 game before posting two goals and two assists in a 6-3 win to finish the sweep, finishing the weekend with a plus-2 rating and nine shots on goal.
Tyler Wall
UMass Lowell / Jr. / G / Leamington, Ontario
Christoffer Hernberg
UMass Lowell / Sr. / G / Espoo, Finland
The River Hawk goaltending duo pitched back-to-back shutouts against Boston College and UMass, helping the team to second place in the Hockey East standings. Wall earned his ninth win against the Eagles, making 12 of his 28 stops in the third period. Hernberg made 31 to blank UMass, including 13 in the third.
