Lone Hockey East game was a doozy
With most men’s college hockey programs on break through Christmas, with a few returning to play in tournaments the last weekend in December, this past weekend essentially served as the end of the first half of the schedule. It featured only one Hockey East game, but it was a big one: a top-10 matchup between Boston College and Providence. BC’s 5-4 win over the Friars is where this week’s recap begins:
▪ The last three meetings between the teams had resulted in ties, including two last season, 2-2 and 1-1. Saturday’s game looked to be another low-scoring affair, with neither squad scoring in the first period, and BC entering the third period ahead, 2-1.
But after the Friars struck twice for a 3-2 lead, sophomore Cutter Gauthier answered with his 13th of the season. Freshman defenseman Drew Fortescue helped set up the score when he carried the puck through the middle and kicked it back to Gauthier, who buried the wrister.
Sophomore forward Oskar Jellvik, a fifth-round selection of the Bruins in 2021, scored twice in the span off 66 seconds in the game’s final three minutes to send BC to the win in front of a sellout crowd of 7,884 at Conte Forum.
“Cutter’s goal was a huge turn in the game,” said BC coach Greg Brown. “They had all of the momentum. They were skating better than we were, and then we had a great rush by Fortescue, and Cutter was able to finish that. That really righted the ship for us.”
BC improved to 13-3-1, while Providence dropped to 9-5-2 with its fourth loss in five games, all decided by one goal and all without captain Cam McDonald.
“We’ve got to get our captain back,” said Providence coach Nate Leaman. “We missed him dearly these last four or five games. Getting him back after break will be big for us.
“I like our team. We can score different ways. I’m encouraged by the playmaking of some of our freshmen. I feel like some of our losses could’ve gone the other way. I feel encouraged, that we’re as good as anyone, but getting over that hump is something that has to come from within the room.”
▪ With North Dakota getting swept by Colorado College, BC moved into first in the latest USCHO.com poll, and is fourth in the PairWise, trailing Quinnipiac, Boston University, and Maine. Providence is 10th in both the poll and the PairWise. The Terriers, who were idle, are second in the poll.
▪ Last season, Northeastern finished third in Hockey East, but its 3-6-2 record in nonconference play was its undoing, as the Huskies failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.
It’s been a bit of a reversal in the first half of the season for NU, which is 1-8 in conference play but improved to 4-0-1 against teams outside of Hockey East with a 4-1 win at Brown. Senior Alex Campbell recorded a hat trick and freshman Cameron Whitehead made 35 saves in Saturday’s win.
After enduring a seven-game losing streak in which it struggled offensively, NU (5-8-1) enters the break 3-1-1 in its last five games, racking up 22 goals.
The Huskies will hope for continued success against outside competition, as they will play Minnesota Duluth in the first round of the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off in Milwaukee on Dec. 28, and then Air Force or Wisconsin the next day.
▪ UMass swept Alaska Anchorage to improve to 11-4-1. The Seawolves came into the series having posted wins over ranked Big Ten foes Penn State and Wisconsin, a message UMass coach Greg Carvel used to warn his players to not take their opponent lightly. The Minutemen had eight goal scorers in the 11-2 win on Friday, then finished the weekend with a 3-2 win on Saturday.
▪ You can add UMass goalie Michael Hrabal to the list of players with local connections competing for a roster spot for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The freshman was added to Czechia’s pre-tournament camp. His classmate from the Minutemen, Dans Locmelis, has been invited to Latvia’s camp.
Skating at Team USA’s camp is BU sophomore Lane Hutson, as well as BC’s Gauthier, Fortescue, Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perrault, Aram Minnetian, and Jacob Fowler, along with BC commit James Hagens.
BU’s Macklin Celebrini and UConn’s Matthew Wood have been invited to Hockey Canada’s selection camp, while BU’s Tom Willander is on Sweden’s roster.
The tournament runs Dec. 26Jan. 5 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
▪ Bentley (8-10-0) and Holy Cross (9-7-3) had strong showings over the weekend and figure to be in the mix for Atlantic Hockey in the second half. They are two of the stingiest teams in the conference, with Bentley tops in goals allowed per game at 2.17, with the Crusaders second at 2.21.
Holy Cross earned a win and a tie in a home-and-home series with UMass Lowell, playing the River Hawks to a 2-2 draw at the Tsongas Center on Friday before prevailing, 4-2, in Worcester on Saturday.
The Falcons took on Maine at a sold-out (6,291) Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, and led, 2-1, in the third period, before Maine rallied for the 3-2 win. The Black Bears entered the break 103-1.