No. 1 BU, No. 2 BC on collision course
Heading into the latest weekend of men’s college hockey action, it seemed the biggest story, at least in these parts, was whether Boston University and Boston College would hold serve, thereby setting up a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2 at the end of this week.
Both squads delivered, with a pair of wins against Hockey East foes, and that’s where we begin the weekend review:
R The Terriers traveled north and swept Vermont in dominating fashion, outscoring the Catamounts, 10-3, in the two-game series. Saturday’s 5-2 win saw five different goal scorers for BU, which improved to 164-1 and maintained its position atop the PairWise as well as the polls.
Sophomore Lane Hutson had four assists in Friday’s 5-1 win, then scored the opening goal Saturday and now leads all Hockey
East defensemen with 10 goals and 18 assists. Freshman Macklin Celebrini had three goals on the weekend, and is tops on the Terriers with 16 goals and 32 points.
The road trip to frigid Burlington behind them, the Terriers can focus on the showdown with BC.
With his squad on a seven-game winning streak, coach Jay Pandolfo isn’t planning on changing anything in the days leading up to the Battle of Comm. Ave, which begins Friday at Conte Forum and concludes Saturday at Agganis Arena. Both games will air on NESN at 7 p.m.
“It’s going to be the same as we always prepare for any team,” Pandolfo said. “Clearly it’s a big matchup and there’s a lot of excitement and buzz around it, but we’ve just got to make sure we’re doing our job everyday getting ready.”
R After spotting host Merrimack a 2-0 lead in the first period before rallying for a 6-4 win Friday, BC was emphasizing getting off to a better start when the series shifted to Conte Forum for Sunday’s matinee. The Eagles delivered, scoring three times in the opening eight minutes en route to a 6-2 win.
With the sweep, BC also improved to 164-1 to stay hot on the heels of the Terriers. Sophomore Cutter Gauthier followed up Friday’s hat trick with an assist Sunday to extend his point streak to 11 games. Graduate transfer Jack Malone had a pair of goals Sunday, drawing praise from coach Greg Brown along with linemates Jamie Armstrong, a transfer from BU, and freshman Will Vote.
“It was great to see the effort and the sharpness in the first 10 minutes,” Brown said. “The Malone line set a great tone for us, obviously scoring first, but also playing the right way in being sharp and playing with a lot of tempo.”
Filip Forsmark had both goals for the Warriors, who dropped to 10-12-1.
“We’ve got to regroup,” Merrimack coach Scott Borek said. “I understand we’re playing one of the best teams in the country, but at the same time, our competitive level in this league either needs to be way higher or it’s going to be a really tough finish. We’re just a better team than that.”
R UMass goalie Michael Hrabal, who turned 19 Saturday, celebrated his birthday by making a career-high 34 saves in a 2-1 win at Northeastern. Freshman Nick VanTassell picked a good time to score his first collegiate goal, getting the winner with less than four minutes remaining as UMass improved to 13-6-3 and 12th in the PairWise after what coach Greg Carvel called the Minutemen’s most complete game of the season.
Northeastern goalie Cameron Whitehead made 33 saves, but was victimized by a pair of turnovers that UMass converted into goals as the Huskies dipped to 7-12-2.
“We gave them two goals, that’s what’s frustrating,” NU coach Jerry Keefe said. “That has happened too much in our recent games where we have given teams easy goals. It can’t happen.”
R Harvard was one minute away from extending its win streak to three games, but Union was able to pull even with the Crimson in the final minute and with the goalie pulled for an extra skater Saturday. Union went on to score in overtime as Harvard dropped to 3-11-3.
R Maine kept pace by sweeping UMass Lowell to improve to 16-4-2 and move up to fifth in the PairWise. The Black Bears are 9 points behind BU and three behind BC in the league standings, but have a game in hand on both squads.
R Alaska Anchorage managed to find a way to upset another Hockey East team. Last season, the Seawolves swept a pair of games at UMass Lowell, then split with the River Hawks to begin this year. On Saturday, they bounced back from a 2-0 loss to defeat Providence, 4-0. The loss knocked the Friars down to 11th in the PairWise. It marked the ninth straight game that Providence failed to score in the first period.
“We hit two posts in the first period,” Providence coach Nate Leaman said. “We had unbelievable looks in the first period. I don’t think it’s a first-period thing . . . We’re not finishing. We’re missing the net. We’re hitting the post.”