A little more than a month into the regular season, Hockey East has more than held its own against some of the top programs in the country.
The evidence is plentiful — Boston College played a down-to-the wire contest in a 4-3 loss to Denver (NCHC) on Oct. 21, then vaulted to the No. 1 ranking in the USCHO.com men’s Division I poll with a home sweep (by scores of 6-4 and 5-1) of Michigan State (Big Ten) the following weekend; both Maine and New Hampshire earned October splits against defending NCAA champion Quinnipiac (ECAC Hockey); Massachusetts split with Michigan (Big Ten) (a 7-2 loss on Oct. 13 and a 6-3 win the next night) and swept Minnesota State (NCHC) on the road a week later; Providence earned a split at Michigan (a 4-2 win followed by a 5-4 loss) on the season’s opening weekend and beat Denver 4-3 at home on Oct. 20; and just this past weekend, Boston University split at home (a 3-2 win followed by a 5-4 overtime loss) vs. North Dakota (NCHC).
“This is a big weekend for us,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said after the overtime loss on Saturday. “I think this weekend’s going to help us later on down the line.”
Though disappointed with the final result, Pandolfo had high praise for his team’s ability to hang with North Dakota, now ranked No. 4 by USCHO.com. The ninth-ranked Terriers thrice rallied to tie the game — at one point from a two-goal deficit with two strikes from sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson just over two minutes apart in the final minutes of the second period.
“To be down and keep coming back, it was good to see,” Pandolfo said. “North Dakota’s a very good hockey team. They’re going to beat a lot of teams. (They’re) a heavy team, they’re hard to play against. So, it’s going to help our group.”
The atmospheres inside each rink had more of a March feel than early October. BC drew sellout crowds of 7,884 to the Silvio O. Conte Forum vs. then-No. 1 Denver and the second game vs. Michigan State. A standing-room-only crowd of 3,465 packed Schneider Arena in Providence to watch the Friars beat Denver, and UNH drew more than 10,000 for its series vs. Quinnipiac.
“It was so great,” BC coach Greg Brown said after the loss to Denver. “The kids are so excited for it. The student body, the last two home games, has been incredible. We hope they keep coming. It definitely adds to the atmosphere. The players feed off their energy. It’s the atmosphere you want to play in.”
No stranger to playing in front of large and feisty crowds in his own building, Denver coach David Carle made note of the vibe inside the two Hockey East rinks his team visited on the weekend of Oct. 20.
“To be honest, usually it’s pretty quiet here, but tonight it was rocking,” Carle said after the win over BC. “I hope it’s like this all the time when we come out here. It was a great, unbelievable atmosphere. The students were into it. The fans are into it — they’re yelling during the whole power play. I thought it was exceptional. They’re into the calls, they’re into the goals. Providence was the same way. (It’s) what you want.”
With Hockey East play in full swing, November won’t be as jam-packed with high-profile nonconference matchups as October was, but there are a few big non-league games on the horizon — BU hosts No. 10 Quinnipiac Nov. 22, No. 14 UMass is at Harvard (ECAC Hockey) Nov. 24 and Providence is at No. 16 Arizona State for two games on Nov. 24 and 26.
