David H. Hendrickson

There were two big winners in Hockey East last weekend.  Make that huge winners. New Hampshire swept archrival Maine, 6-3 and 5-4. The back end of that sweep came perilously close to a loss with an off-balance Gustav Nyquist hitting the post on an empty net after outracing  goaltender Matt DiGirolamo to the puck. That … Read more

The goal that wasn’t and the goal that was. With the score tied, 4-4, heading into the final minute of regulation, it was anyone’s game as New Hampshire and Maine were both going for the jugular. When Gustav Nyquist beat goaltender Matt DiGirolamo in a footrace for the puck above the tops of the faceoff … Read more

New Hampshire drew first blood in its pivotal weekend series with archrival Maine, winning 6-3. The Wildcats scored four times in the first period, taking a 4-2 lead, and put the game away with two third period goals. The backbreaker came at 7:06 of the third while UNH enjoyed a four-on-three man advantage. Maine had … Read more

I suppose I should wave the white flag at this point.  I only got one game wrong last week, but Jim went 7-0-2.  The one game I got wrong was in the Maine-BU series, which we both picked as a split.  One game finished as a tie, Jim’s version of the split left him undefeated … Read more

A week ago, Jim surveyed the NCAA tournament chances of Hockey East’s top teams.  This time let’s look at those schools with the more modest immediate goal of just making the league playoffs.  Who’s going to make it and who isn’t? The top six spots are pretty much locked up, albeit with the order still very … Read more

Massachusetts-Lowell pulled away from Bentley in a game marked for two periods by sloppy play and poor goaltending, to win 8-5 on Tuesday. Matt Ferreira scored two goals and Riley Wetmore provided the game-winner. The River Hawks’ power play struck four times. Lowell has won two of three games in the span of five days … Read more

There was an unquestioned king of the past week: Boston College.  Only the Eagles among all the Hockey East teams claimed every available point.  Nobody else swept.  No team went without at least a tie. With wins over arch-rival Boston University and Massachusetts-Lowell, BC moved into first place.  Sort of.  The Eagles now lead New Hampshire … Read more

Both of us had a pretty decent week with 9-3-0 records, but that was only good news for front-running Jim. Dave made up no ground. Dave last week: 9-3-0 Jim last week: 9-3-0 Dave’s record-to-date: 58-24-18 (.670) Jim’s record-to-date: 69-22-16 (.720) Here are this week’s picks: Friday, January 21 Providence at New Hampshire Dave’s pick: The Friars played … Read more

Merrimack seized a 3-0 lead after two periods, then withstood a furious Boston University rally that made it 3-2 with 13 minutes left in regulation before the Warriors righted the ship. Jesse Todd’s second-period deflection of a Brendan Ellis shot from the point a second after a power play expired held up as the game-winner … Read more

Rob Madore stopped 32-of-33 shots, leading Vermont to a 3-1 win over hosting Northeastern.  The Catamounts seized a 2-0 first-period lead, weathered a strong second period by the Huskies, then traded third-period power-play goals for the final score. Anthony DeCenzo, Jack Downing, and Sebastian Stalberg all contributed goals for Vermont. “Our team played real hard … Read more

Last week was not a good one for me to be away as Jim widened his lead in New Hampshire-like fashion. Dave last week: no picks Jim last week: 7-2-0 Dave’s record-to-date: 49-21-18 (.659) Jim’s record-to-date: 60-19-16 (.716) Here are this week’s picks: Friday, January 14 Providence at Maine Dave’s pick: The Black Bears will be looking … Read more