David H. HendricksonLast year, Northeastern came within one game of its first Hockey East regular season title. Although the Huskies fell short of that goal, their second-place finish matched the school’s best, a mark they hadn’t achieved since 1987-88. If Hockey East player of the year Brad Thiessen had returned for his senior year, the Huskies would … Read more
Last year, Massachusetts experienced the typical regular season ups and downs before almost catching fire in the Hockey East quarterfinals. The Minutemen nearly pulled off a fourth trip to the Garden in seven years, losing to Northeastern in overtime of the third game. They bring back 21 lettermen and would seemingly be poised to make … Read more
As the consensus number one team in the country, Boston University was expected to win the NCAA championship. The Terriers had claimed six titles already this year: the NCAA Northeast Regional, the Hockey East tournament, the Hockey East regular season, the Beanpot, the Denver Cup, and the Ice Breaker. They were the odds-on favorite to … Read more
When people talk about Boston University’s superior talent, the objects of their affection are the same names over and over. Colin Wilson and Matt Gilroy, the Hobey Baker Hat Trick Duo. Wilson and Nick Bonino, the two dominant centers and leading scorers who anchor the Terriers’ “two number-one lines.” Kieran Millan, the freshman goaltender who … Read more
When New Hampshire scored with 0.1 seconds remaining to send its Northeast Regional opening game into overtime and then won it less than a minute into extra time, UNH eyes were all a-smiling. A sense of euphoria flooded over the Granite State. The flow of cosmic sadism that had tormented the Wildcats in recent NCAA … Read more
They came into their Northeast Regional semifinal game with similar streaks for consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Trailing only Michigan, New Hampshire had earned its eighth straight berth to North Dakota’s seven. The two teams shared other similarities. On the plus side: some of the most highly skilled players in the country and a penchant for … Read more
Massachusetts-Lowell had made a living rallying in the waning minutes, but against Boston University Saturday night that came to an end. Dave Hendrickson reports.
When Cinderellas-in-waiting Massachusetts-Lowell met Northeastern in the Hockey East semifinals Friday afternoon, something had to give. It did, as Dave Hendrickson reports.
The Second Season Begins It’s been five years since a lower seed advanced in the Hockey East quarterfinals. Will the home teams once again all move on to the Garden? If you look at the PairWise, you’d say that the identities of next Friday’s semifinal contestants are already known. Boston University, Northeastern, New Hampshire, and … Read more
Going Into The Ark, Two By Two The final week comes down to a pairing of teams two by two (barring a hard-to-conceive sweep of Boston University by Providence). BU and Northeastern will finish one-two in some order. In the event of a tie, the two teams share the regular season title but BU gets … Read more
With first place in Hockey East at stake, the league’s two titans settled for a 2-2 draw. Boston University, which entered the game trailing Northeastern by a point, seized a two goal lead in the first period, but the Huskies outplayed the nation’s top team from that point on. Brandon Yip and Colin Wilson opened … Read more
Not A Word About “That Tournament in Boston” College hockey fans outside of Route 128 often get exasperated this time of year. It seems to them that an inordinate amount of attention goes to That Tournament in Boston, the allure of which escapes them. “Why not write about my team?” they either say or imply. … Read more
Having the third-ranked team in the nation as a Cinderella candidate seems an unlikely scenario. But that’s just where Northeastern found itself Monday night, with untoward results for the Huskies. Dave Hendrickson reports.
The Northeastern Huskies came into their Beanpot semifinal game ostensibly as favorites against Boston College but would have been forgiven if they’d considered themselves underdogs. Forget their number three ranking in the country or their perch atop Hockey East, nine points ahead of the Eagles. Forget their 17-6-2 overall record compared to BC’s pedestrian 11-8-4 … Read more
Freshman defenseman Blake Kessel, double-shifting on the power play because of an injury to Jerry Pollastrone, scored with 2:02 remaining in regulation to lift New Hampshire over Vermont, 3-2. UNH had dominated the second period only to give a goal away on a turnover, then after taking an early third period lead on Alan Thompson’s … Read more
Beanpot Heavy Hitters The Beanpot sure is coming along at the right time. As Jim Connelly noted recently, if Michigan sweeps Notre Dame this weekend, Boston University and Northeastern could rank number one and number two in the country. Should both win their semifinal contests this Monday, what a championship game that would set up! … Read more
Boston University dominated New Hampshire from the first drop of the puck, getting on the scoreboard just 39 seconds into the game and taking a 3-0 lead after the first period en route to a 5-0 win. Colin Wilson scored twice and Chris Higgins assisted on three goals as the top Terrier line of Higgins, … Read more
Back Where They Belong Back in November, if you looked at the results each weekend or scanned the standings, you’d have wondered what was going on in Durham, New Hampshire. UNH managed only a single win for the month and that came over a Providence squad that went oh-fer the first semester within the league. … Read more
Northeastern maintained its lead atop Hockey East with a 3-1 win over visiting Vermont. Wade MacLeod scored at 6:35 of the third period for the game-winner with Joe Vitale adding an empty-netter in the final minute. Special teams dominated with all the goals coming on the power play, including 5-on-3 tallies for both sides. Arguably, … Read more
Around The Rinks With the holiday tournaments under our belts (not to mention a few more pounds), let’s take a whirlwind tour of all the league’s teams. But do check out the PairWise Rankings, where five Hockey East teams are on track to make the NCAA tournament and another sits on the bubble. Of course, … Read more