Jim ConnellyWhen looking for a hero in the deciding game of a college hockey playoff series, it’s not too often that you look to a freshman. Unless that freshman is Northeastern’s Alex Tuckerman. Tuckerman, who scored a big-time insurance goal in Saturday night’s 4-1 victory that forced a deciding game three, scored two goals on Sunday, … Read more
After Greg Cronin’s Northeastern team, the No. 2 seed in the Hockey East quarterfinals, dropped the best-of-three series opener to seventh-seeded Massachusetts on Friday, he knew things needed to change. Little did he know that his biggest personnel move would pay off in spades. Cronin inserted junior Kyle Kraemer, a winger who has played just … Read more
Friday the 13th may be known as the day that many horror movies hit the theater. Friday’s opening game of the Hockey East quarterfinal series between second seeded Northeastern and seventh seed Massachusetts played out as a horror on the ice for Huskies coach Greg Cronin. Northeastern, which a week ago was a single win … Read more
I won’t proclaim to be the master of the PairWise, but cursory analysis this morning makes me believe that BU may have already locked up the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Much of this is due to the strongest RPI and a sick, I am talking SICK record against Teams Under Consideration. … Read more
I won’t proclaim to be the master of the PairWise, but cursory analysis this morning makes me believe that BU may have already locked up the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Much of this is due to the strongest RPI and a sick, I am talking SICK record against Teams Under Consideration. … Read more
For 142 days, the No. 4 Northeastern Huskies have held onto first place in Hockey East. After a 4-1 loss against No. 20 Boston College, that still may not be enough. The Huskies, who have been atop the league standings since the first day of league play, seemed like a team of destiny, particularly after … Read more
Before Friday night’s contest between Maine and host the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, the River Hawks honored All-American goaltender and current Edmonton Oiler Dwayne Roloson. So it only seems fitting that on the same night, Lowell would end an ugly streak that dates back to Roloson’s senior year. Paced by four power-play goals, including three in … Read more
When the Boston College Eagles took the ice on Friday night, it seemed for the first time all season they felt they had something to prove. After beginning the season number one in the country in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports poll, the Eagles have slowly and consistently fallen, and for the first time this season … Read more
Breaking Down the Final Two Weeks The finish line, my friends, is almost in sight. Hockey East has two weekends of play remaining with each team playing a pair of two-game sets between now and March 8. But even with the end in sight, what is visible is still pretty murky. There’s a two-horse race … Read more
After a 5-1 victory for Merrimack over Providence on Sunday afternoon, one has to wonder if the Warriors’ theme for their weekend series with the Friars was “misery loves company.” With Merrimack’s playoff chances slim — a Merrimack loss or a Maine win in the final two weekends of the season spells the end of … Read more
The old adage in sports is that it’s not always how you start a game that matters. It’s how you finish it. The New Hampshire Wildcats may beg to differ. For the second straight night, No. 12 UNH jumped out to a lead and held off a late charge by No. 17 Boston College after … Read more
The Quiet Conquerors “Quiet” is a word that is pleasant to the ears of Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon. He himself is relatively soft-spoken. A Harvard graduate, Sneddon speaks authoritatively but with little pomp and circumstance. Behind the bench you’ll see a stoic yet focused coach. His team, in a way, has assumed their coach’s … Read more
Success is hardly how you could describe Mass.-Lowell’s history when facing Boston College. Entering Friday’s game against the Eagles, Lowell had just 30 victories in 89 meetings, and sported an ugly 8-29-0 record since the beginning of the 1997-98 season. In one evening, the River Hawks released much of their pent-up frustration. On the strength … Read more
Madeline Loftus, who played two seasons at both Buffalo State and St. Mary’s (Minn.), was killed on Thursday evening while aboard Continental Airlines flight 3407 en route to Buffalo from Newark (N.J.), which crashed just prior to landing in Clarence Center, N.Y., a residential neighborhood just outside of Buffalo. She was 24. Loftus was one … Read more
It was billed as one of the most-anticipated Beanpot title games in recent memory. In the end, the battle between No. 1 Boston University and No. 3 Northeastern was simply more of the same. Sparked by three shorthanded goals, including two on the same power play in the third period that turned a one-goal nailbiter … Read more
After a lack-luster 4-1 loss for Maine at No. 11 New Hampshire on Friday night, Maine coach Tim Whitehead was looking for something more from his club in Saturday’s rematch. He got that in the form of a 31-save shutout by rookie goaltender Scott Darling. A short-handed tally at Chris Hahn 42 second into the … Read more
Thirty-seven years behind the bench and Boston College head coach still has a few psychological tricks up his sleeve–literally. After an ugly 6-1 loss in Monday’s Beanpot semifinal to Northeastern, Jerry York handed out rubber bands to all of his players to wear on their wrist all week. “We had elastics for all the kids … Read more
Beanpotters Hold Serve For the past decade or so, the Beanpot has been lacking its fair share of upsets. Aside from Boston University winning a handful of games as underdogs (but it’s the Beanpot, that’s expected) and Harvard’s upset of Northeastern in last year’s opening round (but NU’s futility is often expected, as well), “Boston’s … Read more
The Northeastern Huskies have officially made their statement. And they did it on the biggest stage. The No. 3 Huskies, playing opportunistic hockey, exploded for five unanswered goals to break a 1-1 tie en route to a 6-1 victory over No. 12 Boston College in the second semifinal of the 57th annual Beanpot. It was … Read more
It’s been two decades since Northeastern’s last Beanpot title, but with this year’s edition of the tournament set to begin, head coach Greg Cronin’s Huskies are looking at a different landscape. Jim Connelly reports.