Jim ConnellyTuesday night’s battle between Merrimack and Massachusetts-Lowell probably wouldn’t have been billed as a goaltending duel entering the game. While Merrimack’s Joe Exter night in and night out this season has impressed teams enough to make him a strong MVP candidate, Lowell’s Achilles’ heel for much of the year has been goaltending. But despite an … Read more
The rollercoaster year for Boston College’s Tony Voce continues. The junior forward for the Eagles began the season on a scoring tear, only to see his offense dry up leading into the holiday break. After being a healthy scratch in the Eagles first game back after the break, Voce returned a house afire, scoring 17 … Read more
With the regular season drawing to a close, Jim Connelly answers the MAAC’s imponderable questions — the 50-50 imponderables, at least. Also: Quinnipiac shows the rest of the league its two sides at an inopportune time.
Boston College goaltender Matti Kaltiainen waited all night to make a big save. With just seconds remaining in regulation, he got his chance. After Merrimack tied the game with 34 seconds left, Kaltiainen (13 saves) stopped Marco Rosa with 15 seconds to play on a partial breakaway, setting up Chris Collins’ breakaway goal at 1:35 … Read more
Rank! Over the last year, E! Entertainment Television made popular the show “Rank.” On the geared-towards-pop-culture hour-long show, the network ranks anything from “hottest celebrity” to “richest person.” Taking the route of the spinoff, we present to you “Rank, College Hockey Style.” On this episode, we’ll be ranking the toughest remaining MAAC schedules as the … Read more
Boston University had a goal coming into the 51st Beanpot championship game — stay out of the penalty box. Hockey East’s most-penalized team, the Terriers were facing one of the country’s best power play in the Boston College Eagles. Measured against that goal, the Terriers failed miserably. BU took nine minor penalties that accounted for … Read more
Reaction to Thursday morning’s announcement that Fairfield was ending men’s ice hockey in a cost-cutting measure. Gene Doris, Fairfield athletic director “It’s obviously a tough day for us in terms of needing to cut two programs. It was based on the institution’s priorities on where the money needed to be allocated and where the sports … Read more
News out of Fairfield stuns the MAAC and all of college hockey; Mercyhurst loses some depth in nets; and Army renews an historic rivarly. Jim Connelly reports.
Exactly four weeks ago, Merrimack and Massachusetts-Lowell played a wide-open, pond-hockey game with the River Hawks coming away with a 6-5 victory. If any of the 1,117 fans at the Volpe Center on Tuesday night expected a repeat, they didn’t get it. Just the same, though, few left disappointed as Lowell and Merrimack battled to … Read more
Let the trash-talking begin. The storied rivalry between Boston College and Boston University will once again be renewed on the greatest of the city’s stages thanks to Boston College’s 5-2 win in Monday’s second semifinal of the 51st annual Beanpot. The Eagles will meet the Terriers, themselves 2-1 winners over Harvard in the opening game, … Read more
The last time Massachusetts and Boston College met on Jan. 3, the Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. That night, BC was unable to put away the Minutemen, fell 3-2 and considered the game an opportunity lost. On Friday night, the Eagles made sure history didn’t repeat itself. After jumping out to an … Read more
So soon after the tragic death of Glenn Crane, Holy Cross prepares for another life-and-death battle. Jim Connelly reports.
Late-season wins for Merrimack coach Chris Serino haven’t always been easy to come by, which might explain why Saturday night’s 3-1 win over Brown was significant. But the time of year probably wasn’t too much on Serino’s mind throughout the wide-open, fast-paced game. “Thank God we won,” said Serino, half-laughingly, “because we were talking about … Read more
The Providence Friars began the 2002-03 campaign 7-0-0, the best start in the history of the program. When then-No. 1 Boston College came to town on November 12, the Friars had moved to 8-1-0, setting up a much-anticipated matchup. That night, though, the Eagles routed the Friars at Schneider Arena, beginning a five-game winless skid … Read more
Mercyhurst may have found its man between the pipes and bragging rights abound throughout the MAAC. Columnist Jim Connelly outlines the battles in Buffalo, Connecticut, between American service acadamies and Canadian service acadamies in this week’s MAAC report.
Quinnipiac and Mercyhurst re-engage the MAAC’s highest-profile rivalry; a look at a proposal with “multiple” consequences; and Jim Connelly evaluates the playoff race.
One night after completely dominating the Mass.-Lowell River Hawks en route to a 6-3 victory, Boston College withstood an early Lowell onslaught and used a five-goal second period to rout the River Hawks, 7-1, to complete the weekend sweep. The key to the game — special teams. Boston College, despite struggling at times on the … Read more
Last Friday night, worries permeated the Boston College hockey community when it was believed that BC captain Ben Eaves was headed for the shelf with a fractured hip. That would have translated to Eaves joining his brother Patrick on the injured list, taking two of BC’s top four scorers out of the lineup. Some Massachusetts-Lowell … Read more
Putting aside history, Bentley climbs into the MAAC’s first division; also, Jim Connelly revisits the league’s place in the newly-released PairWise Rankings.
Finally, the monkey has gotten off Massachusetts-Lowell’s back. Sporting a 6-5 lead with six seconds left and a faceoff in the Lowell zone, a lost draw made every one of the 1,840 in attendance at Tsongas Arena hold their breath, waiting for the inevitable to happen in Lowell’s Murphy’s Law-like season. But as the puck … Read more