Jim Connelly

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

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

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

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

(See also: Day One Notebook) MINNEAPOLIS — It was billed as a teacher versus student matchup, as Bowling Green head coach Scott Paluch took on his old mentor in Boston College head coach Jerry York Friday in the opening game of the Dodge Holiday Classic. Paluch served as associate coach under York until this season, … Read more

BOSTON – Entering the third period of Saturday’s game against Union, it was clear to Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder that something needed to change. The Huskies trailed Union, 1-0, despite having outplayed the Dutchmen for forty minutes. More frustrating, the club had extended its scoreless streak to five straight periods and, according to Crowder, was … Read more