Jim ConnellyThere may have been little to nothing on the line when No. 5 Boston College hosted No. 10 New Hampshire on Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both teams, but if that’s the case, no one told the players. Â A night after UNH rallied for three third-period goals to earn a 3-3 tie … Read more
Standings, Standings and More Standings I’m not enough of a Hockey East historian to know whether this officially is the tightest logjam entering the final weekend of play in league history. If it’s not, I can’t imagine the math that pundits were going through in the past. At this point in the season, the league … Read more
It’s college hockey playoff time and nowhere was that evident more than at Kelley Rink on Friday as Massachusetts and host Boston College played a prototypical postseason game. With UMass fighting for its playoff lives it gave the Eagles, themselves battling for the league crown, everything they could handle. But when the chips were down, … Read more
And Down the Stretch They Come Two weekends is all that remains in Hockey East’s regular season and, at this point, the standings are about as muddy as they could be. A few things we know right now: One team has clinched home ice: New Hampshire. One team has guaranteed it won’t make the postseason: … Read more
Seven is becoming a magic number for Boston College. The seventh-ranked Eagles scored seven goals for the second straight game on Tuesday, dismantling a red-hot Merrimack team, 7-0, in front of a sparse midweek crowd of 2,816 at Kelley Rink. After blasting Northeastern, 7-1, on Sunday behind a Brian Gibbons’ hat trick, the first of … Read more
After a 3-2 loss on the road to Northeastern on Friday night, the bus ride back from Matthews Arena to Conte Forum might have been the longest five miles of BC coach Jerry York’s life. Â York’s club, in a neck-and-neck race with New Hampshire, lost ground when the Eagles lost on Friday in a … Read more
Boston University center Corey Trivino is expected to miss the remainder of the 2009-10 season after suffering a fractured right fibula in Saturday’s 5-2 victory over Maine, the school announced on Wednesday. Trivino has appeared in all 28 games this season for the Terriers, tallying 15 points on four goals and 11 assists. He scored … Read more
Vermont junior forward Justin Milo was dismissed from the team on Tuesday according to a representative of the Catamounts athletic department. Milo, who was tied for second on the team in scoring this season, was let go for what head coach Kevin Sneddon said was “the best interest of the program.†According to the Burlington … Read more
With 2:50 remaining in regulation of a 1-1 game between No. 10 Boston College and No. 20 Massachusetts-Lowell, things looked a bit ominous for the host Eagles.  BC defenseman Edwin Shea was whistled for boarding, putting Lowell on a power play in the second game of a weekend series that, to that point, hadn’t had … Read more
In sports, they say the ability to counterpunch — in other words answer your opponent when they score — is almost more important than the punch itself. Boston University proved that true on Friday, consistently answering any offense mustered by No. 12 Maine with swifter and more powerful scoring punches. The end product was an … Read more
Unlike My Counterpart… There are a lot of things different between Dave Hendrickson and myself. Dave is married. I am not. Dave is an avid reader. I have a hard time getting to the end of reading my own column. Dave will eat anything and is a two- or three-plate guy at the free media … Read more
The tournament is nicknamed “The BU Invitational.” Terriers dominance is part of expectations in the annual Beanpot, with the always-favored Terriers simply expected to win the championship, regardless of the situation. Â So if you wondered why anyone associated with Boston College might have been nervous, even with a 4-1 lead late in Monday’s championship … Read more
Desperate times certainly call for desperate measures, and the approach Providence coach Tim Army took in Saturday night’s game against No. 17 Vermont proved that things are reaching a dire state for the Friars. Â After a lackluster effort in a 5-1 loss to the Catamounts on Friday, the third straight blowout loss for Providence, … Read more
When the final buzzer sounded at the TD Garden to end the nightcap at the 58th annual Beanpot, there were still 66 minutes before Groundhog Day began. Unless, of course, you’re with the Northeastern Huskies. Beanpot king Boston University used an Alex Chiasson goal with 5:47 remaining in regulation to break a 1-1 tie as … Read more
Harvard looked on pace for one of the worst seasons in program history, but the Crimson are 3-3-1 since the holiday break going into the Beanpot.
If anyone worried that the No. 14 Boston College Eagles might be looking past a last place Providence team in anticipation of Monday’s Beanpot matchup with cross-town rival Harvard, nerves were calmed early. The Eagles used an explosive, five goal opening period and dominated the Friars territorially to skate to a 5-2 victory in front … Read more
Not-So-Dire Situation After All A week ago, my colleague and friend Dave Hendrickson painted a bleak picture in this exact space for Hockey East prospects for bids to this year’s NCAA tournament. At the time, Dave had every right in the world to feel that way. Hockey East had just three teams inside the top … Read more
Paul Kelly may have an uphill battle ahead of him when it comes to raising college hockey’s profile, especially in comparison to Major Junior, but with the contacts he has in the game, don’t rule it out. Jim Connelly reports.
Saturday night was ‘Star Wars’ night at the Tsongas Arena, which seemed appropriate, given the fact that the game between No. 11 Boston College and No. 19 Massachusetts-Lowell seemed like it was played in a galaxy far, far away. Â In the end, the talk was more about non-goals than goals along with non-icings, bouncing … Read more
Hockey is a game where Murphy’s Law seems to make a sneak appearance at the strangest time. Friday night’s game between No. 11 Boston College and Boston University was yet another occurrence. On a night where picture-perfect hockey was king at Kelley Rink — a game filled with highlight reel goals and back-and-forth, edge-of-your-seat action … Read more