Just when you thought it was time to write Maine’s swan song, they responded with a vengeance. The Black Bears, a week after one of their ugliest losses of the season, a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Merrimack, earned two home wins this weekend, eking out an overtime win over Providence on Friday before … Read more
Last week was not a good one for me to be away as Jim widened his lead in New Hampshire-like fashion. Dave last week: no picks Jim last week: 7-2-0 Dave’s record-to-date: 49-21-18 (.659) Jim’s record-to-date: 60-19-16 (.716) Here are this week’s picks: Friday, January 14 Providence at Maine Dave’s pick: The Black Bears will be looking … Read more
As snow continues to pour down on the Boston area, yours truly is stuck inside his home. Which got me to thinking that home isn’t the worst place in the world to be. That’s especially true for Hockey East teams come playoff time. Only four of the eight teams that will make the playoffs can … Read more
There was no gray area area this weekend in Hockey East as teams either came away with all their available points or nothing at all. Arguably the biggest sweep came for Northeastern over the Massachusetts state schools. This gave the Huskies their first four-point weekend of the season and puts them within a game of .500 … Read more
Dave remains in the witness protection program and now trails me in both the wins column and in winning percentage. Going to take a second-half rally (that and a return to society) for him to be the winner this year. Dave last week: Did not pick Jim last week: 4-2-1 Dave’s record-to-date: 49-21-18 (.659) Jim’s … Read more
Monday night’s loss to Team Canada in the semifinals of the World Junior Championship might have been disappointing for Team USA but Boston University’s Charlie Coyle, playing in his first WJC, is ready to put it behind him. He said on Tuesday that there is simply nothing that the US can do about the past … Read more
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Hockey East, though most of the action among the league teams took place over the past week. And a pretty ugly week it was unless you’re Boston College and Merrimack. Both the Eagles and Warriors earned two wins during the holiday break. BC captured the title … Read more
Apologies to the Hockey East fans out there. Between Dave falling off the wagon and turning Christmas into a week-long bender and me having turkey coma since Christmas Day somehow we’ve missed two days of games and thus the related Hockey East picks. Dave isn’t around to add his input but here, at least, are … Read more
Jim had another excellent week, perfect until Vermont toppled Dartmouth, while Dave was mediocre. Just one game on tap until the holiday tournaments. Happy Holidays to all! Dave last week: 4-3-0 Jim last week: 6-1-0 Dave’s record-to-date: 48-21-18 Jim’s record-to-date: 48-15-15 Here are this week’s picks (oops, make that pick): Saturday, December 18 Vermont at St. … Read more
The first half of the season hasn’t gone the way that the Northeastern Huskies expected. The team reached the break with a 3-9-4 record and has earned just nine points in Hockey East. With an experience goaltender and some depth on defense, head coach Greg Cronin expected more of his club. Thus far, Northeastern has … Read more
All but one of the remaining games before the holidays took place this past weekend. (The lone exception is Vermont at St. Lawrence on Saturday.) The big winner was New Hampshire, which came from behind to topple Maine at Alfond Arena, 4-3 in overtime. This has become a huge rivalry so bragging rights all by … Read more
Both of us had solid weeks, but Jim stayed a nose ahead (or in the case of us two, a beer belly). Dave last week: 7-2-2 Jim last week: 7-2-2 Dave’s record-to-date: 44-18-18 (.663) Jim’s record-to-date: 42-14-15 (.697) Here are this week’s picks: Friday, December 10 New Hampshire at Maine Dave’s pick: On a neutral … Read more
From the home office in Wakefield, Massachusetts, here are the top 10 surprises in Hockey East this year. (Full disclosure: the original post of this blog contained a different item for number six that was based on an incorrect statistic.) 10. Massachusetts freshman Michael Pereira leads the Minutemen in scoring. Hey, we all knew there would be new names … Read more
It was a weekend (well, week for some) of highs and lows for Hockey East teams with a few surprise outcomes along the way. We’ll start out with a mention of the most surprising results, in this author’s mind, of the weekend and that’s Boston College’s dominating sweep of Boston University. With BU giving a … Read more
Boston University coach Jack Parker summed up the series against cross-town rival Boston College best on Saturday night when he said: “We were outclassed by a team that is playing at the top of their game.” While the Eagles may not look exactly like the team that skated to gold in Detroit last April, there … Read more
BOSTON – Chaotic. That was the only word that Boston College head coach Jerry York could use to sum up the third period of Friday’s opening game in a home-and-home series with archrival Boston University. For York and the Eagles, the fortunate thing was the game was long out of hand by the point that … Read more
Two great records last week. One, though, is better than the other. Dave last week: 8-2-1 Jim last week: 10-0-1 (yeah, baby!) Dave’s record-to-date: 37-16-16 (.652) Jim’s record-to-date: 35-12-13 (.691) Here are this week’s picks: Friday, December 3 Boston College at Boston University Jim’s pick: Difficult series to pick and a split is most likely. … Read more
Will the real Boston College men’s hockey team please step forward? Seriously. We’re almost at the holiday break, and the defending national champions, a team most people thought (including myself) that they might threaten Maine’s 42-1-2 record from 1993, seems to be caught in the middle of a Jekyll & Hyde performance. Good games are … Read more
A couple weeks ago, I looked back on the weekend’s games by grouping teams into Winners and Losers with a few intermediate levels in between. This time, let’s see if ranking the performances gives any better clarity. 1. Massachusetts The Minutemen got a much-needed first win last Tuesday over Vermont and continued with a second … Read more
A good week of picks for both of us. Dave last week: 7-1-2 Jim last week: 7-1-2 Dave’s record-to-date: 29-14-15 Jim’s record-to-date: 25-12-13 Here are this week’s picks: Friday, November 26 Boston College at Merrimack Dave’s pick: The Eagles seem to be hitting their stride so I’m going with them even with Merrimack’s home dominance. … Read more