There were two big winners in Hockey East last weekend. Make that huge winners. New Hampshire swept archrival Maine, 6-3 and 5-4. The back end of that sweep came perilously close to a loss with an off-balance Gustav Nyquist hitting the post on an empty net after outracing goaltender Matt DiGirolamo to the puck. That … Read more
I suppose I should wave the white flag at this point. I only got one game wrong last week, but Jim went 7-0-2. The one game I got wrong was in the Maine-BU series, which we both picked as a split. One game finished as a tie, Jim’s version of the split left him undefeated … Read more
A week ago, Jim surveyed the NCAA tournament chances of Hockey East’s top teams. This time let’s look at those schools with the more modest immediate goal of just making the league playoffs. Who’s going to make it and who isn’t? The top six spots are pretty much locked up, albeit with the order still very … Read more
Very interesting weekend that just passed in Hockey East as the results of the games shuffled the Hockey East standings a bit with just four weekends remaining. The marquis series of the weekend didn’t disappoint. Boston University went up to Orono and walked away with three of four points against Maine, despite two nailbitter games … Read more
Dave and I only picked one game differently last week (UMass vs. Vermont on Saturday) and I got it right. Let the lead expand. Dave last week: 5-3-1 Jim last week: 6-2-1 Dave’s record-to-date: 63-27-19 (.655) Jim’s record-to-date: 75-21-17 (.739) Here are this week’s picks: Friday, January 28 Vermont at Merrimack Jim’s pick: Vermont has played well … Read more
Warning: before you begin to read this blog post, know that it might sound a bit elitist. And it should. Hockey East is home to the last three national champions. In the last 14 seasons, a Hockey East team has been in the NCAA title game in all but one season (we all remember the … Read more
There was an unquestioned king of the past week: Boston College. Only the Eagles among all the Hockey East teams claimed every available point. Nobody else swept. No team went without at least a tie. With wins over arch-rival Boston University and Massachusetts-Lowell, BC moved into first place. Sort of. The Eagles now lead New Hampshire … Read more
Both of us had a pretty decent week with 9-3-0 records, but that was only good news for front-running Jim. Dave made up no ground. Dave last week: 9-3-0 Jim last week: 9-3-0 Dave’s record-to-date: 58-24-18 (.670) Jim’s record-to-date: 69-22-16 (.720) Here are this week’s picks: Friday, January 21 Providence at New Hampshire Dave’s pick: The Friars played … Read more
Heading into last weekend’s series against Northeastern, Vermont’s struggles offensively could be linked to a number of things. The most notable, though, was the Cats power play. It hadn’t scored yet with the man advantage in 2011 and entered the series scoring at a 12 percent clip, ranked 53rd of 58 teams in the country. … Read more
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