The top 10 surprises in Hockey East

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

Hockey East Week in Review: Nov. 30-Dec. 5

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

BU, BC opener: Not what the doctor ordered

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

Hockey East picks: December 3-8

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

Boston College: A Jekyll & Hyde season

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

Ranking the weekend (and midweek) performances

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

Hockey East picks: Nov. 26 – Dec. 2

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

Maine power play comes up empty again

Maine hoped to capitalize on nearly eleven minutes of extra-man play – and the Eagles’ temporarily stick-less goaltender – in Sunday’s matinee against No. 10 Boston College. The Black Bears, however, never had a chance. Maine’s power play struggled mightily against the Eagles’ intractable penalty kill, failing to score in five man-advantage opportunities and bringing … Read more

Hockey East Picks: Nov. 19-23

Dave made a great comeback last week while my mind obviously was still drowning in Jameson and Guinness. Dave last week: 6-1-3 Jim last week: 4-3-3 Dave’s record-to-date: 22-13-13 (.594) Jim’s record-to-date: 18-11-11 (.582) Here are this week’s picks: Friday, November 19 Maine at Boston College Dave’s pick: I suspected at the beginning of the year … Read more

A quick look back at the weekend — Nov. 12-13

It was a weekend that spoke to the league’s parity as all active teams except Northeastern came away with at least a single point. Although I hesitate to categorize any college kids as “losers” — a hesitation I’d drop if these were professional teams — the winners and losers categories provide a logical breakdown of the … Read more

Hockey East Picks : Nov. 12-13

Only a single pick from last week — New Hampshire over Massachusetts-Lowell – prevented Dave from going oh-fer the week. Mulligans, anyone? Dave last week: 1-5-2 Jim last week: enjoying himself in Ireland while Dave got trounced (Jim’s Note: Timing is everything!) Dave’s record-to-date: 16-12-10 (.552) Jim’s record-to-date: 14-8-8 (.600) Here are this week’s picks: Friday, … Read more

Hockey East Picks – Nov. 5-6

Dave had a sightly better weekend than Jim, retaking the lead.  Neither one expected Northeastern to get swept at the hands of Atlantic Hockey nor Merrimack to split with Boston College. Dave last week: 6-3-1 Jim last week: 5-4-1 Dave’s record-to-date: 15-7-8 Jim’s record-to-date: 14-8-8 Here are this week’s picks: Friday, November 5 Merrimack    at Providence … Read more

A quick look back at the weekend:Oct. 29-30

If you want to use a Halloween theme for this past weekend in Hockey East, there were plenty of tricks and treats. Arguably, the best treats went to Providence and Merrimack.  Boston University may have continued its strong start with two wins, the first Terrier blowout (5-1 over Massachusetts-Lowell) and yet another one-goal win in the rematch.  … Read more