Week two of the college hockey season was a chaotic one, with three of the nation’s top four teams falling against unranked opponents. The polls got mixed up a bit this week and as usual, I’ll recap the matchups from this week and give the schedule for next week.
New Hampshire at No. 22 Michigan State
New Hampshire entered the territory of the number two team in the country looking to make a statement, and they did just that. In the first game of their two-game set at Michigan State University, Morgan Winters led the charge with two goals. Tied 3-3 late in the third, it looked like the game would go into overtime.
However, Marty Lavins had other plans, scoring with just five seconds left to finish the biggest upset of the young season. While the Spartans dominated their 2-0 win the following day, the Wildcats made it clear that they can compete with the best.
No.11 Boston College at No.12 Minnesota
Two of college hockey’s elite programs went head-to-head this week with a two-game set. Boston College outplayed Minnesota in game one, with the Eagles doubling Minnesota’s shots despite only winning 3-1. Game two’s 2-2 final came in as a draw for the Eagles, though they won the shootout played for fun.
Colgate at No. 3 Boston University
The Terriers continued their start to the season with a 6-2 victory over Colgate, with the game being as closely contested as the score would suggest. In the second game, the Raiders switched to Andrew Takacs in goal, who helped guide Colgate to a 2-2 finish in overtime. Boston University won the shootout, but the game was chalked up as a draw.
However, there’s nothing wrong with a tie over the course of the long season, and it’s important to recognize that BU was the only top four team who did not lose this week. Michigan State, Penn State and Western Michigan all fell in a surprising week of college hockey.
Holy Cross at No. 6 Maine
Maine looked to open their season strong, and they did not disappoint, winning their set against Holy Cross with scores of 5-2 and 6-0. CHL import and Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Justin Poirer led the charge with a Friday hat trick and a total of four points in his first weekend of collegiate hockey.
Army at Northeastern
Even games between unranked teams can be great, and these two proved that this weekend. The teams only played one game and they made it count, with Army coming out on top, 2-1. Both teams were on their A-game, and the only downside was not getting a second game between these two.
No.14 UMass Amherst at Stonehill
The Minutemen came in undefeated and left undefeated, with a 4-1 victory over Stonehill. Václav Nestrašil scored three goals for UMass, two of which came on the powerplay.
Despite what may seem like a convincing win, UMass was outshot 40-27. Michael Hrabal was the main reason UMass only let up one, but there is cause for concern for how many chances Stonehill had. A win’s a win, but there are some questions yet to be answered when it comes to UMass.
UMass Lowell at Merrimack
Lowell, just shy of the top twenty, did not make a good case to move up this week. Though the matchup wasn’t uneven, Merrimack looked like the better team. Goaltender Max Lundgren was a part of that, only letting up one goal on 35 shots in Merrimack’s 4-1 victory. The River Hawks will need to rebound, and fast, if they want to see their name in the polls soon.
St Lawrence versus Vermont
The Catamounts took on the Saints in a home-and-home which saw the home team win both games; Vermont 2-1 on Friday, and St. Lawrence 5-2 on Sunday. Each team only recorded two 5v5 goals during the weekend, the rest coming on a man advantage or on an empty net.
No. 9 Michigan at No.7 Providence
It certainly isn’t easy opening up your season against one of the quickest-climbing teams in the nation, but Providence struggled to put up a fight. The Friars’ weekend was met with 5-1 and 3-1 losses, both in which Providence didn’t really hold up. The Michigan powerplay was especially telling of Providence’s flaws. Michigan scored more shorthanded goals during the weekend than powerplay goals while Providence struggled to stop chances on the Wolverines’ man-advantages.
Overall, if Providence wants to compete with the premiere teams in the nation, they’ll need to clean up their game.
This week’s matchups
Friday, Oct. 17 – Northeastern at UMass Amherst, Michigan State at Boston University, Ohio State at UConn, Maine at Quinnipiac, Boston College at RPI, Western Michigan at UMass Lowell and Vermont at St. Cloud State.
Saturday, Oct. 18 – OSU at UConn, Maine at Quinnipiac, Providence at RPI, WMU at Lowell, Vermont at St. Cloud, MSU at BU, Bently at Amherst and New Hampshire at Merrimack.