After a chaotic few weeks following the winter break, Hockey East’s schedule saw a dip in number of games this past weekend, with only eight games being played.
Kicking off the week was the Battle of Comm Ave between No. 13 Boston College and Boston University.
BU’s struggles with goaltender Mikhail Yegorov continued, going down 3-0 after two to eventually lose 4-1.
Yegorov has not been able to replicate his dominant 24-25 campaign, sitting at a flat .900 save percentage. His struggles in net have exposed flaws elsewhere that could be ignored last year due to him covering for them.
On the other side of things, BC’s resume continues to grow, jumping over the inactive UConn Huskies in conference standings with the win.
Northeastern also played a lone game this weekend, facing off against the Massachusetts Minutemen.
The Huskies jumped out to an early 1-0 lead but were unable to maintain it, allowing two goals before eventually tying the game in the third to send it to overtime.
An unlikely hero won it for UMass, as freshman Justin Kerr scored just his second goal of the year to give the Minutemen their sixth straight win. Sitting just outside the top 20, UMass will have a chance to reenter the rankings this week.
Northeastern’s situation has been the opposite, now falling to 2-8 in their last 10 games. What felt like a dream to begin the season has proven to be just that, as the incredible start hasn’t amounted to any sustained success since.
The lone full intraconference series featured a home-and-home between New Hampshire and Merrimack.
Merrimack’s two-goal first was enough to win the game, eventually taking it 2-1 in a low-event match. Caden Cranston recorded a point on both scores for the Warriors.
Game two looked like a similar finish until Nick Ring tied it up for the Wildcats, with just 17 seconds left in regulation. The game reached a shootout, with Ring ultimately scoring the shootout winner as well.
The weekend’s only non-conference matchup featured Vermont hosting Stonehill for two games.
Stonehill led 2-1 entering the final minutes of regulation, but an early goalie pull led to a Vermont extra attacker goal with under three in regulation. In the ensuing overtime, Colin Kessler didn’t take long to find the back of the next and win it for the Catamounts.
Vermont had a much stronger showing on day two, shutting out Stonehill in a 2-0 victory.
Only one ranked matchup took place, a lone game between No. 9 Providence and No. 17 Maine. The Black Bears were swept a few weeks ago by the Friars and looked to salvage a part of the season series.
In what would end up being one of the best games in the conference so far this year, Maine held on to a 2-1 lead late in regulation. The Black Bears finally looked like they might get over the hump that was the Friars.
Providence had other plans, pestering goaltending Mathis Rousseau with the extra attacker as the defense struggled to clear the puck. With just five seconds to go Roger McQueen found Andrew Centrella wide open after a rebound, and Centrella took the opportunity to tie things up.
Providence continued their strong finish to the game in overtime, with Jack Sawyer eventually scoring to complete the season sweep of Hockey East’s reigning champions.
UMass Lowell and Merrimack remain the only Hockey East teams Providence has lost to in regulation. The only teams they haven’t beaten in regulation are Vermont and New Hampshire, both of which they have yet to play. Until further notice, Providence looks like the cream of the crop in the conference.
Meanwhile, time is running out for Maine. The Black Bears haven’t been able to win like they did last year, and the hope of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament is dwindling fast.
The once unclear top of Hockey East has now become much more obvious, as Providence, BC and UConn have spaced themselves out from the rest. Providence is en route to an at-large bid, with the other two looking to find that as well.
The week opens with round one of the Beanpot tournament, starting with Boston College against Harvard, followed by Boston University and Northeastern.
Tuesday will have Merrimack travelling to Stonehill for a lone game.
Friday features all three of Hockey East’s beanpot teams, with Maine taking on BU, UConn against Northeastern and Vermont playing BC.
Providence travels to New Hampshire on Friday before heading home to host Vermont Saturday, while UMass takes on UMass Lowell in a home-and-home set.