With Olympic hockey set to begin this week, the NHL has entered a three-week roster freeze.
But college hockey continues as the push for the NCAA tournament progresses.
The end of last week featured the UMass Amherst Minutemen against the UMass Lowell River Hawks, a game which the Minutemen took 6-4. Jack Musa’s point production has slowed down in recent weeks, but a hat trick and four-point performance could signal a return to his earlier form.
The Beanpot kicked off Monday, with No. 11 Boston College (BC) facing Harvard followed by Boston University (BU) and Northeastern.
Boston College stepped on the gas early and never let up, scoring three first period goals in what would ultimately end in a 5-1 victory. Bruins’ prospect James Hagens scored three points in the victory to send BC back to the Beanpot finals.
The following game was a much more balanced affair, with two teams who had been ranked earlier in the year but have since fallen out of them.
The teams each traded two goals in the first two periods before entering overtime tied at 2-2. With no decision made after the overtime frame, the teams went to the shootout to determine who would see BC the following Monday. Terrier Cole Hutson finished off Northeastern and punched his team’s ticket for a chance at the Beanpot title in another battle of Comm Ave.
Merrimack traveled to Stonehill on Tuesday. Justin Gill and Trevor Hoskin both scored four points in the Warriors’ 9-5 barnburner victory.
Friday action began with No. 18 Maine traveling to Boston University for a lone game. Maine led late in the third period by a score of 2-1, but a late Cole Eiserman goal on the powerplay tied things up for the Terriers. In overtime, it was Minnesota draft pick Ryder Ritchie who finished things off for Boston. Despite not holding a lead at any point in the week, the Terriers managed an overtime and shootout win.
No. 7 Providence visited New Hampshire and hosted Vermont during the weekend. Tanner Adams scored four points in game one and Aleksi Kivioja the same in game two to contribute to two 6-1 Friar victories. Providence, who struggled early in the year, continues to dominate and come closer to a guaranteed at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
Vermont had another 6-1 finish on the weekend in their Friday matchup against Boston College.
Contrary to expectation, that 6-1 finish came in favor of the Catamounts. Ten different Catamounts recorded a point in an unprecedented victory for a team with a sub-.500 record against what would have likely been a top 10 win the following week.
No. 12 UConn travelled to Bentley to face Northeastern in their temporary home following the closure of the legendary Matthews Arena. A stellar performance from goaltender Tyler Muszelik led to a shutout for the Connecticut Huskies in a 2-0 victory.
Of all goalies with 20+ games played, Muszelik’s .931 save percentage only trails Michigan State’s Trey Augustine and Augustana’s Josh Kotai, both of which by very small margins. There is a very good chance that the Richter award comes down to these three, with Augustine and Muszelik having real chances for the Hobey Baker award.
UMass and Lowell played a two-game series for their third matchup since last Sunday. Game one went to the River Hawks by a score of 3-1 in an upset, closing off a five-game winless streak against the Minutemen. The celebration was short-lived, with Amherst taking game two 5-2 to claim the season series.
The final month of the regular season begins today with Northeastern playing Harvard in the Beanpot consolation game, followed by BC and BU for the championship. The Terriers will be defending their title to become two-time reigning champs.
UConn travels to Maine for a two-game series for their first meeting since last year’s Hockey East finals. As of Sunday, this is a ranked matchup, though that could change depending on the rankings today due to Maine’s Friday loss to BU.
The Beanpot finalists both play home-and-home’s this weekend, with BC taking on Merrimack and BU facing New Hampshire in two games each.
Northeastern travels to Rhode Island to see the red-hot Friars in a two-game set to try and right the sinking ship against a very tough opponent.
UMass Lowell also embarks on a road trip out northwest to see the Vermont Catamounts.
The UMass Minutemen will have an off week following three games against their Lowell counterparts.