Photos by Matt Dresens
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Hockey East Championship Photos
Drew Melanson's third period strike proved to be the game-winner, as BU prevailed 2-0 in the 2018 Hockey East Championship game over Providence and will qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Finals With The Friars
First published on WTBU Sports
Following Patrick Curry and Brandon Duhaime’s overtime goals last night in semifinal play, Boston University and Providence College have a date in the Hockey East Championship game tonight at TD Garden.
BU’s Curry scored late in overtime on a punch home shot from Shane Bowers to push the Terriers past Boston College 4-3 in the early game. Hours later, Duhaime netted his seventh goal of the season to put the Friars in the final for the first time since 2001.
The Terriers and Friars are 1-1-1 against each other this year. PC took the first meeting in late October 3-0 at home. BU won 2-0 behind a pair of goals from Chad Krys the following weekend and the two teams skated to a 2-2 draw in mid-January at Agganis.
“We won on our ice, they won on their ice,” said Providence head coach Nate Leaman. “We tied the third time we played on their ice. I think both teams played an overtime game [tonight] so I think it’s going to be a really good game. Us and them in this building tend to be good games.”
Yes… the last time BU and PC squared off on Garden use was the 2015 National Title Game. We’ll spare you the details, but Providence won 4-3.
2015 was also the last time BU advanced to the championship game, a 5-3 win over Lowell. As stated before, Providence’s last appearance in the championship game was 2001, when they lost to BC 5-3.
Scouting the Friars
The defensive mined Friars rank second in the conference in goals allowed at 2.08 per game. PC’s penalty kill is also second in the conference, working at an 87.1 percent clip on the year. This was critical in their win last night against Northeastern, whose power play has been absolutely lethal this season. The Friars blanked the Huskies on the man advantage last night, as NU went 0-3 on the power play.
“I give our assistant coaches Krys Mayotte and Scott Borek a lot of credit because we found a way to kill those three penalties,” added Leaman. “Hayden Hawkey made a lot of great saves and we were able to get through that stretch.”
Somewhat quietly, Erik Foley has amassed 35 points on 16 goals and 19 assists in 35 games played. Brian Pinho and Josh Wilkins have also hit the 30 point mark. Pinho, a Washington draft pick, has a dozen goals and 19 assists, while Wilkins has recorded an even 15 goals and 15 assists. Other players to watch include Hockey East first teamer Jacob Bryson, Scott Conway, and Vimal Sukumaran.
In goal, Hayden Hawkey owns a .915 save percentage and a 2.12 goals against average. Last night, the junior from Parker, Colorado turned aside 38 Husky shots for his 23rd win of the season.
In terms of NCAA tournament qualification, BU all but has to win tonight. College Hockey News’ Pairwise Probability Matrix gives BU a zero percent chance of qualifying at large. If the Terriers win, they can climb as high as the 13th seed. For that to happen, Princeton has to beat Clarkson in the ECAC championship game. That would more than likely slate BU up against Ohio State in the NCAA first round.
This is what college hockey is all about, and this is one of the most dramatic nights of the year. Get your seat belts fastened tight and hold on. Tonight’s going to be a wild ride.
Following Patrick Curry and Brandon Duhaime’s overtime goals last night in semifinal play, Boston University and Providence College have a date in the Hockey East Championship game tonight at TD Garden.
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| Bobo Carpenter attempts to get around PC's Vincent Desharnais in BU's 2-0 win against the Friars back in November. (Photo by Matt Dresens) |
The Terriers and Friars are 1-1-1 against each other this year. PC took the first meeting in late October 3-0 at home. BU won 2-0 behind a pair of goals from Chad Krys the following weekend and the two teams skated to a 2-2 draw in mid-January at Agganis.
“We won on our ice, they won on their ice,” said Providence head coach Nate Leaman. “We tied the third time we played on their ice. I think both teams played an overtime game [tonight] so I think it’s going to be a really good game. Us and them in this building tend to be good games.”
Yes… the last time BU and PC squared off on Garden use was the 2015 National Title Game. We’ll spare you the details, but Providence won 4-3.
2015 was also the last time BU advanced to the championship game, a 5-3 win over Lowell. As stated before, Providence’s last appearance in the championship game was 2001, when they lost to BC 5-3.
Scouting the Friars
The defensive mined Friars rank second in the conference in goals allowed at 2.08 per game. PC’s penalty kill is also second in the conference, working at an 87.1 percent clip on the year. This was critical in their win last night against Northeastern, whose power play has been absolutely lethal this season. The Friars blanked the Huskies on the man advantage last night, as NU went 0-3 on the power play.
“I give our assistant coaches Krys Mayotte and Scott Borek a lot of credit because we found a way to kill those three penalties,” added Leaman. “Hayden Hawkey made a lot of great saves and we were able to get through that stretch.”
Somewhat quietly, Erik Foley has amassed 35 points on 16 goals and 19 assists in 35 games played. Brian Pinho and Josh Wilkins have also hit the 30 point mark. Pinho, a Washington draft pick, has a dozen goals and 19 assists, while Wilkins has recorded an even 15 goals and 15 assists. Other players to watch include Hockey East first teamer Jacob Bryson, Scott Conway, and Vimal Sukumaran.
In goal, Hayden Hawkey owns a .915 save percentage and a 2.12 goals against average. Last night, the junior from Parker, Colorado turned aside 38 Husky shots for his 23rd win of the season.
In terms of NCAA tournament qualification, BU all but has to win tonight. College Hockey News’ Pairwise Probability Matrix gives BU a zero percent chance of qualifying at large. If the Terriers win, they can climb as high as the 13th seed. For that to happen, Princeton has to beat Clarkson in the ECAC championship game. That would more than likely slate BU up against Ohio State in the NCAA first round.
This is what college hockey is all about, and this is one of the most dramatic nights of the year. Get your seat belts fastened tight and hold on. Tonight’s going to be a wild ride.
Friday, March 16, 2018
Curry Kills BC In OT
It was another classic to add to the annals of the BU-BC rivalry. 15:40 into overtime, Patrick Curry banged home a rebound goal to send the Terriers past the Eagles 4-3 and into the championship game, tomorrow night.
BU overcame a 2-0 hole with goals from Ty Amonte and David Farrance 1:37 apart in the middle of the second frame. The Terriers then looked to have gone ahead midway through the third on Jordan Greenway tally, but it was called off for a questionable goalie interference call.
Chris Brown scored late in the third period to put the Eagles up 3-2, but Drew Melanson answered less than a minute later to knot the proceedings again.
In the third period and overtime, Jake Oettinger was simply fantastic, stopping 26 of his total 36 on the night.
BU awaits the winner of Northeastern and Providence in the Hockey East championship. Its BU first appearance in the final since 2015, when they beat Lowell.
Photos by Matt Dresens
Chris Brown scored late in the third period to put the Eagles up 3-2, but Drew Melanson answered less than a minute later to knot the proceedings again.
In the third period and overtime, Jake Oettinger was simply fantastic, stopping 26 of his total 36 on the night.
BU awaits the winner of Northeastern and Providence in the Hockey East championship. Its BU first appearance in the final since 2015, when they beat Lowell.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
BC Preview - Hockey East Semifinals
First published on WTBU Sports
There’s not much left to say with this. It’s No. 18 Boston University and No. 14 Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals for the second consecutive year. Both teams return to TD Garden after they swept their respective quarterfinal series to advance to play for a shot at the Hockey East Championship game.
“It’s gonna be exciting,” said Coach Quinn after he was informed his Terriers were playing BC in Saturday night’s postgame press conference. “We had a great game with them last year, unfortunately, we came up on the wrong end of the stick. It’s a new year, two new teams. Anytime BU and BC play it’s exciting, but when it’s in the semifinals of the Hockey East playoffs, it gets more exciting.”
Despite getting heavily outplayed at times, the top-seeded Eagles (20-13-3, 18-6-0 Hockey East) dispatched Merrimack in two games. Friday night saw BC get outshot 37-13, but Connor Moore notched a power-play goal late in the first period that proved to be the eventual game-winner.
Game two offered a little more offense, with BC skating away with a 4-3 overtime decision thanks to a Christopher Grando shorthanded goal 4:20 into the extra session.
BU (19-3-4, 12-8-4 Hockey East) also used a pair of one-goal wins to slid past the Connecticut Huskies in the four vs. five series at Agganis Arena. The Terriers used a pair of third-period comebacks to draw even with UConn in game one, before Bobo Carpenter notched the game-winner on a wraparound goal just over five minutes into overtime.
In Saturday’s squabble, Jake Oettinger turned aside 36 shots, including 15 in the third period, to preserve a Logan Cockerill go-ahead tally that came late in the second frame.
For both teams, this game is do or die. BU and BC are both on the outside looking in when it comes to the national tournament. The Eagles are slightly ahead of 18th place BU in the PairWise, sitting at 15th. The cut line is now 14 after Minnesota State lost to Michigan Tech in the WCHA semifinals. Mankato is already a lock to make the tournament, as they are 6th in the PWR, but now the winner of Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech will get an automatic bid.
Both BU and BC virtually have to win Hockey East to get in, meaning this is a true elimination game for both teams. This is a scenario that hasn’t happened in the BU-BC rivalry since the 2006 NCAA East Regional final. All in all, it has only happened four times in the rivalry’s history, 1976, ’77, ’78, 2006. In those four contests, the Terriers are 3-1.
Scouting the Eagles
BC are winners in seven of their last eight, including six consecutive dating back to February 15 at UMass. The Eagles went an impressive 18-6-0 in Hockey East this year, to claim at least a share of the league title for the second straight season. The thing keeping BC out of the national tournament at the moment is their out-of-conference woes. BC is a staggering 0-8-3 in non-conference play, and they still have not won an out of league game since October 2016.
Offensively, freshman Logan Hutsko has carried the torch for BC. In 26 games played, the Tampa, Fla. native and Hockey East Rookie of the Year has amassed 31 points on 12 goals and 19 assists. Not far behind is sophomore David Coton, who has recorded nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points. Graham McPhee and Julius Mattila have both also accumulated a dozen goals thus far. Other players to watch include Casey Fitzgerald, Michael Kim and JD Dudek.
Between the pipes, Joe Woll was the sole reason BC survived the Merrimack series. The sophomore netminder stopped 67 of 70 Warrior shots on the weekend. Over the course of the season, Woll is the owner of a .915 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average.
History
BU and BC have squared off five prior times in the Hockey East Semifinals. BU came away victorious in three of those meetings, starting with a dramatic 2003 double overtime game. BC led 5-4 late in the third, before Justin Maiser scored, sending the game to overtime. There, Maiser completed a hat trick, scoring roughly five minutes into the second overtime to send BU to the finals, where they lost to UNH, 1-0, again in double OT.
The next meeting was in 2007. BC cruised to a 6-2 win on goals from six different skaters. In 2009, BC needed a win to prolong their season, but BU had other plans. Trailing 1-0 midway through the third, BU erupted for three goals in 43 seconds to eventually push past the Eagles 3-2. This was the last time either BU or BC ended one another’s season.
The 2013 matchup featured the Terriers needing a win to stave off elimination from the national tournament. Despite trailing 2-0 after the first, BU stormed back, as Evan Rodrigues and Danny O’Regan both scored twice. Garrett Noonan and Matt Lane also added goals in a 6-3 win to put the Terriers in the final. Their season came to end with a 1-0 lost to Lowell.
Then there was last year. Even though BC had a share of the league title, the Eagles still had to win Hockey East to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Ryan Fitzgerald netted two goals and Julius Mattila added another, and the Eagles held a 3-0 lead late in the third. BU scored two extra-attacker goals to make things quite interesting down the stretch, but the Eagles hung on and advanced to the championship game, where they fell to Lowell.
Friday night’s contest will begin at 5 p.m. at TD Garden.
There’s not much left to say with this. It’s No. 18 Boston University and No. 14 Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals for the second consecutive year. Both teams return to TD Garden after they swept their respective quarterfinal series to advance to play for a shot at the Hockey East Championship game.
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| From The Vault BC's Christopher Brown attempts to bat a puck on net in last year's 3-2 BC win in the Hockey East Semifinals. (Photo by Matt Dresens) |
Despite getting heavily outplayed at times, the top-seeded Eagles (20-13-3, 18-6-0 Hockey East) dispatched Merrimack in two games. Friday night saw BC get outshot 37-13, but Connor Moore notched a power-play goal late in the first period that proved to be the eventual game-winner.
Game two offered a little more offense, with BC skating away with a 4-3 overtime decision thanks to a Christopher Grando shorthanded goal 4:20 into the extra session.
BU (19-3-4, 12-8-4 Hockey East) also used a pair of one-goal wins to slid past the Connecticut Huskies in the four vs. five series at Agganis Arena. The Terriers used a pair of third-period comebacks to draw even with UConn in game one, before Bobo Carpenter notched the game-winner on a wraparound goal just over five minutes into overtime.
In Saturday’s squabble, Jake Oettinger turned aside 36 shots, including 15 in the third period, to preserve a Logan Cockerill go-ahead tally that came late in the second frame.
For both teams, this game is do or die. BU and BC are both on the outside looking in when it comes to the national tournament. The Eagles are slightly ahead of 18th place BU in the PairWise, sitting at 15th. The cut line is now 14 after Minnesota State lost to Michigan Tech in the WCHA semifinals. Mankato is already a lock to make the tournament, as they are 6th in the PWR, but now the winner of Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech will get an automatic bid.
Both BU and BC virtually have to win Hockey East to get in, meaning this is a true elimination game for both teams. This is a scenario that hasn’t happened in the BU-BC rivalry since the 2006 NCAA East Regional final. All in all, it has only happened four times in the rivalry’s history, 1976, ’77, ’78, 2006. In those four contests, the Terriers are 3-1.
Scouting the Eagles
BC are winners in seven of their last eight, including six consecutive dating back to February 15 at UMass. The Eagles went an impressive 18-6-0 in Hockey East this year, to claim at least a share of the league title for the second straight season. The thing keeping BC out of the national tournament at the moment is their out-of-conference woes. BC is a staggering 0-8-3 in non-conference play, and they still have not won an out of league game since October 2016.
Offensively, freshman Logan Hutsko has carried the torch for BC. In 26 games played, the Tampa, Fla. native and Hockey East Rookie of the Year has amassed 31 points on 12 goals and 19 assists. Not far behind is sophomore David Coton, who has recorded nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points. Graham McPhee and Julius Mattila have both also accumulated a dozen goals thus far. Other players to watch include Casey Fitzgerald, Michael Kim and JD Dudek.
Between the pipes, Joe Woll was the sole reason BC survived the Merrimack series. The sophomore netminder stopped 67 of 70 Warrior shots on the weekend. Over the course of the season, Woll is the owner of a .915 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average.
History
BU and BC have squared off five prior times in the Hockey East Semifinals. BU came away victorious in three of those meetings, starting with a dramatic 2003 double overtime game. BC led 5-4 late in the third, before Justin Maiser scored, sending the game to overtime. There, Maiser completed a hat trick, scoring roughly five minutes into the second overtime to send BU to the finals, where they lost to UNH, 1-0, again in double OT.
The next meeting was in 2007. BC cruised to a 6-2 win on goals from six different skaters. In 2009, BC needed a win to prolong their season, but BU had other plans. Trailing 1-0 midway through the third, BU erupted for three goals in 43 seconds to eventually push past the Eagles 3-2. This was the last time either BU or BC ended one another’s season.
The 2013 matchup featured the Terriers needing a win to stave off elimination from the national tournament. Despite trailing 2-0 after the first, BU stormed back, as Evan Rodrigues and Danny O’Regan both scored twice. Garrett Noonan and Matt Lane also added goals in a 6-3 win to put the Terriers in the final. Their season came to end with a 1-0 lost to Lowell.
Then there was last year. Even though BC had a share of the league title, the Eagles still had to win Hockey East to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Ryan Fitzgerald netted two goals and Julius Mattila added another, and the Eagles held a 3-0 lead late in the third. BU scored two extra-attacker goals to make things quite interesting down the stretch, but the Eagles hung on and advanced to the championship game, where they fell to Lowell.
Friday night’s contest will begin at 5 p.m. at TD Garden.
Monday, March 12, 2018
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Garden Bound
Behind goals from Brady Tkachuk and Logan Cockerill, BU finished off UConn 2-1 in game two of the Hockey East quarterfinals at Agganis to complete the two-game sweep of the Huskies. Jake Oettinger stopped 36 UConn shots on the evening. BU will play Boston College in the early game of the semifinals next weekend at TD Garden.
Photos by Matt Dresens
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Weekend With UConn - HEQF
After an idle weekend for both teams, BU and UConn will finally go at it in the Hockey East Quarterfinals starting Friday night at Agganis Arena, with the Terriers slotted as the four seed and UConn the five.
BU, more than likely, has to win the Hockey East Championship to make the NCAA tournament. Despite going 9-2-2 second semester, BU is on the outside looking in in terms of the PairWise rankings. Currently, the Terriers are 19th in the PWR and have a less than ten percent chance at getting an at-large bid.
"It's been an interesting season for sure," said coach Quinn on Tuesday's Hockey East conference call. "Obviously, after we lost to Maine in the first game after break we were 8-11-1 and we were really scratching our head as to where we were at. We felt like we had played some pretty good hockey, yet we are finding ways to lose. There was a difference between playing pretty well and playing winning hockey. Since then, we have turned it around."
The Terriers and Huskies split the season series dead even at 1-1-1. The first meeting came back in a two-game, home and home series in October. Despite two shorthanded goals from Bobo Carpenter, the teams still skated to a 2-2 draw. The following night, Carpenter netted a hat-trick in Hartford and BU rolled 6-3 at the XL Center. Finally, just last month, UConn overcame both a 3-1 and a 4-2 BU leads in the third period, to win 5-4 in overtime on a Max Letunov backhand goal from the slot.
"The task at hand is to play a team that we have had three good games with," mentioned Quinn. They have an older, veteran team and are very well coached. Its certainly going to be a challenge for us."
The Huskies went on a roll to end the season, winning seven in a row from January 20th to February 16th vs BU. In the words of coach Quinn, "They were probably the hottest team in our league at the end of the year." That came after a start where UConn lost five in a row to start the second semester.
Scouting The Huskies
Former BU commit Max Letunov leads the Husky scoring attack with 27 points by way of 11 goals and 16 assists. Senior Spencer Nass is second in total points with 23 and leads the team in goals scored with 12. Alexander Payusov also has netted a dozen goals on the year and has five points in three games against BU alone. Other players to watch include Benjamin Freeman, Jesse Schwartz and Karl El-Mir.
In goal, Tanner Creel is 7-2-2 after taking over in relief of the injured Adam Huska. In total on the year, Creel has a .891 save percentage and 3.20 goals against average in 13 appearances. Huska is now back from his injury, but UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh has elected to ride the hot hand in Creel.
Elsewhere around Hockey East, league regular season champion Boston College hosts 11th seeded Merrimack. The Mack stunned Lowell in two overtime wins to sweep the Riverhawks out of the tournament. Lowell had been in the championship game each of the last five years.
Maine made quick work of UNH, sweeping the Wildcats and will not face Providence. UMass used a thrilling overtime win on Thursday and a blowout victory Sunday to end Vermont's season. UMass will now travel to Northeastern to face the Huskies
BU, more than likely, has to win the Hockey East Championship to make the NCAA tournament. Despite going 9-2-2 second semester, BU is on the outside looking in in terms of the PairWise rankings. Currently, the Terriers are 19th in the PWR and have a less than ten percent chance at getting an at-large bid.
"It's been an interesting season for sure," said coach Quinn on Tuesday's Hockey East conference call. "Obviously, after we lost to Maine in the first game after break we were 8-11-1 and we were really scratching our head as to where we were at. We felt like we had played some pretty good hockey, yet we are finding ways to lose. There was a difference between playing pretty well and playing winning hockey. Since then, we have turned it around."
The Terriers and Huskies split the season series dead even at 1-1-1. The first meeting came back in a two-game, home and home series in October. Despite two shorthanded goals from Bobo Carpenter, the teams still skated to a 2-2 draw. The following night, Carpenter netted a hat-trick in Hartford and BU rolled 6-3 at the XL Center. Finally, just last month, UConn overcame both a 3-1 and a 4-2 BU leads in the third period, to win 5-4 in overtime on a Max Letunov backhand goal from the slot.
"The task at hand is to play a team that we have had three good games with," mentioned Quinn. They have an older, veteran team and are very well coached. Its certainly going to be a challenge for us."
The Huskies went on a roll to end the season, winning seven in a row from January 20th to February 16th vs BU. In the words of coach Quinn, "They were probably the hottest team in our league at the end of the year." That came after a start where UConn lost five in a row to start the second semester.
Scouting The Huskies
Former BU commit Max Letunov leads the Husky scoring attack with 27 points by way of 11 goals and 16 assists. Senior Spencer Nass is second in total points with 23 and leads the team in goals scored with 12. Alexander Payusov also has netted a dozen goals on the year and has five points in three games against BU alone. Other players to watch include Benjamin Freeman, Jesse Schwartz and Karl El-Mir.
In goal, Tanner Creel is 7-2-2 after taking over in relief of the injured Adam Huska. In total on the year, Creel has a .891 save percentage and 3.20 goals against average in 13 appearances. Huska is now back from his injury, but UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh has elected to ride the hot hand in Creel.
Elsewhere around Hockey East, league regular season champion Boston College hosts 11th seeded Merrimack. The Mack stunned Lowell in two overtime wins to sweep the Riverhawks out of the tournament. Lowell had been in the championship game each of the last five years.
Maine made quick work of UNH, sweeping the Wildcats and will not face Providence. UMass used a thrilling overtime win on Thursday and a blowout victory Sunday to end Vermont's season. UMass will now travel to Northeastern to face the Huskies
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