The New Hampshire hockey team continued its great play this weekend with a sweep of Providence.

Friday night’s matchup saw senior forward Mike Sislo notch his 100th career point in collegiate play for the No. 7 ranked Wildcats (15-5-4, Hockey East 13-2-2). Sislo led UNH to a 5-2 victory at Schneider Arena scoring a goal and adding two assists, while junior forward Paul Thompson scored two goals and had an assist as well.

The scoreless pace set in the first period of the game was quickly interrupted by a six goal-second period which saw UNH take a 4-2 lead.

The Wildcats were able to execute following a Friars (7-12-5, Hockey East 3-10-4) power play to start the second period. Phil DeSimone played a long pass up to Thompson who skated into a breakaway and netted a wrist shot for the first score of the game.

The Friars responded quickly with junior Andy Balysky’s fourth goal just three minutes later off of a forced turnover by sophomore Chris Rooney, but were not able to stop the Wildcats’ attack.

UNH skated past Providence again on Saturday night with a 5-1 victory at home at the Whittemore Center. Friars forward Kyle MacKinnon’s five-hole goal 59 seconds into the second period tied the game at one. A 5-on-3 power play shortly after allowed for Thompson’s 20th goal of the season, giving UNH a 2-1 lead.

UNH never looked back and for the second consecutive night the Wildcats offense exploded, scoring four second period goals.

Sophomore goalie Matt DiGirolamo had an impressive home-and-home weekend series with 35 and 37 saves in Friday and Saturday night’s victories, respectively.

Freshmen lead Merrimack

Boston, Mass. native and freshman Mike Collins picked up his first career hat trick on Saturday night as he helped Merrimack wiz past the Vermont (5-15-4, 3-11-3 Hockey East), 7-1.

Collins had an assist in addition to his noteworthy hat trick, which is an ode to his second-effort, hardnosed play throughout the game. Freshman Carter Madsen chipped in to the scoring spree with a first-period goal as well.

 Senior captain Chris Barton added to the mix with two goals and an assist, netting him his 10th goal of the season and bringing his collegiate point total to 100, making him the first Merrimack player to accomplish such a feat since 2002.

The No. 14-ranked Warriors (15-5-4, Hockey East 9-5-3) were impressive on both sides of the power play, going 3-for-6 on offense and killing 5-of-5 power plays on defense, solidifying them as the nation’s second best power play killing team.

Much of Merrimack’s success this season can be attributed to the great play of Collins and Madsen. Following a losing season, the Warriors have been impressive, showing an outstanding mix of rookie and veteran players. They are one win away from tying their win total of 16 from last season, their best since joining the Hockey East in 1988.

Overtime not enough

The Hockey East matchup between Boston University and Maine saw a hard fought battle Saturday night at Alfond Arena which ended in a 1-1 tie.

The goalies for both teams quickly took over following fast first period goals. Will O’Neil scored 21 seconds into the game on a feed from junior forward Brian Flynn for the Black Bears (11-7-6, 8-5-4 Hockey East).

The Terriers (12-7-7, 9-5-5 Hockey East) scored shortly after as a result of a blueline interception by Chris Connolly, which led to a breakaway goal for Joe Pereira, his 11th of the season.

The highlight of the matchup was the great goaltending by junior goalie Kieran Millan. Millan saved 41 shots through regulation and an overtime period. The Maine offense bombarded Millan with shots, holding a 20-2 advantage in shots on goal in the first period to finish with a 42-20 advantage.

There were outstanding saves on both sides of the puck, with Millan and Maine goalie Martin Ouellette each making game-saving stops. Ouellette faced some tough shots and finished with 19 saves.

Despite success in the net, each team struggled mightily on the power play. Maine was scoreless in seven opportunities, while BU was scoreless in five. The Black Bears showcased their penalty killing ability when they killed a two-minute 5-on-3 penalty as well as a five-minute penalty.

The Black Bears return to action this Friday when they take on the Hockey East-leading UNH for a two-game series in Durham, N.H. BU will face off against last place UMass Friday night as well.

Matt Strong can be reached at [email protected].