Hockey East rivals No. 2 Boston College and No. 13 Boston University split a crucial home-and-home series this past weekend.
The Terriers (8-5-1, 6-4-1 HEA) took the opener on Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 7,884 at BC’s Kelley Rink, 5-3.
BU stormed out to an early 3-0 lead as Charlie Coyle and Yasin Cisse each netted a goal in the first stanza and Garrett Noonan added one in the second. BC got on the board with a power play goal from Bill Arnold for the Eagles’ lone goal of the period despite outshooting the Terriers 23-1 and 45-15 for the game.
The third period was a back-and-forth affair resulting in two goals for each team and the victory for BU.
Terriers goalie Kieran Millan saved an astounding 42-of-45 shots. His counterpart Parker Milner for BC had a less than stellar night, saving only 10 of the 15 shots he faced.
Saturday night’s matchup was a different story however as the Eagles (11-5-0, 8-3-0 HEA) dominated BU, 6-1, on the road at Agganis Arena.
BC freshman Danny Linell and Quinn Smith tallied their first career points for the Eagles as Smith assisted Linell for the game’s first goal. Smith later would record his second career assist and point.
The win was an all-around team effort as six different players scored for BC.
The Eagles switched goaltenders from the previous night’s contest, giving freshman Brian Billett the nod. Billett was impressive, saving 40-of-41 shots.
PC sweeps No. 1 Merrimack
No. 1 Merrimack did not handle the pressure that comes with being the top-ranked team in college hockey, suffering its first two losses of the season this past weekend at the hands of Providence.
Friday night’s game was held in Providence and it proved to be a thriller as PC (8-6-1, 6-3-0 HEA) defeated the Warriors 2-1 in overtime.
The Friars struck first on a short-handed goal by Andy Balysky late in the second period. Merrimack responded with a power play goal by Jesse Todd midway through the third period, tying the game up at 1.
The two teams could not get another goal in regulation, and the game headed into overtime where Ross Mauermann helped PC pull off the upset with his overtime-winning goal.
Both goaltenders played impressively in net, but the Friars’ Alex Beaudry got the best of Warriors netminder Joe Cannata, saving 26-of-27 shots.
Saturday’s matchup was nowhere near a thriller as PC flattened Merrimack (9-2-1, 6-2-1 HEA), 6-1, on the road in front of a sellout crowd of 2,489.
The story of the game was a lack of discipline on behalf of the Warriors, as five of the six goals the Warriors gave up came on Friar power plays.
As a result of its two defeats, Merrimack dropped to No. 5 in the latest polls.
Huskies sweep Irish
Northeastern dominated future HEA member No. 3 Notre Dame on the road this past weekend, handing the Fighting Irish their first two losses in their new arena.
The Huskies (6-7-2, 3-7-2 HEA) easily handled the Irish (10-5-3) on Friday night in a 9-2 victory.
ND was forced to use three different goalies in the contest, who all allowed multiple goals.
Saturday’s contest was a much closer one as NU defeated the Irish, 2-1.
ND scored the game’s first goal on a power play strike by Sheahan Riley for his fifth of the season early in the second period.
The goal would be the Irish’s last, however, as NU responded with goals by Braden Pimm and Steve Quailer. Quailer’s goal sealed the win for the Huskies and the weekend sweep.
NU’s Chris Rawlings was stellar in goal, saving 22-of-23 shots. He was the better of the goalies all weekend as ND struggled to find a goalie it could depend on against the Huskies.
NU will host UMass Lowell Saturday at 7 p.m. in its next game as the Huskies will try to carry their out of conference success back to the HEA.
Cameron McDonough can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_McDonough.
