Weekly Honorees: Matt Brown, Bobby Trivigno, Nikita Nesterenko, Uula Ruikka and Jaxson Stauber
Men's Weekly Release: Four Teams Remain As Wednesday Semifinals Loom
36th Annual Hockey East Tournament Culminates on Saturday

HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

#1 Boston College earned a 3-2 victory over #9 New Hampshire on Sunday, advancing to the Hockey East Semifinals for the 26th time in program history, the most of any member school. The Eagles scored three times in less than three minutes in the first period, then held on with 35 saves from Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.) who was named a finalist for Hockey East Player of the Year on Sunday. The Eagles will face UMass Lowell in the semifinals.

#7 UMass Lowell won twice to advance to the Hockey East Semifinals for the sixth time in the last seven tournaments, a stretch that includes three Hockey East Tournament championships for the River Hawks. Matt Brown (Wood Ridge, N.J.) scored twice in a 5-3 opening round win against Vermont, including the game-winning strike. In the River Hawks’ 2-1 quarterfinal victory at Boston University, Brown again found the back of the net to tie the game, 1-1.

#5 Providence skated away with 6-1 victory over #4 UConn on Sunday, backboned by a 40-save performance from sophomore netminder Jaxson Stauber (Plymouth, Minn.) Uula Ruikka (Oulu, Finland) scored the game-winning goal and added an assist and finished the game with a plus-four on-ice rating.

#3 Massachusetts defended home ice and earned the right to host the Hockey East Semifinals by virtue of a 4-1 win over #6 Northeastern. Player of the Year finalist Bobby Trivigno (Setauket, N.Y.) had three points (1g, 2a) and a plus-three rating while Filip Lindberg (Espoo, Finland) stopped 25 of 26 shots to backbone the Minutemen. The will welcome the Friars to Amherst on Wednesday night.

Hockey East announced finalists for the three major individual awards for the 2020-21 season. Nominees for Player of the Year are led by David Farrance (Victor, N.Y./Boston University), Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.), Jonny Evans (North Delta, B.C./UConn), and Bobby Trivigno (Setauket, N.Y./Massachusetts). Finalists for Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year include Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass./Boston University), Josh Lopina (Minooka, Ill./Massachusetts) and Nikita Nesterenko (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boston College). Top coaches as voted by their peers include Mike Cavanaugh (UConn), Albie O’Connell (Boston University), and Jerry York (Boston College).

The 2021 Hockey East Semifinals will take place on Wednesday, March 17. UMass Lowell will travel to Boston College at 4:30 p.m. while Providence will play at Massachusetts at 7:00 p.m. Both games will air live on NESN in New England and stream worldwide on SportsLive.


ARMY ROTC HOCKEY EAST CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

photo

Matt Brown - UMass Lowell
Bobby Trivigno - Massachusetts

Matt Brown (Wood Ridge, N.J.) scored twice in a 5-3 opening round win against Vermont, including the game-winning strike. In the River Hawks’ 2-1 quarterfinal victory at Boston University on Sunday, Brown again found the back of the net to tie the game, 1-1. The sophomore forward now has four goals in his last four outings, including two game-winning goals.

Bobby Trivigno (Setauket, N.Y.) factored in on the first three of four goals in UMass’ 4-1 Quarterfinals win over Northeastern and was named the game’s No. 1 star. He wrapped the postseason opener with three points (1g, 2a) and a plus-three rating. Named a finalist for Hockey East Player of the Year on Sunday, the junior forward assisted on the first two goals of the game and gave the Minutemen a much-needed cushion with his ninth goal of the season (and 75th career point) after the Huskies had cut the UMass lead to 2-1 in the second period.


PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

photo

Nikita Nesterenko - Boston College

Nikita Nesterenko (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal for the Eagles in Sunday’s Hockey East Quarterfinal match up with New Hampshire, an eventual 3-2 victory for top-seeded Boston College. Earlier in the day, Nesterenko was named a finalist for the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year Award after leading all of Hockey East with goals (7), assists (11), points (18), points per game (0.86), and shorthanded goals (1) during the regular season.


HOCKEY EAST CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

photo

Uula Ruikka - Providence
Jaxson Stauber - Providence

Uula Ruikka (Oulu, Finland) scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in Providence’s 6-1 win at UConn on Sunday in the Hockey East Quarterfinals. Ruikka also finished the game with a plus-four on-ice rating.

Jaxson Stauber (Plymouth, Minn.) stopped 40-of-41 shots in the Friars’ 6-1 win at UConn on Sunday in the Hockey East Quarterfinals, good for a 1.00 GAA and .976 save percentage which led all Hockey East goaltenders this week.


HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Spencer Knight, BC (So., G; Darien, Conn.) Kicked out 35 saves in a 3-2 victory over New Hampshire to protect a one-goal lead across the final two periods of the Eagles’ Hockey East Quarterfinal win. He was named a finalist for Hockey East Player of the Year on Sunday.

Filip Lindberg, UMass (Jr., G; Espoo, Finland) Stopped 25 of 26 shots and picked up the win against #20 Northeastern in the Hockey East Quarterfinals for a .962 save percentage and a 1.00 goals against average for the week ... Was named the game’s No. 2 star.

Brian Chambers, UML (So., F; Weymouth, Mass.) Netted the game-winning goal for the River Hawks at 8:19 of the third period to deliver a Hockey East Quarterfinal victory.

Luke Reid, UNH (Fr., D; Warman, Sask.) Scored a goal in each of New Hampshire’s two playoff games, ending his season on the first goal-streak of his career. He netted one of this tallies while shorthanded, was on the ice for five of the Wildcats’ nine goals, blocked three shots, and had five shots on net.