October 18, 2010

ATHLETIC REPUBLIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK #10 JIMMY HAYES, BOSTON COLLEGE (Junior Forward; Dorchester, Mass.) Hayes scored one goal in each of two victories at No. 8 Denver, including the decisive firstperiod tally in Saturday's 3-0 win. He scored his 50th career point with a goal on Friday night at Magness Arena. Hayes notched nine shots on goal with a +2 rating on the weekend against the Pioneers. PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK #1 JEFF TEGLIA, MASSACHUSETTS (Freshman Goaltender; Bloomingdale, Ill.) Teglia stopped 33 of 35 shots (.943 save percentage) for the Minutemen, helped the penalty kill go 4-for-4 and earned a 2-2 tie in overtime after trailing 2-0 in the 1st period in his first collegiate start. He made 10 saves in the second period, eight in the third and six in overtime. PURE HOCKEY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK #30 MATT DIGIROLAMO, NEW HAMPSHIRE (Junior Goaltender; Ambler, Pa.) DiGirolamo stopped 27 of 30 shots against Michigan on Saturday night. All three UM goals came on the power play. He stopped 12 of 13 shots in the opening period against the Wolverines. HOCKEY EAST TEAM OF THE WEEK BOSTON COLLEGE The Eagles swept No. 8 Denver on the road over the weekend at Magness Arena, by scores of 6-2 on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday. BC went a perfect 17-for-17 on the penalty kill and outshot the Pioneers, 67-49 for the weekend series. John Muse and Parker Milner stopped 47 of 40 shots (.959 save%) on the weekend by Denver, which included Milner's 20-save shutout on Saturday night.

Athletic Republic Player of the Week Jimmy Hayes of Boston College

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Spencer Abbott, Maine (Jr., F., Hamilton, Ont.) Had two goals and two assists for the Black Bears in a 0-1-1 weekend at MSU.

Cam Atkinson, BC (Jr., F, Greenwich, Conn.) Registered four points (2g,2a) in two wins at No. 6 Denver.

Doug Carr, UML (Fr., G, Hanover, Mass.) Turned away 34-of-36 shots (.944 sv%) in a 2-2 tie at Niagara.

Chris Connolly, BU (Jr., F, Duluth, Minn.) Scored his first goal of the season for the Terriers in their 2-2 tie with UMass on Saturday.

Tommy Cross, BC (Jr., D, Simsbury, Conn.) Scored twice at No. 6 Denver; totaled a +2 rating.

Stephane Da Costa, MC (So., F, Paris, France) Netted two second-period goals in a 7-1 win over UConn.

Robby Dee, Maine (Sr., F, Plymouth, Minn.) Scored two goals in Maine's 4-4 draw with Michigan State on Thursday night.

Phil DeSimone, UNH (Sr. F, East Amherst, N.Y.) Tallied a two points (1g,1a) in a 3-3 tie with Michigan. Notched a team-high eight shots.

Rob Dongara, NU (Fr., F, Scituate, Mass.) Tallied his first collegiate goal against RPI and posted a +1 rating on the night.

Kevin Hayes, BC (Fr., F, Dorchester, Mass.) Notched his first collegiate points (1g,1a) in BC's 6-2 win at No. 6 Denver on Friday.

Kyle MacKinnon, PC (Sr., F, Walnut, Calif.) Scored two goals at No.7 Minnesota Duluth on Friday.

Kieran Millan, BU (Fr., G, Edmonton, Alta.) Made 28 saves in BU's 2-2 draw with UMass on Saturday.

Stevie Moses, UNH, (Jr., F, Leominster, Mass.) Scored the team's first goal in a 3-3 tie with Michigan (3 SOG, +1 rating).

Jamie Oleksiak, NU (Fr., D,Toronto, Ont.) Notched his first collegiate goal against RPI with three shots on net.

Chad Ruhwedel, UML (Fr., D, San Diego, Calif.) Grabbed three assists and a plus-4 rating in a pair of ties at Niagara and RIT.

Michael Scheu, UML (Jr., F, Buffalo, N.Y.) Tallied a pair of goals, one on the power play, in the River Hawks ties at Niagara and RIT.

Elliott Sheen, MC (Jr., F, Lethbridge, Alta.) Scored the first goal in the renovated Lawler Rink and added an assist in a 7-1 victory.

Paul Thompson, UNH, (Sr., F, Derry, N.H.) Tallied a goal and an assist in a 3-3 tie with Michigan.

Joe Whitney, BC (Sr., F, Reading, Mass.) Tallied three points (1g,1a) in BC's 6-2 win over No. 6 Denver, including the gamewinner.

CAREER FIRSTS/MILESTONES/WHO's HOT

Derek Army, PC (North Kingstown, R.I.) Scored his first career goal at Minnesota-Duluth on Friday

Chris Barton, MC (Calgary , ALTA.) Scored his 35th career goal in a 7-1 victory over UConn

BC'S PENALTY KILL Finished 17-for-17 in penalty-killing situations in the two-game series at Denver to remain perfect on the penalty kill through three games (23-for-23) this season

Rhett Bly , MC (Regina, SK) Tallied his first career goal in his first collegiate game

Mike Cornell, MAINE (Franklin, Mass.) Notched his first career goal in Maine's 4-4 draw with Michigan State on Thursday night

Brendan Ellis, MC (KELOWNA, B.C.), Mike Collins (BOSTON, MASS.), Tom McCarthy (MAPLE GROVE, MINN.) Each notched their first assist in the victory over Connecticut

Jimmy Hayes , BC (DORCHESTER, MASS.) Scored his 50th career point on Friday night with a goal in the second period. He has amassed 51 career points (23g,28a) in 81 collegiate contests.

Tyler Landman, PC (Roseau, Minn.) Posted his first career assist at No. 7 UMD Saturday

Matt Nieto, BU (LONG BEACH, CALIF.) Scored his first collegiate goal in the home opener vs. UMass

Darren Rowe, UMass (Simi Valley, Calif.) Scored a goal at #10 Boston University to extend his scoring streak to three games (2g, 1a). Has already equaled his point production from last season (26 GP, 0-3-3)

Mike Sislo, UNH (Superior, Wis.) and Blake Kessel (Verona, Wis.) Have registered points in all three games this season

UNH'S POWER PLAY The New Hampshire power play unit has scored a goal in each of the first three games of the season

TEAM NOTES

Boston College: The Eagles swept their second two-game series against Denver in as many trips. BC earned a pair of 3-2 wins at Denver on consecutive nights early in the 2000-01 season…BC improved to 8-3-1 in 12 games in the Mile High City in five trips since the 1994-95 season. The Eagles have played six Denver Cup contests, four earlyseason October games against Denver in 2000-01 and 2010-11 and two 2008 Frozen Four contests in the Pepsi Center…Freshman goaltender Parker Milner recorded 20 saves to earn his first collegiate shutout in his first starter of the 2010-11 season and his 14 collegiate start. The Pittsburgh, Pa., product improved to 11-2-1…Senior goaltender John Muse earned his 64th career victory in BC's 6-2 win on Friday, Oct. 15 and is now tied with former Eagle goaltender Scott Gordon (1982-86) for fourth on the school's all-time list. Muse is two victories shy of tying Matti Kaltiainen (2001-05) and Cory Schneider (2004-07) for second place…Brian Gibbons' shorthanded goal at 7:48 of the third period in the team's 6-2 win at Denver on Friday, Oct. 15 marked BC's first since defenseman Carl Sneep against Yale in the NCAA Northeast Regional final on March 28, 2010…Freshman defenseman Isaac MacLeod registered a plus-one rating in his collegiate debut.

Boston University: The Terriers (2-0-1, 0-0-1) remained undefeated on the year following a 2-2 draw with Massachusetts in their home opener on Saturday…BU hasn't opened a season undefeated in its first four games since the 2001-02 campaign, when it won its first four games as part of a 6-0-1 start…So far this season, four different Terriers have scored their first collegiate goal and six have earned their first collegiate assist…BU is 7-1-1 in its last nine games at Agganis Arena…Former Terrier All-American and U.S. Olympian Jack Garrity will be inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 10…Eleven former Terriers began the 2010-11 NHL season on one of the league's 30 rosters and eight others were among the late cuts at their respective camps and could be called up from the AHL this season…BU completes a week-long home-and-home series with UMass on Friday in Amherst and is just 1-3-0 in its last four games at Mullins Center.

Maine: Maine seniors Jeff Dimmen (Colorado Springs, Colo) and Tanner House (Cochrane, Alberta) have been named two of the 20 finalists for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award…The finalists will be narrowed to 10 in January…Junior forward Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ont.) set a school record on Friday night when he scored two goals in the span of 10 seconds. He broke the record that Matthias Trattnig set on Dec. 3, 2000 when he scored two goals in the span of 17 seconds at Northeastern…Maine played at Michigan State past weekend for the first time since March 21, 1987…The Black Bears and Spartans have played 12 times since that meeting, with eight of the games being played at neutral sites… Junior Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden) has 98 career points, leaving him just two points shy of the 100-point plateau… Maine skated to ties in two of its first three games this season… It is the first time in Maine history that two of Maine's first three games of the season resulted in a tie…Maine scored two goals in 10 seconds on Friday and three goals in 4:38 in the game against the Spartans on Thursday night…Nyquist has dished out an assist in each of Maine's first four games this season.

Massachusetts: With #10 Boston University as the home opener on Friday night, UMass should set a new attendance record for a home opener – current record is 5,862 against UMass Lowell on Oct. 19, 2007…After tying Boston University last week, UMass is now 4-0-2 in the last six meetings prior to January with Boston University…Even though UMass will play its fourth game of the year on Friday, it will have played just two teams (Minnesota, Boston University) – That makes this the first time in program history that UMass has started the season with four straight games against a ranked opponent…The UMass power play is 0-for-10 in the last two games, but the penalty kill is 8-for-10 in the same span (4-for-4 at Boston University last week)…UMass has yet to hold a lead in a game this year…UMass has been outscored 6-0 in the first period of games, but is outscoring opponents in the 2nd (4-to-3) and in the 3rd (5-to-3).

UMass-Lowell: The River Hawks rebounded from a tough opening weekend with a pair of ties at Niagara, 2-2, and RIT, 4-4. It marked the first time UML had back-to-back ties since Feb. 14-20, 2009…In overtime this weekend, the River Hawks outshot its opponents 10-4…The River Hawks are now 6-1-1 against the Purple Eagles all-time…UML has never recorded less than 30 shots on goal when playing Niagara…On Saturday, the Tigers hosted the contest at the Blue Cross Arena with a school record 10,556 fans in attendance…Marc Boulanger (Olds, Alta.) stopped 30-of-34 shots in his first collegiate start at RIT…UML Goaltenders are now 7-2-2 with a .913 save% when making their first start under head coach Blaise MacDonald…Of the six goals allowed on the weekend, four were on the power play…The River Hawks were 5-for-9 on the penalty kill this weekend…In its home opener next weekend, UML will host Providence at 7 PM…The last time the River Hawks faced the Friars in their home opener, UML grabbed a 4-1 win on Oct. 24, 2008.

Merrimack: Behind a crowd of 2,501 fans, including a record-showing of 634 students (about 40% of the entire student body), Merrimack opened the renovated Lawler Rink with a 7-1 victory over the University of Connecticut on Homecoming Weekend…Fourteen different players picked up points in the victory, as Merrimack received goals from all four lines and points from four defensemen…The seven goals were the most scored by a Merrimack team since December 13, 2003 (7-1 over UNH) and the most under head coach Mark Dennehy in his six seasons…The Warriors scored six unanswered goal, five in the second period, in the win, two by sophomore Stephane Da Costa…Da Costa has four points and three goals in two games this season…Joe Cucci, Elliott Sheen and Jesse Todd also had multi-point games…Four freshmen netted their first career points. Three of them, Tom McCarthy, Rhett Bly, and Mike Collins picked up points in their first career game, while Brendan Ellis notched his first assist in his second career game…With the victory, Merrimack improved 16-5-2 in its last 23 home games and 9-0 in its last nine non-conference home games…Merrimack opens Hockey East action at the University of Vermont next Saturday at the Gutterson Fieldhouse.

New Hampshire: UNH moved to 1-1-1 with a 3-3 tie against Michigan in the home opener. It was the 'Cats third-straight game against the third-ranked team in the nation…The Wildcats recorded a season-best 48 shots on net against Michigan, outshooting UM 48-30 including 8-1 in overtime…UNH has scored three goals or more in all three games this season, all against top five programs…Senior forward Mike Sislo and junior defenseman Blake Kessel have each registered a point in all three game for New Hampshire…The 'Cats have scored a power play goal in each of the first three games including a Paul Thompson tallied that tied the game at 15:27 of the third period…New Hampshire opens league play at Northeastern on Friday night. UNH was 2-0-1 against the Huskies last season…Phil DeSimone ranks second in Hockey East in points with five, while Matt DiGirolamo's 98 saves are the most in the league.

Northeastern: The Huskies tied Rensselaer, 2-2, in their first nonconference clash of the season. The headline of Friday's contest was a combined 74 penalty minutes as the Engineers took advantage of their extra-man opportunities. Northeastern went 0-for-8 on the powerplay while RPI cashed in on two of its eight chances. The Huskies freshmen continue to impress as forward Rob Donagara and blueliner Jamie Oleksiak each netted their first collegiate goals. Another newcomer in Luke Eibler landed his first-career point by helping out on Dongara's assist while veterans Steve Silva and Randy Guzior also made the scoresheet for the first time this year with assists, as well. Through NU's first three games, all four goals have come from four different freshmen. Cody Ferriero, Brodie Reid, Rob Dongara and Jamie Oleksiak have accounted for each tally while two of those markers have come with an extra attacker. Last season, Northeastern did not register a single extra-attacker goal. In fact, Oleksiak's strike is Northeastern's only even-strength goal of the season. Ferriero's marker stands as NU's only powerplay goal of the season (1-for-20)...Friday's game against RPI was Northeastern's 2,025th game.

Providence College: Providence College played Minnesota Duluth over the weekend marking the first WCHA opponent the Friars have face since 2006 (at Wisconsin). It also marked the first time PC has played Minnesota Duluth since 1997…The Friars scored first in each game against the Bulldogs this weekend…Senior Kyle MacKinnon's (Walnut, Calif.) two-goal performance on Friday marked his sixth career multiple-goal game…Providence is in the midst of a five game road trip…Sophomore Tim Schaller (Merrimack, N.H.) has one point in all three games this season.

Vermont: Vermont returns to action against Merrimack on Oct. 23 at Gutterson Fieldhouse following a two-week layoff…It marks the Hockey East opener for both teams…Vermont is 2-1-2 in its conference opener since joining the league…Last season the Catamounts went 0-2-1 against the Warriors…Vermont is 7-4-4 all-time against Merrimack in Hockey East play and 10-7-5 overall…Saturday's game will be televised on WCAXtra throughout Vermont and parts of New York and New Hampshire.

COMMISSIONER'S CORNER

Through the first two weekends of play, this office has not received a single inquiry about new NCAA rules that went into effect this season. The "hybrid icing" rule that returns an element of a "race" to some icing plays has been called as intended and players and officials seem to have made the transition smoothly. The new wording on "targeted" contact to the head may yet become a news item but it hasn't yet. The NCAA Rules Committee and NCAA Staff should be applauded for the care with which they addressed this topic and produced guidelines for how such penalties should be assessed this year.

In the first four games I have observed this year, I have already seen the new rule on goals scored during delayed penalties occur twice. You see the goal and you see the "2:00" go up on the clock and your first thought is that somebody behaved badly after the goal was scored. Then you remember: delayed call, goal is cored, goal counts and penalty must still be served (unlike previous years).

"So far so good," as they say. But it is early.