November 1, 2010

ATHLETIC REPUBLIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK #12 CHRIS CONNOLLY, BOSTON UNIVERSITY (Junior Forward; Duluth, Minn.) Connolly scored the game-winning goal in both victories over UMass Lowell and added an assist in Friday's win. He had eight shots on goal and a +3 rating for the weekend for the Terriers. PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK #30 DAN SULLIVAN, MAINE (Freshman Goaltender; York, Pa.) Sullivan made 23 saves in a win in overtime at Vermont on Saturday night, picking up his second straight win for the Black Bears. Both goals that Sullivan allowed came on Vermont's power play. PURE HOCKEY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK #35 JOE CANNATA, MERRIMACK COLLEGE (Junior Goaltender; Wakefield, Mass.) Cannata stopped 70 of 75 shots (.933 save percentage) this weekend in the series split with Boston College, leading Merrimack to a 4-2 win over the No. 2 ranked Eagles on Saturday with 31 saves. Turned aside 39 shots on Saturday night, including an incredible 24 shots on the power play at BC's Conte Forum. HOCKEY EAST TEAM OF THE WEEK PROVIDENCE COLLEGE FRIARS The Friars took three points from Massachusetts over the weekend in their two-game set. PC and UMass skated to a 3-3 tie on Friday at the Mullins Center and the Friars edge the Minutemen on Saturday at Schenider Arena by a 3-2 score. PC went 2-for-4 on the power play on Saturday. Alex Beaudry stopped 63 of 68 shots on the weekend for the Friars in goal. Ian O'Connor led the Friars with four points (2g,2a) in the weekend series.

Athletic Republic Player of the Week Chris Connolly of Boston University

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Spencer Abbott, Maine (Jr., F, Hamilton, Ont.) Notched the game-winning goal 2:16 into overtime to give Maine a 3-2 win at Vermont.

Cam Atkinson, BC (Jr., F, Greenwich, Conn.) Tallied three points (2g,1a) in BC's weekend split against Merrimack.

Alex Beaudry, PC (Jr., Cumberland, Ont.) Stopped 63 of 68 shots in the series against UMass, including 32 stops in a 3-2 win Saturday.

Mike Borisenok, UNH (Jr., F, Watervliet, N.Y.) Registered a goal and two assists in UNH's 7-4 win over Cornell. He was a +4 on the day.

Joe Caveney, UML (So., F, Fitchburg, Mass.) Notched two points (1g,1a) on just four shots in the weekend series vs. Boston University.

Charlie Coyle, BU (Fr., F, East Weymouth, Mass.) Tallied a goal and an assist in the Terriers' weekend sweep of UMass Lowell.

Robby Dee, Maine (Sr., F, Plymouth, Minn.) Scored a goal and added an assist in Maine's 3-2 win over Vermont.

Matt DiGirolamo, UNH (Sr., G, Ambler, Pa.) Stopped 31 of 35 shots in the 7-4 win at No. 15 Cornell on Friday.

Ryan Flanigan, MC (Jr., F, Rochester, N.Y.) Scored a goal in each game this weekend against #2 Boston College.

Wade MacLeod, NU (Sr., F, Coquitlam, B.C.) Buried a pair of goals against Holy Cross, marking his sixth-career two-goal outing

Rob Madore, UVM (Jr., G, Pittsburgh, Pa.) Turned aside 39 of 42 shots in Saturday's overtime loss to No. 6 Maine.

Kieran Millan, BU (Jr., G, Edmonton, Alta.) Stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced to lead the Terriers to a 5-1 road win at UML Friday.

Stevie Moses, UNH (Jr., F, Leominster, Mass.) Potted a pair of goals in UNH's 7-4 win over Cornell.

Gustav Nyquist, Maine (Jr., F, Malmo, Sweden) Assisted on all three goals in Maine's 3-2 win over Vermont.

Ian O'Connor, PC (Sr., F, Londonderry, N.H.) Had four points (2g,2a) in the three-point weekend against Massachusetts.

Michael Pereira, UMass (Fr., F, West Haven, Conn.) Tallied a pair of goals with a +2 rating in two games against Providence.

Grant Rollheiser, BU (Jr., G, Chilliwack, B.C.) Made 24 saves in BU's 2-1 home win over UMass Lowell on Saturday.

Mike Sislo, UNH (Sr., F, Superior, Wis.) Recorded a pair of goals including the game-winning goal in a 7-4 win over Cornell.

David Warsofsky, BU (Jr., D, Marshfield, Mass.) Earned four assists and a +5 rating over the course of BU's sweep of UMass Lowell.

Clay Witt, NU (Fr. G, Brandon, Fla.) Started his first game in net for Northeastern and turned away 32 shots in his debut.

CAREER FIRSTS/MILESTONES/WHO's HOT

Spencer Abbott, MAINE (HAMILTON, ONT.) and Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden) Have each tallied at least one point in all seven games this season

BOSTON U. Penalty Kill Has successfully killed off 30 of its opponents' last 31 power-play chances

Joe Cannata, MC (Wakefield, Mass.) Notched his first career win against BC, while stopping 70 of 75 shots over the weekend

Kevin Hart, PC (Cumberland, Maine) Recorded his first career point with an assist at UMass on Friday

Blake Kessel, UNH (Verona, Wis.) Stretched his point-scoring streak to seven games with an assist in UNH's 7-4 win over Cornell

Doug Kublin, UMass (Manlius, N.Y.) Scored his first goal since Oct. 21, 2008 on Friday vs. PC

UMASS-LOWELL Penalty Kill Has held opponents scoreless in 11 consecutive chances over last three games

Merrimack's home record Improved to 17-5-2 at home in its last 24 games

Michael Pereira, UMass (West Haven, Conn.) has a three-game point streak active with two goals and an assist

Darren Rowe, UMass (Simi Valley, Calif.) Saw his five-game point streak end on Saturday (5g,1a)

Paul Dainton, UMass (GENELLE, B.C.) Returned after missing 2+ games with injury to making 58 saves posting a 2.90 GAA and .906 sv% in the weekend's games vs. PC

TEAM NOTES

Boston College: Jerry York was honored as one of four recipients of the 2010 Lester Patrick Trophy at an awards presentation held at TD Garden on Wednesday evening, becoming the fifth Boston College Eagle – and third coach – to earn the award, joining John A. "Snooks" Kelley '28, honored in 1972, Len Ceglarski '51 (1990), Joe Mullen '79 (1995) and Brian Leetch '87 (2007). Leetch presented York with the trophy … With Friday's night's 3-2 win over Merrimack, BC improved to 20-0-2 against the Warriors inside Conte Forum since October 31, 1997…The Eagles improved to 10-6-1 in 17 home-opening games under York…BC fell at Merrimack for the second straight trip and is winless at Lawler Arena in its last three (0-2-1) dating to a 4-3 overtime victory on Oct. 31, 2008…Junior forward Tommy Atkinson (Greenwich, Conn.) made his 2010-11 debut on Saturday at Merrimack. Atkinson saw his last action in the team's 5-2 win over Providence on Jan. 29, 2010…Sophomore goaltender Parker Milner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) made 28 saves in a 4-2 loss at Merrimack, suffering his first loss since a 5-4 overtime defeat against Boston University (Jan. 22), a span of seven games (6-0-1).

Boston University: The Terriers have matched their best start in 32 years, as their 6-0-1 mark is identical to that of the 2001-02 squad…In the 1978-79 season, BU won its first seven games…The Terriers haven't gone undefeated in their first eight games since the 1977-78 team won 21 straight to kick off the year as part of a 30-2-0 record en route to the program's third national title… This is the first time a Terrier squad has entered November with six wins, as the previous best was four in 2008-09…Sophomore Alex Chiasson (St. Augustin, Que.) has tallied six points (3g,3a) in five games this season…Junior David Warsofsky ranks second among Division I defensemen in points per game at 1.29 and now has 11 points (4g,7a) in nine career games against UMass Lowell…The Terriers have combined for five shorthanded goals over the course of their last three visits to Lowell's Tsongas Center…Junior goaltender Kieran Millan is one win shy of 50 for his career and has only needed 72 starts to earn his 49 victories between the pipes…BU already has four come-from-behind victories this season after only having five all of last season…The Terriers are 9-1-1 in their last 11 home contests and will welcome Maine to Agganis on Saturday (Nov. 6) in a key early-season match-up.

Maine: Maine defeated Vermont 3-2 in overtime on Saturday at Vermont…Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ont.) notched the game-winner on a breakaway. It was Maine's first overtime win on the road since it defeated New Hampshire 3-2 on February 2, 2003…All four of Maine's game-winning goals this season have been scored by different players… Maine's Robby Dee (Plymouth, Minn.) scored at goal with just .8 seconds remaining in the second period on Saturday night at Vermont. The goal was officially at 19:59…Maine outshot Vermont 42-25 on Saturday… Maine has outshot its opponent in all seven games this season…It was the fourth time in seven games this season that Maine has recorded 40 or more shots on goal…Tanner House (Cochrane, Alta.) led the Black Bears with 11 shots on goal…Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden) assisted on all three goals on Saturday at Vermont…Abbott and Nyquist have each tallied at least one point in all seven games this season…Dating back to last season, Abbott has a point in nine straight games while Nyquist has a point in eight straight…Maine's four wins in October are the most since the 2007-08 season when Maine also won four games in October.

Massachusetts: Despite falling to 0-4-2 for the season, every game but one has been a one-goal game for UMass …UMass has a power play goal in each of its last three games (3-for-14, 21.4%) …UMass has 30+ shots in five of its six games this year…Defensemen have scored 10 of UMass' 17 goals and accounted for 17 of 23 points…UMass rookies have accounted for 6 goals and 9 assists this year…Army will be just the second non-conference opponent and second non-ranked opponent UMass has faced this year in the first seven games…A 72-to-57 shot difference has led to a 9-to-3 first period goal advantage in favor of opponents… Five of UMass' next seven games will be at home – the only away games will be a weekend series at New Hampshire.

UMass-Lowell: The River Hawks (1-4-2, 1-4-0 Hockey East) struggled in an 0-2-0 weekend series with #5 Boston University…UMass Lowell saw some positives in defeat, holding the Terrier power play scoreless on the weekend at 0-for-9…The River Hawks' penalty kill has now held opponents scoreless in 11 consecutive chances, dating back to Oct. 23 vs. Northeastern…Sophomore Joe Caveney led UML in scoring with a goal and assist against Boston University…Freshman Joseph Pendenza's (Wilmington, Mass.) goal on Saturday night was his third in five career games. Pendenza has nearly mirrored the performance of Colin Wright (Burlington, Ont.) in 2009-10, who scored three goals in his first seven career games…Three of UML's top five scorers are freshmen: Chad Ruhwedel (San Diego, Calif.), Josh Holmstrom (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Pendenza…The River Hawks have three games this week, traveling to Boston College on Tuesday before hosting Vermont and New Hampshire next weekend.

Merrimack: Merrimack improved to 2-1-2 overall and 1-1-2 in Hockey East with a split with #2 Boston College, including a 4-2 victory in front of the first sellout crowd in the renovated Lawler Arena Saturday…Saturday's victory is the highest ranked team Merrimack has defeated under head coach Mark Dennehy…After going winless in 10 straight meetings against BC in North Andover, Merrimack has won two straight…The Warriors are now 17-5-2 in their last 24 home games and 2-0 this season…Joe Cannata (Wakefield, Mass.) was solid in net, stopping 70 of 75 shots, including 24 on the power play Friday night at BC…Ryan Flanigan (Rochester, NY) scored a goal in each game, while Joe Cucci (Melrose Park, IL) had three points on the weekend, including tallying the game-winner Saturday…Stephane Da Costa (Paris, France) had an assist in both games and has points in all six games this season…Merrimack's penalty kill, the last perfect penalty kill in the country, saw its streak end at 21 perfect kills on Friday. The Warriors are ranked sixth nationally on the penalty kill and seventh in special teams…Merrimack will host the Under-20 Sweden National Team in a rare 12 p.m. Tuesday start before visiting Providence College Friday night.

New Hampshire: With its second non-conference win, UNH has surpassed its non-league win total from a year ago... The Wildcats own the nation's eighth longest unbeaten streak with a four-game streak at 2-0-2... UNH's seven goal output at Cornell's highly-touted Lynah Rink was the most at an away venue since a 7-4 win at North Dakota on Dec. 29, 2007...UNH is the first team to score seven goals at Lynah Rink since Providence did so on Jan. 5, 1999. Mike Borisenok posted a career-high with a goal and two assists on Friday night...Mike Sislo scored a pair of goals including the game-winning goal and the first goal just 23 seconds into the game in a 7-4 win over Cornell...The New Hampshire offense scored in every manner on Friday with a power play, short-handed, even-strength and empty-net goal...UNH's difficult early-season schedule continues with road games at #2 Boston College and UMass-Lowell. The Wildcats have play two against now top-ranked at Miami and home against #4 Michigan as well as single games at Hockey East foe Northeastern and #14 Cornell.

Northeastern: Northeastern dropped a pair of non-conference bouts to Holy Cross and Bentley, respectively, 4-3 (ot) and 2-1. In the Holy Cross contest, a first in Matthews Arena history occurred. Before picking up a win at Lowell, the Huskies tied RPI and New Hampshire in their last two home games. Friday's session of free hockey marked the first time in Matthews Arena history that Northeastern had gone into overtime in three-consecutive home games (since overtime was recorded at Northeastern). Freshman Brodie Reid amassed the teams longest point streak with three games (0-3-3) while classmate Anthony Bitetto and veterans Tyler McNeely and Steve Silva each scored points in their last two contests. Silva had a goal and an assist in the Holy Cross affair, marking his 11th-career multi-point game. It was the Tyngsboro, Mass. native's first multi-point effort since Oct. 16, 2009. MacLeod also netted a pair of goals, marking a three-game stretch in which a Husky had scored two goals in game (Mike McLaughlin – New Hampshire, Tyler McNeely – UMass Lowell). MacLeod owns a team-best 25 multi-point games over the span of his career.

Providence College: After playing five consecutive road games, Providence College returned to home ice on Saturday and posted a 3-2 victory over UMass…Saturday's game against UMass marked the start of a three-game home stand for the Friars…Providence is 2-0 at Schneider Arena this season…The Friars had not played five consecutive road games since the start of the 1999-00 season…Providence is 2-0-1 in the last three games at the Mullins Center…Senior Ian O'Connor (Londonderry, N.H.) had one goal and one assist in each game of the weekend series against UMass…The Friars' senior class has accounted for 12 of the team's 18 goals this season…PC scored a season-high two power-play goals in the victory over UMass on Saturday…Senior Kyle MacKinnon (Walnut, Calif.) who had 12 goals in 34 games last season, already has five goals in seven games this season.

Vermont: The Catamounts have played in three straight overtime games…Saturday's overtime loss to Maine marked the 10th overtime contest in the last 20 games overall for the Catamounts dating back to a 4-4 tie against the Black Bears at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Jan. 30 last season…Vermont went just 22-for-71 on faceoffs on Saturday…The Catamounts have yet to win the faceoff battle this year…Senior Wahsontiio Stacey (Kahnawake, Que.) ranks tied for fifth in the country in goals per game…Stacey has a team-high four goals in four games…Senior Josh Burrows (Prairie Grove, Ill.) and freshman Nick Bruneteau (Omaha, Neb.) lead the team in assists with three…Goaltender Rob Madore has allowed just six even strength goals in four games…Vermont will make its first road trip of the season this weekend after playing the first five games of the year at home…Saturday's (Nov. 6) game at Providence at 7pm will be televised on Cox Sports.

COMMISSIONER'S CORNER

Having observed college hockey as a player, a coach and an administrator for more than 40 years, I think I have reached a stage where I can keep things in perspective and, as a result, I don't tend to elevate each game or individual performance or season to "best I've seen" status easily.

Friday night, as part of my commissioner duties, I happily attended the NCAA Championship banner raising ceremony at Boston College's Conte Forum.

Standing in the visitor's penalty box while the ceremony unfolded, I was happy to see such luminaries as former Boston College coach Len Ceglarski and his teammate from BC's 1949 NCAA champs, Giles Threadgold, who I knew as a colorful referee. (Two words that don't often go together.)

Then came the video. When you saw the numbers that chronicled the Boston College decade-long accomplishments, it was hard not to be impressed and to realize that for all the celebrations and all that has been written and said, perhaps what Jerry York has done over the past ten years has actually been under-appreciated. The one statistic that really caught my eye: five NCAA championship games in ten years. Only 58 people can really appreciate how hard that is: the 58 NCAA Division I head coaches. In a "records are made to be broken" world, that one might not be matched in a very long time.