January 3, 2011

ATHLETIC REPUBLIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK #7 KARL STOLLERY, MERRIMACK COLLEGE (Junior Defenseman; Camrose, Alberta) Stollery netted his first collegiate hat trick and a career-high four points in a 5-3 victory at RIT on Saturday. Recorded a +3 rating and six shots on goal in the two games for the Warriors. PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK #24 BILL ARNOLD, BOSTON COLLEGE (Freshman Forward; Needham, Mass.) Arnold registered an unassisted shorthanded goal to break a 4-4 tie in the third period in a win over Colgate. PURE HOCKEY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK #27 WILL O'NEILL, MAINE (Junior Defenseman; Salem, Mass) O'Neill returned to the lineup at the Florida College Classic after missing eight games with an injury and had three assists in the two games vs. Cornell and Miami. HOCKEY EAST TEAM OF THE WEEK BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES The Eagles were victorious in two games at the Ledyard National Bank Classic against Colgate and Mercyhurst. Boston College scored 10 goals in the two contests in Hanover, N.H. The Eagles went 3-for-9 on the power play in the two games. Cam Atkinson, Brian Paul Carey and Brian Gibbons registered 14 points in the two games for the Eagles.

Athletic Republic Player of the Week Karl Stollery of Merrimack College ARMY ROTC THREE STARS AWARD At the conclusion of each Hockey East game, the " Army ROTC Three Stars of The Game" are selected. Here are the 2010-2011 season leaders to date: Rk. Name Cl. Pos. School 1. Cam Atkinson Jr. F BC 2. Paul Thompson Sr. F UNH 3. Chris Connolly Jr. F BU   Kieran Millan Jr. G BU 5. John Muse Sr. G BC 6. Stephane Da Costa So. F MC   Joey Diamond So. F Maine

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Mark Anthoine, Maine (Fr., F, Lewiston, Maine) Scored his first collegiate goal in Maine's 3-2 overtime win against Cornell.

Cam Atkinson, BC (Jr., F, Greenwich, Conn.) Recorded five points, including a team-high four assists, in wins over Colgate and Mercyhurst.

Nick Bruneteau, UVM (Fr., D, Omaha, Neb.) Recorded three assists in two games in the Sheraton/TD Bank Catamount Cup.

Paul Carey, BC (Jr., F, Weymouth, Mass.) Captured Ledyard Classic MVP honors after he recorded four points (2g,2a) in wins over Colgate and Mercyhurst.

Chris Connolly, BU (Jr., F, Duluth, Minn.) Recorded a goal and assist in 3-3 tie vs. No. 12 Notre Dame on Sunday night.

Stephane Da Costa, MC (So., F, Paris, France) Recorded four points in two games with a goal and two assists at RIT.

Robby Dee (Sr., F, Plymouth, Minn.) Scored a pair of goals in the 2010 Florida College Classic and had six shots in the two games.

Matt DiGirolamo, UNH (Jr., G, Ambler, Pa.) Made 28 saves, including 13 in the third period and two in overtime of UNH's 2-1 loss.

Justin Gates, PC (Jr., G, Cranston, R.I.) Made 25 saves in a 1-0 shutout win over New Brunswick on Sunday.

Brian Gibbons, BC (Sr., F, Braintree, Mass.) Recorded five points, including a team-high three goals, in wins over Colgate and Mercyhurst.

John Henrion, UNH (So., F, Holden, Mass.) Scored a goal late in the third period to tie the game at 1-1 and force overtime.

Jordan Kremyr, PC (Sr., F, Cloverdale, B.C.) Scored the game winner in a 1-0 win over New Brunswick on Sunday.

Matt Mangene, Maine (So., F, Manorville, N.Y.) Scored the overtime game-winner against Cornell in the 2010 Florida College Classic.

Martin Ouellette, Maine (Fr., G, St.-Hippolyte, Que.) Finished the week with a 1.92 GAA and a .913 save percentage.

Joe Pereira, BU (Sr., F, West Haven, Conn.) Tallied a goal and assist in 3-3 tie vs. No. 12 Notre Dame on Sunday.

Corey Trivino, BU (Jr., F, Toronto, Ont.) Assisted on all three goals in 3-3 draw with No. 12 Notre Dame.

Joe Whitney, BC (Sr., D, Reading, Mass.) Switched from forward to a defense and earned All-Tournament honors at the Ledyard Classic with a team-high +3 rating.

CAREER FIRSTS/MILESTONES/WHO's HOT

Mark Anthoine, Maine (Lewiston, Maine) Scored his first career goal on Thursday in the 2010 Florida College Classic against Cornell

Derek Arnold, UML (Foxboro, Mass.) Has assisted on the last four UML scores

Cam Atkinson, BC (Greenwich, Conn.) Extended his streak to seven games (7-7-14), has tallied multiple-point performances in five straight games

Nick Bruneteau, UVM (Omaha, Neb.) Has six assists on the last four games for Vermont

Joe Cucci, MC (Melrose Park, Ill.) Playing in his 100th career game, netted two assists.

Stephane Da Costa , MC (Paris, France) Extended his point streak to seven games with four points in two games this week

Paul Dainton, UMass (Iqaluit, Nunvut) Now has 2,646 career saves needing just 404 to tie the UMass program record (3,050, Brian Regan)

Matt DiGirolamo, UNH (Ambler, Pa.) Has allowed two goals or fewer in four of the last five games

Brian Gibbons, BC (Braintree, Mass.) Has an eight-game scoring streak intact (6-10-16) and has tallied multi-point efforts in six of the last eight games

Danny Hobbs, UMass (Shawville, Que.) Has 4 goals and 2 assists in the last 5 games

Merrimack in Non-Conference Games Improved to 4-0-1 this year and 17-6-1 in its last 26

Wahsontiio Stacey , UVM (Kahnawake, Que.) Has registered three goals and five assists in the last four outings

T.J. Syner, UMass (Springfield, Mass.) Has 3 goals and 3 assists in the last 7 games

UNH'S penalty kill Has killed off the last eight penalties and have not allowed a goal since Nov. 27 against Merrimack

TEAM NOTES

Boston College: Brian Gibbons and defenseman Joe Whitney each earned Ledyard Bank All-Tournament honors while junior forward Paul Carey was named the tournament's most valuable player...BC played without four sophomores in both Ledyard Classic contests – defenseman Brian Dumoulin, forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Patrick Wey are competing for the United States at the 2011 World Junior Championship and defenseman Patch Alber did not play because of injury…Freshman forward Kevin Hayes returned to action after missing eight games and junior alternate captain Tommy Cross returned to action after missing 11 games; Hayes notched the primary assist on BC's first goal against Colgate and scored its first goal against Mercyhurst…Sophomore forward Brooks Dyroff saw action for the second and third time of his career... With five points on the weekend, junior forward Cam Atkinson has 98 points (52g,46a) in 96 career games…Senior Joe Whitney (1g,5a) and junior Jimmy Hayes (3-2-5) each had five-game scoring streaks snapped in Friday's 4-1 win over Mercyhurst (12/31)…Freshman forward Bill Arnold scored shorthanded against Colgate (12/30), marking the team's third shorthanded goal in as many contests and the sixth of the season…BC has won each of its last five games and has outscored opponents 30-13 during the stretch (6.0 goals per game).

Boston University: BU had allowed at least one goal in 19 straight periods before holding Notre Dame scoreless in the second period of Sunday's tie at the Shillelagh Tournament...Freshman Matt Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) has scored a goal in four of the last six contests…The Terriers have already played two non-conference opponents (Brown, Notre Dame) twice this year and that total could reach three if they face Harvard in the second round of the Beanpot…Junior Chris Connolly returned to the lineup at the Shillelagh Tournament after missing five games with a broken finger…BU's loss to Brown was its first setback against a nonranked team this season…In the 2010 calendar year, the Terriers went 17-8-4 in Hockey East play…Freshman Charlie Coyle (East Weymouth, Mass.) led Team USA in scoring during the preliminary round of the World Junior Championship with six points (2g, 4a) and was named the team's Player of the Game in a 4-0 victory over Germany…BU will play three games in seven days beginning with a trip to Vermont on Jan. 9.

Maine: Maine split a pair of games in the 2010 Florida College Classic… The Black Bears defeated Cornell 3-2 in overtime in the consolation game…It was Maine's second win in overtime this season…It is the first overtime win at a neutral site since Maine defeated Wisconsin 3-2 on March 27, 2004 in the NCAA Regional Final…Only twice in the last seven years has Maine won two games in overtime in a season…Maine has played seven overtime games this season…The school record for overtime games in a season is 11…Junior defenseman Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) returned to the lineup after missing eight games with an injury and dished out three assists…Matt Mangene scored his first goal of the season and it was the game-winner against Cornell in the Florida College Classic…Mark Anthoine notched his first collegiate goal against Cornell…He becomes the first rookie to net a goal for the Black Bears this season…Seven of Maine's nine game-winning goals have been scored by different players…Maine was whistled for a season-low one penalty on Thursday against Cornell…The Black Bears hosted the US Under-18 Team at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Sunday afternoon.

Massachusetts: After winning three straight home games, UMass has now lost three straight road games after falling twice at No. 15 Wisconsin…UMass is now 0-7-2 on the road and 3-2-1 at home…Three of the next four games, all Hockey East games, will be at home for UMass…Against Wisconsin, the penalty kill unit was UMass' bright spot going 8-for-9 against the Badgers' No. 2 nationally ranked power play unit…UMass was held to a season-low 19 shots in the first loss to Wisconsin…After averaging 4.0 goals per game and allowing just 2.0 goals/game in UMass' four-game unbeaten streak, UMass has been averaging just 1.3 goals per game in the three straight losses while allowing 4.3 goals per game…UMass took a season-high 13 penalties for 40 minutes in the second game at Wisconsin…Sitting in 8th place in the Hockey East standings, 7 of UMass' next 8 games are against the 7th, 9th and 10th place teams in the current league standings (Northeastern, UMass Lowell, Vermont).

UMass-Lowell: The River Hawks' losing streak sits at nine games while they wait on mid-season break…In its two most recent contests, UMass Lowell fell twice at Princeton by scores of 5-2 and 7-2…Freshman Derek Arnold (Foxboro, Mass.) has assisted on each of the last four River Hawk goals and was the primary assist on three of the four…Sophomore Riley Wetmore (Swanton, Vt.) has a strong grip on UMass Lowell's scoring race with 14 points—five more than the next closest skater (7g,7a)…The River Hawks will return to action on Jan. 7 when they travel to New Hampshire for a clash in the Whittemore Center, followed by a trip to Northeastern the next night…UMass Lowell should carry some confidence coming out of the break, over the past six seasons the River Hawks are 4-1-1 in their first game after the mid-season hiatus.

Merrimack: Maintaining its best start in its Division I school history at 9-4-4, Merrimack remained unbeaten at 4-0-1 in non-conference action with a 2-1 overtime victory at Army and a 5-3 victory at RIT…The Warriors ended RIT's 12-game home unbeaten streak, becoming the first team to win in Rochester since January 30, 2010…Merrimack fired 50 shots in the win, its most since 1997…The Warriors' defense is first in Hockey East and fifth nationally, while its penalty kills is second in HEA and third nationally…Karl Stollery became the first Merrimack defensemen in 14 years to net a hat trick. Stollery, who had a careerhigh four points in the RIT win, ranks second in Hockey East in scoring among defensemen and is tied for 11th nationally. Stollery had an even strength, power play and short-handed goal in the win…Stephane Da Costa extended his point streak to seven games with a three-point effort at RIT…The Warriors have won seven of their last nine and have points in nine of 11, including points in six of their last seven road contests…Merrimack notched its first overtime win of the season in a 2-1 victory at Army Thursday behind Jesse Todd's seventh goal of the season. It was also the first time the Warriors prevailed when trailing entering the third period…Merrimack resumes Hockey East action against Maine Saturday at 4 p.m. at Lawler Arena, where the renovations to fill the rink with all chair backs have been completed.

New Hampshire: UNH, coming off a 22-day layoff, lost in overtime 2-1 to St. Lawrence on Sunday at Whittemore Center…The loss snapped a five-game unbeaten streak and was the third straight loss to the Saints…Netminder Matt DiGirolamo made 28 saves, including 13 in the third period. He's allowed two goals or fewer in four of the last five games…The New Hampshire penalty kill was 2-2 on the kill marking the fourth straight game they have not allowed a power play goal… John Henrion scored a goal late in the third period to force overtime. Henrion has registered a point in back-to-back games and three out of the last four…Damon Kipp assisted on Henrion's game-tying goal, he's also scored in back-to-back games…Sunday's loss in overtime moved UNH to 1-1-4 in six overtime games. UNH has played in 18 overtime games over the last season and a half.

Northeastern: Northeastern enjoyed a very long holiday break, taking a 29-day hiatus before meeting up with Massachusetts for the first time this season on Friday, Jan. 7...The Huskies wrapped up the first half of their season in a 3-9-4 fashion, posting a 3-6-3 mark in Hockey East. The Huskies were piloted by the veteran lineup of Wade MacLeod, Tyler McNeely and Steve Silva, offensively, for the first half of the season. MacLeod leads Northeastern with 14 points (6-8-14) through its first 16 games while McNeely has notched 12 points (6-6-12) and Silva has finished up with nine (3-6-9) for the first half. Freshman Brodie Reid has wowed many as the Delta, B.C. native leads all newcomers with nine points (2-7-9) in his first go-round as a Husky...Sophomore netminder Chris Rawlings has started 15 games this season, coming away with a 3-7-4 mark with a 2.44 GAA and a nice .925 save percentage.

Providence College: Providence College played two games at New Brunswick as part of the Pete Kelly Challenge Cup…New Brunswick is ranked No. 2 in Canadian collegiate hockey and entered the weekend with a 3-0 record against NCAA teams, including a 2-0 mark versus Hockey East teams this season…The Friars were defeated, 3-1, on Saturday as senior Ian O'Connor scored for the Friars. PC bounced back to post a 1-0 shutout victory in the second contest on Sunday as junior Justin Gates made all 25 stops to earn the shutout and senior Jordan Kremyr (Cloverdale, B.C.) scored the game winner in the second period…It marked New Brunswick's first home loss this season… New Brunswick captured the Pete Kelly Cup based on goal differential…Seniors Kyle MacKinnon (Walnut, Calif.) and Eric Baier (North Kingstown, R.I.) as well as Gates were named to the All-Tournament Team…It marked the first time the Friars played in Canada since 1983.

Vermont: Vermont has started the second half of the season 1-1, dropping a 3-1 decision to Ohio State on Sunday and finishing the Sheraton/TD Bank Catamount up with a 3-1 victory over Harvard on Sunday…Ohio State won the tournament, as they were the only undefeated team on the weekend…Senior assistant captain Kyle Medvec was awarded the player of the game in Vermont's victory over the Crimson, as he provided the game winning goal to go along with an assist and a plus-2 rating…Captain Kevan Miller scored his first goal of the season and also finished was a plus-2 in the Harvard game and was awarded to his second Catamount Cup All-Tournament team... Freshman Connor Brickley scored the third goal for UVM in Sunday's win, for his third tally of the season…Senior Wahsontiio Stacey scored Vermont's loan goal in the loss to Ohio State and picked up an assist in the Harvard win…Sophomores Chris McCarthy and Sebastian Stalberg also registered assists on the weekend…Junior Rob Madore stopped 61 0f 65 shots on the weekend and was also awarded to his second Catamount Cup All-Tournament team.

COMMISSIONER'S CORNER

I am writing this from Buffalo, N.Y., a few hours before Team USA takes on Team Canada in the second semifinal game of the World Junior Championships. Besides national pride, I will be driven to cheer on the four Hockey East participants: Coyle (BU), Demoulin, Kreider and Wey for BC. For all the build up, tonight's game will be hard pressed to beat the excitement that last year's USA-Canada final (won by the U.S.) generated.

The City of Buffalo - and USA - have done a great job promoting and organizing this event. Yet, I'm told, we can't begin to imagine what this event means to the average Canadian hockey fan. Given the proximity to the border, the building may sport as many Maple Leaf-adorned "sweaters" as Red, White and Blue jerseys. Here's hoping for another OT thriller that boosts interest in the event on both sides of the border.