March 11, 2013

ATHLETIC REPUBLIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK #13 JOHNNY GAUDREAU, BOSTON COLLEGE (Sophomore Forward; Carneys Point, N.J.) Tallied seven points (3g,4a) in BC's three-point weekend at Vermont, which included a career-high six points (2g,4a) in Saturday's 7-2 victory vs. the Catamounts. He finished the weekend with eight shots on net for the Eagles. PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK #10 DANNY O'REGAN, BOSTON UNIVERSITY (Freshman Forward; Needham, Mass.) O'Regan recorded four points (2g, 2a), including both game-winning goals, in the Terriers' sweep of Northeastern to close out the regular season. HEA CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK #32 JON GILLIES, PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (Freshman Goaltender; South Portland, Maine) Gillies stopped 53 shots (.946 save%) to help the Friars to a weekend split against No. 7 ranked UMass Lowell, including a 31-save performance at UML on Friday night to earn his fifth shutout of the season. HEA CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK #37 CONNOR HELLEBUYCK, UMASS LOWELL (Freshman Goaltender; Commerce, Mich.) Hellebuyck stopped 55 of 59 shots (.932 save%) in a 1-1 weekend. He bounced back from a 3-0 loss to Providence Friday, in which he had 23 saves, to stop 32 of 33 shots in Saturday's 4-1 victory for the first Hockey East regular-season title in school history. HOCKEY EAST TEAM OF THE WEEK UMASS LOWELL RIVER HAWKS The River Hawks won the decisive series finale with the Friars, 4-1, on Saturday night at Schneider Arena for the school's first regular-season championship in school history.

Athletic Republic Player of the Week Johnny Gaudreau of Boston College ARMY ROTC THREE STARS AWARD At the conclusion of every Hockey East game, the " Army ROTC Three Stars of The Game" are selected by the members of the media. Congratulations to UNH's John Henrion and Martin Ouellete for sharing this season's Three Stars Award. Here are the final 2012-2013 season leaders. Rk. Name Cl. School Pts. 1. John Henrion Sr. UNH 20   Martin Ouellette Jr. ME 20 3. Casey DeSmith So. UNH 19   Jon Gillies Fr. PC 19   Joseph Pendenza Jr. UML 19 6. Bill Arnold Jr. BC 17   Johnny Gaudreau So. BC 17 8 Steven Whitney Sr. BC 16

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Bill Arnold, BC (Jr., F, Needham, Mass.) Tallied five points (2g,3a),including a career-high four points (2g,2a) in Saturday's win, in BC's three-point at UVM.

Kyle Beattie, Maine (Sr., F, Avondale, Ariz.) Scored two goals in Maine's 4-3 win over New Hampshire on Friday night.

Joey Diamond, Maine (Sr., F, Long Beach, N.Y.) Notched two goals in Maine's 4-4 tie with New Hampshire on Saturday night.

Maxim Gaudreault, UNH (Fr., F, Annapolis, Md.) Registered a goal and an assist in UNH's 4-4 tie with Maine on Saturday.

Sahir Gill, BU (Sr., F, Terrace, B.C.) Tallied two goals in the Terriers' 5-0 win vs. Northeastern on Saturday and added an assist in Fridays' 4-2 at NU.

Jordan Heywood, MC (Jr., D, Regina, Sask.) Notched a goal and an assist in Merrimack's 4-3 win Friday

Josh Holmstrom, UML (Jr., F, Colorado Springs, Col.) Scored the game-winning goal and set up a key insurance goal in Saturday's 4-1 victory at PC.

Eric Knodel, UNH (Jr., D, West Chester, Pa.) Registered two goals and an assist over the weekend against Maine.

Sean Maguire, BU (Fr., F, Powell River, B.C.) Stopped 56 of 58 shots (.966) to lead BU to a home-and-home sweep of Northeastern.

Chris McCarthy, UVM (Jr., F, Collegeville, Pa.) Had a goal in each game against No. 6 BC and finished the weekend with six shots and +2 rating.

Matt Nieto, BU (Jr., F, Long Beach, Calif.) Notched a goal and two assists in BU's home-and-home sweep of Northeastern

Michael Paliotta, UVM (So., D, Westport, Conn.) Collected two assists on Friday vs. Boston College

Robert Polesello, UVM (Fr., F, Bolton, Ont.) Posted a goal and an assist on Friday night against Boston College.

Devin Shore, Maine (Fr., F, Ajax, Ont.) scored a goal and added an assist in Maine's 4-3 win over New Hampshire.

Trevor van Riemsdyk, UNH (So., D, Middletown, N.J.) Had four assists over the weekend for New Hampshire with two assists each night.

Caylen Walls, UVM (Fr., D, Lyalta, Alta.) Had two points on a goal and an assist against Boston College on Friday night.

Steven Whitney, BC (Sr., F, Reading, Mass.) Scored four points (3g,1a) in the Eagles' three-point weekend at Vermont.

Scott Wilson, UML (Jr., F, Oakville, Ont.) Set up UMass Lowell's first goal and scored the River Hawks' third in Saturday's 4-1 victory at Providence.

CAREER FIRSTS/MILESTONES/WHO's HOT

Eric Knodel, UNH (WEST CHESTER, PA.) has points in six of the last seven games with three goals and five assists in that span

JOHNNY GAUDREAU, BC (CARNEYS POINT, N.J.) has 46 points in 31 games as a sophomore and surpassed his freshman total of 44 points in 44 games

Kevin Hart, PC (CUMBERLAND, MAINE) became the fifth Friar to play in his 100th career game this season at UML March 8TH

Jordan Heywood (Regina, SASK.) Played in his 112th straight game Satur day

Josh Holmstrom, UML (Colorado Springs, Col.) has 4-1-5 in his last five games

Jake Moscatel , BU (Lexington, Mass.) Scored his first goal as a Terrier in Friday's 4-2 win at Northeastern

Chris McCarthy, VERMONT (Collegeville, Pa.) Has seven goals in his last nine games

Joseph Pendenza, UML (Wilmington, Mass.) has 6-17-22 in his last 18 games

Matt Ronan, BU (Woburn, Mass.) Recorded his first collegiate point with assist in Satur day's 5-0 win over Northeastern

John Vazzano, VERMONT (Trumbull, Conn.) Recorded first career point on Senior Night vs. BC

Riley Wetmore, UML (Swanton, Vt.) has 2-3-5 in his last five games

STEVEN WHITNEY, BC (READING, MASS.) With four points (3G,1a) over the weekend and 41 points this season, HE surpasses his career high of 39 points in a season first establishe d durinG his 44-game junior campaign

TEAM NOTES

Boston College: With Saturday's win, BC captured its 20th victory over the season, marked the 14th time in the last 16 years that the Eagles have achieved 20 wins in a season. Additionally, it marked the 24th time in head coach Jerry York's career that he has led a team to at least 20 victories…Johnny Gaudreau tallied six points in Saturday's 7-2 win, marking the first time in more than a decade (Ben Eaves against Massachusetts on Jan. 31, 2002) that a BC player has recorded six points in a game…Bill Arnold's four-point performance on Saturday against UVM matched a career high that the junior originally set in a 6-3 home win over UMass-Lowell on Oct. 28, 2002 while his two-goal effort marked his second in the last five games and his third this season…BC captured the league season series against Vermont, 2-0-1 and extended its unbeaten streak against the Catamounts to seven games (6-0-1) heading to the Hockey East Tournament set to face off on Friday, March 15 at 7 p.m…With seven points in two games and 46 points in 31 games this season, Gaudreau leads all collegiate players in points per game (1.46). Factor in Gaudreau's nine points, including seven goals, in World Junior Championship play (seven games), the sophomore has 55 points in 38 games in 2012-13.

Boston University: The Terriers have successfully killed off their opponents' last 15 power-play chances...BU will be the No. 3 seed in the Hockey East tournament for the fourth straight year...BU has earned home ice for the Hockey East quarterfinals all nine years since opening Agganis in January 2005...Danny O'Regan led all Hockey East freshmen in scoring during league play with 27 points on nine goals and 18 assists...Sophomore Evan Rodrigues led the league in plus-minue during the conference season with a plus-16...Senior Sean Escobedo (Bayside, N.Y.) continues to lead the nation in blocked shots per game at 2.60...Senior Wade Megan is tied for the national lead in shorthanded goals with three...During the regular season, BU had better record on the road (9-6-1) than at home (8-7-1)...Nineteen of the 22 skaters who have dressed for BU this season have scored a goal.

Maine: Maine (11-17-8, 7-12-8) picked up a win and a tie over the weekend at UNH to secure a Hockey East playoff berth… Maine's win at New Hampshire on Friday night was the first since Feb. 4, 2005 when Maine skated to a 3-1 win… Maine skated to a 4-4 tie with New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon… It was the eighth tie of the season for the Black Bears, setting a school record for ties in a season… The old record of seven was set in 2000-01 and tied in 2001-02, 2004-05 and 2010-11… Thirteen different Black Bears tallied at least one point in the two-game series at New Hampshire…Goalie Martin Ouellette (St.- Hippolyte, Quebec) recorded his third assist of the season on Saturday night… The three assists is tied for second most by a goalie in Maine history… Garth Snow holds the school record with four in 1990-91… He also finished with three in two additional seasons… Alfie Michaud also tallied three assists in 1997-98… Maine faces UMass Lowell in the Hockey East quarterfinals… The Black Bears won two of the three games played between the two teams this season.

Massachusetts: Junior Branden Gracel played in his 100th career game on Saturday vs. Merrimack...Sophomore Steve Mastalerz picked up his second career shutout, making 24 stops against the Warriors in a 3-0 victory...UMass finished the season with 31 power-play goals, its highest total since 2009-10.

UMass-Lowell: UMass Lowell became the first team other than Boston College, Boston University, Maine or New Hampshire to capture the Hockey East regular season championship…UMass Lowell hosts Maine Thursday, Friday and Sunday (if necessary) in the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinal. The Black Bears won the series this season – 1-2, 4-3 and 4-3 (OT), all decided by one goal…UMass Lowell has been held scoreless four times this season, but has come back the very next game with at least three goals, including this weekend when it suffered a 3-0 loss at home to Providence Friday, then avenging the loss with Saturday's 4-1 win…Freshman G Connor Hellebuyck had a 13-game winning streak halted with Friday's 0-3 loss at home to Providence, but bounced back with 32 saves Saturday to backstop the River Hawks to the win…UMass Lowell is 9-7-0 against ranked opponents this season, winning eight of its last nine…UMass Lowell leads all Division I teams in road wins this season with 13. The River Hawks are 13-5-1 away from home.

Merrimack: Merrimack won its fifth season-series following a weekend split with UMass…the Warriors finished sixth in Hockey East, marking the fourth straight season they finished sixth or better…Merrimack will face third-seed Boston University in the Hockey East Quarterfinals…The Class of 2013 faced the Terriers when they were freshmen in the quarterfinals, losing in three games in the 3-6 matchup at Agganis Arena…Merrimack heads into the playoffs with just one win in the last seven games…BU was the only Hockey East team the Warriors did not defeat this year. They lost 3-1 and 4-1 at Lawler and 5-2 at Agganis Arena…Mike Collins (Boston, MA) finished the regular season with 37 points and 32 in Hockey East. He finished second in league scoring which is the highest finish ever by a Merrimack player…Collins finished with 18 more points than Merrimack's second-leading scorer, Jordan Heywood (Regina, SK)…Five players, Heywood, Collins, Rhett Bly (Regina, SK), Connor Toomey (Billerica, MA) and Dan Kolomatis (Basking Ridge, NJ) played all 36 regular season games…Merrimack finished with 15 league wins, the same number they had last season, which is the second-highest finish in school history.

New Hampshire: UNH finished the regular season in a three-way tie for third place. The Wildcats finished three places higher in the league standings than they did a year ago…New Hampshire will travel to Providence for the best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinals. UNH owns a 10-4 record verse Providence College in the all-time tournament play, which includes an 8-4 mark in quarterfinal play…Eric Knodel registered a pair of goals, both on the power play, this weekend. He scored the game-tying goal at 16:22 of the third period. Knodel has points in six of the last seven games with three goals and five assists in that stretch…Knodel is one of five UNH players with 10 goals and is the first UNH blue liner with double-digit goals since Blake Kessel did so in 2009-10…Trevor van Riemsdyk had four assists over the weekend with a pair of helpers each night…After allowing a pair of power play goals on Feb. 17, the Wildcat penalty kill got back on track blanking opponents in six-straight games and 22-straight power play opportunities… Saturday's game marked the first time in 16 games the Wildcats lost when leading after two periods. The 'Cats are 14-1-1 now when leading after two periods.

Northeastern: Northeastern finishes the 2012-13 season in 10th place with a 9-21-4 overall mark and a 5-18-4 total in Hockey East play. Kevin Roy becomes the Huskies' second-straight rookie to lead the team in scoring (Ludwig Karlsson - 2012) after totaling 34 points (17-17-34). Roy's total was Northeastern's highest point aggregate since Wade MacLeod recorded 45 points (22-23-45) in 2010-11. Northeastern goaltender Chris Rawlings finished his career as a Husky with an overall win-loss total of 47-55-16. He fell just 35 saves short of matching Bruce Racine's school saves record of 3,557. Rawlings set the school record with 11 shutouts. Senior captain Vinny Saponari fell one point short of 100-career points for his collegiate career, totaling 34-65-99.

Providence College: The Friars split a weekend series versus seventh-ranked UMass Lowell, with each road team winning ...PC won 3-0 on Friday night as Jon Gillies extended his single season Friar record by notching his fifth shutout of the season with 31 saves …Freshman defenseman Tom Parisi had a goal and an assist to pace the Friar offense (it was his first multi-point game with the Friars)…The Friars are now 12-0-2 when leading after two periods this season and 13-2-4 when scoring first...Providence's 13 Hockey East wins are tied for the third most in program history (13-11-2 in in 1988-89 & 13-8-3 in 2000- 01)…PC has posted back-to-back seasons with at least 10 Hockey East wins for the first time since 1999-2000 (10-13-1) and 2000-01 (13-8-3)…PC's tie for third in the regular season Hockey East standings is its best finish since tying for second in 2001...Providence will host a Hockey East Quarterfinal series for the first time in 10 years.

Vermont: Vermont secured the No. 7 seed in the Hockey East Quarterfinals over the weekend and will face No. 2 seed Boston College in a best-of-three series at Conte Forum…UVM is making its seventh Hockey East playoff appearance in its eight years as a member of the league...After hosting the Eagles on Senior Weekend, Vermont is 5-3-3 in its last 11 home games against Boston College dating back to 2007…Brody Hoffman became the first Catamount goalie to start every regular season game since Tim Thomas in the 1996-97 season... Chris McCarthy has 13 points in his last 10 contests and scored twice last weekend…John Vazzano made his fifth career appearance in net on Senior Night and became the first Catamount goalie to record a point since Rob Madore picked up an assist on Nov. 13, 2010, ironically against BC. Vazzano, along with seniors Ben Albertson, Brett Bruneteau, Anders Franzon, and Tobias Nilsson-Roos were all honored after Saturday's game.