WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- Maine and Vermont (12-11-7, 11-7-5 HEA) will re-unite for a weekend series at Gutterson
Fieldhouse beginning on Friday night. Both teams are fighting for positions in the
Hockey East playoffs and conclude their series on Saturday night live on NESN
from Burlington.
The Catamounts have won six of their last seven contests, with six of those game
being one-goal games. Senior netminder Joe Fallon (Bemidji, Minn.) is 7-1-1 in his
last nine games with a 1.64 GAA and .939 save percentage for the Catamounts.
The Black Bears are two points out of the final playoff spot chasing Massachusetts,
who they swept last weekend at Alfond Arena. In the first meeting of the season
series, the teams skated to a 5-5 tie on November 25 in Orono. Senior forward Wes
Clark (Oakville, Ont.) finally took over the scoring lead on the Maine roster with
19 points (9g,10a), after he scored the overtime game-winner with 2:04 left on
Sunday in the 5-4 triumph.
Boston University (14-14-4, 12-8- HEA) and Massachusetts will also square off
in a weekend home-and-home set, starting on Friday night at BU’s Agganis Arena. The Terriers, who are on a nation’s best
six game win streak, have catapulted into a tie for second place along with Vermont, while the Minutemen are fighting to
secure a playoff spot. UMass won the previous meeting this season, 5-3 on November 9, which marked its first win ever at
Agganis Arena in seven tries. Senior forward Bryan Ewing (Plymouth, Mass.), who leads Hockey East with 32 points (13g,19a)
in league play, has five points (3g,2a) in his last two games for the Terriers. BU, BC and UNH currently sit in a three-way tie
ranking third in the nation in scoring with 3.50 goals per game.
Providence (13-13-4, 10-9-4 HEA) and No. 8 Boston College (16-9-7, 10-7-6 HEA) are separated by two points in the league
standings. They face off in a home-and-home series, beginning on Friday night at Conte Forum and concluding on Saturday night
at Schneider Arena. The Friars came out on top, 3-2, in the first meeting between the team on February 1 in Chestnut Hill.
No. 2 New Hampshire (21-7-2. 17-4-2 HEA) and Merrimack College will play a two-game home-and-home set, which begins
Friday night in Durham at the Whittemore Center. Merrimack is coming off a weekend sweep of Providence, while UNH comes
into the seres with two wins against BC last weekend. Sophomore goaltender Andrew Braithwaite (Kingston, Ont.) has been
a rock for the Warriors, starting the last 14 games in net. He has posted six wins with a 2.21 GAA and .929 save percentage.
He has allowed two goals or less in eight of those 14 starts. During UNH’s current nine game unbeaten streak (8-0-1), the
first line of Mike Radja (Yorkville, Ill.), Matt Fornataro (Calgary, Alb.) and Danny Dries (Lake Orion, Mich.) have combined
for 45 points (18g,27a). UNH senior goalie Kevin Regan (South Boston, Mass.) ranks second in the nation with a .933 save
percentage and his 78% winning percentage is fourth best among Division I goalies.
Northeastern (14-13-3, 11-10-2 HEA) and UMass-Lowell (13-13-4, 8-11-4 HEA) will tangle for a weekend set with the series
opener on Friday night at Tsongas Arena. Four points separate the two teams in the league standings with four games left to
play. Junior captain Joe Vitale (St. Louis, Mo.) scored his 30th point last Friday night, he became the first Husky to accomplish
that feat since Jason Guerriero and Mike Morris in the 2004-05 season. Last weekend, River Hawks freshman forward Scott
Campbell (Navan, Ont.) won 71% of his faceoffs in the Vermont series.
Hockey East Weekly Notes: Four
Hockey East players have been named
as particpants for the third annual
NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge.
Mike Brennan (BC), Pete MacArthur
(BU), Kevin Regan (UNH), Jon Rheault
(PC) will compete on Friday, April 11
at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.,
as part of the Frozen Four weekend...
PC junior defenseman Matt Taormina
ranks fourth in the nation among
blueliners, scoring 0.80 points per
game...BU senior forward Bryan Ewing
became the 74th player in school
history to score 100 career points.
