Hockey East Online

	Co-Hockey East Players of the Week Chris Connolly and Bobby Butler

WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- All four Hockey East series over the weekend were splits, while No. 5 ranked UMass-Lowell came away with a two-game sweep at Alabama-Huntsville.

Merrimack College opened the weekend with a 6-3 win vs. Boston University of Friday night at a soldout Lawler Arena. Warriors’ rookie Stephane Da Costa (Paris, France) continues to impress, putting up another four-point weekend with 10 shots on goal in the series. The Terriers came back the next night and got two points back with a 6-4 win of their own at Agganis Arena. BU was paced by Co-Player of the Week Chris Connolly (Duluth, Minn.) who notched a four-point weekend of his own.

Massachusetts pulled out a 4-3 overtime victory on Friday at the Mullins Center. Sophomore forward Casey Wellman (Brentwood, Calif.) evened the game with 11 seconds left and freshman David Boehm (Naples, Fla.) reigstered the game-winner just 2+ minutes into the extra frame. Junior goalie Paul Dainton (Genelle, B.C.) stopped a career-high 42 shots in Friday’s win for the Minutemen. Co-Player of the Week Bobby Butler (Marlboro, Mass.) notched a three-goal effort on the weekend for the Wildcats, including a two-goal performance in the 4-2 victory on Saturday.

Maine exploded for a six-goal output on Friday night at Matthews Arena and then Northeastern returned the favor the next night putting up five goals on the scoreboard. Freshman Matt Mangene (Manorville, N.Y.) chipped in with a career-high three assists and a +4 rating in Friday’s 6-3 win for the Black Bears. The Huskies scored four third period goals on Saturday and went an impressive 3-for-8 with a man advantage. Freshman goaltender Chris Rawlings (North Delta, B.C.) amassed 34 saves in his fouth victory of the season for the Huntington Hounds.

The Eagles dominated Vermont on Saturday night by a 7-1 score, thanks to a three-point night from freshman Steve Whitney (Reading, Mass.). The Catamounts responded the next day with a 3-2 win at Conte Forum on the back of a 30-save effort from senior netminder Mike Spillane (Bow, N.H.). UVM’s win at Boston College on Sunday was its first at Kelley Rink since Nov. 11, 1994.

UMass-Lowell outscored Alabama-Hunstville by an 7-1 score in two wins down south. Freshman forward Colin Wright (Burlington, Ont.) had two goals on the weekend for the River Hawks, including the game-winner on Friday night. Senior goalie Carter Hutton (Thunder Bay, Ont.) made 19 save in his eighth career shutout on Saturday, tying Cam McCormick for the all-time UMass Lowell record.

Fraser Allan, MC (Jr., D, North Battleford, Sask) Tied his career-high with three assists in a 6-3 win over BU on Friday night.

Mike Banwell, Maine (Jr., D., Scarborough, Ont.) Scored a goal in each of Maine’s games on the weekend against Northeastern

Justin Braun, UMass (Sr., D, Vadnais Heights, Minn.) Tallied a goal and two assists during the weekend split with UNH.

Brandon Brodhag, MC (Fr., F, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) Scored three goals, two on the power play, extending his goal scoring streak to four games.

Tommy Cross, BC (So., D, Simsbury, Conn.) Matched a career high with three points (1g,2a) in the team’s 7-1 victory over Vermont on Saturday.

Stephane Da Costa, MC (Fr., F, Paris, France) Tallied four points and 10 shots in two games, including a goal and two assists Saturday at BU.

Paul Dainton, UMass (Jr., G, Genelle, B.C.) Made a career high 42 saves in UMass’ come from behind OT victory against New Hampshire on Saturday night.

Brian Flynn, Maine (So., F, Lynnfield, Mass.) Scored a goal and added two assists in Maine’s weekend split with Northeasterrn.

Jimmy Hayes, BC (So., F, Dorchester, Mass.) Assisted on four BC goals in the team’s win on Saturday, matching his career high in points.

Carter Hutton, UML (Sr., G, Thunder Bay, Ont.) Made 19 saves against UAH to post his eighth career shutout.

Blake Kessel, UNH (So., D, Verona, Wis.) Notched three assists over the weekend in the series at UMass.

Peter LeBlanc, UNH, (Sr., F, Hamilton, Ont.) LeBlanc scored a pair of goals and added an assist over the weekend at UMass.

Matt Mangene, Maine (Fr., F., Manorville, N.Y.) Registered a career-high three assists on Friday at NU. Finished the game a +4 rating.

Grant Rollheiser, BU (So., G, Chilliwack, B.C.) Made a career-high 25 saves in BU’s 6-4 victory over Merrimack on Saturday.

Kevin Shattenkirk, BU (Jr., D, New Rochelle, N.Y.) Tallied a goal and two assists in the weekend split with Merrimack.

Adam Shemansky, Maine (Fr., F, Robbinsville, N.J.) Scored Maine’s first goal of the game on Friday at NU and assisted on Maine’s first goal on Saturday.

Ben Smith, BC (Sr., F, Avon, Conn.) Scored once in each game this weekend, extending his goal-scoring streak to seven games.

David Vallorani, UML (So., F, Hamilton, Ont.) Scored two goals in a weekend sweep of Alabama-Huntsville.

Garrett Vermeersch, NU (Fr., F, Macomb, Mich.) Notched his third and fourth helpers of the year with the extra-man advantage.

Steven Whitney, BC (Fr., F, Reading, Mass.) Scored two first-period goals and tallied an assist on in the team’s 7-1 home win over Merrimack on Saturday.

Colin Wright, UML (Fr., F, Burlington, Ont.) Posted two goals with a +2 rating, including the game-winner, in Friday’s 3-1 win over the UAH .

Kyle Beattie , Maine (Avondale, Ariz.) Picked up the first two assists of his career vs. NU.

Bobby Butler, UNH (MARLBORO, MASS.) Has scored six points (5g, 1a) in a four-game scoring streaking

Joe Caveney , UML (FITCHBURG, MASS.) Scored his first collegiate goal against UAH on Saturday

Zach Cohen, BU (Schaumburg, Ill.) Played in his 100th game at BU on Friday at Merrimack

Paul Dainton, UMASS (GENELLE, B.C.) Made a career high 42 saves on Friday vs. UNH

Ross Gaudet, BU (Burlington, Mass.) Scored his first career goal on Saturday in 6-4 home win vs. Merrimack

Kevin Gilroy, BU (North Bellmore, N.Y) Earned his first career assist on Corey Trivino’s goal at Merrimack on Friday

Mike Hewkin, NU (ST. CHARLES, MO.) Has recorded three assists in the last four games for the Huskies

Chris Ickert, UML (Abbotsford, B.C.) Picked up his first career assist against UAH on Saturday

Chris Kreider, BC (Boxford, Mass.) Tallied his first collegiate goal in Saturday’s 7-1 win vs. Vermont

Michael Lecomte, UMASS (St. Hyacinthe , QUE.) Has three goals and two assists in his last four games

Wade Megan, BU (Canton, N.Y.) Tallied his first collegiate goal in a 6-3 loss at Merrimack on Friday

Merrimack’s power play Netted at least a goal in eight straight games, including five vs. BU

Max Nicastro, BU (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) Recorded his first collegiate goal in BU’s 6-4 win against Merrimack Saturday

Will Ortiz, UMASS (FRAMINGHAM, MASS.) Has seven points in his last four games

James Marcou, UMASS (KINGS PARK, N.Y.) Now has 93 points, he ranks 11th all-time in points in UMass history

Ryan Santana , BU (Yorba Linda, Calif.) Recorded his first collegiate point with an assist in 6-4 win over Merrimack

Kyle Solomon, MAINE (Southampton, N.Y.) Scored his first career goal on Friday, Nov. 13 at Northeastern

We are rapidly approaching the one-third mark of the season and it continues to play out unlike any in recent memory. All four league series were split this past season, making it seven for seven on the year. It is extremely unusual to be this late in the season without a school sweeping a Hockey East opponent in a two-game series.

It is also unusual to see 27 different schools receive votes on a November national poll. So it is with this week’s USA Today Poll. UMass-Lowell, ranked #4, heads the Hockey East vote-getters, with Massachusetts at #11 being the only other school to crack the Top 15. Vermont, BC, Merrimack and BU received votes as well. With nine of the ten league members within two games of .500, the standings have a decidedly different look than a year ago.

Especially when the one team three games from .500 is Boston University, our defending champions who have now lost as many games this year as they did all last year. Everyone is in the hunt as the holidays approach. And that only adds to the significance of each game as the second third of the schedule begins.

Nov. 16, 2001: Senior Cam McCormick becomes the first goaltender in Lowell history to post three consecutive shutouts when he blanks Massachusetts, 1-0, at the Tsongas Arena, running his string of scoreless minutes to a school-record 193:50. It is McCormick’s fifth career shutout and only the third 1-0 victory in school history.

Nov. 16-17, 2007: Merrimack sweeps Maine at home for the first time ever by scores of 5-1 and 2-1.

Nov. 19, 1983: Maine scored three goals in 52 seconds against Providence. Goals were scored by Roger Grillo, Michael Hernon and Ray Jacques.

Nov. 20, 1992: Head Coach Dick Umile registers his 50th career victory with a 9-6 win at Boston College.

Boston College: Two players, junior forward Brian Gibbons’ (Braintree, Mass.) and senior defenseman Carl Sneep (Nisswa, Minn.) both has five-game scoring streaks snapped in Saturday’s 7-1 home win over the Catamoutns. Gibbons tallied 10 points (3g,7a), while Sneep tallied eight points (3g,5a) during that five-game stretch...BC’s power play, which went 3-for-4 on Saturday, did not score multiple power-play goals for the first time in four games. In those four games, BC went 11-for-24 (45.8 percent) in power-play chances. The team is 12-for-47 this season, ranking eighth among national leaders with a 25.5 percent conversion rate...BC’s line of Jimmy Hayes and Joe and Steven Whitney combined for nine points (3g,6a) in the team’s 7-1 win over Vermont on Saturday.

Boston University: The Terriers avoided their first five-game losing streak since 2000 with Saturday’s 6-4 home victory over Merrimack…Eleven different players recorded a point in the win…Saturday’s victory also prevented Merrimack from winning consecutive games in the teams’ series for the first time ever…Friday’s loss to the Warriors snapped BU’s 15-game win streak in the series…Junior Nick Bonino (Unionville, Conn.) returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing five games with a dislocated shoulder and recorded two assists…BU is undefeated in the last 36 games (33-0-3) when Bonino has recorded at least one point…After entering Saturday’s game having gone without an even-strength goal for over 214 minutes, all four of the Terriers’ first-period goals were of the 5-on-5 variety…BU had scored a total of four first-period goals in the eight previous games…The Terriers last scored four goals in a period on March 6 against Providence in the final road game of the 2008-09 regular season...Kevin Shattenkirk has tallied at least one point in six of the last seven games, recording eight points (2g, 6a) during the stretch.

Maine: Maine split a pair of games with Northeastern…Maine exploded for a season-high six goals on Friday against the Huskies… Maine rookies scored a goal and added five assists in Maine’s 6-2 win over Northeastern… Freshman had a hand in four of the six goals…Rookie Matt Mangene (Manorville, N.Y.) registered a career-high three assists in the game…Maine has scored at least one power play goal in all 10 games this season…Junior defenseman Josh Van Dyk (Woodstock, Ont.) recorded his first multi-point game with two assists against Northeastern on Friday night…Maine defensemen combined to score three goals and add three assists in the two games against the Huskies….Eight different Black Bears scored two or more points on the weekend.

Massachusetts: UMass ranks seventh nationally in scoring offense (2.67 goals per game), while the power play is tied for third nationally at a 27.9% conversion rate (12-43)…The two goal loss to New Hampshire Saturday was only the second time this season that UMass has trailed a game by more than one goal (the first was against Providence in UMass’ only other loss of the season)…The Minutemen took just three penalties over the weekend, one of which was a matching penalty…UMass now averages 11.4 penalty minutes per game, which ranks ninth in the conference…UMass is outscoring their opponents 13-4 in the third period this season…UMass averaged just under 6,000 fans during the weekend series with New Hampshire, and are averaging 5,418 fans per game, which ranks 11th nationally…13 different Minutemen have recorded goals this season, while 18 players have tallied a point…The Minutemen will travel to Yale on Thursday to take on the Bulldogs at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn…UMass’ next five opponents are currently ranked in the USCHO.com Poll.

UMass-Lowell: UMass Lowell travelled south, picking up a weekend sweep at Alabama-Huntsville by scores of 3-1 and 4-0…The River Hawks are currently riding a five-game winning streak against the Chargers and have never lost when playing at UAH’s home site…Entering the weekend, the River Hawks were the highest-ranked team UAH had ever hosted...In Saturday’s 4-0 win, Carter Hutton posted his eighth career shutout, tying the UML career record previously held by Cam McCormick…In the 3-1 win on Friday night, freshman Colin Wright (Burlington, Ont.) netted two goals, including the game-winner…Goalie Nevin Hamilton (Ashland, Mass.) stopped 19-of-20 shots on goal to remain unbeaten on the season, 3-0-1…River Hawk goaltenders hold a combined 1.64 GAA and a .933 save percentage on the road this season…For the weekend, five of the team’s seven goals were scored by freshmen or sophomores…The River Hawks are unbeaten in their last five games (4-0-1) overall…UML has a brief break as they don’t play until next Saturday, hosting the Merrimack Warriors at 7 p.m. in the Tsongas Arena.

Merrimack: In front of a sellout crowd of 2,990, Merrimack improved to 6-0 at home with a 6-3 victory over #17 Boston University Friday night…The sellout was the first at Lawler Arena since February 9, 2002, spanning 121 home games…Merrimack’s victory over the Terriers snapped a 15-game losing streak dating back to February 12, 2004…The Warriors are 6-0 at home for the first time since the 1988-89 season when they were an ECAC member…Before Saturday’s 6-4 loss, they were 3-1 in Hockey East for the first time since the 1990-91 season…Stephane Da Costa tallied four points in the weekend series, giving him 14 on the season in eight games, tied for first among Hockey East players and first among rookies in the country…Brandon Brodhag has goals in four straight games, after tallying two on Friday and one on Saturday…Merrimack continues to lead Hockey East with 40 goals (4.00 gpg)…They have netted at least three goals in eight straight games and at least four in five straight home games…The power play ranks third in Hockey East after scoring three times in Saturday’s loss…The Warriors killed 6:24 of a 5-on-3 in Friday’s 6-3 win, including 4:24 straight in the second period.

New Hampshire: Bobby Butler has been red-hot for the Wildcats scoring three goals in the weekend series at UMass including a pair of goals on Saturday night in a 4-2 win. Butler. The league’s top goal scorer has scored five goals in the last four games and has already matched last season’s nine goals...The Wildcats and Terriers will meet for the first time since last year’s dramatic NCAA Northeast Regional final...With Saturday night’s 4-2 win over UNH, the Wildcats capture their first road win of the season...The UNH offense has scored three goals or more in four-straight games... Bobby Butler continues to have the UMass Minutemen’s number. The senior forward has 12 points on eight goals and four assists in 14 games against UMass...New Hampshire is a perfect 3-0-0 when leading after two periods...The Wildcats and UMass have play overtime games in four of the last five games with the teams 1-1-2 in those contests.

Northeastern: Despite having its four-game winning streak against Maine snapped on Friday night in a 6-2 setback, the Huskies responded on Saturday night with a 5-2 clobbering of the Black Bears. Ten different Huskies secured a point in the victory, marking a season high...Twelve different skaters registered at least one point in the two-game Maine series, including a few career firsts. Sophomore Matt Lipinski scored his first collegiate goal in the 5-2 win over Maine in his seventh-career outing for NU while rookie Drew Ellement attained his first point with an assist on Friday against Maine. Senior Dylan Wiwchar was called into action with a thin bench and logged his first assist of the season, second career point, on Friday night. Rookie Robbie Vrolyk captured his first-collegiate powerplay goal on Saturday, as well...Northeastern’s newcomers continue to produce, accounting for 37.5 percent of the Huskies’ scoring this weekend...Freshman goaltender Chris Rawlings made 54 saves this weekend, including a 34-stop performance to anchor NU’s defense in the 5-2 victory against Maine.

Providence College: Providence College will play Brown University on Tuesday, November 17 at Schneider Arena in the 24th Annual Mayor’s Cup...The Friars have a 13-8-2 record all-time in the Mayor’s Cup, including a 3-1-0 mark during Tim Army’s tenure... Overall, Providence and Brown are tied in the all-time series, 43-43-2...The Friars are ranked 10th nationally in team defense, allowing just 2.12 goals per game...Sophomore goaltender Alex Beaudry ranks 13th in the country with a .932 goals against average... Tuesday night’s game will be just the third home contest for the Friars who have played six road games and have posted a 4-2 record...The Friars are 4-1 in non-conference games this season, including a win at No. 5 Notre Dame...Providence is 3-1 against the CCHA and 1-0 against Atlantic Hockey teams.

Vermont: Vermont’s win at Boston College on Sunday was its first at Kelley Rink since Nov. 11, 1994…The Eagles had won 10 straight games at home against UVM…The Catamounts are 53-16- 14 in their last 83 games when scoring first and 81-5-11 in their last 97 games when leading after two periods following Sunday’s win…Vermont has tied or taken the season series against BC in three of the last four seasons…Kevan Miller’s (Los Angeles, Calif.) shorthanded goal in the win against the Eagles was the first for a Catamount since Viktor Stålberg had one on March 6 last season in a 6-4 win against New Hampshire on March 6...Mike Spillane is 2-0-0 with a 2.14 GAA and a .931 save percentage. Spillane is 12-6-5 in his career…Senior Brayden Irwin (Toronto, Ont.) has won 57-percent of his face offs this season…Vermont returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7:05 p.m. against Massachusetts…The Catamounts went 2-0-1 against the Minutemen last season.