HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

In a week full of Hockey East play, the home teams enjoyed an 8-2-0 record that demonstrated how tightly competitive the remainder of the 2023-24 season will be, with three ranked teams falling to unranked opponents.

Hockey East currently boasts four teams in the top 10 and six in the top 14 of the Pairwise, including BU (1), BC (2), Maine (6), Providence (9), UNH (10) and UMass (14). The league sits with a 66-29-6 record in non-conference play, with just four games, plus the Beanpot games, remaining.

No. 1 Boston College split a home-and-home with No. 9 Providence, taking a 7-1 win on home ice Friday before Chase Yoder scored twice to deliver a 4-3 Friars win in Rhode Island the next night. The Eagles returned eight gold medal winners from the 2024 World Junior Championship, including Gabe Perreault who closed the series with his 11th and 12th multi-point games of the season in 19 outings.

UConn earned a 2-0 win over No. 7 Maine in front of a record crowd of 9,428 at the XL Center in Hartford on Saturday afternoon. Arsenii Sergeev made 27 saves for his first NCAA shutout. The Black Bears took a 5-3 win the night prior, scoring all five tallies in the third period.

Merrimack dueled No. 13 Massachusetts to a split series, taking a 4-1 win Saturday night in Amherst after dropping a 4-3 decision Friday night in North Andover. Hugo Ollas made 24 saves for the Warriors in the win in his first start since Dec. 8.

HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Chase Yoder - Providence

Chase Yoder (Sr., F; Fairview, Texas) scored twice, including the game-winning goal with 4:30 left in regulation in Providence’s 4-3 win over No. 1 Bos- ton College on Saturday night. He also scored on the power-play to tie the game in the first period. He now leads the Friars in goals (8) and game-winning goals (3).

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Macklin Celebrini - Boston University

Macklin Celebrini (Fr., F; Vancouver, B.C.) led the league with three goals this week and also added an assist to finish with four points as the Terriers defeated Northeastern and No. 16 New Hampshire. Celebrini lit the lamp and added an assist in the third period of Tuesday’s overtime win before scoring a pair of third-period goals in Saturday’s win over the Wildcats. He is second in the nation and first among rookies with 1.71 points per game, having totaled 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points.

ARMY ROTC DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

Brandon Holt - Maine

Brandon Holt (So., D; Grand Forks, N.D.) registered a two-goal game in Friday night’s come-from-behind win at UConn, including a third-period, shorthanded goal that sparked a four-goal run for the Black Bears in an eventual 5-3 win. He finished the weekend with six shots on goal and one blocked shot.

STOP IT CO-GOALTENDERS OF THE WEEK

Mathieu Caron - Boston University
Arsenii Sergeev - UConn

Mathieu Caron (Jr., G; Abbotsford, B.C.) capped his week with a 36-save shutout against No. 16 New Hampshire on Saturday. He made 18 of those saves in the first period en route to his first shutout as a Terrier. Caron also made 24 stops in Tuesday’s 4-3 triumph over Northeastern.

Arsenii Sergeev (So., G; Yaroslavl, Russia) posted 27 saves in a 2-0 win over No. 7 Maine on Saturday, his first NCAA scareer shutout with UConn.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Gabe Perreault, BC (Fr., F; Hinsdale, Ill.) Posted five points in a 1-1-0 weekend against No. 9 Providence on a goal and four assists. He collected three helpers in Friday’s 7-1 home victory, then added a goal and an assist on Saturday on a 4-3 setback at Schneider Arena. He closed the series with a plus-four rating and picked up his 11th and 12th multi-point games of the season in 19 outings.

Will Smith, BC (Fr., F: Lexington, Mass.) Registered three goals and an assist for four points in a weekend series against No. 9 Providence. He scored twice against the Friars in Friday’s 7-1 home victory and added a goal and an assist on Saturday in Providence. He ended the series with a plus-four rating and picked up his ninth and 10th multi-point games of the season.

Ryan Leonard, BC (Fr., F; Amherst, Mass.) Recorded four points on a goal and three assists in a weekend series against No. 9 Providence with a multi-point game in each contest.

Sam Stevens, BU (Gr., F; Montreal, Que.) Extended his point streak to five games with goals in the Terriers’ wins over Northeastern and No. 16 New Hampshire. He opened the scoring in Tuesday’s win over the Huskies with a first-period strike. He also got the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 3-0 win, scoring with 8:35 remaining in regulation. Stevens also helped the Terriers go 7-for-7 on the penalty kill during the week.

Lane Hutson, BU (So., D; North Barrington, Ill.) Recorded a goal and assisted on two others, including the game-winner, in a 4-3 overtime victory over Northeastern on Tuesday. Hutson also blocked seven shots on the week. He leads all NCAA defensemen with nine goals and is first among league blue liners with 23 points.

Chase Bradley, UConn (Jr., F; St. Louis, Mo.) Had one goal and one assist for two points to help the Huskies split the weekend series against No. 7 Maine.

Josh Nadeau, Maine (Fr., F; St-François-de-Madawaska, N.B.) Had a goal and an assist, including the game-winning goal, in Maine’s comeback win at UConn on Friday. He finished the weekend with six shots on goal and one blocked shot.

Matt Copponi, MC (Jr., F; Mansfield, Mass.) Found the back of the net in both games of a 1-1-0 weekend agains No. 13 UMass.

Ty Daneault, MC (Fr., F; Red Deer, Alta.) Scored the opening goal in Merrimack’s 4-1 win against UMass on Saturday night.

Zach Bookman, MC (So., D; Syracuse, N.Y.) Had a goal and assist in Merrimack’s 4-3 loss to UMass on Friday.

Hugo Ollas, MC (Jr., G; Linkoping, Sweden) Made 24 saves in Merrimack’s 4-1 win over UMass on Saturday in his first start since Dec. 8.

Vinny Borgesi, NU (So., D; Philadelphia, Pa.) Recorded a four-point weekend in a 1-1-0 series against Vermont. He tallied a three-point night in Friday’s 5-4 setback, all on assists, and followed up with another helper in Saturday night’s 3-1 win. He finished with a plus-three rating over the weekend and now has five points in his last four games.

Ryan Miotto, UVM (Gr., F; Thorold, Que.) Scored two third-period goals, including the game-winning strike, in Vermont’s 5-4 win at Northeastern.

Massimo Lombardi, UVM (So., F; Beaconsfield, Que.) Found the back of the net twice, his first tallies since Oct. 14, to help power the Catamount offense to a 5-4 win at Northeastern. It was his first career multi-goal game and has now tied his career high in goals (3).

Jeremie Bucheler, UVM (Gr., D; St.-Laurent, Que.) Dished out two assists Friday in Vermont’s 5-4 win at Northeastern, pushing his point streak to five games (2g, 6a). He now has 10 points (4g, 6a) in his last nine outings.