The Division 1 men’s college hockey season isn’t even a month old, but plenty of early storylines have emerged.
This past weekend included an early matchup of Hockey East contenders as UConn traveled to Boston University, while Massachusetts continued an early run of strong non-conference play and a new star returned to the Boston College lineup for his first collegiate action.
Elsewhere, Quinnipiac got a split of its final weekend before the start of ECAC Hockey play and three of the region’s Atlantic Hockey clubs picked up victories over the past week.
Here are 10 things we learned during this past weekend of college hockey:
1. Early Hockey East showdown
UConn’s 6-0-1 start made this past weekend’s Hockey East series at Boston University all the more intriguing.
The dogfight began with the Huskies earning a 4-3 overtime win on Friday, but the Terriers bounced back — like they did a week earlier at Michigan — and handed UConn its first loss of the season as senior Matt Brown’s two-goal, two-assist performance led the way in a 5-2 triumph in the series finale.
BU had a dominant Saturday night, posting a 16-4 shot advantage in the first period and 43-26 for the game. It scored eight goals over the two games after UConn had allowed just seven through its first six games.
“We didn’t play our best last night, but we expected to have a good response by our group,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo (Burlington, Mass.) said. “I think our leaders led the way tonight and Vinny (Duplessis) had another really good game, but we set the tone…and were on the attack.”
Senior Jamie Armstrong (Warwick, R.I.) had his first career multi-point game for BU on Friday, but it was UConn defenseman Andrew Lucas who won the game in the extra period with his first goal as a Husky. Ryan Tverberg scored both goals on Saturday.
2. Cutter Gauthier’s return and Bruins prospects help BC
Boston College got a major boost with the return of freshman forward Cutter Gauthier, who missed the Eagles’ first two regular-season games due to family matters.
The Philadelphia Flyers' No. 5 overall draft pick in 2022 returned for Tuesday’s non-conference tie against Northeastern and scored a goal in each game. Gauthier added a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 5-0 win over a New Hampshire team that beat Army West Point on Friday behind two goals by freshman Cy LeClerc (Brentwood, N.H.).
“When you have a player of that ability, you always want him in your lineup,” first-year BC coach Greg Brown said. “It is doing the little things like taking a hit to make a play, which created a goal for us. I think that is important because sometimes younger players don’t understand that. It’s a huge part of the game...I think we’re going to see more and more from him as the season goes.”
BC’s line of three Bruins prospects had a strong Sunday, as junior assistant captain Trevor Kuntar scored his second goal of the season, and freshmen Andre Gasseau and Oskar Jellvik combined for three assists. Kuntar also scored against Northeastern.
3. Minutemen keep rolling
Another weekend, another sweep for two-time defending Hockey East champion Massachusetts.
The Minutemen posted a dominant effort in 7-1 and 7-0 wins over non-conference foe Union. UMass is one of only two Hockey East teams without a league game on its schedule to date, but no other clubs in New England remain undefeated entering the final full week of October.
Three different UMass skaters had three-point efforts in the series, including two goals and an assist by freshman Kenny Connors on Friday night. To earn the sweep and improve the team to 4-0-1 on the young season, Arizona State junior transfer Cole Brady made 32 saves in his UMass debut for his first collegiate shutout.
4. Lowell makes the most of lone outing
UMass Lowell’s Hockey East debut was productive as it scored goals shorthanded and 4-on-4 en route to a 3-2 Saturday win at Northeastern. The Huskies had freshman Grant Riley in net for his collegiate debut as junior Devon Levi missed the game due to illness.
River Hawk stopper Henry Welsch made 26 saves in his second straight win, while defenseman Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) and Owen Fowler (Tewksbury, Mass.) both scored their first goals of the season.
Fowler’s shorthanded goal marked his first career point. He played on a line that was missing key forward Brian Chambers (Weymouth, Mass.).
5. Maine pulls home stunner
Second-year coach Ben Barr’s Maine team beat No. 3 Quinnipiac, 4-0, on Friday night, scoring all its goals in the third period. Senior Ben Poisson had a goal and an assist to help up his team-leading point total to five. Junior Victor Ostman pitched a 33-save shutout against a QU team that earned a win and a tie at North Dakota the previous weekend.
https://twitter.com/MaineIceHockey/status/1584012304793751552?s=20&t=ej0JvXJ1Nm7hsuiSVZJuHg
The Black Bears already have two victories after winning seven games in all of 2021-22, though Quinnipiac did respond for a 6-2 win in the Saturday series finale. Senior defenseman Jayden Lee had a goal and an assist, becoming the 15th different player to score in another balanced Bobcat lineup this season. Freshman Chase Clark saw his first collegiate action with appearances in both games, first relieving star goalie Yaniv Perets late in the Friday loss.
6. Providence couldn't repeat UMass' success against Denver
A week after UMass took two games from defending national champion Denver in Amherst, Providence wasn’t able to post the same success against the Pioneers.
The Friars won a 6-5 matchup last October in what was one of just nine Denver losses all season, but the Pioneers took 4-1 and 3-2 overtime decisions on their home ice this time. Sophomore defenseman Taige Harding scored a power-play goal with 2:56 left in the third period to force the extra session on Saturday night.
Freshman Bruins prospect Philip Svedebäck has carried the load in goal through all five games, as Omaha transfer Austin Roden remained out with an injury. Svedebäck
7. Merrimack is finding a groove
Though its ultimate result was a weekend split, Merrimack earned its third consecutive win by shutting out Colgate for a 5-0 Friday win. The Warriors were also 6-1 winners against New Hampshire in their first Hockey East game of the season.
Scott Borek’s team may have found some line combinations that can stick with veteran transfers centering three of the team’s four lines, but the most productive unit of the week featured former RPI forward Otto Leppanen and a pair of local prep products in junior Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) and sophomore Matt Copponi (Mansfield, Mass.).
“I think the nice thing for (Jefferies) is that the two guys with him can skate with him,” Borek said. “He’ll look for you. Players with that kind of ability oftentimes want to be a shooter, and he loves to shoot, but he’ll look for you on the back side. I think he’s feeling it with the guys he’s with, and he’s feeling comfortable and excited.”
Jefferies leads the Warriors with seven points in five games, including two goals against UNH and four assists over the weekend against Colgate. Copponi had a goal and two assists on Tuesday.
8. Vermont nabs first win in rout
Vermont’s first win of the season came in roaring fashion as junior Gabe Carriere needed to make only 12 saves while six players scored goals and three had multiple points in Saturday’s 6-0 triumph over Holy Cross.
Will Zapernick scored only 2:12 into the opening period as the Catamounts never looked back en route to posting their first six-goal game since 2018. Senior captain Jacques Bouquot (South Windsor, Conn.) had his first multi-point game of the season with two assists.
Holy Cross was unable to build upon its 7-3 Tuesday win over Atlantic Hockey rival American International, as it was shut out for the second time this season. Earlier in the week, Quinnipiac sophomore transfer Liam McLinskey recorded a hat trick against AIC, the first by a Crusader since 2017.
9. Sacred Heart splits second series; AIC beats newcomers
Sacred Heart was New England’s lone Atlantic Hockey team playing league games this weekend, bouncing back for a 5-1 Saturday win to split its series at Niagara.
The Pioneers rattled off five unanswered goals from five players on their way to winning for senior Luke Lush, who made 24 saves in his second consecutive start. Graduate Ryan Steele scored in each game, while fellow veterans Braeden Tuck and Austin Magera both reached the 50-assist milestone in Saturday’s win.
AIC hosted one of the two newest Division 1 programs in Lindenwood and emerged with 5-0 and 5-3 wins. Defenseman Brian Kramer had a goal and four assists in the series to help pace the Yellow Jackets. Alex Aslanidis made both starts in net, including pitching a Saturday shutout.
10. Buckeyes were too much for Bentley
Bentley couldn’t build upon its first win of the season last weekend as it was swept in a Thursday-Friday series at Ohio State. Graduate captain Dylan Pitera scored a goal in each game for the Falcons, but it wasn’t enough in 9-2 and 3-1 losses.
Junior Nicholas Grabko returned to the net and made 35 saves, including 14 in the first period, after freshman Connor Hasley started the series opener.
