New England teams were major players during a loaded weekend of Division 1 men’s college hockey.
The busy slate was full of series and games involving ranked teams, including four non-conference sets and a Saturday night showdown in Hockey East play. UMass posted a sweep in a weekend-long clash of the past two national champions.
Quinnipiac made its noise far away from home, while UConn also enjoyed a 1-0-1 weekend that included a shutout and an offensive outburst of its own.
Atlantic Hockey play also began with two local teams pulling off sweeps.
Here are 10 things we learned during this past weekend of college hockey:
1. Minutemen dethrone champs
A tale of two different games produced the same positive result for UMass as it came through with 4-2 and 3-0 victories for a series sweep of defending national champion and previous No. 1 Denver.
The Minutemen rode the hot hand of sophomore Luke Pavicich all weekend, and he rewarded coach Greg Carvel with 30 saves for his first career shutout and the program’s first against a top-ranked opponent.
“I’m sure a lot of people will say we made a statement, but most importantly we made a statement to ourselves,” Carvel said on Saturday. “I think this group created an identity this weekend, very similar to our teams in the last couple years. I saw so many positives tonight and, of course, it starts with the goaltender.”
UMass jumped out to an early lead in both games, but Friday started in rare fashion as freshman Kenny Connors and sophomore Scott Morrow (Darien, Conn.) scored two shorthanded goals on a single major penalty. Morrow also tallied in the clinching win.
Carvel’s group led the way during a strong Hockey East-wide effort. The league is 17-7-2 in non-conference play thus far.
2. Quinnipiac's offense is potent at North Dakota
North Dakota became the first team to score five goals on Quinnipiac sophomore goalie Yaniv Perets on Friday, but the offense responded with a five-goal outburst of its own and produced a tie.
The Bobcats maintained their hot sticks in a 6-2 win the next night, scoring five unanswered goals after going down 2-1. Graduate forward and ECAC Forward of the Week Ethan de Jong netted two of his three goals in the big win, producing his first multi-goal game since logging a hat trick last November.
Perets, who logged a career-high 38 saves while grinding through the series opener, pitched a shutout over the final two periods on Saturday,
Despite all of the Bobcats’ championship and Frozen Four-caliber teams over the past decade, they hadn’t scored 11 goals in a weekend since 2009-10. Look for QU to make a big jump in the national picture this week.
3. Huge wins for Huskies
Hockey East’s strong weekend in non-conference play continued with UConn going 1-0-1 against a ranked Big Ten foe in Ohio State, topping off its best start in program history (5-0-1) with Saturday’s dominating 6-1 win in Hartford.
The Huskies have found a nice combination of grit and skill on its top line with Boston University grad transfer Ty Amonte (Norwell, Mass.) and freshman Matthew Wood — the nation’s youngest player — at center and right wing, respectively. In Saturday’s game, which followed a series-opening scoreless draw, Amonte scored twice and Wood added a goal and two assists.
While Pavicich has earned the lead on the starting job at UMass, Mike Cavanaugh (North Andover, Mass.) has opted to ride with a pair of goaltenders through his UConn club’s first three series. Freshman Arsenii Sergeev was the winner with 28 saves after sophomore Logan Terness didn’t get any run support in a 43-save shutout.
4. Terriers bounce back
There was nothing Boston University could do but turn the page.
After allowing three power-play goals during a 5-on-3 major penalty kill en route to being blitzed 9-2 in Friday’s series opener at Michigan, the Terriers just needed to refresh. They accomplished that mission.
BU erased the Wolverines’ 1-0 and 2-1 leads before scoring the ultimate tying (Domenick Fensore) and winning (Matt Brown) goals on second-period power plays to equal a 3-2 win.
“After what happened the other night, to come back out and play that way tonight, it’s a big character win for our group,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo (Burlington, Mass.) said. “I think we were ready from the drop of the puck again tonight, we were more disciplined. We have to get better, but the end result was what we wanted.”
The two aforementioned seniors combined for two goals and five assists over the two-game series. Senior Jay O’Brien (Hingham, Mass.) assisted on the final two tallies.
5. Vinny Duplessis steps up in second game against Michigan
BU junior Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.) didn’t dress on Sunday as he is day-to-day with a hamstring injury, opening the net for the other half of last season’s dynamic goaltending duo.
When Commesso was off to represent Team USA at the Olympics, junior Vinny Duplessis took over and helped the Terriers reclaim the Beanpot championship within a six-start winning streak.
Duplessis kept the run going in his first start of the new season on Sunday, stopping all 12 shots he faced in the third period and 31 in the game.
“I don’t think it’s too bad,” Pandolfo said of Commesso’s injury. “It’s day-to-day right now. … Vinny’s a gamer. He’s always ready and he stepped up in a huge way tonight.”
6. River Hawk rally
Hockey East teams took a win from both Michigan-based Big Ten foes as UMass Lowell came out with a 3-2 Friday win over Michigan State to salvage a split of its series in East Lansing.
Junior Henry Welsch got his turn in goal and made a whopping 22 of his 38 saves in the third period after graduate Jon McDonald came up with the eventual game-winner in the final minute of the middle frame against former Quinnipiac and now-Spartan stopper Dylan St. Cyr.
The River Hawks began their last weekend before league play with a narrow 4-3 setback, but seniors Carl Berglund and Brian Chambers (Weymouth, Mass.) continued a productive start with two points apiece.
7. Firsts for Brown, Eagles
Boston College coach Greg Brown (Hartford, Conn.) earned his first career win as his Eagles emerged 4-2 from their first Hockey East clash of the season at New Hampshire.
A usual suspect in junior Colby Ambrosio netted two goals after senior defenseman Mitch Andres put in the first of his career, leading off a stretch of three straight goals after sophomore Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) gave the host Wildcats a 1-0 lead on the power play with his third goal in three games.
BC was still missing freshman sensation Cutter Gauthier due to personal reasons, but Bruins prospect Oskar Jellvik notched a point in his collegiate debut.
8. Duran, Moynihan keep scoring
After leading Hockey East in goal scoring en route to a seventh-place finish last season, Providence got a low-scoring win in its opening league game and ensured a second consecutive 3-0 start.
The Friars landed 51 shots on stalwart Northeastern goaltender Devon Levi and got goals from a pair of usual suspects — sophomore Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) and senior Patrick Moynihan (Millis, Mass.) — on the way to winning 2-1 in Boston. The duo has already combined for seven of Providence’s 13 goals.
Duran leads the team with four, while fellow Bruins prospect Philip Svedebäck made 30 saves in another win to begin his rookie year. They will look to continue a hot start during two games at Denver next weekend.
9. Early Atlantic leaders
American International and Sacred Heart began their respective Atlantic Hockey schedules with road weekend sweeps, taking the early upper hand as part of a three-way tie atop the standings. For starters, the Yellow Jackets began their march towards a fifth consecutive AHA regular-season title with 6-3 and 5-2 wins at Niagara.
AIC’s opening game featured an impressive offensive performance as junior Julius Janhonen, senior Dustin Manz and sophomore Oscar Geschwind all scored twice to support senior Jarrett Fiske’s first college win in net. On Saturday, senior Blake Bennett logged a second straight multi-point game with two goals and an assist, accounting for five of his six points this season.
Seven players scored Sacred Heart’s eight goals at Holy Cross, with only graduate Todd Goehrig finding the net in both the 3-2 and 5-1 wins. Senior Neil Shea (Marshfield, Mass.) resumed his team-leading form of last year, scoring on the power play on Friday and assisting twice in the finale. Like their league rivals, seniors Justin Robbins and Luke Lush were both winners in net.
10. Bentley dominates in first win
Former Northfield Mount Hermon goalie Connor Hasley made 33 saves in his first collegiate start and sophomore Harrison Scott scored twice as Bentley was a dominant 5-1 home winner over Maine on Saturday. The five goals came in succession after freshman Thomas Freel put Maine in front in the opening period.
Things didn’t go Bentley’s way in its season-opener at Boston University two weeks ago, but the program is no stranger to rising up in non-conference play. The Falcons have earned 13 wins against Hockey East opponents since 2008, beating at least one in back-to-back years and all but two seasons since.
