The week of Thanksgiving featured a feast of outstanding matchups across the local Division 1 men’s college hockey scene, leading to some changes in the last November edition of our biweekly power rankings. The recent halt of a lengthy unbeaten streak has caused yet another change in the No. 1 position, while some head-to-head games...
This article is only available to paid subscribers.
The week of Thanksgiving featured a feast of outstanding matchups across the local Division 1 men’s college hockey scene, leading to some changes in the last November edition of our biweekly power rankings.
The recent halt of a lengthy unbeaten streak has caused yet another change in the No. 1 position, while some head-to-head games in non-conference play led to some potential “upset” results as far as placement in our previous top 10.
This edition includes the return of representation from Atlantic Hockey, as well as Hockey East and ECAC Hockey.
Here is New England Hockey Journal’s latest look at the top teams in the region.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
1. Boston College (11-2-1, 4-1-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 2
A busy travel weekend didn’t bother the Eagles, who have won four straight after blowing past Notre Dame, 6-1, on Black Friday and turning around for a Sunday game at Harvard in which they scored three third-period goals for a 4-1 win. Freshman Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) has driven offense all season, but he’s finally getting results. His nine goals have all come in the last 10 games and he's fresh off of two-straight two-goal games. It’s easy to forget about goalie Jacob Fowler on such a dynamic team, but he’s allowed just two goals over his last three starts.
2. Boston University (9-4-1, 5-1-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 3
The Terriers swept Maine a weekend ago and beat Quinnipiac in a Thanksgiving Eve thriller, but Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Cornell in the biennial Red Hot Hockey game at Madison Square Garden snapped their five-game win streak. Former Dexter Southfield standout Doug Grimes (Brookline, Mass.) netted his first career goal in New York, becoming the 15th BU skater to score this season. Sophomore Ryan Greene scored the tying and winning goals in the third period against Quinnipiac before his six-game point streak ended.
3. Quinnipiac (9-4-1, 5-0-1 ECAC)
Previous ranking: No. 4
- ADVERTISEMENT -
All four of Quinnipiac's losses have come against Hockey East opponents: Boston University, Boston College, New Hampshire and Maine. The Wednesday loss to BU broke Quinnipiac’s seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1), despite freshman Andon Cerbone’s (Stamford, Conn.) goal and an assist. Fellow freshman Mason Marcellus has points in seven of his last eight games. BU transfer Vinny Duplessis had won four straight decisions before being edged by his former team.
4. Providence (9-4-2, 4-2-2 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 1
The Friars’ nine-game unbeaten streak was snapped by three straight losses — two came to Massachusetts and one came from Arizona State. However, a 2-1 Sunday win in Tempe has them back on the right track. Junior Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) won the game with his fifth goal of the season in the second period, and fellow Bruins prospect Philip Svedeback continued his strong sophomore campaign with a 19-save effort on 20 shots and now boasts a sparkling 1.94 goals-against — which is tops in Hockey East among goalies making double-digit appearances — and a .914 save percentage.
5. Massachusetts (9-3-1, 4-2-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 6
Three straight victories — Friday’s 6-5 win at Harvard following a Hockey East sweep of Providence — have the Minutemen in a great place entering December. Struggles in net forced relief netminder Cole Brady to be called upon to win a game in which UMass outshot Harvard 49-22 but needed third-period goals from junior Lucas Mercuri and sophomore Kenny Connors to get over the top. The Providence games were much tighter, requiring late goals by Mercuri and junior defenseman Ryan Ufko (overtime) in the 3-2 and 2-1 wins, respectively.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
6. Maine (6-3-1, 3-2-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 5
The Black Bears had Thanksgiving off, a weekend after dropping a pair of hotly contested games at Boston University to curb their undefeated start to Hockey East play. Hosting archrival New Hampshire and Connecticut to begin December will put a 3-0-1 home record at Alfond Arena on the line.
7. New Hampshire (7-3-1, 4-1-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 7
The Wildcats’ fourth victory of the season against a ranked opponent came in dramatic comeback fashion Saturday at RIT. In a 4-3 overtime win, freshman Ryan Conmy potted a tying goal with 5.3 seconds left in regulation before sophomore Cy LeClerc’s (Brentwood, N.H.) won the game in overtime. Both players have been vital for UNH this season, as LeClerc leads the team with seven goals. On the other hand, Conmy has been on a potent scoring run, logging five of his six goals over the last four games; he had two in Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Tigers.
8. Harvard (1-3-3, 1-1-3 ECAC)
Previous ranking: No. 8
The youthful Crimson could not close out recent home setbacks to Hockey East’s UMass and BC. Sophomore Ryan Healey (Hull, Mass.) scored twice and Aku Koskenvuo made a career-high 43 saves against UMass, while junior captain Zakary Karpa’s goal late in the second period had Harvard tied with BC before the Eagles rallied in the third. After leaving the BC game, an injury to junior captain Ian Moore (Concord, Mass.) for any length of time would be a major blow to a lineup that includes 12 underclassmen. Cam Johnson is the ECAC Rookie of the Week after a three-point weekend.
9. Merrimack (6-6-1, 2-4-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 10
After splitting six Hockey East points with UMass Lowell, the Warriors outscored Army and Bentley 11-6 over two wins and came back from multi-goal deficits in both games. The duo of senior Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) and junior Matt Copponi (Mansfield, Mass.) continues to be lethal, combining for seven points between the two games. Jefferies scored the winning goal in the last minute of the second period against Bentley, his seventh and 13th point in just eight games this season.
10. American International (7-5-0, 4-1-0 AHA)
Previous ranking: N/A
A five-game win streak against four opponents — including league rivals Holy Cross (twice) and Bentley, Hockey East foe Vermont and, most recently, Long Island — has vaulted the Yellow Jackets. Coach Eric Lang’s club has closed out some tight games during that stretch, but a five-goal Friday outburst through two periods allowed them to coast at LIU. An extremely balanced offense is evidenced by 18 goal scorers this season, including senior defenseman Brian Kramer who netted his team-best fourth last time out. Freshman Nils Walstrom, who boasts a .922 save percentage, has not allowed more than two goals in his last seven outings.
Get our email newsletter
Stay on top of New England hockey, from preps to college and the pros, along with player and team rankings, analysis, watch lists, interviews and much more.
5. Massachusetts (9-3-1, 4-2-1 HEA)
