It has been quite the first half for New England’s Division 1 men’s college hockey teams. With all but a few games left on the schedule before Christmas, the region is home to the top three and six of the top 11 teams in the nation. This week’s installment of the New England Hockey Journal...
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It has been quite the first half for New England’s Division 1 men’s college hockey teams.
With all but a few games left on the schedule before Christmas, the region is home to the top three and six of the top 11 teams in the nation.
This week’s installment of the New England Hockey Journal power rankings includes representation from all three conferences tied to the region, led by seven teams competing in an epic Hockey East race.
Here is our latest look at the top teams in the region.
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1. Boston College (13-3-1, 6-2-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 1
With seven players named to the U.S. World Junior preliminary roster, BC is headed for an extended break until Jan. 12 after winning a wild contest against Providence. The Eagles lost a 2-0 lead before scoring three third-period goals to win 5-4.
Freshmen Gabe Perreault and Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.), two of those seven players, are No. 1 and 2, respectively, on the team in points. Sophomore star Cutter Gauthier is tied with Smith in points (23). Freshman Jacob Fowler sports an outstanding .925 save percentage and has a nation-best 13 wins.
2. Boston University (11-4-1, 7-1-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 2
The Terriers played just one December series before entering the semester break, pulling another Hockey East sweep with 4-1 and 5-2 wins during a home-and-home over Merrimack. They have won six straight league games.
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Freshman Macklin Celebrini continues to lead the way and is tied for the conference lead with 25 points. Celebrini (Canada), sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson (U.S.) and freshman Tom Willander (Sweden) will be in upcoming World Junior training camps.
3. Quinnipiac (12-4-1, 7-0-1 ECAC)
Previous ranking: No. 3
A dominant 10-1 combined weekend at RPI and Union will keep the Bobcats perfect in ECAC play into 2024, and Saturday’s 4-2 win over LIU ran their win streak to three to finish the semester. Junior Collin Graf has been in and out of the lineup because of injury, but his 23 points in just 12 games still set the team pace. Only classmate Jacob Quillan has matched him in the goal department with 10, including five in the last six games.
Ultimately backstopped by BU transfer Vinny Duplessis, who has a .918 mark, the Bobcats have still been stingy defensively with just three goals allowed over their last three games.
4. Maine (10-3-1, 5-2-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 6
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The first half of coach Ben Barr’s third season in Orono was a wildly successful one. Freshman Josh Nadeau’s pair of third-period goals were the difference as Maine edged Bentley, 3-2, on Saturday. Nadeau's point streak now sits at 10 games.
Josh and brother Bradly Nadeau combined for 13 points including three goals apiece during the prior weekend’s sweep of archrival New Hampshire and UConn, which consisted of 5-2 and 7-3 triumphs. A 3-1 win Wednesday at Union followed as part of the busy stretch.
5. Massachusetts (11-4-1, 4-3-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 5
It was a tale of two totally different games as the Minutemen swept Alaska Anchorage with 11-2 and 3-2 wins this past weekend, bouncing back from a Hockey East loss at Vermont a week earlier. A five-goal first period in Friday’s game set UMass up to score a Division 1 program-record 11, with freshman Aydar Suniev posting two goals and three assists. Suniev also netted the go-ahead goal Saturday with 1:59 left.
Other rookies have played a key role as well, as Michael Hrabal is 7-3-1 in net and Jack Musa is the team’s second-leading scorer with 11 assists and 18 points. Dans Locmelis (Latvia) and Hrabal (Czechia) are now off to World Junior camps for their respective countries.
6. Providence (9-5-2, 4-3-2 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 4
The Friars played just one game between finishing their post-Thanksgiving split at Arizona State and starting break, dropping Saturday’s battle at BC despite senior Nick Poisson’s two goals.
Four of Providence’s five losses — all by one goal and two in overtime — have come within the last five games, a stretch that has been played entirely without injured graduate defenseman and co-captain Cam McDonald. Coach Nate Leaman’s club looks to use the break to return to full strength and its first-half form, having started the season 8-1-2.
7. New Hampshire (8-4-1, 4-2-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 7
Off to their best start since 2012, the Wildcats bounced back from the previous weekend’s Border Battle loss at Maine to close out the pre-holiday schedule with a 1-0 Saturday win over RPI.
Junior Conor Lovett (Franklin, Mass.) scored his first goal of the season to win the game in the second period, and sophomore Tyler Muszelik made 20 saves for the shutout. It was a positive result for Muszelik, the touted U.S. National Team Development Program product who played in only two November games as North Dakota transfer Jakob Hellsten took the reins in net.
8. American International (10-7-0, 7-3-0 AHA)
Previous ranking: No. 10
The Yellow Jackets have split their past two Atlantic Hockey series against RIT and Sacred Heart, which are the top two teams in the league standings. Brian Kramer scored the overtime goal in Friday’s 3-2 win over the Tigers. Kramer’s ninth goal set a new Division 1 single-season program record for goals by a defenseman and followed him assisting on Dustin Manz’s game-tying tally with 1:20 left in regulation.
During the first half, coach Eric Lang’s club started 0-4-0 with losses to UMass, Quinnipiac and Penn State and has not dropped back-to-back games since.
9. Holy Cross (9-7-3, 4-7-2 AHA)
Previous ranking: N/A
The Crusaders will look to climb the Atlantic Hockey standings during the second half of the season, but finishing a 1-0-1 weekend against UMass Lowell with Saturday’s 4-2 home win has kept them unbeaten in non-conference play (5-0-1) this season, including 3-0-1 against Hockey East teams.
Senior Jack Ricketts and junior Liam McLinskey share the team points lead with 19 apiece. Ricketts has nine goals. McLinskey, who had an epic postseason run to help Holy Cross reach the AHA Championship last season, scored in back-to-back games against the River Hawks.
10. Merrimack (6-9-1, 2-6-1 HEA)
Previous ranking: No. 9
There may be no local team more looking forward to hitting the reset button than Merrimack, which has lost three straight following a sweep at the hands of BU and dropping Friday’s 5-2 decision at Yale after entering the season with high expectations.
The Warriors have developed some using heroes in the midst of playing with an injury-riddled lineup, including senior defenseman Christian Felton who scored both goals against Yale. A weekend earlier, Ethan Bono netted his first two collegiate goals with one in each BU game.
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5. Massachusetts (11-4-1, 4-3-1 HEA)
