New England college hockey power rankings: Providence jumps into top 3

The surprising teams and results have continued to roll in over the opening month of the Division 1 men’s college hockey season.

The top two teams in our latest New England rankings have already racked up five wins apiece and established themselves as consensus top-10 squads. Boston College looks like it might be the best team in the country.

Elsewhere, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts have climbed the charts with the help of strong early-season victories before league play begins in earnest.

Here is New England Hockey Journal’s latest look at the top teams in the region:

1. Boston College (5-1-0, 0-0-0 HEA)

The Eagles recovered from a loss to Denver in resounding fashion, sweeping then-No. 7 Michigan State with 6-4 and 5-1 victories. Sophomore Cutter Gauthier — who has a team-leading six goals in six games — and Cornell graduate transfer Jack Malone each scored twice in Friday night’s series capper. Freshman Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) had a three-point Thursday, which included his fourth goal of the season, while sophomore Bruins prospect Oskar Jellvik scored twice before recording two assists on Friday. First-year Jacob Fowler continues to settle in and carry the load in goal, finishing the series with a season-high 38-save effort.

2. Providence (5-1-1, 1-0-1 HEA)

The Friars have gone 4-0-1 since an opening-series split at Michigan, including beating then-No. 2 Denver and starting Hockey East play 1-0-1 weekend against Vermont. Jaroslav Chmelar has put together a breakout sophomore year, opening on a six-game point streak and posting four goals and five assists through the first seven contests. Defensemen Taige Harding and Luke Krys (Ridgefield, Conn.) both scored their first goals of the season in Friday’s 4-1 win in which the Friars held a dominant 46-14 shots advantage. Freshman Tanner Adams had two assists in the game and ranks second on the team in points. Sophomore Philip Svedeback made 33 saves in Saturday’s 2-2 tie.

3. Quinnipiac (4-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC)

Prior to Saturday’s 4-1 win over Maine, the Bobcats suffered back-to-back losses for only the second time since the beginning of the 2020-21 season as they fell to the Black Bears and New Hampshire. Four unanswered goals led to the bounce-back victory, with senior Ohio State transfer Travis Treloar scoring the game-winner early in the second period and Mason Marcellus adding the fourth goal of his rookie campaign. North Dakota transfer defenseman Cooper Moore dished a pair of assists, while Vinny Duplessis stopped 25 shots in his third win since arriving from Boston University. Junior center Jacob Quillan — whose top line is still without Collin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) due to injury — has a team-leading eight points with six assists.

4. Boston University (3-2-1, 1-1-1 HEA)

It looks as though potting eight goals in an Oct. 21 win at Notre Dame could have turned things around for the Terriers, who are on a 2-0-1 run after taking five out of six points from UMass to start Hockey East play. Freshman Macklin Celebrini has starred thus far as he logged five points last weekend, including two third-period goals in Saturday’s 3-3 draw to run his nation-leading total to eight. Sophomore Jeremy Wilmer is the conference’s top playmaker, with four of his eight assists coming against UMass. Brown transfer Mathieu Caron made 38 saves before a perfect shootout on Saturday.

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5. Merrimack (3-2-0, 1-0-0 HEA)

After suffering a season-opening sweep at Arizona State, the Warriors have rattled off three straight wins by beating Clarkson, St. Lawrence and, most recently, Northeastern, 4-1. Providence junior transfer Michael Citara scored three goals over the last two games, including a pair in the third period in Boston, helping the Warriors close out a win in which they blocked 25 shots. Junior Matt Copponi (Mansfield, Mass.) and senior Mac Welsher are both on four-game point streaks as leaders of a lineup that is still missing senior Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) due to injury. Senior Zachary Borgiel made 29 saves at Northeastern and has not allowed more than one goal in any of his three starts.

6. New Hampshire (4-1-0, 2-0-0 HEA)

The Wildcats have risen into the ranks after earning their first three victories against three different top-20 teams in Boston University, Quinnipiac and Northeastern. A 4-1 Saturday win over Dartmouth capped the weekend. Sophomore Stiven Sardarian tallied twice in the final frame to lift UNH to its first regulation win over Northeastern since 2017 on Thursday. Junior Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) has been a catalyst on the top line, recording points in each of the first five games including his second goal on Thursday. With sophomore Tyler Muszelik out, North Dakota transfer Jakob Hellsten allowed just one goal in each game this past weekend, stopping a combined 39 shots en route to his first wins at UNH.

7. Maine (3-1-0, 0-0-0 HEA)

Though the Black Bears’ undefeated start ended Saturday, they became the third Hockey East team to beat defending national champion Quinnipiac this season with a 2-1 overtime victory Friday in Hamden, Conn. Sophomore Brandon Chabrier scored 3:50 into the extra session to lift Maine to its first 3-0-0 start since 2016 and its second win over a top-five Bobcats squad in as many seasons. Donovan Villeneuve-Houle registered his second straight multi-point game dating back to the season-opening series sweep of RPI, which preceded a two-week break away from game action for the team. The Maine defense has been stingy in front of senior Victor Ostman, allowing an average of only 20 shots on net.

8. Massachusetts (4-2-1, 0-1-1 HEA)

The Minutemen’s 0-1-1 start to Hockey East play against Boston University followed a run of three straight ranked victories, including a sweep at Minnesota State a week earlier. A 3-3 Saturday tie helped UMass earn one conference point. Freshman Aydar Suniev scored a go-ahead goal in the third period after Bruins prospect Dans Locmelis did the same a frame earlier. Junior Ryan Lautenbach has a team-high four goals. Rookie Jack Musa’s third goal opened the Saturday scoring and tied junior defenseman Scott Morrow (Darien, Conn.) for the team lead in points with nine. Michael Hrabal has a .916 save percentage across five straight starts in goal, which includes a 32-save shutout in the latter Mankato game.

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9. Harvard (0-0-1, 0-0-1 ECAC)

Since the Ivy League teams had to wait the traditional three weeks longer to begin play, why not go 18 rounds deep to win a shootout, right? That is what Harvard and Dartmouth did Friday in Hanover, N.H., where junior defenseman Jack Bar was, remarkably, the only player to score in the shootout and delivered a second ECAC Hockey standings point to the Crimson. Sophomore Casey Severo scored the only goal of regulation in the second period, while senior Derek Mullahy (Scituate, Mass.) made 25 stops before standing tall for the entire shootout.

10. UMass Lowell (4-2-0, 1-1-0 HEA)

The River Hawks have gone 4-1-0 since a season-opening loss to Alaska Anchorage, which includes a sweep at Colgate and, most recently, splitting two tight games against Connecticut. Even in the 2-1 Friday loss, Luke Pavicich made 40 saves. The next day, junior Owen Cole scored the lone goal and senior Henry Welsch made a career-high 46 stops as Lowell bounced back for a 1-0 win. Cole is in a three-way tie for the team lead with seven points, matching junior Matt Crasa — who posted a four-goal game in the Oct. 20 series opener at Colgate — and sophomore Scout Truman. The goaltending duo of Welsch and Pavicich has allowed just 10 goals in six games.