Top 10: UMass, Northeastern split weekend series

The top Division 1 college hockey series in New England this past weekend ended rather fittingly as Massachusetts and Northeastern split to keep the top two slots in the Hockey East standings, but the Minutemen remain atop the New England Hockey Journal Top 10 after opening that series with a dominant Friday win.

UMass Lowell continued its winning ways with a sweep of Vermont, while Boston College remained between the Minutemen and Huskies as Hockey East’s No. 2 team. New Hampshire and Maine also posted conference victories, while Providence earned a non-league win over its city rivals from Brown.

Yale, Dartmouth, and Harvard all returned to ECAC play and split their weekend games. In addition, Quinnipiac beat Boston University for the first time ever in, literally, the waning seconds of a key non-conference game in Boston.

Sacred Heart and Bentley each posted three-point weekends as American International extended its first-place lead in Atlantic Hockey action.

TOP 10

1. Massachusetts

Record: 18-4 (10-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 1

The Minutemen split their marquee Hockey East series against Northeastern, dominating Friday’s 6-1 game at Mullins Center before suffering a 2-1 overtime loss the following night in Boston. Seven different players scored goals throughout the weekend. Senior Jacob Pritchard had a goal and three assists in the series, netting the winning goal and three points in the win. Sophomore Matt Murray made 11 of the 15 saves in the series opener before a 22-save effort in only his second loss of the year.

2. Quinnipiac

Record: 17-5-1 (7-4-1 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 2

Defenseman Brandon Fortunato, a transfer from Boston University, scored two goals and added an assist to lift the Bobcats to a 4-3 win over his former team on Saturday at Agganis Arena. Fortunato scored the game-winning goal with 2.5 seconds left in regulation after freshmen Desi Burgart and Daniel Winslow (Fairfield, Conn.) also found the back of the net. Sophomore Andrew Shortridge made 16 of his 31 saves in the third period.

3. Northeastern

Record: 15-5-1 (9-3-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 3

Freshman Tyler Madden scored 1:12 into overtime and sophomore Cayden Primeau tied his career-high with 45 saves as the Huskies split their weekend set with UMass courtesy of Saturday’s 2-1 win at Matthews Arena, their first over the No. 1 team in the country since 2012. Madden also scored the lone goal in Friday’s 6-1 road loss. Senior Brandon Hawkins had an assist in each game, including one on Madden’s Saturday game-winner.

4. Providence

Record: 13-7-4 (6-5-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 4

The Friars claimed the Mayor’s Cup again with a 5-1 win over Brown before dropping their third consecutive Hockey East contest by a 4-1 score at Boston College. Sophomore Jason O’Neill logged two assists en route to toppling the Bears before scoring the team’s lone goal in the Saturday setback. Junior defenseman Jacob Bryson had two assists over the two games.

5. Boston University

Record: 8-9-3 (7-5-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 5

The Terriers dropped a 4-3 decision to Quinnipiac and entered Monday’s matinee with Merrimack following their first loss since Dec. 7 against UMass Lowell. Sophomore Ty Amonte (Norwell, Mass.) scored the team’s sixth shorthanded goal of the season and added an assist, while junior Patrick Curry and sophomore Shane Bowers also tallied as BU erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits. Junior Jake Oettinger made 40 saves in net.

6. UMass Lowell

Record: 13-8-1 (7-4-1 Hockey East) / Last week: 7

With a 6-5, 2-0 sweep of Vermont, the River Hawks extended their longest winning streak of the season to five games. Junior Ryan Lohin had a three-point weekend with assists in each game and a Friday goal to lead the offense, while senior Ryan Dmowski (East Lyme, Conn.) scored both game-winning goals. In total, 14 players recorded points in the two games. Junior Tyler Wall pitched his third shutout of the season with 25 Saturday saves.

7. Yale

Record: 9-6-3 (7-3-1 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 6

The Bulldogs saw their first league action since Dec. 8 with a 4-2 loss to Clarkson and 3-2 win over St. Lawrence at Ingalls Rink. Five different players scored the goals on the weekend, including three defensemen in Saturday’s one-goal triumph; freshman Graham Lillibridge tallied the winner on one of Yale’s 50 shots on goal. Senior Sam Tucker (Wilton, Conn.) made 22 saves to beat the Saints.

8. Harvard

Record: 8-6-3 (5-5-2 ECAC Hockey) / Last week: 8

The Crimson split a pair of close ECAC decisions on the road last weekend, falling 2-0 at Cornell before earning a 2-1 win at Colgate. Senior Michael Lackey stopped 57 of the 60 shots he faced in two games, including 29 in Saturday’s win. Lackey has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of his last 13 starts. Junior Colton Kerfoot scored the game-winning goal against the Raiders after freshman Jack Drury netted his sixth goal of the season.

9. Boston College

Record: 8-11-2 (8-3-2 Hockey East) / Last week: 9

Maine handed the Eagles a 7-2 defeat last Wednesday in Chestnut Hill, but Saturday’s 4-1 win over Providence got them back on the winning track and only two points behind UMass for first place. Junior David Cotton scored one goal in each game, while senior captain Christopher Brown netted a pair against the Friars for his second multi-point effort in three games. Junior Ryan Edquist started against Maine before Joseph Woll returned in the following contest and made 25 saves.

10. New Hampshire

Record: 8-8-6 (4-5-3 Hockey East) / Last week: 10

The Wildcats advanced to the .500 mark on the season and 6-1-1 in their last eight games with Friday’s 5-0 win at Merrimack. Junior Brendan van Riemsdyk and sophomore Patrick Grasso each logged a goal and an assist to lead the UNH offense, while sophomore Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) made 25 saves in his second shutout of the season.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Jacob Pritchard

Massachusetts / Sr. / F / Macomb, Mich.

Pritchard has not gone more than two games without scoring a point this season after he logged four (1-3-4) over this past weekend’s home-and-home split with Northeastern. The St. Lawrence transfer scored the game-winning goal and added two assists in Friday’s 6-1 win before assisting on John Leonard’s (Amherst, Mass.) lone goal in Boston the following night.

Mike Robinson

New Hampshire / Soph. / G / Bedford, N.H.

Tyler Wall

UMass Lowell / Jr. / G / Leamington, Ontario

The two Hockey East goaltenders pitched 25-save shutouts over the weekend as their teams continued solid runs of play, making 21 of their stops over the second and third periods. Robinson earned the win at Merrimack, while Wall’s clean sheet lifted the River Hawks to a weekend sweep of Vermont.