BC Hockey Slips Past UMass 3-2

UMass always gives BC trouble. Even though the Eagles are the #1 team in the country, the defending NCAA Champs, and have won 25 of their last 26 games. But UMass can skate. And that negates BC's most crucial advantage: their speed.

Last night BC needed a pair of 3rd period goals for a 3-2 comeback win. On October 19th they fell behind 3-0 to UMass, then scored 4 times in the 3rd, eventually winning 5-4 in OT. BC have won 4 straight against UMass, all by 1 goal margins. Before that, they lost 2 in a row to the Minutemen.

The Minutemen are just a few pieces short of solving the BC puzzle. They don't finish scoring chances as well as BC. And BC's goaltending stymies most of UMass's best scoring chances. Last night BC goalie Parker Milner stopped 29 of 31 UMass shots. UMass went ahead early in the 3rd period, but BC goals from Michael Matheson and Patrick Brown tied, then won the game for the Eagles.

Boston College are champions because they win tough, close games like this one. They get good goaltending and clutch offense when it's needed most.

Johnny Gaudreau had an assist on the Matheson goal, his 9th point of the season in 7 games. The sophomore, whose NHL rights belong to Calgary, has lit up Hockey East this fall.

Bill Arnold scored BC's first goal of the game, his third of the season, and his fifth Power Play point.

The #1 Eagles host the #8 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on Friday night, then play at #12 Boston University on Sunday.

Photo Credit:
Rich Gagnon

Hockey East Quarterfinals

BC grinded out two very physical games against UMass, winning their 12th and 13th straight games. BC also now has a 10 game winning streak in this tournament. The Minutemen are big and can skate, which forced BC to play out of their comfort level. UMass tried to keep the game along the boards, but they lacked the finishing touches on scoring chances. BC beat them 2-1 then 3-2. BC is in the semifinals for the 8th straight year.

BU needed 11 periods plus 8 minutes to beat UNH in a series that twice went into Double OT. It was a marathon series with 228 minutes of grueling hockey played. Kieran Millan made 68 saves in Game 3. At one point the Terriers were down 4-1, they tied it at 4-4 and the 3rd, and Alex Chiasson won it in the 2nd OT. The series was just the latest in a long series of dramatic events for the BU hockey program this season.

Maine likely eliminated Merrimack from the NCAA Tournament by beating them 2 of 3 up in Orono. The NCAAs only have 11 at-large bids and right now Merrimack is ranked 17th in the PairWise Comparison Rating. Maine solidified their standing, but could use a win against BU to really feel safe.

Providence advanced to the Hockey East semifinals for the first time since 2001 by upsetting UMass-Lowell. The Friars ended the regular season with two losses to UML, but were able to beat them Thursday and Sunday night. They'll play BC, who they lost to twice before losing to UMass-Lowell twice.

The semifinal round will be played Friday night at the TD Garden. The games will be on NESN.

5:00pm - #1 Boston College vs. #7 Providence
8:00pm - #2 Boston University vs. #4 Maine

The Championship game will be played Saturday at 8:00pm.

Also, Harvard beat Yale two out of three to advance to the ECAC semifinals in Atlantic City. They'll play Cornell on Friday.

Hockey East Tournament Preview

The other March Madness is upon us. The Hockey East tournament starts tonight. The first round is a best of three series played at the superior seed's rink. Next Friday the semifinals will be played at the Garden, and the final will be played Saturday night. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic NCAA berth. And bubble teams like Maine and Merrimack might need that to get into the big tournament. Here are the pairings for this weekend's quarterfinal series:

#1 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES vs.. #8 UMASS MINUTEMEN

UMass won the season series against BC 2-1. But they last played January 13th. BC is 12-2-0 since that meeting. They've won 11 in a row and are getting hot at precisely the right time. They've outscored their opponents 48-13 in those 11 wins. They're winning hard games like the Beanpot Final against BU and they're crushing weaker teams like Providence (outscored them 10-0 in two games) and Vermont (outscored them 9-1 in two games). BC will destroy UMass.

#2 UMASS-LOWELL RIVERHAWKS vs. #7 PROVIDENCE FRIARS
These teams played a home-and-home series to end the regular season. They could conceivably play 5 straight games against each other. But I don't think it will go that far. One of the reasons UMass-Lowell was able to earn the #2 seed was because they swept PC in that weekend series. Umass-Lowell isn't an amazing team, but they take care of business and win the games they should win. They'll beat Providence.

#3 BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS vs. #6 NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS

BU has had an interesting season. They beat BC in the season series but lost to them in the Beanpot. Entering last weekend, they had a chance to win the Hockey East regular season title, then fell to 3rd when they lost to Northeastern. And they've lost multiple players due to sexual assault allegations. They're 6-6 in their last 12 games, and two of those victories were against lowly Vermont. Even though UNH is hardly red hot right now, I have a feeling like the Wildcats will squeak out a 3 game upset.

#4 MAINE BLACK BEARS vs. #5 MERRIMACK WARRIORS
These teams have the most to play for in the tournament. Right now Maine appears to be in the NCAA tournament. And Merrimack is just on the outside. Maine can't afford setbacks and Merrimack needs to impress in this tournament to advance to the next one. Maine beat BC and bU twice this year, but was 0-2-1 against Merrimack. Even though the game is up in Orono, I have to give the edge to Merrimack, even though the warriors have struggled down the stretch. MC in 3.

I really can't see BC losing in this tournament. They're red hot, they have experience in big games, and goalie Parker Milner has been playing excellent in his last 12 starts (12-0-0, 14 goals allowed, .955 SV%).

Televised games:
Friday 7:30pm - NBC Sports - BC vs. UMass
Saturday 4:00pm - NESN - BU vs. UNH

The semifinals will be on NESN next Friday, as well on the finals next Saturday.

HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The OTHER March Madness kicks off tonight and continues all weekend. Hockey East could send anywhere from 2 to perhaps 4 or 5 teams to the NCAA tournament. Regular season champs BC and runners up UNH are all but assured a spot in the 16 team NCAA field, while upstart Merrimack will likely join them. BU has an outside chance, and Maine are the long shots. Those bubble teams can make a difference in this tournament, and of course winning the tournament earns an automatic bid.

Here are the first round pairings. They'll play a best of 3 series at the superior seed's home rink. The winners will be re-seeded for the semifinals next weekend at The Garden in Boston.

#1 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES vs. #8 UMASS MINUTEMEN

BC wins trophies. Since 2007, they've won 2 National Championships, 3 Hockey East Tournament Championships, and 3 Beanpots. But this was the first time since 2005 that they've won the Hockey East regular season title. BC beat UMass three times this year, and are on a completely different level. They score 3.9 goals per game, and kill 87.6% of their penalties. BC should sweep this in 2.

#2 UNH WILDCATS vs. #8 VERMONT CATAMOUNTS
UNH lost the regular season title to BC in the final weekend, and have a reputation for choking in March. Fortunately for them, Vermont is not a very good team. The Catamounts won 8 games all season. UNH beat them twice and tied them once. UNH sohuld handle them in 2 games.

#3 BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS vs. #6 NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES
BU needs to go deep in this tournament to make the NCAA field. To do that, they have to get past old rival Northeastern. These teams split a home-and-home last weekend, and all three of their games were determined by 1 goal margins. NU started the season poorly (1-7-3), but gradually turned things around. Northeastern struggled down the stretch, though they held their own against BC and UNH. Northeastern wins in 3 very close games.

#4 MERRIMACK WARRIORS vs. #5 MAINE BLACK BEARS
At the moment, Merrimack would be in the NCAA tournament. But they can cement a spot by winning this series. They beat BC twice early in the season, they beat UNH twice in February. They also lost two blowout games to Maine. They're excellent at home (12-2-1), and mediocre on the road (10-6-3). Thankfully for them, this series will be in Andover. Merrimack will sweep this in 2.

That would set-up a semi-final of #1 BC vs. #6 Northeastern, and #2 UNH vs. #4 Merrimack. I'd take BC and Merrimack to win and meet in the finals, with BC taking the title.

HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT BEGINS FRIDAY

Now I know that not many people care about hockey, and even fewer people care about college hockey. But it's my blog, and I like college hockey; the OTHER March Madness.

Here's a bracket for the Hockey East Tournament. For the first round, it's a best of 3 series played at the home ice of the better seed. The semi-finals and final are played at TD BankNorth Garden. #1 UNH hosts #8 UMass at the Whittemore Center in Durham. #2 BU hosts #7 UMass-Lowell at Agganis Arena. #3 Vermont hosts #6 Northeastern. And #4 Boston College hosts #5 Providence College at the Conte Forum.

I'll be at the BC/PC games, working as an usher.



Source:
Hockey East