Sunday, November 21, 2010

Hockey East Weekend Roundup

With 8 of the 10 HE teams in action this weekend, there was a lot of hockey played between Friday, Saturday, and even the rare Sunday matinee over in Chestnut Hill. So let's jump right in, shall we?

1. BU - Yeah, they split with UNH. Yeah, they got embarrassed on the road and handed their first loss of the season. So what. 7-1-4 is still damn good, and with Maine getting torn to pieces by John Muse and BC, they move into the top spot.

2. BC - I have to say, they redeemed themselves this weekend in my book. They hit a rough stretch there with losses to Merrimack and Vermont, but a pair of impressive wins over the highly regarded Black Bears of Maine moves them up a few spots this week. I wouldn't look for John Muse to keep up those kind of numbers, however.

3. UNH - It was the tale of two games for UNH this weekend. Friday night, they could do no wrong. Saturday night, they did nothing but wrong. All together, this team is kind of impressive. They put on a strong forecheck and pepper the goaltender with shots for all 60 minutes. However, this team proved they are susceptible to let downs and lapses with many turnovers Saturday night at Agganis.

4. Maine - A tough weekend for Maine pushes them down a few spots. Look, they are clearly a talented team. But John Muse hasn't been at his sharpest in a BC uniform this year, and the Eagles' offense has looked sluggish as well. But BC outscored Maine 8-1 on the weekend and made John Muse look like the understudy of Timmy Thomas. Not good for the Black Bears. Not good.

5. Merrimack - They literally squeaked out a pair of victories against the thoroughly unimpressive UMass - Lowell. Just goes to show that they are clearly not the nationally regarded team that some people in the Merrimack Valley think they should be. Oh, and what happened to your beloved commie Stephane Da Costa? He's no more of a Hobey Candidate than Charlie Coyle, who has one more point than Da Costa, by the way.

6. Northeastern - A tie and a win against an upstart PC team results in Northeastern climbing up this week. While I wouldn't advise the Huskies to get used to being here, I will say a 3 point weekend has to help the attitude over at Matthews Arena.

7. Providence College - Yeah, a loss and a tie isn't great, especially to a not-so-great N'Eastern team. But overall this Tim Army team has been performing beyond expectations this season, so they've got that going for them.

8. Vermont - Not in play this weekend, the Catamounts get back in action against UMass - Amherst on Tuesday.

9. UMass - Lowell - A two loss weekend isn't what ULowell needed. However, Merrimack has been playing pretty well as of late, so keeping it close against them has to be good for something, right?

10. UMass - Amherst - Not in play, and therefore still winless, the Minutemen host Vermont on Tuesday to try and get in the W column.

And just for fun this week, I decided to try and estimate where the ranked HE teams will fall in the polls tomorrow:

#3 - BU
#4 - UNH
#7 - BC
#10 - Maine
#20 - Merrimack (undeserving, but unfortunately will probably be there).

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