Hockey

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Northeastern’s home slate sputtered to a close with a 4-2 loss to Boston University on Senior Night at Matthews Arena. Cody Ferriero and Adam Reid were the Husky goal-scorers.

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On an abbreviated, spring break edition of HETW, Ben, Ryan and Joe recap last weekend and look forward to an action-packed final weekend of regular season play.

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This is a weekly feature appearing on Thursdays that discusses the four teams in the chase for the last two playoff spots in Hockey East.

*Tie-breakers are based on head-to-head records. The second tie-breaker is most in-conference wins.*

Vermont Catamounts

7^th, 8-12-5, 21 pts

Tie-Breaker: lose vs. UMass, win vs. Maine

Remaining Schedule: 2 vs. BC

The Catamounts had another solid weekend, capitalizing on an underperforming bu team and scoring a big pair of points at Agganis Arena. On Friday, they dropped a 3-1 contest as the Terriers’ Matt Nieto netted a hat trick. On Saturday, Vermont responded with a 5-2 win. Five different skaters scored for the Catamounts, as they won for the fifth time in their past nine games (5-3-1 in that time). This streak has solidified the team’s grip on a playoff spot; even if Vermont doesn’t get any help, it would need just two points next weekend against BC to clinch a Hockey East tournament berth (and the seventh seed).

Maine Black Bears

8^th, 6-12-7, 19 pts

Tie-Breaker: lose vs. Vermont, lose vs. UMass

Remaining Schedule: 2 @ UNH

The Black Bears played their last two games at Alfond Arena this year over the weekend and took home a huge three points against Northeastern. On Friday, they killed off a five-minute power play to start the third period and then fought back from a 1-0 deficit to win 3-1. It was just their second win at Alfond all season. Saturday saw an exciting back-and-forth contest with six total power play goals. Ultimately, the game ended in a 4-4 tie. The Maine offense has really turned a corner as of late, posting 2.75 goals per game in its past 12 contests. This has helped them surge in front of a slumping UMass with two games to play. To get into the tournament, the Black Bears will only have to grab the same number of points as UMass this weekend.

Massachusetts Minutemen

9^th, 8-15-2, 18 pts

Tie-Breaker: win vs. Vermont, Maine (most conf. wins, leads by 2)

Remaining Schedule: @ Merrimack, vs. Merrimack

Massachusetts let a point get away from them on Friday night. After taking the lead with about a minute to go in the third period, UMass surrendered the tying goal to UNH’s John Henrion with just four seconds remaining in the contest. The Minutemen came away with one point, as the game finished in a 2-2 tie. That’s all they got for the weekend; UNH beat them 4-0 the next night on the back of a John Henrion hat trick. The Minutemen now sit one point behind Maine for the last playoff spot, after being unable to capitalize on a UNH team that had won three of its prior ten games coming into the weekend. On top of that, they have only managed to capture five of their last 18 possible points. These missed opportunities will haunt UMass, as the team will need to get at least one point more than Maine this weekend to make the tournament (due to winning the tiebreaker with Maine).

Northeastern Huskies – Eliminated

10^th place, 5-16-4, 14 points

Remaining Schedule: vs. bu, @ bu

As mentioned above, Northeastern managed to grab only one point this weekend in Orono. At this point, there is not much to be said about the Huskies that has not already been said. They had inconsistent and weak goaltending. They were unable to capitalize on their offensive opportunities. They were exhausted by their lack of depth and were unable to find consistency in all three phases of the game. Outside of three power play goals, the lone bright spot was the play of Bryan Mountain. After relieving Chris Rawlings on Saturday, Mountain shut out Maine for nearly forty minutes, saving all 34 shots he faced, including an incredible stick save in the waning moments of the third period in a tie game. It was the kind of performance Husky fans wish they had seen more of from either goalie this season.

Elsewhere around Hockey East –

BC and Providence split a home-and-home set, with both road teams winning. On Friday, BC beat Providence 3-2, but on Saturday, four third period goals led Providence to a 5-1 victory. Jon Gillies was stellar for the Friars and made an amazing, sprawling stick save that ended up being on Sportscenter’s Top 10. Meanwhile, UMass Lowell continued their hot streak with a sweep of Merrimack. Friday’s game saw a 4-0 score in Lowell, while Sunday saw a 3-1 game in North Andover. Lowell is now 16-2-1 since getting swept in a home-and-home with UNH to begin December. On the flip side, Merrimack is now 0-4-1 in its past five games.

The top of the standings is still a free-for-all with two games left. Lowell sits in first, leading by one point over UNH. Behind the Wildcats by one point are Providence and BC, tied for third. In fifth, four points back of Lowell, is bu. Merrimack is in sixth, at five points back of first.

Next Up –

The regular season comes to a close this weekend with some exciting matchups. The highlight of the slate is the Border War – Maine, fighting for its playoff life, will visit UNH, with the Wildcats looking for a first-place finish. The current first-place team, UMass-Lowell, will have its hands full with a home-and-home matchup against Providence. UMass, also fighting for its life, will play a home-and-home with Merrimack. Vermont hosts BC for two games and Northeastern will finish its season with a home-and-home matchup with bu.

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Northeastern put forth one of its best efforts of the season but in the end could not find a goal to break the 4-4 deadlock with Maine. The tie officially eliminates the Huskies from playoff contention.

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Vinny Saponari scored the lone Northeastern goal, as the Huskies inched closer to being eliminated from playoff contention with a 3-1 loss to the Black Bears.

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This is a weekly feature appearing on Thursdays that discusses the four teams in the chase for the last two playoff spots in Hockey East.

*Tie-breakers are based on head-to-head records. The second tie-breaker is most in-conference wins.*

Vermont Catamounts

7^th, 7-11-5, 19 pts

Tie-Breaker: lose vs. UMass; win vs. Maine, NU

Remaining Schedule: 2 @ bu, 2 vs. BC

Vermont began its grueling, season-end stretch against UNH, bu, and BC over the weekend. It managed to emerge with one point in two games against UNH in Burlington. The Catamounts came up short on Friday, 4-3 and played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday. Vermont’s Brody Hoffman went toe-to-toe with one of the best goaltenders in Hockey East, Casey DeSmith, allowing five goals on 45 shots on the weekend. Despite only getting one point, the Catamounts did what they had to do this weekend – they minimized the gains made by the teams behind them while they faced a much better opponent. UMass and Maine only gained a point each, and still sit two and three points behind seventh place Vermont.

Massachusetts Minutemen

8^th, 8-14-1, 17 pts

Tie-Breaker: win vs. Vermont, Maine (2nd tie-breaker, leads by 3); lose vs. NU

Remaining Schedule: 2 @ UNH, @ Merrimack, vs. Merrimack

Maine Black Bears

9^th, 5-12-6, 16 pts

Tie-Breaker: lose vs. Vermont, lose vs. UMass, TBD vs. NU

Remaining Schedule: 2 vs. NU, 2 @ UNH

The Black Bears and the Minutemen faced off this past weekend in a key battle for eighth place. Massachusetts was able to maintain its slim, one point lead over Maine, as both teams took home a win. On Friday, Maine shut out UMass 2-0, thanks to 30 saves from Martin Ouellette. On Saturday, three third period goals propelled the Minutemen past Maine 5-2.

Despite the split, Massachusetts’ lead over Maine is on shaky ground. UMass is just 4-8 in 2013 and snapped a five game losing streak with their Saturday night win. On top of that, the last two opponents on its schedule are nationally-ranked teams in UNH and Merrimack. The Minutemen’s goal situation has been a problem too; Kevin Boyle has been plagued by inconsistencies for the past few months. In his last two games, he’s allowed six goals on 19 shots to Lowell and was benched at the end of the second period on Friday after allowing two goals to Maine in just over four minutes. Steve Mastalerz came on and shut down the Black Bears the rest of the weekend, allowing two goals on 33 shots. Since stepping in during Boyle’s first benching in mid-January, Mastalerz has started seven games and allowed more than three goals just once. Look for Mastalerz to start the rest of the way. What he brings to the table will be essential to the team’s playoff push.

Maine, on the other hand, has won three of its past five Hockey East road games, going back to its sweep of BC at Chestnut Hill. However, it still sports a conference home record of 1-5-5. Not being able to finish one or two overtime wins at home may well end up being the difference between the playoffs and sitting at home. This weekend is especially important for Maine. A Northeastern team that is struggling mightily is coming to Alfond Arena; this is a prime opportunity for the Black Bears to put up a four point weekend. With UNH lurking next week, the Black Bears need wins – not more home ties. If they get four points, look for some movement in the standings, as UMass has its hands full with its own trip to UNH this weekend.

Northeastern Huskies

10^th place, 5-15-3, 13 points

Tie-Breaker: win vs. UMass, lose vs. Vermont, TBD vs. Maine

Remaining Schedule: 2 @ Maine, vs. bu, @ bu

It was another rough weekend for the Huskies, as they dropped a pair of games to the Providence Friars. Friday saw a 6-2 score in Providence, while Saturday saw a 3-2 tally at in Boston. With depth issues, weak goaltending, and inconsistent play plaguing the team, the Huskies now find themselves teetering on the edge of elimination. To stay alive, Northeastern needs at least two points this weekend and needs UMass to get two points or less as well. Both of these are very possible, but Northeastern would still have to sweep bu next weekend to even have a chance at postseason play. Winning three out of four games would be a tall task for a team that is 2-8-1 in its last 11 and 5-15-3 on the year. Barring a miracle, the Huskies will be on the outside looking in for the third time in four years.

Elsewhere around Hockey East –

UMass Lowell was the headline this week. The Riverhawks prevailed over bu 3-0 on Friday night at Agganis Arena and beat the Terriers again on Saturday night, 3-1, at the Tsongas Center in Lowell. Lowell finished an undefeated week with a 4-2 win at Conte Forum over BC on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Merrimack, which had been on an 8-2-2 tear, fell back to earth, dropping games to BC and bu by scores of 2-1 (OT, game-winner scored by Quinn Smith) and 5-2 respectively.

It seemed impossible last week, but after this weekend’s games the top six teams in Hockey East are now packed together even tighter. BC, Lowell, UNH, and Providence are all tied for first with 28 points. Merrimack is one point back, with 27, and bu is two points back at 26. The races for home ice and the number one seed are sure to be a dogfight here in the final weeks.

Next Up –

With just two weekends remaining in the regular season, there are plenty of important matchups on tap. Four of the six teams clustered at the top of the standings will go head-to-head, with Boston College and Providence playing a home-and-home, as well as Merrimack and UMass Lowell. Northeastern visits Maine for two contests, with both teams needing to make up some ground in the playoff picture. Vermont visits bu for two games, while Massachusetts visits UNH for two.

Ryan Fallon Hockey, The Dog Pound Hockey East

Monday, February 25

7:00 p.m. - CAA Full Court Press

Wednesday, February 27

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game

7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies at Georgia State
with David Kroopnick and Zolan Kanno-Youngs
from GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, Ga.

Thursday, February 28

8:00 p.m. - Hockey East this Week

Friday, March 1

3:00 p.m. – Dog Pound Sports Sound

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey: Huskies at Maine
with Ben Horner and Ryan Fallon
from Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine.

Saturday, February 23

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey: Huskies at Maine College
with Ben Horner and Ryan Fallon
from Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine.

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Chris Rawlings made 36 saves and Josh Manson scored his third goal in as many games, but the Huskies’ effort wasn’t enough as the Friars completed the weekend sweep with a 3-2 win.

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