From the FreeP: Hockey East Power Rankings

By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff

1) No. 8 University of Massachusetts-Lowell

The River Hawks (4-2-0, 2-1-0 Hockey East) proved that their preseason hype was deserved last weekend against BU. The UML offense outworked the Terrier defense on both nights, scoring all seven of its goals from within 10 feet of the BU cage en route to a weekend split. After giving up three fast-break goals in Friday’s overtime loss, the River Hawks bore down on defense Saturday night to pick up their first win against the Terriers in seven tries. UML’s only other loss this season was to another top-10 team –– the No. 10 University of Nebraska-Omaha.

2) No. 5/7 Boston University

After last weekend’s split against UML, you could very easily make the argument that the Terriers (2-3-0, 1-2-0) should be No. 1, or at least 1A. The power play started coming together, sophomore goalie Kieran Millan made several outstanding saves and the offense doubled its season scoring output on Friday night with five goals. But the defense struggled mightily, consistently allowing the River Hawks second- and third-chance opportunities as BU failed to clear the zone. Still, a 2-1-0 record in its last three games –– all against top-10 teams –– is an encouraging sign for BU.

3) No. 19 University of Massachusetts-Amherst

The Minutemen (4-1-0, 3-1-0) haven’t exactly faced the toughest schedule so far, but they do have the best overall record in the conference, and they do sit atop the current standings with six points. A 3-2 home win over BU back on Oct. 16 is obviously impressive, but wins over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Maine and a weekend split with Providence aren’t quite enough to vault UMass all the way to the top yet. Junior James Marcou leads the conference’s best offense thus far (3.80 goals per game) with a nation-best 2.20 points per game.

4) No. 16 Boston College

The Eagles (2-2-0, 1-2-0) are one of the hardest teams to judge for two reasons –– they’ve played the fewest games in the conference, and they’ve been inconsistent. After a blowout loss at Vermont to start the season, BC picked up an impressive road win over the No. 9 University of Notre Dame, but then followed that up with a split against Merrimack last weekend. The Eagles still have boatloads of talent, though, and the point-per-game paces of senior Ben Smith and junior Joe Whitney suggest a turnaround after their disappointing seasons last year.

5) No. 15 University of Vermont

Talk about a Jekyll-and-Hyde team. The Catamounts (2-3-0, 1-2-0) started the season 2-1 with wins over BC and the No. 2/3 University of Denver, but have since lost two straight to Merrimack and Maine by a combined score of 9-3. Before the season, UVM’s biggest question was up front, while the defense seemed like a sure thing. So far, the offense has been fine (3.40 goals per game), but the defense has been porous (3.80 goals-against per game). Six of UVM’s next eight opponents are ranked, so the real Cats should emerge soon enough.

6) Providence College

The Friars (5-2-0, 1-1-0) already have two fewer wins than they had all of last season. Wins at Notre Dame and at UMass are definitely impressive, but they also lost to both of those teams, earning two weekend splits. Providence’s other three wins have come against the College of the Holy Cross and Bowling Green State University (2x) –– two teams that are a combined 2-8-2 this season. The most promising sign for the Friars so far has to be the improved play of sophomore goalie Alex Beaudry, who ranks ninth in the country with a .939 save percentage.

7) Merrimack College

Don’t expect the Warriors (5-3-0, 2-1-0) to be the laughingstock, non-playoff team they’ve been for the last five years. This year’s squad already has impressive victories over Vermont and BC, outscoring the pair 10-5 in those wins. Merrimack also battled the No. 2/3 University of North Dakota down to the wire in a hard-fought 3-2 road loss. The Warriors currently rank second in the conference in scoring offense (3.75 goals per game). Junior Chris Barton is tied for first in the nation with seven goals, while freshman Stephane Da Costa is right behind him with six.

8) University of New Hampshire

Yes, the Wildcats (2-4-1, 2-0-0) are undefeated in conference play, but their atrocious 0-4-1 out-of-conference record is hard to ignore. A tie and loss against No. 1 Miami University is nothing to be embarrassed about, but losing 3-1 to Rensselaer and being outscored 10-2 in a weekend sweep at the hands of the University of Wisconsin certainly are. Someone needs to remind junior Mike Sislo (2 points) that he’s supposed to be one of the league’s top scorers. Oh, and senior goalie Brian Foster’s 3.99 goals-against average and .875 save percentage aren’t helping, either.

9) Northeastern University

The Huskies (2-3-0, 0-2-0) rank last in the conference in scoring (2.40 goals per game) and last in the conference on the penalty kill (69.2 percent). Those are the two biggest reasons they’ve been more than doubled up by UNH and UML in their last two games. Northeastern does have an impressive road win over No. 11/12 Colorado College, but that came as part of a weekend split. The Huskies only other win this year came against non-power Bentley University. NU faces its biggest test so far this weekend when it hosts BU on Friday and heads to BC on Saturday.

10) University of Maine

The Black Bears’ (2-5-0, 1-2-0) offense has actually been pretty good –– sophomore Gustav Nyquist is tied for fourth in the nation with 11 points and freshman Adam Shemansky is tied for seventh with five goals –– but their defense has been horrendous. Maine ranks last in the conference with a putrid 4.14 team goals-against average. The Black Bears’ two wins have come over two pretty good teams –– Vermont and No. 17 Michigan State University –– but they’ve given up 25 goals in their five losses, including 10 in a weekend sweep at the hands of lowly Union College.