By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff
1) No. 1 Boston University (6-0-2, 4-0-2 HE)
There’s no reason not to have the Terriers at the top. They’re one of just two undefeated teams in the country, and they’re the only lossless team that has played at least five games (Yale is 4-0-0). BU is third in Hockey East in offense (3.25 goals per game) and second in defense (2.12 goals-against average), and it ranks first nationally with a 92.5-percent penalty kill that has killed 36 of its last 37. Junior goalie Kieran Millan is second in the league in GAA (1.95) and tied for second in save percentage (.936).
2) No. 5 University of Maine (4-1-3, 2-0-1 HE)
Saturday night proved that BU and Maine are about as even as two teams can be, but BU gets the nod because of the unblemished record. The Black Bears have gone 3-0-1 since getting off to a shaky 1-1-2 start and they have the conference’s best offense (4.12 GPG) and power play (22.8 percent). Leading the way are junior Spencer Abbott (6-7-13), junior Gustav Nyquist (3-10-13) and senior Robby Dee (5-7-12), who are the league’s top three scorers.
3) No. 8/9 University of New Hampshire (4-1-2, 2-0-1 HE)
The Wildcats continue to perform well despite dealing with one of the toughest schedules in the country. They’ve only played one home game so far — a 3-3 tie against No. 8/9 Michigan — and they’ve won games at Cornell and at BC and split a series at No. 3/4 Miami. UNH ranks second in offense (3.57 GPG) with an incredibly balanced attack. It has nine players with five points or more, something no other Hockey East team can claim. Junior goalie Matt DiGirolamo continues to be solid in his first year as a starter.
4) No. 6/7 Boston College (5-3-0, 3-2-0 HE)
The Eagles started 3-0-0 and appeared to be picking up right where they left off last year, but they’ve gone just 2-3-0 since, losing to No. 11 Notre Dame, Merrimack and most recently UNH. Before everyone gets too excited, though, it’s worth noting that the Eagles rarely get off to hot starts. Through eight games last year, they were 4-3-1. When they won it all in 2007-08, they started 3-4-5. BC still has the best defense in the conference, led by senior goalie John Muse and his league-best 1.68 GAA and .944 save percentage.
5) Merrimack College (2-2-2, 1-2-1 HE)
The Warriors have been the definition of an up-and-down team so far. They haven’t won two in a row yet, but they also haven’t lost two in a row. After earning a split against BC two weekends ago, they lost to Providence on Friday. Still, the fact that Merrimack ranks fourth in the conference in offense (3.17 GPG) and third in defense (2.33 GAA) indicates that it belongs in the top half of the league. Sophomore forward Stephane Da Costa (3g, 5a) is fourth in the league with 1.33 points per game.
6) Providence College (3-4-2, 3-2-2 HE)
After starting 1-4-0, the Friars have gone 2-0-2 since and are currently second in the standings (they’ve also played the second-most conference games). Likewise, junior goalie Alex Beaudry has turned things around after a slow start. Also worth noting is the fact that three of PC’s four losses have been against the top two teams in the country in BU and Minnesota-Duluth (2x). Still, PC is in the bottom half of the league in both offense and defense and has some work to do before being considered a legitimate threat.
7) University of Massachusetts-Lowell (2-6-2, 2-6-0 HE)
Just like there’s a clear top four in Hockey East right now, there’s also a clear bottom four that can be ranked in pretty much any order. Give the River Hawks the slight edge here because they actually won a game this weekend — a 3-1 triumph over Vermont on Friday. Freshman goalie Doug Carr has turned into UML’s biggest bright spot. He ranks fifth in the conference with a .923 save percentage, and that includes an abysmal four-goals-on-16-shots performance in his first career game at Maine.
8) University of Vermont (0-3-3, 0-2-2 HE)
The Catamounts haven’t been overly terrible this year (in fact, they’ve only been outshot twice), but they also haven’t won a game yet. Problem No. 1 continues to be the offense, which ranks ninth with just two goals per game. Senior Wahsontiio Stacey (5g, 1a) is the only Catamount with more than two goals and more than three points. Perhaps the biggest positive has been special teams. After ranking dead last in special teams net last year, UVM is tied for fourth this year (0).
9) University of Massachusetts (0-5-2, 0-2-2 HE)
The Minutemen suffered their first bad loss of the season when they lost 5-2 to Army on Friday. Prior to that, all six of their games had essentially been decided by a goal or less (Minnesota tacked on an empty-netter in the season-opener). UMass has proven it can be competitive against good teams, but it still needs to prove it can actually win games. The Minutemen’s biggest problem has been the first period — they’ve been outscored 11-3 in the opening frame.
10) Northeastern University (1-5-2, 1-2-1 HE)
Northeastern, meet rock bottom. Rock bottom, Northeastern. The Huskies have lost three straight home games to Atlantic Hockey opponents Holy Cross, Bentley and Niagara. In case you’re new to college hockey, let me be the one to tell you that Atlantic Hockey is not a good conference and those are not good teams. NU is scoring just 1.75 goals per game and its power play is operating at an atrocious 9.3 percent. Against Niagara, it went 1-for-15 (yes, NU had 15 power plays), including 0-for-5 on 5-on-3s.
Recent Comments