The majority of New England’s top Division 1 men’s teams have had some level of up-and-down results over the last two weeks.
Seven of our 10 ranked teams took at least one loss just this past weekend, making the upcoming stretch drive all the more interesting. Atlantic Hockey and ECAC Hockey teams have just three weekends left in their regular seasons.
Of course, a highlight of the upcoming slate is the Beanpot Tournament on the first two Mondays of February. The results could alter the regional picture, but the field will be looking to chase a Boston University team that is the defending champion carrying a seven-game win streak to TD Garden.
Here is New England Hockey Journal’s latest look at the top teams in the region in power ranking form:
1. Boston University (20-6-0, 14-4-0 HEA)
The defending Beanpot champion Terriers own the nation's longest win streak heading into the Beanpot after a 5-3 win Friday over Maine. Senior Wilmer Skoog and freshman Jeremy Wilmer each logged a goal and an assist to lead an offense that featured five goal scorers. Stellar rookie defenseman Lane Hutson was the star playmaker with a career-high four assists, marking his fourth game of the season with at least three points. Hutson trails only senior Matt Brown (37 points) for the Hockey East scoring lead. Jay Pandolfo is the first head coach to win 20 games in his first season in BU history.
Previous ranking: 1Â
2. Quinnipiac (22-3-3, 14-2-0 ECAC)
Returning to ECAC Hockey play for the first time since being swept at Cornell and Colgate, the Bobcats did the sweeping in road tilts against Harvard and Dartmouth. Sophomore Yaniv Perets pitched a 25-save shutout and senior Skyler Brind’Amour scored the eventual game-winner 53 seconds into the second period of the 3-0 Friday win at Harvard.
https://twitter.com/QU_MIH/status/1622072237183406080?s=20&t=pAYEiM0OQSLvCnc88Tu3DA
Saturday was a different story as, despite tallying a season-high 48 shots on net, Quinnipiac used three goals in a span of 1:52 in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 win at Dartmouth. Freshman Sam Lipkin scored his first career game-winning goal, and sophomore Christophe Fillion and senior defenseman Zach Metsa each had a goal and an assist against the Big Green. Senior Ethan de Jong also scored his 14th goal of the season, matching sophomore Collin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) for the team lead.
Previous ranking: 2Â
3. Harvard (15-6-1, 13-4-0 ECAC)
The Crimson head into Beanpot Monday with a 5-2-0 mark in their last seven games. Before being shut out and losing at home for the first time all season against Quinnipiac on Friday, sophomore Matthew Coronato scored twice and junior Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.) had four assists as Harvard routed rival Cornell 6-2 on Jan. 28. A night earlier against Colgate, Coronato netted his second overtime goal in a three-game span after senior defenseman Henry Thrun (Southboro, Mass.) tied the game with 40.7 seconds left. Senior Mitchell Gibson beat the Big Red with a 31-save effort after missing two games due to injury, and he also made 22 stops to keep Harvard in it against Quinnipiac.
Previous ranking: 3Â
NEW LOOK BEANPOT: For the first time in 64 years, the Beanpot will have something brand new
4. Connecticut (17-8-3, 11-6-2 HEA)
UConn earned its third consecutive Hockey East win with Friday’s 4-3 overtime triumph at Northeastern, as junior Hudson Schandor won the game and finished a two-goal, one-assist effort with 16 seconds left in the extra session. Schandor has logged points in five straight and eight of his last nine games. Senior defenseman Jake Flynn (Bridgewater, Mass.) and star freshman Matthew Wood also scored. The team’s goaltending rotation was broken for the first time as sophomore Logan Terness won with a 36-save effort after freshman Arsenii Sergeev started both games the previous weekend, including the Huskies’ lone loss in a recent five-game span against Quinnipiac in the Connecticut Ice Championship.
Previous ranking: 4
5. Northeastern (13-10-3, 11-5-2 HEA)
The Huskies remain second in the Hockey East standings following Friday’s loss to UConn as they banked five straight league victories previously, including a 2-1 Tuesday win over Boston College. Senior Jakov Novak scored the deciding goal 2:45 into the third period against the Eagles, while sophomore Justin Hryckowian tied UConn with 3:55 to play before taking the overtime defeat.
https://twitter.com/GoNUmhockey/status/1620626812794728455?s=20&t=pAYEiM0OQSLvCnc88Tu3DA
Merrimack graduate transfer Liam Walsh has come on strong of late to help the Huskies in the secondary scoring department. Junior Devon Levi racked up 45 saves — his second-highest game total of the season — against UConn, but he still maintains a .927 save percentage that ranks third in the conference.
Previous ranking: 5
6. Merrimack (16-12-1, 11-8-0 HEA)
Despite suffering 3-2 overtime losses at New Hampshire and Maine this past weekend, the Warriors gained two points and still have sole control of third in Hockey East. Junior Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) has helped drive the Merrimack offense all season, but he had three points between the two games and carries a four-game goal streak into a bye week. Jefferies has 34 points — 13 more than his next closest teammates.
https://twitter.com/MerrimackMIH/status/1622311533568004097?s=20&t=pAYEiM0OQSLvCnc88Tu3DA
Senior Filip Forsmark and Holy Cross graduate transfer Ryan Leibold scored the other goal in each respective game. Junior Zachary Borgiel and sophomore Hugo Ollas continued to split the games, with Ollas putting up a 25-save effort against Maine. The Warriors, a top-five team in the Pairwise Rankings just over a month ago, are now 22nd with just five regular-season games remaining.
Previous ranking: 6
7. UMass Lowell (15-10-2, 9-6-2 HEA)
It was a mixed bag of a weekend for the River Hawks, who currently hold the last first-round bye position as the fifth-place team in Hockey East. A pair of league points went in the bank following Friday’s 2-2 tie and shootout win against Boston College, as senior Brian Chambers (Weymouth, Mass.) scored the deciding goal after Alaska graduate transfer Filip Fornåå Svensson and freshman Scout Truman each scored in regulation. Gustavs Davis Grigals made 14 of his 32 saves in the third period and overtime.
Lowell also came up on the short end of a 5-4 score against New Hampshire despite putting 44 shots on goal and holding the visitors without one in the second period.
Previous ranking: 7Â
8. Providence (13-10-6, 8-6-5 HEA)
The Friars ended their five-game losing streak as senior captain Max Crozier posted a goal and two assists in a 3-1 Sunday win at Vermont.
Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) dished out a pair of assists for the sixth multi-point effort of his sophomore season. Freshman Philip Svedeback has not allowed more than three goals in any start since November, but he bounced back from Friday’s 3-2 loss to UMass to make 23 saves in Vermont. It was his stingiest performance since a 20-save shutout Dec. 30 against Yale.
Previous ranking: 8Â
9. Maine (12-13-2, 6-9-1 HEA)
A newcomer to the New England Hockey Journal ranks this season, Maine is 6-4-0 since the calendar turned to 2023 and is coming off a 3-2 overtime win Sunday against Merrimack. The Black Bears overcame a 2-0 deficit on junior Lynden Breen’s two shorthanded goals in a span of 1:04 before senior Ben Poisson delivered the game-winning goal during the extra session. Breen finished with three points after assisting on Poisson’s goal and now has three multi-point games during a seven-game point streak. Poisson had two points in the win, and both scored goals in Friday’s 5-3 loss to Boston University.
https://twitter.com/MaineIceHockey/status/1622363241115717632?s=20&t=pAYEiM0OQSLvCnc88Tu3DA
Junior Victor Ostman has been a massive part of the Black Bears’ recent success, stopping 30 shots. Maine’s three most recent losses were all against BU, and the other was a 2-1 setback as part of a home split with UMass Lowell.
Previous ranking: NRÂ
10. Sacred Heart (14-11-2, 12-5-2 AHA)
The Pioneers held onto second in the Atlantic Hockey standings and still have a game in hand on both first-place RIT and third-place American International, the latter of which was their opponent in a home-and-home split this past weekend. The team from Connecticut got the set off to a good start Thursday as senior Luke Lush made a career-high 36 saves and Austin Magera had a goal and two assists in a 4-2 road win at AIC. Former Northeastern transfer Neil Shea (Marshfield, Mass.) continues to set the pace for the offense as he had a goal and an assist in the victory to move his team-high point total to 22. Sophomore defenseman Hunter Sansbury scored in Saturday’s 4-1 setback, as AIC scored three goals in the first period and never looked back.
Previous ranking: 10Â
