Hockey East Quarterfinals Preview

The Hockey East Tournament has officially begun, with Northeastern's upset of BU in game one of their series last night. Another year, another post-Beanpot meltdown for the puppies on Comm Ave....

Your Eagles begin their quest for another HE title and trip to the Frozen Four tonight at Conte Forum when they take on our highly esteemed State U (top 50 in the nation, they say) tonight to open their best of three series with the Minutemen.

For a look at every series this weekend, lets start with the most talked about and probably most exciting:

#4 Merrimack vs. #5 Maine

Merrimack enters this series on a bit of a slide. Coming off a huge weekend against the U of No Hardware two weeks ago, the Warriors were threatening to take the #1 seed in both the HE and NCAA tourneys. But, MC was brought down a notch the following weekend when they drove waaaaaay up I-95 and got their asses beat by Maine.... who happen to roll their Winnebagos into North Andover this weekend. MC is loaded with talent, as this is definitely the best team the Warriors have ever rolled out on the ice in their brief D-1 history. Super Soph Stephane De Costa, who missed the Maine series, will be back on the ice this weekend and will no doubt wreak havoc on the shaky at best Maine goaltending all weekend. MC has a pretty good goalie between the pipes in Joe Cannata, but he will be tested by a high-powered Black Bear offense lead by Gustav Nyquist. FWIW, these Black Bears completely pantsed North Dakota early on this year, so they can bring it when they want to. Maine is pretty familiar with the situation they are in, having to win the HE tourney last year to make the NCAAs, since they had to do it last year and fought all the way to the finals, losing to BC in OT 7-6. This one looks like its going to be a great series, with the home team holding serve. (Merrimack has lost only 2 games at home this year)
Merrimack in 3

#3 Boston University vs #6 Northeastern

Thise series already started, with game one going pretty much how I had thought it would. BU has been treading water ever since they took three of four points from Maine at the end of January, but they have looked better of late. The Terriers' main issues have been consistency, and not playing BC. (Cuz we all know thats all they care about over there) Kieran Milan has been solid in net. Its scoring that has been an issue for BU. That and holding late leads (see UVM game two weeks ago). Southie's Team has had their issues, but there is one certain thing in this world, and that is that BU will find a way to screw up an opportunity for NU to advance in a tournament. The Boys from the 'Berry have been red hot to end the season, grabbing three of four from BC, one of four from UNH, and two from BU last weekend.Goalie Chris Rawlings has been solid, and their top line of McNeely, McLeod, and Silva has been clicking all year. The big difference for NU now has been the youngsters stepping up. It seems like the Huskies' young talent is starting to gel and this team is going to be downright filthy in the years to come, as long as Greg Cronin keeps that cell phone in his pocket when he's supposed to. I like the Huskies to make this one interesting. I also DO NOT want any part of BU again in a potential title match at the Garden.
Northeastern in 3

#2 New Hampshire vs. #7 Vermont

The University of No Hardware lived up to its name last weekend, blowing a 2 goal lead to your Eagles and therefore handing over the Hockey East regular season crown to BC. UNH laid an even bigger egg the night before, putting up 12 shots on goal (cue Harry Doyle..."12 shots? We only had 12 god damn shots?") in a 4-0 loss to the same BC team. So.... what does that leave us? A UNH team that struggles to show up in big games, thats what it leaves us. Are these games against UVM big? Yeah, but not as big as, say, the following weekend will be. Vermont is strong in nets, with Rob Madore right around the middle of the pack in Hockey East for goaltending stats. UNH is just better all around, with Hobey Baker candidate Paul Thompson and his senior linemates putting up gaudy numbers this year. I fully expect UNH to cruise this weekend, Vermont doesn't bring much to the table. They do own a winning record against the Wildcats this season, but two of those games were in Burlington. These are all at the Whitt, where UNH is usually pretty strong. Besides, if UNH loses these games, they may end up being a 4 seed in the NCAAs, meaning BC is shut out of both East Coast regionals. Lets hope Dick Umile can right the ship.
UNH in two

#1 Boston College vs. #8 Massachusetts

BC started their road to the Frozen Four last weekend, picking up the first of what they hope is an armful of trophies. After surgically dismantling UNH Friday night, the Eagles fought back from a 2-0 deficit on the road to claim their first regular season title since 2005. BC has full intentions of getting back to the Garden next weekend, and it all starts with a series against UMass. The Minutemen have been improving on their dismal start, picking up a much-needed tie against Maine on home ice last Saturday to make the playoffs. It should be noted, however, that UMass has not won a league game since January 22nd. Ties don't count anymore. It hasn't been for lack of effort, however, as they gave BC two good games a few weeks back. They have a standout netminder in Paul Dainton, who keeps them in games. Offensively, they are paced by 12 goal scorer Mike Pereria, a freshman. They don't put up a lot of shots, and if BCs gets into Beast Mode with their top two lines, there is no stopping the Eagles from blowing them away. Last year's opening round saw pretty much the same thing, even when UMass had some strong offensive players up front. Not so this year. BC will roll in this one, getting to the Garden to play Northeastern...
BC in two