The answer to the question in the title is, frankly, not a whole lot. BC is pretty much going to be the #1 seed in Manchester, NH. With their series win last weekend, UNH has solidified themselves as a solid 2 or 3, meaning the committee SHOULD put the Eagles in the Northeast Regional.
With that said, the field is starting to take shape, and the bubble is getting thinner for the borderline schools.....
1 Yale
2 North Dakota
3 Boston College
4 Michigan
5 Miami
6 Denver
7 Minnesota-Duluth
8 Merrimack
9 Union
10 Notre Dame
11 New Hampshire
12 Western Michigan
13 Nebraska-Omaha
14 Colorado College
15 Dartmouth
16 RIT (Atlantic Hockey leader)
Bubble: RPI, BU, Maine, Minnesota all need some help this weekend. None of these teams are alive in their respective conference tourneys.
BC stands pat as a #1 in the latest PWR, but the big thing here is that with one more win, Northeastern enters as a TUC. This would not hurt BC much, as they would have a 2-2-1 record against the Huskies should they fall Friday night, but it won't help, either. A loss would probably keep them in 1 seed land, which means a favorable opening round opponent and an easier route to the Frozen Four, but that added TUC record could turn ugly. Its best to beat NU and get the auto berth as Hockey East champs.
UNH is in pretty good shape here, too. A loss to a top ten PWR team like Merrimack would not hurt their standing either. This is good, a 4 seed for UNH means BC is going out west.
Here's the take home message: BC does not NEED this weekend to go terrifically well to get where they want to go in the NCAA tourney. They do, however, want to win this thing. WE want them to win this thing. This is playoff hockey, and the more of it you play, the better. They will put their best effort to take home another Hockey East championship. We'll take a look at the final four later this week....
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
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
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
Thursday, March 3, 2011
UNH preview
HUGE games this weekend. Huge. Every game from here on out is a must win… it must be March baby!
The Hockey East regular season title comes down to the final weekend again this season, but the teams are much closer than they were last year. This time last year, UNH only needed a tie, which they got in game one of the weekend series. With both teams separated by one point, both games become critical here. BC needs 3 points to take the championship. UNH needs two. That’s the bottom line, children. Playoff hockey one week early… oh yeah!
Since the last time these two foes met on the Conte ice, things have been a bit different. In their first meeting, November 5th, UNH pulled out a 2-1 victory over a BC team struggling to score. That is no longer the case, as BC is the top scoring team in the conference, averaging 3.7 goals per game. They have started to get significant contributions from their second and third lines, evidenced by the offensive emergence of Jimmy Hayes and Bill Arnold. Solid goaltending (except against Northeastern, for some reason) has also helped the Eagles soar to the top of the rankings and threaten for their first Hockey East regular season trophy since 2004-2005. They have shown their mental toughness in back to back barn-burners, battling Northeastern goal for goal, refusing to lose. This team is a definite tough out, and is poised to make another run in the early spring.
UNH is also a tough out. They are #2 in HE in goals, averaging 3.48 per game. They are lead by seniors Paul Thompson, Mike Sislo, and Phil DeSimone, who have the lion’s share of the team’s goals on the year. Matt DiGirolamo has been solid in nets as well, helping UNH to the best GAA in Hockey East. These guys can flat out score, and keep other teams from scoring. They have struggled of late, having played the easier portion of their schedule early in the year. This allowed BC right back into the HE race after it looked like the Wildcats would take advantage of two games in hand and run away with the regular season. But they have played well enough to be right where they wanted to be, playing meaningful hockey games in March. BC will need to shut down the Thompson line to get anything done in this series, as that just may be the key to beating the Wildcats.
Predictions? Great hockey both nights. I think BC can take the 3 points they need here, but I think they get the tie at home Friday night. UNH always plays well in Conte. In contrast, the Whitt’s huge ice surface plays well to BC’s strengths, and they perform well up there. I think BC can win on the road, capturing the trophy Saturday night.
The Hockey East regular season title comes down to the final weekend again this season, but the teams are much closer than they were last year. This time last year, UNH only needed a tie, which they got in game one of the weekend series. With both teams separated by one point, both games become critical here. BC needs 3 points to take the championship. UNH needs two. That’s the bottom line, children. Playoff hockey one week early… oh yeah!
Since the last time these two foes met on the Conte ice, things have been a bit different. In their first meeting, November 5th, UNH pulled out a 2-1 victory over a BC team struggling to score. That is no longer the case, as BC is the top scoring team in the conference, averaging 3.7 goals per game. They have started to get significant contributions from their second and third lines, evidenced by the offensive emergence of Jimmy Hayes and Bill Arnold. Solid goaltending (except against Northeastern, for some reason) has also helped the Eagles soar to the top of the rankings and threaten for their first Hockey East regular season trophy since 2004-2005. They have shown their mental toughness in back to back barn-burners, battling Northeastern goal for goal, refusing to lose. This team is a definite tough out, and is poised to make another run in the early spring.
UNH is also a tough out. They are #2 in HE in goals, averaging 3.48 per game. They are lead by seniors Paul Thompson, Mike Sislo, and Phil DeSimone, who have the lion’s share of the team’s goals on the year. Matt DiGirolamo has been solid in nets as well, helping UNH to the best GAA in Hockey East. These guys can flat out score, and keep other teams from scoring. They have struggled of late, having played the easier portion of their schedule early in the year. This allowed BC right back into the HE race after it looked like the Wildcats would take advantage of two games in hand and run away with the regular season. But they have played well enough to be right where they wanted to be, playing meaningful hockey games in March. BC will need to shut down the Thompson line to get anything done in this series, as that just may be the key to beating the Wildcats.
Predictions? Great hockey both nights. I think BC can take the 3 points they need here, but I think they get the tie at home Friday night. UNH always plays well in Conte. In contrast, the Whitt’s huge ice surface plays well to BC’s strengths, and they perform well up there. I think BC can win on the road, capturing the trophy Saturday night.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Beanpot Final Tonight vs. Northeastern
Tonight your #1 Eagles go in search of their second straight Beanpot title when they face Northeastern at 7:30. The senior class is looking to wrap up their 3rd pot o beans in the last 4 tries, while Northeastern is looking for their first championship since 1988. It should be a very good game with plenty of great storylines, but its also the first of three straight this week against the Huskies. Lets take a look at how the teams match up:
Northeastern is a middle of the pack Hockey East team who has hit their stride of late. Gone is the team that lost three straight to Atlantic Hockey foes earlier this season. Coach Greg Cronin has his guys skating as one now, and its starting to pay off. Defense and goaltending has never been a problem for NU, as they are #2 in Hockey East in goals allowed (behind BC). Chris Rawlings has been stellar in net, and he covers quite a bit of it (6-5 210). BC could have some issues scoring tonight, as they have struggled in their last two outings to get the puck in the net.
Offensively, NU relies on their top line for most of their scoring, lead by seniors Wade MacLeod and Tyler McNeely. They account for 23 of the teams 67 goals (34%) this year. As mentioned earlier, BC leads the league in goals allowed, and will try to make it tough for these guys. John Muse has been an animal in the Beanpot, with a career 6 wins in the tournament, and he has been on fire of late, surrendering only 2 goals in his last 3 starts.
As an added bonus, former BC recruit Cody Ferriero plays for NU. He left BC before the season even started, claiming BC wasn't physical enough for him. Tonight, BC can show him that physical doesn't always translate into titles. There is also no love lost here between the fan bases, as Northeastern kids get up for games against BC, and Eagle fans can all remember the embarassing arse-whupping NU handed BC in 2009 (6-1 final in the first round of the Beanpot). Look for this game to again come down to the wire, with BC icing the win with an empty-netter late to kill NU's chance for a Beanpot breakthrough.
Prediction: BC 4 NU 2
This can serve as a preview for the entire week, as BC and NU face off twice this coming weekend as well, Friday at Conte and Saturday at Matthews Arena. It should be a great week of hockey for the two rivals. We'll have a breakdown later this week as well as another round of tournament projections, where Merrimack is making a push for a #1 seed.....
Northeastern is a middle of the pack Hockey East team who has hit their stride of late. Gone is the team that lost three straight to Atlantic Hockey foes earlier this season. Coach Greg Cronin has his guys skating as one now, and its starting to pay off. Defense and goaltending has never been a problem for NU, as they are #2 in Hockey East in goals allowed (behind BC). Chris Rawlings has been stellar in net, and he covers quite a bit of it (6-5 210). BC could have some issues scoring tonight, as they have struggled in their last two outings to get the puck in the net.
Offensively, NU relies on their top line for most of their scoring, lead by seniors Wade MacLeod and Tyler McNeely. They account for 23 of the teams 67 goals (34%) this year. As mentioned earlier, BC leads the league in goals allowed, and will try to make it tough for these guys. John Muse has been an animal in the Beanpot, with a career 6 wins in the tournament, and he has been on fire of late, surrendering only 2 goals in his last 3 starts.
As an added bonus, former BC recruit Cody Ferriero plays for NU. He left BC before the season even started, claiming BC wasn't physical enough for him. Tonight, BC can show him that physical doesn't always translate into titles. There is also no love lost here between the fan bases, as Northeastern kids get up for games against BC, and Eagle fans can all remember the embarassing arse-whupping NU handed BC in 2009 (6-1 final in the first round of the Beanpot). Look for this game to again come down to the wire, with BC icing the win with an empty-netter late to kill NU's chance for a Beanpot breakthrough.
Prediction: BC 4 NU 2
This can serve as a preview for the entire week, as BC and NU face off twice this coming weekend as well, Friday at Conte and Saturday at Matthews Arena. It should be a great week of hockey for the two rivals. We'll have a breakdown later this week as well as another round of tournament projections, where Merrimack is making a push for a #1 seed.....
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Exciting Beanpot win and climbing the polls
Monday night, BC won a thriling game over BU 3-2 to advance to the Beanpot finals. This is an important win for the Eagles, as it moves them to the finals of this tournament and it moves them up in the pairwise as well. In addition, BC has never lost the Beanpot and won a national championship, so there's that to ponder as well....
As far as the polls go, BC is still your #1 team, followed by Yale. The Eagles were near-unanimous #1, save for a few single votes to the Bulldogs, Minnesota-Duluth and UNH. Funny enough, the Wildcats are actually the leaders in Hockey East right now, but trail the Eagles in all of the polls. Other Hockey East foes appearing in the polls are the aforementioned Wildcats (6/6), Merrimack (11/11), BU (14/14), and Maine (18).
USCHO
USA Today
As far as tournament projections go, here is what the field of 16 would look like, based on today's PWR:
1 Yale
2 Boston College
3 Minnesota-Duluth 26
4 New Hampshire
5 North Dakota
6 Denver
7 Rensselaer
8 Wisconsin 21
9 Union
10 Merrimack
11 Notre Dame
12 Michigan
13 Western Michigan
14 Nebraska-Omaha
15 Dartmouth
16 RIT (auto bid from Atlantic Hockey)
Based on this, BC would not be playing in Manchester, as UNH would automatically get that spot. More than likely the Eagles would be in Bridgeport (oh boy!) with Dartmouth, RPI and Merrimack. Not a bad regional, actually. BC is catching up to Yale in the comparisons, but does not have another TUC game until they play UNH in March. They are going to need to keep taking care of business in order to keep pace for the top spot in the tournament. A Harvard matchup in the Beanpot would have helped that (common opponent with Yale), but to no avail.
We're getting there, and the Eagles continue to play winning hockey. They have a possible trap game with Providence this weekend. Hopefully they do not look ahead to Monday night and can finish off a season sweep of the Friars on the road.
PC preview coming soon...
As far as the polls go, BC is still your #1 team, followed by Yale. The Eagles were near-unanimous #1, save for a few single votes to the Bulldogs, Minnesota-Duluth and UNH. Funny enough, the Wildcats are actually the leaders in Hockey East right now, but trail the Eagles in all of the polls. Other Hockey East foes appearing in the polls are the aforementioned Wildcats (6/6), Merrimack (11/11), BU (14/14), and Maine (18).
USCHO
USA Today
As far as tournament projections go, here is what the field of 16 would look like, based on today's PWR:
1 Yale
2 Boston College
3 Minnesota-Duluth 26
4 New Hampshire
5 North Dakota
6 Denver
7 Rensselaer
8 Wisconsin 21
9 Union
10 Merrimack
11 Notre Dame
12 Michigan
13 Western Michigan
14 Nebraska-Omaha
15 Dartmouth
16 RIT (auto bid from Atlantic Hockey)
Based on this, BC would not be playing in Manchester, as UNH would automatically get that spot. More than likely the Eagles would be in Bridgeport (oh boy!) with Dartmouth, RPI and Merrimack. Not a bad regional, actually. BC is catching up to Yale in the comparisons, but does not have another TUC game until they play UNH in March. They are going to need to keep taking care of business in order to keep pace for the top spot in the tournament. A Harvard matchup in the Beanpot would have helped that (common opponent with Yale), but to no avail.
We're getting there, and the Eagles continue to play winning hockey. They have a possible trap game with Providence this weekend. Hopefully they do not look ahead to Monday night and can finish off a season sweep of the Friars on the road.
PC preview coming soon...
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Beanpot 2011: Preview
Its the first Monday in February, so you know what that means.... Beanpot time! BC looks to defend their crown against Beanpot royalty BU while Northeastern and Harvard look for a rare championship game appearance in the early game. As always, anything can happen in the Beanpot, but the favorites are playing each other this year at 8pm on the Garden ice.
Game One: Northeastern vs. Harvard 5pm
The early game pits two of the less-storied Beanpot entries, as Harvard and Northeastern have won 14 titles combined, one less than BC has alone. This should be a hard-fought game, as both of these guys are almost never in the finals, so any chance to get to the late game next week is taken very seriously.
Northeastern has been hot of late, winning or tying every game they played up until last Fridays setback to Merrimack in OT, including a 3-0 victory over Harvard on January 19th. The Huskies hang their hats on solid goaltending from their sophomore goalie Chris Rawlings and their senior leadership in forwards Tyler McNeely and Wade MacLeod. MacLeod has scored 13 goals this season, leading the team and putting him in the top 10 in Hockey East. Defensively, NU has a plus 3 goal differentia, and they can be a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. They played BC tough early on this year in October, and even though they own a 1-2 record against Beanpot teams, the Huskies lost both of those games by close margins.
Harvard comes into this tournament on a two game skid, dropping their last two to Ivy rivals Cornell (2-1) and Yale (1-0). But some good things can be taken from those games, based on the fact that both games were hard fought contests and they only yielded one goal to the top offense in the nation, Yale. Offensively, Harvard struggles to score, netting an average of 1.8 goals a game. Lead by the Biega brothers (Michael and Danny), the Crimson offense has been anything but dominant. Defensively, they are surrendering 3 goals a game, with senior Kyle Richter taking up most of the time between the pipes.
The Huskies are going to try to impose their will on the Crimson in this one. Their top line will put plenty of pressure on a Harvard defensive unit that is frankly not that good. The only way Harvard has a shot in this is if they get some lucky breaks and score some goals on the power play, but even that has not been great for the Crimson this year. It won't be a bloodbath, but I've got NU moving on for a shot to end their schneid in the Beanpot.
Prediction: Northeastern 3 Harvard 1
Game One: Northeastern vs. Harvard 5pm
The early game pits two of the less-storied Beanpot entries, as Harvard and Northeastern have won 14 titles combined, one less than BC has alone. This should be a hard-fought game, as both of these guys are almost never in the finals, so any chance to get to the late game next week is taken very seriously.
Northeastern has been hot of late, winning or tying every game they played up until last Fridays setback to Merrimack in OT, including a 3-0 victory over Harvard on January 19th. The Huskies hang their hats on solid goaltending from their sophomore goalie Chris Rawlings and their senior leadership in forwards Tyler McNeely and Wade MacLeod. MacLeod has scored 13 goals this season, leading the team and putting him in the top 10 in Hockey East. Defensively, NU has a plus 3 goal differentia, and they can be a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. They played BC tough early on this year in October, and even though they own a 1-2 record against Beanpot teams, the Huskies lost both of those games by close margins.
Harvard comes into this tournament on a two game skid, dropping their last two to Ivy rivals Cornell (2-1) and Yale (1-0). But some good things can be taken from those games, based on the fact that both games were hard fought contests and they only yielded one goal to the top offense in the nation, Yale. Offensively, Harvard struggles to score, netting an average of 1.8 goals a game. Lead by the Biega brothers (Michael and Danny), the Crimson offense has been anything but dominant. Defensively, they are surrendering 3 goals a game, with senior Kyle Richter taking up most of the time between the pipes.
The Huskies are going to try to impose their will on the Crimson in this one. Their top line will put plenty of pressure on a Harvard defensive unit that is frankly not that good. The only way Harvard has a shot in this is if they get some lucky breaks and score some goals on the power play, but even that has not been great for the Crimson this year. It won't be a bloodbath, but I've got NU moving on for a shot to end their schneid in the Beanpot.
Prediction: Northeastern 3 Harvard 1
Game Two: Boston College vs Boston University 8pm
These two schools have won the last 17 titles between them, with the vast, vast majority of those wins coming from the downtown end of Comm Ave. BC has had the upper hand of late, winning 2 of the last 3. BC also swept the season series from BU this year, winning two of the three on the road. The Eagles are also the defending champions, having beaten the Terriers in a thriller last year.
Boston College, fresh off the programs fourth national championship, enters the tournament as the on-paper favorite. They are the #1 team in the nation, according to both major polls, and they sit atop Hockey East as well. They boast one of the top goal scorers on the country in Cam Atkinson. They can score goals... alot of goals. But BC has weaknesses, and if there is one team in the country that knows how to push their buttons, its BU.
Boston University is Beanpot royalty. They have won 29 of the 59 tournaments. They get up for this more than any other school. Some may even say this is their national championship, so to speak. Whatever the case, they know how to win this thing. The Terriers have been pretty hot lately, grabbing three of four points from Maine in Orono two weeks ago and a beating down on UMass Lowell last Friday. Kieran Milan is playing well for them in nets, and he'll have to be on his game against a tough BC attack.
BU is going to try to force BC to play their style: physical, punch you in the mouth hockey. BC will need to out-finesse the Terriers or they will be forced to play a style they don't like. The Terriers are built to beat one team and one team only - BC. They have the horses and the memories of three tough losses this year to fuel their fire..... Only I just don't think that will be enough. If BC gets out to an early lead, and avoids the penalty box (tough to do against BU), then they win going away. If BU forces BC to take stupid penalties, they can keep it tight with goals on the man advantage. I see a nailbiter.... par for the course with these two clubs
Prediction: BC 4 BU 3 (2OT)
Big Win In Beanpot Tune-up
BC continued their winning ways with a solid 5-0 win over UMass Friday night. If the score doesn't tell you, it was a dominating effort for the Eagles. BC now heads into the Beanpot on a high note. Monday should be great, and we'll handicap the Beanpot next. Oh, and Denver split their series with Colorado College this weekend, so that could help BC immensely in the Pairwise.
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