HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

#12 Northeastern claimed the fifth annual Friendship Four championship in Belfast, Northern Ireland, winning Hockey East's third Belpot Trophy. Ryan Shea (Milton, Mass.) was named MVP tournament after leading the Huskies with two game-winning goals and three assists. Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) had a 25-save shutout in Friday's semifinal against New Hampshire to vault Northeastern into first place in the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings.

#15 UMass Lowell took home the Turkey Leg Classic title, topping RPI, 4-0, and downing #7 Penn State, 3-2, in overtime of the championship game. Andre Lee (Karlstad, Sweden) amassed four points (1g, 3a) on the weekend, notching a goal in the win over Penn State Saturday. Senior netminder Tyler Wall (Leamington, Ont.) ranks fourth in the nation with a .947 save percentage and has 30+ saves in nine of 15 starts and has allowed 2 goals or less in 12 contests.

Boston College swept a pair of games against ECAC foes, topping Yale, 6-2, on Tuesday and scoring four unanswered tallies on Friday afternoon to hand #9 Harvard its first loss of the year. Aapeli Rasanen (Tampere, Finland) led the Eagles with five points on two goals and three assists, including the game winning goal against Yale.

UConn swept Miami at home over the weekend, the Huskies' first home weekend sweep since the season-opening series over Alabama Huntsville in Oct. 2016. Vladislav Firstov (Yaroslavl, Russia) scored two goals and added an assist in Friday's 6-4 win over the RedHawks to earn Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week honors.

Providence won the 34th edition of the Mayor's Cup on Friday, 4-2, over cross-town rival Brown for the fourth consecutive year.

Merrimack sophomore Chase Gresock (Powell, Ohio) scored his first career hat trick in a 5-1 win over RPI on Saturday evening.

HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Ryan Shea - Northeastern

Ryan Shea (Milton, Mass.) was named MVP of the fifth annual Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland after leading the Huskies to the Belpot Championship with two game-winning goals and three assists for five points. Shea has now factored in on each of Northeastern's last four game-winning strikes and has moved NU into first place in the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Vladislav Firstov - UConn

Vladislav Firstov (Yaroslavl, Russia) scored two goals and added an assist in Friday's 6-4 win over Miami. Firstov scored in the second period and then provided what would be the game-winner, his first power play goal, in teh third period as the Huskies stormed back for a two-goal win. Firstov added another power play point by setting up Ruslan Iskhakov for a first period extra-man goal. It was the rookie's first career multi-goal game.

HOCKEY EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Tyler Wall - UMass Lowell

Tyler Wall (Leamington, Ont.) stopped 57 of 59 shots (.966 sv%) in two victories over the weekend in the Turkey Leg Classic. He totaled 23 saves in his ninth career shutout on Friday against RPI and followed that up with 34 stops in a 3-2 overtime win against #7 Penn State on Saturday in the Turkey Leg Classic Championship Game. Wall's 57 saves were just one off the league lead last week.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Aapeli Rasanen, BC (Jr., F; Tampere, Finland) Led the Eagles with five points on two goals and three assists in a pair of wins over ECAC opponents Yale and #6 Harvard. He posted a goal and two assists, including the game winning goal, during a 6-2 win over Yale on Tuesday. The junior added another multi-point game with a goal and an assist in BC's seventh straight win on Friday over previously unbeaten Harvard.

Alex Newhook, BC (Fr., F; St. John's, New.) Had three points and a plus-2 rating in a pair of wins against Yale and No. 6 Harvard. He posted his first career multi-assist game against the Bulldogs, and tied the game at two against the Crimson late in the second period with a goal in a 4-2 victory.

Logan Hutsko, BC (Jr., F; Tampa, Fla.) Led the league with three power-play points and two power-play assists in helping BC to a 2-0-0 week against Yale and previously unbeaten #9 Harvard.

Spencer Knight, BC (Fr., G; Darien, Conn.) Posted a 2.00 goals against average and .926 save percentage in a pair of wins against Yale and #6 Harvard, stopping 50 of the 54 shots he faced. He made 24 saves against the Crimson on Friday and helped BC kill off three power plays in the third period, extending his personal winning streak to seven games.

Brian Rigali, UConn (Jr., F; Libertyville, Ill.) Had a four-point weekend as the Huskies swept Miami University at the XL Center. In Friday's 6-4 win, Rigali tallied a career-high three assists, his first multi-point game this season. On Saturday, Rigali scored a third period goal as the Huskies came up with a 4-3 win over the RedHawks to earn a sweep over the NCHC rival.

Connor Sodergren, UML (Jr., F; Tewksbury, Mass.) Had two goals on Friday in the 4-0 shutout win vs. RPI, also totaled a plus-four rating and five shots on goal in the two wins.

Andre Lee, UML (Fr., F; Karlstad, Sweden) Amassed four points (1g, 3a) on the weekend in the River Hawks' two wins. He notched a goal in the win vs. #7 Penn State Saturday. Had four shots and a plus-four rating on the weekend.

Chase Gresock, MC (So., F; Powell, Ohio) Notched the first Merrimack hat trick since Feb. 2017 when he scored a trio against RPI Saturday night. He was an RPI goal away from a natural hat trick, as he reach five goals on the season in the Warriors' 5-1 victory.

Zach Vinnell, MC (Fr., D; Cochrane, Alta.) Picked up a pair of assists Saturday night in the Warriors' 5-1 triumph over RPI. He picked up helpers on Chase Gresock's second and third goals during his hat trick performance.

Craig Pantano, NU (Gr., G; Bridgewater, Mass.) Posted a 25-save shutout, his first as a Husky, over New Hampshire on Friday morning in the fifth annual Friendship Four semifinal in Belfast, Northern Ireland.