HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES
#8 Massachusetts swept #10 Providence in a massive Hockey East series that vaulted the Minutemen back into sole possession of first place in the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings. John Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) racked up five points (3g, 2a) in the series, including his first career hat trick in Saturday's 5-1 road win.
#12 Northeastern and Boston University will square off for the 68th Beanpot title Monday night at TD Garden. The Huskies are attempting a three-peat of Boston's bragging rights, a feat that has not been achieved since Boston College's run of five in a row from 2010-14.
#14 UMass Lowell earned four crucial points in league play, downing #4 Boston College in Chestnut Hill, 3-2, and earning a win at Merrimack, 4-3. Tyler Wall (Leamington, Ont.) stopped 47 of 52 shots on the weekend in two road wins, while freshman defenseman Marek Korencik (Zilina, Slovakia) scored his first two career goals, including the game-winning tally against the Eagles.
New Hampshire swept Vermont in a two-game set at the Whittemore Center, improving to 10-3-1 at home this season. The last time UNH swept a Hockey East weekend series was against then-#5 UMass Lowell on October 6-7, 2017.
Merrimack earned a weekend split in league play, toppling Boston University on the road, 5-1, before falling to #14 UMass Lowell. Tyler Irvine (Livonia, Mich.) netted a goal and added two assists Warriors' road win followed up with his team-leading 12th goal of the year the next night.
Vermont has been mathematically eliminated from Hockey East Tournament
contention with a maximum possible point total of 16. Eight teams have at least 18
points to date.
HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
![photo](https://hockeyeastonline.com/images/20192020/massachusetts/men/leonard7.jpg)
John Leonard - Massachuetts
John Leonard (Amherst, Mass.)
led UMass to a weekend sweep
of #10 Providence with a team-best
five points on three goals
and two assists to finish with
a plus-five rating. The junior
had a hand in four of five goals
in Saturday's 5-1 road victory
over the Friars, notching his first
career hat trick and an assist on
the power play for a career-high
four point effort. The three goals
brought Leonard's season total
to 20, becoming UMass' first
20-goal scorer since 2009-10 and
he currently ranks second in the
nation in goals.
PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
![photo](https://hockeyeastonline.com/images/articles1920/20200210wr2.jpg)
Alex Newhook - Boston College
Alex Newhook (St. John's Newfoundland) picked up multi-point outings in two contests last week, including a goal and an assist in his Beanpot debut against BU and a shorthanded tally and another helper on Friday against #14 UMass Lowell. Newhook tied for second among all league skaters with four points and led all of Hockey East with two power-play assists, three power-play points, and one short-handed goal.
Zac Jones - Massachusetts
Zac Jones (Glen Allen, Va.)
had four assists and was a
plus-three, helping UMass
to a weekend sweep of #10
Providence and backended
a UMass defense that
limited the Friars to just two
goals and only 37 shots over
two contests. He set up the
game-winning goal in Friday's
3-1 victory and had a season-best three helpers in
Saturday's 5-1 road victory.
HOCKEY EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
![photo](https://hockeyeastonline.com/images/20192020/umass-lowell/men/wall8.jpg)
Tyler Wall - UMass Lowell
Tyler Wall (Leamington,
Ont.) stopped 47 of 52
shots on the weekend in
two road wins at #4 Boston
College and Merrimack
to post a 2.50 GAA and a
.904 save percentage on
the weekend. Wall is now
15-5-5 on the year with a
.932 save percentage and
2.09 goals against average.
HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS
David Cotton, BC (Sr., F; Parker, Texas) Scored twice against Boston University in the Beanpot semifinal and finished a two-game week with a team-high 11 shots on goal. Patrick Harper, BU (Sr., F; New Canaan, Conn.) Netted a goal and added two helpers in the Terriers' instant- classic, come-from-behind overtime victory over #4 Boston College in the Beanpot semifinal. The game ended in an official 4-4- tie.
Robert Mastrosimone, BU (Fr., F; East Islip, N.Y.) Scored the late go-ahead goal in the Beanpot semifinal at 18:18 of the third period to put the Terriers up, 4-3, in an eventual official 4-4 draw, and found the back of the net in a 5-1 loss to Merrimack on Friday.
David Farrance, BU (Jr., D; Victor, N.Y.) Recorded a goal and two assists in the Beanpot semifinal against #4 Boston College and totaled four blocked shots on the week.
Marek Korencik, UML (Fr., D; Zilina, Slovakia) Netted his first two career goals last weekend, both of which proved to be game-winning tallies in road games, including Friday at #4 Boston College and Saturday at Merrimack.
Tyler Irvine, MC (Sr., F; Livonia, Mich.) Netted a goal and added two assists in the Warriors' 5-1 road win over Boston University Friday and followed up with his team-leading 12th goal of the year Saturday night against UMass Lowell in Merrimack's eventual 4-3 setback.
Benton Maass, UNH (Jr., D; Elk River, Minn.) Tied for the team-lead with two goals on the week and ranked first on the team with five blocked shots as the Wildcats went 2-0-0 against Vermont. He scored two goals on Friday in a 6-3 Wildcats win.