HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

No. 1/1 Boston College and No. 15/15 Boston University split a tightly contested weekend series that saw Drew Helleson (Farmington, Minn.) score the game-winning goal with 0.1 seconds left in overtime on Friday night for the Eagles. His end-to-end, highlight-reel goal earned the No. 2 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays segment. On Saturday, Vinny Duplessis (Quebec City, Que.) began his NCAA with a bang, backboning the Terriers to a win over the No. 1 team in the country with 40 saves.

The Eagles earned a 6-2 win on the road at No. 14 Northeastern on Tuesday evening. Boston College junior captain Marc McLaughlin (North Billerica, Mass.) scored his NCAA-leading fifth game-winning goal in the contest.

New Hampshire swept No. 20 UMass Lowell over the weekend, including a thrilling come-from-behind, 7-6 overtime win. Angus Crookshank (North Vancouver, B.C.) posted four goals and one assist, including forcing overtime by tying the contest at 11:52 of the third when to record his first collegiate hat trick. Then he scored the game-winning goal in overtime completing UNH’s comeback from a 6-3 deficit.

Merrimack earned a split with No. 14 Providence, using two goals from Liam Walsh (Bridgeville, Pa.) on Sunday, his second multi-goal effort of the season. The sophomore forward potted two goals, including the game-winning goal, to lead Merrimack to an upset road win over #16 Providence in Rhode Island. Walsh now has six points in his last six games (4g, 2), including two multi-point outings.

HOCKEY EAST CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Angus Crookshank - New Hampshire
Liam Walsh - Merrimack

Angus Crookshank (North Vancouver, B.C.) posted four goals and one assist for five points against No. 20 UMass Lowell in a 7-6 overtime win on Saturday. He forced overtime by tying the contest at 11:52 of the third when to record his first collegiate hat trick. Then he scored the game-winning goal in overtime completing UNH’s comeback from a 6-3 deficit. The last time a UNH player scored four goals was when Patrick Grasso netted four versus Merrimack on Oct. 29, 2016. The last time a Wildcat recorded five points was Kevin Goumas with three goals and two assists versus Denver on Nov. 24, 2012. Crookshank has four career overtime goals which are second in the nation by active players.

Liam Walsh (Bridgeville, Pa.) had his second multigoal effort of the season Sunday. The sophomore forward potted two goals, including the game-winning goal, to lead Merrimack to an upset road win over #16 Providence in Rhode Island. Walsh now has six points in his last six games (4g, 2), including two multipoint outings.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Vinny Duplessis - Boston University

Vinny Duplessis (Quebec City, Que.) began his NCAA with a bang on Saturday night, backboning the Terriers to a win over the No. 1 team in the country. In his collegiate debut, Duplessis made 40 saves to help the Terriers earn a 3-1 victory over top-ranked Boston College at Walter Brown Arena, making double-digit saves in each period.

HOCKEY EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Tomas Vomacka - UConn

Tomas Vomacka (Trutov, Czech Republic) stopped 24 shots and kept Northeastern off the scoreboard in the second and third periods to lead UConn to a 4-1 road win. It was his eighth win of the season.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Jack McBain, BC (Jr., F; Toronto, Ont.) Notched a team-best three points (1g, 2a) in a home-and-home split with No. 15 Boston University. He finished the series a plus-two with nine shots on net while winning 58% of his faceoffs.

Drew Helleson, BC (So., D; Farmington, Minn.) Scored the game-winning goal with 0.1 seconds left in overtime on Friday night, toppling No. 15 Boston University at Conte Forum. His end-to-end, highlight-reel goal earned the No. 2 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays segment. Helleson finished the weekend with a goal and two assists and nine shots on goal.

Luke Tuch, BU (Fr., F; Baldwinsville, N.Y.) Tuch scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, in the Terriers’ 3-1 home win over No. 1 Boston College on Saturday.

Alex Vlasic, BU (So., D; Wilmette, Ill.) Scored the first two goals of his collegiate career, potting one in both ends of a home-and-home series with No. 1 Boston College to help the Terriers take four of six points on the weekend.

Jonny Evans, UConn (Jr., F; North Delta, B.C.) Scored his 12th goal in the season and his second game-winner to lead UConn to a 4-1 win on the road at No. 14 Northeastern.

Artem Shlaine, UConn (Fr., F; Moscow, Russia) Scored his first career goal in UConn’s 4-1 road win at No. 14 Northeastern. Shlaine’s goal started a run of four-straight goals by the Huskies and he also extended his point streak to a season-best six straight games.

Andre Lee, UML (So., F; Karlstad, Sweden) Totaled two goals and one assist in a road game at New Hampshire on Saturday.

Henry Welsch, UML (Fr., G; Lakeville, Minn.) Totaled 17 saves on 19 shots against New Hampshire on Friday, Feb. 5.

Declan Carlile, MC (So., D; Hartland, Mich.) The Hobey Baker nominee had the seventh multi-point game of his young career when he tallied a pair of assists Sunday in Merrimack’s upset win over #16 Providence. He also blocked four shots in both games on the weekend to combine for eight, which lifted him to second in the nation in blocked shots per game with 3.20.

Luke Reid, UNH (Fr., D; Warman, Sask.) Tallied two assists for two points on the week versus No. 20 UMass Lowell. He posted an assist on UNH’s first goal in the 2-1 win on Friday, while he recorded an assist on the Wildcats’ first goal in the 7-6 overtime win on Saturday.

Kalle Eriksson, UNH (So., D; Leskand, Sweden) Totaled one goal and three assists for four points on the week versus No. 20 UMass Lowell. On Friday in the 2-1 win, he posted an assist on the first goal of the game, while he recorded one goal and two assists for a career-best three points as the Wildcats won 7-6 in overtime. Eriksson then tallied an assist on the overtime winner.