October 25, 2010

ATHLETIC REPUBLIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK #10 BRIAN FLYNN, MAINE (Junior Forward; Lynnfield, Mass.) Flynn scored three goals in Maine's weekend sweep over No. 2 ranked North Dakota at Alfond Arena. He scored two goals in Friday night's game and followed that up by tallying the game-winning goal on Saturday as Maine swept the series. He finished the weekend with eight shots on goal and a +1 rating. PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK #3 CHAD RUHWEDEL, UMASS-LOWELL (Freshman Defenseman; San Diego, Calif.) Ruhwedel had three points (1g,2a) and a +1 rating in a 1-1-0 weekend for UML. The rookie defenseman scored his first collegiate goal against Providence on Friday night at the Tsongas Center. PURE HOCKEY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK #37 CHRIS RAWLINGS, NORTHEASTERN (Soph. Goaltender; North Delta, B.C.)) Rawlings matched a career-high with 43 saves on Friday in the 2-2 tie with No. 7 UNH and combined for 82 stops (.965 save percentage) in the weekend to help Northeastern take 3-of-4 points in league play. HOCKEY EAST TEAM OF THE WEEK MAINE BLACK BEARS The Black Bears swept No. 2 North Dakota over the weekend at Alfond Arena, scoring 11 goals in the two games. Maine was 5-for-19 (26.3%) on the power play in the two-game series vs. the Fighting Sioux and the penalty kill went 9-for-10 on the weekend. Maine scored five goals on Friday night in the 7-4 series opening win and then followed that up with a 4-2 Saturday vs. the WCHA foe.

Athletic Republic Player of the Week Brian Flynn of the University of Maine

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Spencer Abbott, Maine (Jr., F, Hamilton, Ont.) Scored a goal and added three assists as Maine swept North Dakota.

Matt Bergland, PC (Jr., F, Faribault, Minn.) Recorded a goal on Friday at UMass Lowell and had one assist at BU on Saturday.

Joe Cannata, MC (Jr., G, Wakefield, Mass.) Stopped 38 shots (.950 save%) in a 2-2 tie at Vermont Saturday.

Alex Chiasson, BU (So., F, St. Augustin, Que.) Notched the game-winning goal and added an assist in the Terriers' 2-1 win Saturday.

Charlie Coyle, BU (Fr., F, East Weymouth, Mass.) Tallied a goal and an assist in the Terriers' 4-3 road win over UMass on Friday.

Stephane Da Costa, MC (So., F, Paris, France) Posted two assists in a 2-2 tie with Vermont Saturday night.

Matt DiGirolamo, UNH, (Jr., G, Ambler, Pa.) Stopped 37 of 39 shots to preserve a 2-2 tie with Northeastern.

Luke Eibler, NU (Fr., D, Pinckney, Mich.) Finished with a +2 rating and recorded an assist in each game.

Danny Hobbs, UMass (Jr., F, Shawville, Que.) Recorded a career-high three assists and a plus-2 rating in the 4-3 loss to No. 8 BU.

Rob Madore, UVM (Jr., G, Pittsburgh, Pa.) Turned aside 36 of 38 shots in a 2-2 tie against Merrimack on Saturday.

Mike McLaughlin, NU (Jr., F, Seaforth, Ont.) Scored his second-career two-goal game in a 2-2 draw against New Hampshire.

Tyler McNeely, NU (Sr., F, Burnaby, B.C.) Notched a pair of goals and an assist in the win at UMass Lowell.

Kieran Millan (Jr., G, Edmonton, Alta.) Earned both of BU's wins in goal, including a 39-save performance in Saturday's 2-1 victory vs. PC.

John Muse, BC (Sr., G, East Falmouth, Mass.) Recorded 32 saves in the team's 2-1 loss at No. 17 Notre Dame.

Gustav Nyquist, Maine (Jr., F, Malmo, Sweden) Scored two goals and had two assists in Maine's weekend sweep over #2 No. Dakota.

Darren Rowe, UMass (So., D, Simi Valley, Calif.) Registered his first career multi-goal game with two scores in the 4-3 loss to BU.

Ryan Ruikka, BU (So., D, Chelsea, Mich.) Recorded the first points of his career with a goal and an assist in Saturday's win vs. PC.

Dalton Speelman, UNH, (So. F, San Jose, Calif.) Scored a goal in a 2-2 tie vs. NU, he has scored four of his five career goals vs. NU.

Dan Sullivan, Maine (Fr., G, York, Pa.) Picked up his first collegiate win with 23 saves on Saturday with a 4-2 victory vs. No. 2 No. Dakota.

Paul Thompson, UNH (Sr., F, Derry, N.H.) Tallied a goal in a 2-2 tie at Northeastern.

CAREER FIRSTS/MILESTONES/WHO's HOT

Ben Albertson, UVM (Williston, Vt.) Scored the first goal of his career in Saturday's tie vs. Merrimack

BOSTON COLLEGE PENALTY KILL Finished 8-for-9 in penalty-killing situations in the game at Notre Dame and is now 31-for-32 on the PK this season

BOSTON UNIVERSITY PENALTY KILL Killed off 23 of its opponents' last 24 power-play chances

Shawn Bates, MC (Fort Saskatchewan , Alta .) Scored his first career goal at Vermont

Mike Hewkin, NU (ST. CHARLES, MO.) Skated in his 100th career game against New Hampshire

Danny Hobbs, UMass (Shawville, Que.) Had a career-high 3 assists against No. 8 Boston University

Blake Kessel, UNH (Verona, Wis.) Has registered a point in all four games this season

Tyler Landman, PC (Roseau, Minn.) Scored his first career goal at UMass Lowell on Friday

Michael Marcou, UMass (Kings Park, N.Y.) Has four points (2g, 2a) in four games

Matt Nieto, BU (Long Beach, Calif.) Recorded first career assist in Saturday's home win vs. PC

Gustav Nyquist, Maine (Malmo, Sweden) Became the 48th player in Maine hockey history to score 100 career points. Has 102 career points (34g,68a) in 83 career games

Darren Rowe, UMass (Simi Valley, Calif.) Scored a pair of goals vs. #8 Boston U. to extend his scoring streak to four games (4g,1a)

Chad Ruhwedel, UML (SAN DIEGO, CALIF.) Has six points (1g,5a) and a +5 rating in the last three games

Dan Sullivan, MAINE (York, Pa.) Earned his first career win on Saturday vs. No. 2 No. Dakota

Ryan Ruikka, BU (Chelsea, Mich.) Recorded the first points of his career vs. PC Saturday (1g,1a)

Steve Silva , NU (TYNGSBORO, MASS.) Skated in his 100th career game at UMass Lowell

Tim Schaller, PC (Merrimack, N.H.) Has recorded one point in all five games this season

TEAM NOTES

Boston College: BC suffered its first defeat of the season, snapping a 15-game unbeaten streak (14-0-1) dating to a 3-2 loss at Northeastern on Feb. 19, 2010… BC fell to 8-6-2 in 16 meetings against Notre Dame under Jerry York, including a 4-2-1 record in South Bend, Ind. Saturday's contest concluded a 14-game home-and-home series between the Eagles and Irish that began in York's first season at the Heights (1994-95). Each team has now played seven games at its home venue. Next winter, BC and Notre Dame will begin a new six-game home-and-home series in South Bend, Ind. The teams are scheduled to open Notre Dame's new facility in which the ice rink is to be named the Charles W. "Lefty" Smith, Jr. Rink, in honor of the first coach in the program's history…Notre Dame's decisive goal scored with a two-man advantage at 17:11 of the second period snapped a streak of 26 straight penalties killed this season. It also lifted an opponent to its first lead over BC this season (a span of 217:11)…Notre Dame earned its fourth victory over BC while the Eagles were ranked No. 1 in the nation – Oct. 23, 2003 (1-0), Oct. 22, 2004 (3-2), Oct. 21, 2006 (7-1) and Oct. 23, 2010 (2-1).

Boston University: The Terriers have matched their best start through five games since 1991, as the 2001-02 squad had a identical 4-0-1 record as part of a 6-0-1 start...Junior Kieran Millan's 39-save performance against Providence on Saturday equaled the second-best total of his career…Last year, the Terriers went 2-9-2 in games in which it trailed after one period, but are already 2-0-0 in that situation this year…Twenty-six of the Terriers' last 46 games have been decided by a single goal and BU is 18-8 in those contests...BU is a full month ahead of last year's pace in regards to wins, as the 2009-10 Terriers did not earn their fourth win until Nov. 24 and then did not pick up their fifth win until Jan. 2…Freshman Sahir Gill (Terrace, B.C.) picked up the game-winning goal in Friday's win at UMass and now holds the team lead in points with six (2g, 4a)…The Terriers' fourth line of Ross Gaudet (Burlington, Mass.), Kevin Gilroy (North Bellmore, N.Y.) and Andrew Glass (Wrentham, Mass.) turned in a strong effort in the victory over UMass and manufactured BU's go-ahead goal - Glass' first of the year.

Maine: Maine swept a weekend series with undefeated and second ranked North Dakota…Junior standout Gustav Nyquist reached the 100- point plateau on Friday night. He now has 102 career points in 83 career games…Maine scored five goals in the first period on Friday against the Fighting Sioux…Robby Dee (Plymouth, Minn.) put Maine on the board just 43 seconds in the game. t is the first time that the Black Bears have scored five goals in a period since tallying five against Merrimack in the third period on Feb. 26, 2010…Maine had a season-high 5,361 fans on Saturday night, the most since Jan. 25, 2008 when 5,365 pack the Alfond to watch Maine and Boston College…Spencer Abbott and Nyquist each have at least one point in all six games this season…Maine has allowed just one power play goal in its last 17 penalty kills…Maine's win over second ranked North Dakota was the first win over a #2 ranked team since Nov. 9, 2008 when Maine skated past then second ranked Boston College 2-1…Both the Boston College game and the North Dakota game were televised nationally from Alfond Arena....Later that season, Maine defeated top-ranked Boston University…Maine has won four straight games against North Dakota, the longest winning streak by either team in the series.

Massachusetts: UMass set a new home opener attendance record with 7,021 fans against Boston University…Despite being 0-3-1 to start the season in four game against two top-15 programs, UMass has only been outscored by an average of 1 goal in each game…Seven of UMass' 12 goals have been scoring at even strength – of the other five, three have been scored on the power play and two have been scored with an extra skater (goalie pulled)…UMass scored its first 1st period goal of the game against Boston University on Friday…The BU game also marked the first time UMass has held an opponent scoreless in the first period…UMass is now outscoring opponents 7-to-4 in the third period after scoring twice against Boston University…Defensemen account for 7 of UMass' 12 goals this season…This weekend's series against Providence will be the first true home-and-home series of the year for UMass – it also marks the first non-ranked opponent UMass will play…Six of the next nine games will be played at home for UMass.

UMass-Lowell: The River Hawks picked up a weekend split as they beat Providence, 5-4 OT, and fell to Northeastern, 3-1…UMass Lowell packed 5,485 fans into the Tsongas Center for Friday's home opener against the Friars…The overtime period was the River Hawks' third in its first four games…By comparison, the River Hawks didn't play their third overtime game last season until Jan. 8 at New Hampshire (20th game) and didn't pick up its first overtime victory until Jan. 9 at Northeastern (21st game)…Freshman Chad Ruhwedel assisted on the first two UML goals against Providence, extending his streak to five consecutive goals in which he had an assist …Of the five goals scored against Providence, those tallied by Ruhwedel, Derek Arnold (Foxboro, Mass.) and Joseph Pendenza (Wilmington, Mass.) were career firsts…Against Northeastern, the River Hawks outshot the Huskies, 40-26, but couldn't convert…UML has recorded 40 or more shots on goal in three games this season after reaching the mark just twice during the 2009-10 campaign…Maury Edwards (Rocky Rapids, Alta.) scored the lone River Hawk goal against Northeastern, his 19th career power play tally…Up next, UML battles Boston University in a home-and-home series that kicks off at the Tsongas Center on Friday at 7 p.m.

Merrimack: Merrimack opened Hockey East play with a 2-2 tie at Vermont Saturday night…The Warriors are undefeated (2-0-1) through three games this season…Stephane Da Costa had two points for the third straight game and is tied for third nationally and first in Hockey East in points per game…Merrimack ranks seventh nationally and second in Hockey East in goals per game, with 4.33 per game through three games this season…The Warriors' penalty kill is perfect and is the only perfect penalty kill left in the country. They have not allowed a goal in 13 short-handed situations this season…Shawn Bates notched his first career goal in Saturday's tie…The tie marked the second straight season and second time under Coach Dennehy that Merrimack earned a point in its Hockey East opener…After starting 0-13 on the road last year, Merrimack went 1-0-1 at Vermont in mid-February and is 3-1-3 on the road since…Chris Barton, who is one of four finalists for Lowe's Senior Class Award, notched his second goal of the season on the power play, playing in his 108th straight game…Merrimack will battle #1 and the defending National Champion Boston College this weekend, playing at Conte Forum Friday before returning to Lawler Rink Saturday.

New Hampshire: New Hampshire extended its unbeaten streak to three games, nation's ninth longest streak, with a 2-2 tie with Northeastern in the Hockey East opener…For the second-straight game, the Wildcats had 40-plus shots peppering NU netminder Chris Rawlings with 45 shots…Blake Kessel extended his point-streak to six games dating date to last year's 6-2 win over Cornell in the NCAA East Regional opening round…UNH has scored a power play goal in each of the first four games this season…Senior Paul Thompson has three of those power play goals and ranks fourth in the nation in that category…The Wildcats will travel to play Cornell for the Big Red's season opener on Saturday…UNH has played catch up a lot this season with a 1-0-2 mark when its opponent scores the first goal with a 0-1-0 mark in the only contest it scored the first goal.

Northeastern: Northeastern earned its first victory of the season and earned three out of four points in league play this weekend with a tie at home vs. UNH (2-2) and a 3-1 victory at Tsongas Center over UMass Lowell on Saturday. The Huskies offense finally broke through as junior Mike McLaughlin accounted for both Huskies' goals in the 2-2 draw against the Wildcats. The following night, Tyler McNeely registered his 15th-career multi-point game and fourth-career three-point outing with a pair of goals (one as an empty-netter) and an assist in NU's first triumph of 2010-11. Steve Silva notched the game winner at Tsongas Center in his 100th-career contest while Northeastern's freshmen corps continues to shine. On the flipside, Northeastern's defense has been anchored by the stellar play of Huskies' netminder, Chris Rawlings (North Delta, B.C.) is currently second in the nation in save percentage (.950) and seventh in the NCAA in GAA (1.75). NUs backstopper matched a career-best with 43 stops against New Hampshire on Friday night and followed his performance with a 39-save showing to stabilize NU's defense and lead it to victory. Rawlings has only surrendered nine goals on 179 shots. Dan Morrison of Canisius is the only goaltender in the country to have recorded more saves than Rawlings (194).

Providence College: Providence College outshot Boston University, 40-20, (33-12 in the last two periods) in its 2-1 loss Saturday night at Agganis Arena…All four lines scored one goal in the Friars' contest at UMass Lowell on Friday…Sophomore Tim Schaller (Merrimack, N.H.) who had five points in 33 games as a freshman, already has five points in five games this season. He has recorded one point in every game for the Friars this season…The Friars, who are in the midst of a five-game road trip, will play their first home game in three weeks on Saturday, October 30 when they take on the UMass at Schneider Arena.

Vermont: Vermont leads the all-time series against Merrimack 11- 7-5 following Saturday's 2-2 tie…Eleven of the 16 meetings between Vermont and Merrimack in Hockey East play have been decided by one goal or ended in a tie…The Catamounts have the third fewest penalty minutes per game in the country (7.3)…Vermont has sold out every Hockey East home game since joining the league in 2005-06…Senior assistant captain Jack Downing (New Canaan, Conn.) scored a shorthanded goal on Saturday…It marked the first short-handed goal for a Catamount since defenseman Kevan Miller had one in a 3-2 win at Boston College on Nov. 15 last season…UVM is 65-21-18 in its last 104 games when scoring first…Vermont hosts Maine on Saturday Oct. 30 at 7:05 p.m. in a game that will be televised on WCAXtra…Last season the Black Bears went 2-0-1 against the Catamounts.

COMMISSIONER'S CORNER

I am clearly biased when it comes to college hockey arenas, and that is frowned upon in a commissioner. But for me, nothing beats Northeastern University's Matthews Arena, which is celebrating its 100th year of hosting sporting events in Boston. On Friday, I took in a doubleheader and saw the Northeastern women top Princeton, 2-1, in a late matinee that was followed by UNH and NU men battling to a 2-2 draw in the nightcap.

After an extensive renovation two summers ago, the building looks great. The old-time balcony hangs over the ice with a couple of thousand students in replica jerseys providing an irreverent soundtrack to the excitement on the ice. Fans won't get to see the participant level below but the renovation took particular aim at locker rooms and other amenities for home teams and visiting teams alike.

The newer buildings in college hockey are spectacular but give me Matthews, Alfond, "The Gut" and other older buildings on a cold Friday or Saturday winter night.