November 22, 2010

ATHLETIC REPUBLIC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK #16 JESSE TODD, MERRIMACK COLLEGE (Junior Forward; Camrose, Alta.) Todd netted his first collegiate hat trick in Friday's 4-3 victory, tying the game at UMass Lowell with 2:20 remaining in the third before winning it with 37 seconds left in regulation. He finished the weekend with five shots on goal and a +3 rating for the Warriors. ATHLETIC REPUBLIC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK #17 PAUL THOMPSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE (Senior Forward; Derry, N.H.) Thompson scored three goals and added two assists for five points in a weekend split with #2 Boston University. He registered two goals and an assist on Friday night's 5-2 win at the Whittemore Center and factored in both UNH goals with a goal and an assist on Saturday night. Thompson posted a team-high 13 shots on goal on the weekend for the Wildcats. PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK #39 ROB DONGARA, NORTHEASTERN (Freshman Forward; Scituate, Mass.) Dongara scored his third-career goal on Friday night at Providence and added an assist on Wade MacLeod's game-winner on Saturday in the 5-0 shutout of the Friars. PURE HOCKEY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK #1 JOHN MUSE, BOSTON COLLEGE (Senior Goaltender; East Falmouth, Mass.) Muse stopped 70-of-71 shots faced in a two-game home sweep against No. 3 Maine (0.50 GAA, .986 save percentage). He recorded 32 saves on Friday in his 10th career shutout and followed that up with 38 stops on Sunday. HOCKEY EAST TEAM OF THE WEEK BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES The Eagles outscored No. 3 Maine, 8-1, in the series over the weekend at Conte Forum. BC's power play was 3-for-7 on the weekend, while its penalty kill was a perfect 12-for-12 in the two-game series. The Eagles' defense limited the league's offensive leader to only one goal on 71 shots.

Athletic Republic Co-Players of the Week Jesse Todd and Paul Thompson

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Bill Arnold, BC (Fr., F, Needham, Mass.) Tallied two points (1g,1a) in a 4-1 win over No. 3 Maine on Sunday.

Chris Barton, MC (Sr., F, Calgary, Alta.) Tallied a pair of assists on Friday before netting a 3-on-5 short-handed goal, which proved to be the game-winner.

Shawn Bates, MC (Fr., F, Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.) Picked up his third goal of the season at Lowell Friday before notching an assist Saturday.

Joe Cannata, MC (Jr., G, Wakefield, Mass.) Picked up a pair of wins stopping 24 shots over the weekend.

Paul Carey, BC (Jr., F, Weymouth, Mass.) Scored three goals in a two-game series win over No. 3 Maine. Scored twice in the 4-1 win Sunday.

Alex Chiasson, BU (So., F, St. Augustin, Que.) Scored a game-winning shorthanded goal in a 4-2 win vs. UNH Saturday and added an assist in each contest.

Phil DeSimone, UNH (Sr., F, East Amherst, N.Y.) Registered a goal and three assists over the weekend against Boston University.

Brian Gibbons, BC (Sr., F, Braintree, Mass.) Tallied three points (1g,2a) the team's two-game series win over No. 3 Maine.

Sahir Gill, BU (Fr., F, Terrace, B.C.) Tallied a goal in BU's 4-2 win vs. UNH Saturday and tallied an assist Friday. Finished the weekend with a +2 rating.

Kyle MacKinnon, PC (Sr., F, Walnut, Calif.) Had two assists in a 3-3 overtime tie against Northeastern.

Wade MacLeod, NU (Sr., F, Coquitlam, B.C.) Had the game-winning goal in a 5-0 shutout of PC Saturday along with three assists on the weekend.

Tyler McNeely, NU (Sr., F, Burnaby, B.C.) Logged his third multi-point game of the season at PC (1-1-2) Friday and added another helper on Saturday.

Kieran Millan, BU (Jr., G, Edmonton, Alta.) Tallied a career-best 44 saves in BU's 5-2 loss at UNH on Friday.

Mark Nemec, Maine (So, D, Rouses Point, N.Y.) Scored Maine's lone goal at Boston College over the weekend.

Chris Rawlings, NU (So., G, North Delta, B.C.) Finished with a total of 61 saves on the weekend, including his fourth career shutout on Saturday vs. PC.

Grant Rollheiser, BU (Jr., G, Chilliwack, B.C.) Recorded a career-high 41 saves in the Terriers' 4-2 home win over UNH on Saturday.

Steve Silva, NU (Sr., F, Tyngsboro, Mass.) Tallied NU's first two-assist game of the season at PC on Friday and added a power play goal of the weekend.

Mike Sislo, UNH (Sr., F, Superior, Wis.) Registered three assists over the weekend including helpers on both UNH goals on Saturday night.

David Warsofsky, BU (Jr., D, Marshfield, Mass.) Scored both of BU's goals in Friday's loss at UNH.

Patrick Wey, BC (So., D, Pittsburgh, Pa.) Registered a team-high plus-minus rating of +4 in the team's two-game series win over No. 3 Maine.

Riley Wetmore, UML (So., F, Swanton, Vt.) Had two points (1g,1a) in the weekend series with Merrimack while playing stellar defense.

CAREER FIRSTS/MILESTONES/WHO's HOT

Tommy Atkinson, BC (Greenwich, Conn.) Scored his first collegiate goal at 7:34 of the second period in BC's 4-0 win over Maine on Friday, Nov. 19

Patrick Brown, BC (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) Registered his first collegiate point – the primary assist – on Tommy Atkinson's goal.

Alex Chiasson, BU (St. Augustin, Que.) Has scored at least one point in seven of the last eight games and has 11 points (4g,7a) during the stretch

Adam Clendening, BU (Wheatfield , N.Y.) Scored his first collegiate goal in the Terriers' win over UNH Saturday

Brendan Ellis, MC (Kelowna, BC) Extended his assist streak to three games over the weekend

Mark Dennehy, Merrimack College Earned his 50th career win at Merrimack on Saturday

Brett Kostolansky, UNH (Denver, Colo.) Tallied his first collegiate goal on Saturday night at Boston University

Wade MacLeod, NU (Coquitlam, B.C.) Became the second player in Hockey East to eclipse the 100-point plateau for his career. He has recorded 103 points (44-59-103) in 123 career games

Merrimack College at home Improved to 3-0-1 at home and 18-5-3 in its last 26 home games

Nick Sorkin, UNH (ROCKVILLE, MD.) Tallied his first collegiate goal in Friday's 5-2 win over the Terriers

Shayne Thompson, UML (Stiltsville , ONT.) Scored his first collegiate goal against Merrimack (11/19)

UMass Lowell's penalty kill Has allowed only one goal in the last 24 chances

UNH's top line of Phil DeSimone, Paul Thompson and Mike Sislo Have combined for 24 points (7g,17a) over the last four games

TEAM NOTES

Boston College: BC killed all 12 Maine power plays to improve its season penalty-kill to a 90.4 percent kill rate (64-for-71), a standard good for second in the country…BC has scored at least one power-play goal in each of the last four games. The Eagles went a combined 3-for-7 in man-advantage opportunities in two games against Maine; BC is 5-for- 13 in the last four games and is 12-for-56 this season (21.4 percent conversion rate)…Senior alternate captain Brian Gibbons, who tallied three points (1g,2a) against Maine, has at least one point in 10-of-12 games this winter, while Cam Atkinson has at least one point in nine-of- 12 games…John Muse lowered his season goals against average to 1.51 and raised his save percentage to .955. He has a 1.29 GAA and a .960 save percentage in seven conference contests. The goaltender has 30-or-more saves in six (of nine) games this winter…BC improved its unbeaten streak against Maine to eight games during which the team is 7-0-1...The senior class improved to 8-1-3 in 12 meetings between the teams since the 2007-08 season.

Boston University: After becoming the last Division I team to lose a game this season, the Terriers rebounded by ending UNH's nine-game unbeaten streak on Saturday…Three of BU's four goals in Saturday's win came from freshmen, as Adam Clendening, Sahir Gill and Matt Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) all found the back of the net. Gill is tied for second in the nation in plus/minus at +12…The Terriers already have five come-from-behind victories this fall after having five all of last season…BU is 10-1-3 in its last 14 home contests…UNH forced two different BU goaltenders to record career-highs in saves, as Kieran Millan made 44 on Friday before Grant Rollheiser stopped 41 shots in Saturday's win…David Warsofsky recorded the second two-goal game of his career in Friday' s loss and helped the Terriers snap an 0-for-16 skid on the power play…BU is still, however, just 3-of-55 with the man advantage since scoring three power-play goals in the season opener against Wisconsin…The Terriers are 3-1-1 this season when trailing after the first period…Kevin Shattenkirk, last year's team captain, scored his first two NHL goals this past week for the Colorado Avalanche.

Maine: Maine dropped a pair of games at Boston College…It was the first time this season that the Black Bears have lost back-to-back games…Maine was shut out on Friday for the first time since March 7, 2009 when it lost to UMass Lowell 6-0…Boston College scored four goals in each game, to snap Maine's streak of five straight games in which it allowed just two goals…Sophomore defenseman Mark Nemec scored Maine's lone goal of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. It was the first goal of the season for Nemec…Maine was awarded a rare penalty shot on Friday night. BC goalie John Muse was able to stop Maine forward Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden)…Maine outshot Boston College in both games this weekend and has outshot its opponents in all 12 games this season… BC scored two goals in the first period on Friday night. It was the first time this season that Maine has allowed more than one goal in the first period of the game…Junior Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) leads the team, having played in 88 consecutive games…The Black Bears will have next weekend off, before returning to action on Dec. 3 when it travels to Providence for a pair of games.

Massachusetts: After a 9-day break, UMass will host Vermont on Tuesday night in the annual pre-Thanksgiving game between the two teams...Since 2002, the Minutemen are 4-4-0 against Vermont in that game, which includes an even 2-2-0 record both at home and on the road...Despite being nearly even with opponents in shots/game (30.4- to-34.6), UMass is being outscored by just over one goal per game (2.4-to-3.7)...Opponents are outshooting UMass on the power play this season (72-to-52), and have eight more power play goals (13-to-5)...39 percent of opponent goals (13-of-33) have come on the power play... The first period continues to be tough for UMass as they are being outscored 13-to-4...Of UMass' 54 points this year, defensemen have figured into 22 (10g, 12a).

UMass-Lowell: The River Hawks struggled through a 0-2-0 weekend against Merrimack College, losing each game by one goal…In the 4-3 loss on Friday, freshman Shayne Thompson (Stiltsville, Ont.) scored his first career goal...Joseph Pendenza (Wilmington, Mass.) recorded his second short-handed goal of the season on Friday, tying him for the conference lead…UMass Lowell was outshot 17-35 on Friday and 12-37 on Saturday…The River Hawks have now recorded less than 20 shots on goal in four of the last five games…Merrimack entered the weekend with the nation's best penalty kill, but the River Hawks went 3-for-10 (30%) on the power play…For the weekend, Riley Wetmore and David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) each scored a goal and assist. Wetmore now has a team-best nine points (4g, 5a) and ranks third in scoring among HE sophomores…UMass Lowell will take a break from HE play next weekend, hosting Minnesota State-Mankato for a pair of games in the Tsongas Center.

Merrimack: The Warriors were ranked in the USCHO National Poll Monday for the first time in the history of the program…Behind the first-ever weekend sweep of UMass Lowell, Merrimack extended its unbeaten streak to four games (2-0-2), defeating the River Hawks 4-3 and 3-2 over the weekend…The Warriors improved to 3-0-1 at home this season and 18-5-3 in their last 26 home games.…Jesse Todd notched his first collegiate hat trick in Friday's comeback victory, tying the game with 2:20 to play and winning it with 37-seconds left in regulation. It was Merrimack's first road win of the year…The Warriors allowed just 12 shots on goal Saturday and just one in the third period, its lowest total of shots allowed in a game since January 3, 2004 when they held Princeton to 11 shots…In Saturday's win, the 50th career victory for head coach Mark Dennehy, Merrimack tallied two short-handed, first-period goals, marking the first time in its Hockey East history that it registered a pair of short-handed markers in a period. It was also the first time they scored a 3-on-5 short-handed goal…The sweep over Lowell made it three straight victories over Merrimack's cross-town rivals, its longest streak against them since 1977. It is also the first time the Warriors will win the season-series vs. Lowell since the 96-97 season.

New Hampshire: UNH's top line of Phil DeSimone, Paul Thompson and Mike Sislo have combined for seven goals, 17 assists and 24 points over the last four games. The group is averaging 1.75 gpg and 6.0 ppg…Matt DiGirolamo is 6-1-3 in his last 10 starts with a 2.25 GAA and a .923 save percentage. He's allowed three goals or less in eight of nine and two or less on five occasions…The Wildcats held a commanding 92-50 shot advantage over the weekend series with Boston U…UNH has 40 shots in six of 11 games this season…The 'Cats allowed 40- plus shots on just one occasion, in the opening game against Miami. New Hampshire averaging 38.7 shots per games this season…UNH is 16-0-7 in the last 23 Hockey East contests at Whittemore Center. New Hampshire's last home league loss came on Jan. 24, 2009 against BU…New Hampshire has scored a power play goal in nine of 11 games this season. UNH did not have a power play opportunity on 11/5 against BC and was just 0-2 against UMass-Lowell on 11/6…Nick Sorkin tallied his first collegiate goal in Friday night's 5-2 win over the Terriers. The point was the first of his collegiate career and the first point by a New Hampshire freshman this season… Sophomore Brett Kostolansky tallied his first collegiate goal on Saturday night at BU.

Northeastern: Northeastern snapped out of its funk this weekend by taking three out of four points off of Providence College, skating to a 3-3 tie on Friday night followed by a 5-0 blanking at Matthews Arena on Saturday night. On Friday night, senior Wade MacLeod became the 45th member in Northeastern hockey history to reach the 100-point benchmark for his career. He has tallied 44 goals and 59 assists in 123 career games for the Huskies. He became the 25th-fastest skater in Northeastern history to accomplish the feat. MacLeod is currently riding a team-high five-game point streak (2-6-8). Chris Rawlings' earned his fourth-career shut out on Saturday night with a 29-save performance, marking the first time NU has blanked a squad since a 2-0 victory at Massachusetts on Feb. 12, 2010. Rawlings is now tied with Marc Robitaille (96-98) for third all-time in career shutouts in NU history...The Huskies power play has turned a corner, converting on 31.8 percent (7-for-22) of their chances in their last four outings. Saturday yielded a bunch of firsts for Northeastern, including Braden Pimm's and Anthony Bitetto's first-career goals, and Steve Morra's first-ever point (0-1-1).

Providence College: The Friars extended their unbeaten streak to seven games (4-0-3) with a 3-3 overtime tie versus Northeastern Friday night at Schneider Arena. It marked the longest unbeaten streak for the Friars since February 2003…However, the unbeaten streak came to an end with a setback at NU on Saturday. It marked PC's first loss in a month…Providence is unbeaten at Schneider Arena this season with a 3-0-2 mark…Senior defenseman Eric Baier (North Kingstown, R.I.) has scored a goal in two of the last three games…Eleven out of the 12 Providence goal scorers this season have two goals or more this season…Prior to Saturday's game, Kyle MacKinnon had a three-game point streak in which he recorded three goals and three assists…Three of the Friars' next five games will be non-conference contests, including Saturday at Holy Cross.

Vermont: Vermont was off last week and travels to Massachusetts (0-6-3, 0-3-3) Tuesday Nov. 23…Vermont went 1-2-0 against UMass last season during a two month, 13 game stretch that saw the Catamounts go 8-4-1…Junior Wahsontiio Stacey (Kahnawke, Que.) is tied for sixth in the nation in goals with six in eight games. He also has a team leading seven points on the year. His three power-play goals are tied for 14th best in the country. His 54 career points (28g,26a) lead all active UVM players…Junior Rob Madore (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Has a .917 save percentage through the first eight games and a 2.38 GAA...Madore made 36 saves in a 2-2 tie against Merrimack on Oct. 23...Madore is 3-1-1 all time against the Minutemen...The Catamounts return to action again Friday Nov. 26 when they host the Northeastern Huskies at Gutterson Fieldhouse at 7:05 p.m.

COMMISSIONER'S CORNER BY JOE BERTAGNA

The American Hockey Coaches Association does a breakdown each year of where college hockey players come from. There was a time that rosters were dominated by players from familiar locales: U.S. States where NCAA college hockey programs reside and Canada. In a couple of weeks, the AHCA will release its findings from 2010-11 Division I rosters and the change in the last decade will be somewhat startling.

Reflecting the growth of professional hockey in "non-traditional" areas, college rosters will show nearly a doubling of players from U.S. States that don't house NCAA varsity hockey programs. Using such states (and Illinois) as so-called "traditional" sources, the number of players from "non-traditional" sources will have jumped from 59 to 116 in just 10 years. Another factor may be the growth of non-varsity hockey under the banner of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA, not to be confused with the AHCA). This year, more than 400 teams are registered under the ACHA non-varsity banner and the teams stretch from Florida to Washington State.