January 10, 2011

ATHLETIC REPUBLIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK #17 PAUL THOMPSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE (Senior Forward; Derry, N.H.) Scored six points (4g,2a) leading UNH to a four-point weekend in Hockey East. He tallied his second hat trick of the season on in a 5-2 win over UML and added an assist. On Saturday at UMass, he scored the team's first goal and notched an assistsd on the gamewinner. Thompson was a +4 on the weekend with seven shots on net. PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK #15 BRODIE REID, NORTHEASTERN (Freshman Forward; Delta, B.C.) Reid netted a power play goal at Massachusetts Friday at the Mullins Center and added another goal against UMass-Lowell and finished the weekend with as a +2. PURE HOCKEY CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER/WEEK #35 JOE CANNATA, MERRIMACK (Junior Goaltender; Wakefield, Mass.) Stopped 29 shots leading Merrimack to a 7-1 win over No. 11 Maine on Saturday afternoon at Lawler Arena. PURE HOCKEY CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER/WEEK #2 BRIAN DUMOULIN, BOSTON COLLEGE (Sophomore Defenseman; Biddeford, Maine) Dumoulin registered a team-high four points (1g,3a) in two wins over Providence and recorded a team-high +5 rating. HOCKEY EAST TEAM OF THE WEEK NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES The Huskies picked a pair of victories over the weekend against UMass (5-3) and UMass- Lowell (3-1). Northeastern scored four second period goals on Friday vs. the Minutemen, which included three goals in a 38-second span in the come from behind win.

Athletic Republic Player of the Week Paul Thompson on New Hampshire ARMY ROTC THREE STARS AWARD At the conclusion of each Hockey East game, the " Army ROTC Three Stars of The Game" are selected. Here are the 2010-2011 season leaders to date: Rk. Name Cl. Pos. School 1. Paul Thompson Sr. F UNH 2. Cam Atkinson Jr. F BC 3. Kieran Millan Jr. G BU 4. Chris Connolly Jr. F BU   Stephane Da Costa So. F MC 6. Alex Chiasson So. F BU   John Muse Sr. G BC

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Barry Almeida, BC (Jr., F, Springfield, Mass.) Assisted on three of the team's seven goals scored in two wins over Providence.

Bill Arnold, BC (Fr., F, Needham, Mass.) Tallied two points (1g,1a) in consecutive victories over Providence.

Chris Barton, MC (Sr., F, Calgary, Alta.) Tallied a short-handed goal and two assists in a 7-1 victory over #9/11 Maine.

Shawn Bates, MC (Fr., F, Ft. Saskatchewan, Alta.) Netted the game-winner against #9/11 Maine Saturday.

Alex Beaudry, PC (Sr., G, Cumberland, Ont.) Totaled 64 saves in two games against Boston College last week.

Anthony Bitetto, NU (Fr., D, Island Park, N.Y.) Registered a pair of assists in both victories this weekend and compiled a +2 rating on the weekend.

Marc Boulanger, UML (Fr., G, Olds, Alta.) Stopped 30-of-32 shots (.938) at Northeastern on Saturday, holding NU scoreless in four power play chances.

Alex Chiasson, BU (So., F, St. Augustin, Que.) Scored two goals, including the game winner, in Sunday's 4-2 victory at Vermont.

Stephane Da Costa, MC (So., F, Paris, France) Scored twice and added an assist in a 7-1 victory over No. 11 Maine.

Phil DeSimone, UNH (Sr., F, East Amherst, N.Y.) Scored the game-winning goal vs. UMass and handed out assists in each of the games over the weekend.

Matt DiGirolamo, UNH (Jr., G, Ambler, Pa.) Guided UNH to a pair of Hockey East wins over UML and UMass with a 1.50 GAA, a .954 save%.

Blake Kessel, UNH (Jr., D, Verona, Wis.) Scored in each game over the weekend and added an assist for a three-point weekend.

Chris Kreider, BC (Fr., F, Boxford, Mass.) Scored once goal in each of two wins over the Friars.

Wade MacLeod, NU (Sr., F, Coquitlam, B.C.) Accounted for two goals, including the game-winning tally against UMass Lowell, along with an assist.

Mike McLaughlin, NU (Jr., F, Seaforth, Ont.) Riding a career-best three-game assist streak. McLaughlin assisted in each game this weekend.

Tyler McNeely, NU (Sr., F, Burnaby, B.C.) Scored an empty net goal against UMass Lowell and dished out an assist in each game this weekend.

Kieran Millan, BU (Jr., G, Edmonton, Alta.) Stopped 29 shots in the Terriers's 4-2 road victory over Vermont

Matt Nieto, BU (Fr., F, Long Beach, Calif.) Picked up two assists in BU's 4-2 win at Vermont.

Jeff Silengo, UNH (Fr., F, Madison, Conn.) Handed out assists in each of UNH's wins over the weekend.

David Vallorani, UML (Jr., F, Hamilton, Ont.) Assisted on all three UMass Lowell tallies this weekend.

Riley Wetmore, UML (So., F, Swanton, Vt.) Scored two of the River Hawks three goals on the weekend, including a power play goal.

CAREER FIRSTS/MILESTONES/WHO's HOT

Fraser Allan, MC (North Battleford , Sask.) Appeared in his 100th career game Saturday vs. Maine

Andy Balysky, PC (RANDOLPH, N.J.) Has scored one goal in three of the last four games

Chris Barton-Joe Cucci-Brandon Brodhag line, MC Tallied three goals and six points against Maine on Saturday

Paul Dainton, UMass (Iqaluit, Nunvut) Now has 2,701 career saves needing just 349 to tie the UMass program record (3,050, Brian Regan)

Matt DiGirolamo, UNH (Ambler, Pa.) Has allowed two goals or fewer in six of the last eight games

Brian Dumoulin, BC (Biddeford, Maine) Has 10 points in his last five games (1g,9a) and +11 rating

Joel Hanley, UMass (Keswick, Ont.) Has 7 assists in the last 8 games for the Minutemen

Danny Hobbs, UMass (Shawville, Quebec) Has 4 goals and 4 assists in the last 7 games

Merrimack College at home Improved to 5-1-1 this year and 17-4-2 over the last two years

PROVIDENCE PENALTY KILL Has killed off 20 straight penalties and 38 of the last 39 penalties

Paul Thompson, UNH (Derry , N.H.) Had six points (4g,2a) over the weekend

David Vallorani (Jr., F, Hamilton , Ont.) Has five points (2g, 3a) in the last four games

Riley Wetmore, UML (Swanton, Vt.) Has scored five goals in the last seven games

Stephane Da Costa (Paris, France) Extended his point streak to eight games with three points vs. Maine

TEAM NOTES

Boston College: With two wins over Providence, BC has now won seven straight games and has outscored its opponents 37-15 during this stretch (5.3 goals per game)…Three sophomores – defenseman Brian Dumoulin, forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Patrick Wey returned to BC's line-up for Friday's 4-1 win over Providence (1/7) after playing for Team USA at the World Junior Championship…with one goal in two wins over the Friars, Cam Atkinson raised his career point total to 99 (53g,46a). Atkinson's goal, scored while killing a penalty, marked the team's seventh shorthanded goal of the season. He is the sixth BC player to score shorthanded…Senior Brian Gibbons (9 games) and junior Cam Atkinson each had scoring streaks snapped in Saturday's 3-1 win at Providence (1/8)…Sophomore Pat Mullane has tallied an assist in four straight games…Freshman center Bill Arnold has tallied five points (3g,2a) in the last six games…Sophomore Parker Milner made 33 saves in his fourth appearance and second win of the season …The team went 11-for-11 on the penalty kill over the weekend and owns a 90.4 percent kill rate this season (113-for-125)…Junior Paul Carey scored his ninth goal of the season in Friday's 4-1 win vs. PC, matching a career high.

Boston University: The Terriers have overcome deficits in seven of their nine wins this season after having just five comeback victories all of last season…Sophomore Alex Chiasson has topped his scoring output from his rookie year with a team-high 20 points and he shares the team lead in goals (8) and assists (12). Last year, he totaled 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists…The Terriers' penalty kill now ranks 14th in the country at an even 85 percent and has been successful in its last 10 kills…BU has won all six of its one-goal games this season…Sahir Gill (Terrace, B.C.) leads all Hockey East freshmen in points (16) and assists (12)…Freshman Charlie Coyle (East Weymouth, Mass.) was named Team USA's top forward at the World Juniors after tying for the team lead in points with six (2g, 4a) and helping the U.S. capture bronze at the tournament. He is the 12th BU player to earn a World Junior medal…The Terriers will play their first home contest in over a month when Harvard visits Agganis Arena on Saturday (Jan. 15) at 7 p.m. in the first of three straight BU games televised by NESN.

Maine: Maine dropped a 7-1 decision to Merrimack on Saturday afternoon in No. Andover, Mass…The seven goals was the most that Maine has allowed on the season…Robby Dee (Plymouth, Minn.) scored Maine's lone goal in the game…It was the third straight game that Dee has tallied a goal…It was the fifth straight game that Dee has had at least one point…Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden) leads the team, having scored at least one point in six straight games…Senior assistant captain Jeff Dimmen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) returned to the Maine lineup against Merrimack after missing the previous seven games with an injury… Maine lost for the first time this season when it scored first…Prior to the game at Merrimack, the Black Bears had been 5-0-0 on the season when scoring first…Maine is 4-1-2 on Saturday this season, with the lone loss coming last Saturday at Merrimack…The Black Bears have currently scored a power play goal in four straight games…Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) played in his 95th consecutive game on Saturday at Merrimack, which is the longest streak on the team.

Massachusetts: UMass has now lost five straight games which is the longest losing streak of the season…In the last four games, the UMass power play has been 4-for-18 (22.2%), nearly 10 points better than its season average…UMass gave up a 3-1 lead to Northeastern in the 2nd period allowing 3 goals in a 38 second stretch – a Division I record for an opponent for fastest three consecutive goals…The four goals given up to Northeastern in the 2nd period is also the most scored by an opponent in an period this year…UMass also gave up two late third period goals to New Hampshire after being tied 1-1 with just under 6 minutes left in the game…The UMass penalty kill was 3-for-3 against New Hampshire marking the 2nd time in the last 3 games that the unit held a team scoreless on the extra man advantage…UMass posted 30+ shots for the second straight game after being held under 30 shots for the previous four games…UMass remains winless on Friday nights (0-6-1)…UMass also drops to 0-7-3 when scoring 3 or fewer goals this season and 1-10-3 when tied or trailing after the 2nd period.

UMass-Lowell: UMass Lowell's struggles continued despite its 26- day layover, falling at UNH (5-2) and NU (3-1)…Riley Wetmore and Matt Ferreira (Brampton, Ont.) produced the River Hawks' lone goals against the Wildcats…UMass Lowell outshot UNH 31-24, the first time it had outshot an opponent since Oct. 29 vs. BU…It also marked the first time the River Hawks have recorded 30 or more shots on goal since Oct. 23 versus the Huskies…Wetmore scored the only UMass Lowell goal against Northeastern on Saturday…Wetmore, who has five scores in the last seven games, ranks T-7th in Hockey East for goals scored…Goaltender Marc Boulanger (Olds, Alta.) was outstanding, tying his career-high with 30 saves while allowing just two goals...For the weekend David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) assisted on all three River Hawk scores. Vallorani now has five points (2g, 3a) in the last four games.

Merrimack: Maintaining its best start in its Division I school history at 10-4-4, Merrimack defeated #9 Maine 7-1 in front of the fourth sellout crowd at Lawler Arena this season…Merrimack is one of four teams with four losses or fewer in the country…The seven goals marked the most in a Hockey East game under head coach Mark Dennehy and the most in a HEA game for Merrimack since January 13, 2004…It was the most goals the Warriors scored against Maine since the second-ever meeting between the two teams on January 9, 1979…Twelve different Warriors picked up points, with four (Stephane Da Costa, Chris Barton, Joe Cucci, and Jesse Todd) registering multi-point efforts…Merrimack tallied two short-handed goals for the second time this year, as Barton leads Hockey East with three short-handed points…Eighteen Warriors were a +1 or better, led by Adam Ross, who was a +4…Da Costa extended his point streak to eight games and has 15 points in that span. He ranks fourth in Hockey East in goals and tied for fifth in points…The Warriors' defense is first in Hockey East and second nationally…Merrimack begins a stretch of three games in four days, settling its season-series with BU on Wednesday at Lawler Arena before flying to Nashville to battle Alabama-Huntsville on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

New Hampshire: UNH has now won five-straight games in Hockey East… UNH improved on its 26-game unbeaten streak against Hockey East foes in league games at Whittemore Center. The 'Cats are 19-0-7 with its last league loss at home coming on Jan. 24, 2009 against Boston Univ… Paul Thompson registered a hat trick on Friday night for UNH. The hat trick was the third of his collegiate career and second of the season. He is first UNH player to have multiple hat tricks in the same season since Mike Radja registered a pair in 2007-08…New Hampshire captured the first two season series in Hockey East with a complete sweep of Mass.-Lowell and a 2-0-1 mark against Massachusetts…Matt DiGirolamo continues to be lights out in Hockey East play, allowing just three goals (one even-strength) in a pair of wins over the weekend. Overall, DiGirolamo has allowed three goals or fewer in 12-of-13 conference games and two or fewer 10 times in league play.

Northeastern: Northeastern picked up its first four-point weekend of 2010-11, ousting Massachusetts and UMass Lowell, respectively, by counts of 5-3 and 3-1. The Huskies made history this weekend by netting three goals within the span of 38 seconds, the fastest in Northeastern history, and the second-fastest in Hockey East play since UMass Lowell turned the trick with a set in 24 seconds on Jan. 26, 1985. Northeastern accounted for four goals in the second period at Massachusetts. It was the first time NU dunked four since hosting UMass Lowell on Jan. 9, 2010. Garrett Vermeersch rode a career-best threegame goal-scoring streak through the UMass contest while Brodie Reid and Wade MacLeod are currently taking their three-game goal-scoring streaks into the Vermont series...The UMass Lowell game initiated a six-game homestand for the Huskies. It's the first time Northeastern has had six-consecutive games at Matthews Arena since the 2002-03 season when the Huskies played at the oldest ice rink in the world for seven-straight games (Oct. 11 – Nov. 8, 2011).

Providence College: Providence College played its first two regular season games last week since December 11…Junior Andy Balysky scored against Boston College on Friday night marking the third consecutive game in which he has scored a goal…The loss against Boston College on Saturday was only the second home setback for the Friars this season…The Providence power play has killed off 38 of the last 39 penalties, including 20 consecutive penalties…PC has climbed to 17th nationally on the penalty kill with an 83.9 percentage…Junior goalie Alex Beaudry has moved into No. 10 in career saves at Providence College with 1940 stops…Senior Ian O'Connor (Londonderry, N.H.) has matched his career high with 16 points (6g,10a) which he accomplished during the 2008-09 season…The Friars are in the midst of a stretch of six consecutive January contests in which they will play three teams who are currently ranked in the top-11 nationally.

Vermont: Vermont is now 1-2-0 in January of 2011 after dropping a 4-2 decision to No. 14 Boston University Sunday night in a game televised on CBS College Sports…Alex Chiasson scored twice to lead the BU attack, while Rob Madore turned aside 12 shots for the Catamounts who outshot the Terriers 31-16 in the contest…Josh Burrows scored his first goal of the season and continues to have success against BU, now with six career goals and four assists (10 points) against Terriers… H.T. Lenz and Jack Downing both picked up assists on the Burrows goal…Chris McCarthy picked up his fifth goal of the year in the loss, as Connor Brickley and Drew MacKenzie assisted on the play… Chiasson's first goal of the game was the first even strength goal Madore had given up since Dec. 18… Vermont went 0-6 on the power play, while Boston University went 1-3 with the man advantage…Vermont falls to 3-11-4 (1-7-3 HEA) with the loss…Vermont had not lost to BU since the Terriers defeated the Catamounts 5-4 in the Frozen Four April 9th, 2009 in Washington D.C.