AROUND HOCKEY EAST: New Hampshire Head Coach Richard Umile recorded the 350th win of his career in Hockey East play Saturday night in his team's 6-2 victory over Merrimack at the Whittemore Center. In that outing, rookie Wildcat Patrick Grasso (Ankeny, Iowa) netted four goals, including three power-play markers. Three of the strikes came within 3:56 of the first period ... Vermont took two wins over ranked opponents behind the hot start of freshman netminder Stefanos Lekkas (Elburn, Ill.). Lekkas earned his first shutout against No. 11 Michigan in a 3-0 win before taking a 3-2 decision at defending Hockey East champion then-No. 16 Northeastern ... UConn split the weekend at No. 6 Notre Dame, earning a 4-2 win Thursday night thanks in part to 47 saves from rookie goaltender Adam Huska (Zvolen, Slovakia). Friday night, Notre Dame rebounded with a 6-2 win over the Huskies behind a four-point night from Anders Bjork (Mequon, Wis./2g, 2a). Bjork also had an assist in Thursday's loss for a five-point weekend ...Boston College turned in a pair of wins over Providence and Massachusetts, earning a 3-1 win Friday night over the Friars in a contest between the co-champions of the 2015-16 Hockey East regular season. Sophomore forward Colin White (Hanover, Mass.) had two goals and an assist the following night in a 7-4 win over UMass ... Maine earned a 2-2 tie with Colgate Friday night before dropping a 5-2 decision Saturday. In Saturday's set back, rookie forward Ryan Smith (Roanoke, Va.) picked up his first NCAA points with a goal and an assist ... Hampus Gustafsson (Ljungby, Sweden) led Merrimack with three points in three games last week, netting his fourth goal of the season and dishing out two helpers. He scored in Tuesday's 2-2 tie with Boston College while he set up the game-winner in Friday's victory over Cornell ... UMass Lowell split a road series with Omaha, propelled by a pair of goals by junior forward Jake Kamrass (Atlanta, Ga.). Rookie goaltender Tyler Wall (Leamington, Ont.) stopped 25 of 27 shots Saturday night to pick up a 4-2 win on the road ... Providence captured the Mayor's Cup with a 6-0 win over Brown Sunday evening in a game that featured the first two collegiate goals from freshman forward Vimal Sukumaran (Montreal, Que.).
Patrick Grasso (Fr., F; Ankeny, Iowa) netted four goals on four shots in a 6-2 win Saturday, scoring three times within four minutes. A trio of power-play goals helped him become the first Wildcat with a four-goal game since Jan. 14, 2012. He also added an assist in Friday's 4-1 win at UMass.
Stefanos Lekkas (Fr., G; Elburn, Ill.) continued the hot start to his NCAA career, shutting out then-No. 11 Michigan at home, 3-0, before taking a 3-2 decision on the road at defending Hockey East champion then-No. 16 Northeastern. He made 45 saves on 47 shots on the weekend.
Adam Huska (Fr., G; Zvolen, Slovakia) backstopped the Huskies to a 4-2 road win at then-No. 6 Notre Dame, stopping 47 shots in just his third career appearance. He made 21 saves in the second period alone and now ranks third in Hockey East and 10th nationally with a .938 save percentage.
HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS
Colin White, BC (So., F; Hanover, MA): White scored two goals and added an assist in Boston College's 7-4 win over UMass on Saturday night. Saturday's three performance marked his fifth outing with three or more points.
Hampus Gustafsson, MC (Sr., F; Ljungby, Sweden): Gustafsson led Merrimack with three points over three games last week, scoring his team-leading fourth goal of the year while distributing two assists. He helped set up the game-winner against Cornell on Friday night and his goal on Tuesday helped Merrimack rally for a 2-2 tie with Boston College.
Sami Tavernier, MC (Fr., F, Morzine, France): Tavernier recorded the first two points of his collegiate career over the week, finishing with a goal and an assist for Merrimack. Tavernier led Merrimack with 13 shots on goal in that span, as well.
Marc Biega, MC (Jr., D; Pointe-Claire, Que.): Biega led Merrimack with nine blocks over three games and he scored one goal as well on the week. Biega finished with seven shots on goal in that span.
Jake Kamrass, UML: (Jr., F; Atlanta, Ga.): Kamrass has a goal in each game over the weekend in the split at Omaha with six shots on goal and a +1 rating.
Tyler Wall, UML (Fr., G; Leamington, Ont.): Wall stopped 25 of 27 shots (.926 sv%) in the 4-2 win at Omaha on Saturday night.
Craig Puffer, UVM (So., F; New Canaan, Conn.): Puffer registered his first career multi-goal game on Sunday afternoon at No. 16 Northeastern, scoring twice including the game-winning goal with 5:05 left in the third period.
Matt Alvaro, UVM (Fr., F; Toronto, Ont.): Alvaro scored a goal in both of Vermont's wins over ranked opponents No. 11 Michigan and No. 16 Northeastern over the weekend for the first two goals of his NCAA career.
Vimal Sukumaran, PC (Fr., F; Montreal, Que.): In his lone game of the weekend, Sukumaran scored his first two collegiate goals in 6-0 win at Brown. The rookie also recorded three shots on goal and had a +2 rating.
Hayden Hawkey, PC (So., G; Parker, Colo.): Hawkey posted a 1.52 GAA and .941 save percentage over two games this week, including his second career shutout with a 17-save performance at Brown on Sunday.
Anders Bjork, ND (Jr., F, Mequon, Wis.): Bjork helped lead the Irish to a weekend split against Connecticut, including a four-point night in Notre Dame's 6-2 win over the Huskies on Friday night. In that win, he scored a pair of goals and added a pair of assists. In Thursday night's loss, he also had an assist.
Daniel Tirone, UNH (Jr., G; Trumbull, Conn.): Tirone backboned the Wildcats to a 2-0-0 weekend in the first two games of Hockey East play. In total, the junior made 51 saves on 54 shots faced for a .944 save percentage in wins against UMass and Merrimack.
Ryan Smith, Maine (Fr., F; Roanoke, Va.): Smith scored his first collegiate goal shorthanded against Colgate Saturday night. Smith also recorded an assist to help tie the game for the Black Bears.
Maxim Letunov, UConn (So., Forward, Moscow, Russia): Letunov scored a pair of goals to lead the Huskies to a 4-2 win at No. 7/6 Notre Dame on Thursday. The sophomore is tied for second on the club in scoring with seven points (2g/5a).