AROUND HOCKEY EAST: The 2016-17 hockey season kicked off last weekend with a slate of exhibition contests for all 12 of Hockey East's member schools ... Preseason favorite Boston University came out with a bang, downing Prince Edward Island, 10-2, while freshmen accounted for nine of the Terriers' 10 goals, including five from Patrick Harper (New Canaan, Conn.) and a hat trick from Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill.) ... Defending champion Northeastern also began the 2016-17 campaign with a 3-1 win over Acadia in a team effort that saw three different goal scorers - Adam Gaudette (Braintree, Mass.), Trevor Owens (Raleigh, N.C.), and Eric Williams (Newmarket, Ont.) - and a pair of goaltenders split the win as Ryan Ruck (Coto de Caza, Calif.) and Jake Theut (Washington, Mich.) combined for 22 saves ... Boston College christened Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, Massachusetts with a 4-3 win over Carleton. The back-and-forth contest wasn't decided until Ryan Fitzgerald (N. Reading, Mass.) netted the game-winner with just 2:28 remaining in the third period ... A four-goal first period lifted Merrimack over New Brunswick, 5-3, Saturday, as the Warriors potted three goals in 10 minutes from Tyler Drevitch (Middleborough, Mass.), Ludvig Larsson (Malmo, Sweden) and Chris LeBlanc (Winthrop, Mass.) ... New Hampshire skated past New Brunswick a day later, using a goal and an assist from freshman Liam Blackburn (Prince George, B.C.) and a pair of helpers from fellow rookie Brendan van Riemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) ... No. 8 UMass Lowell got off to a fast start against the Prince Edward Island in an exhibition on Sunday, blanking the Panthers 7-0. Seven different River Hawks tallied a goal, and junior forward John Edwardh (Calgary, Alta) led all scoring with one goal and two assists ... No. 9 Notre Dame began their season with a 5-1 exhibition victory against USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. The win was highlighted by two-goal performances from junior defenseman Jordan Gross (Maple Grove, Minn.) and sophomore forward Jack Jenkins (Lake Bluff, Ill.). Overall, 11 Notre Dame players registered a point in the game ... No 10. Providence started their season on a positive note by shutting out Acadia University, 3-0, in an exhibition Sunday. Sophomore goaltender Hayden Hawkey (Parker, Colo.) led an impressive defensive effort with 18 saves for the Friars. Leading the offence charge was sophomore forward and Penn State transfer Scott Conway (Basingstoke, England) who recorded a goal and two assists.
Patrick Harper (New Canaan, Conn.) started his college career with a bang, netting five goals and adding two assists for seven points in his first game as a Terrier, helping BU to a 10-2 exhibition win.
Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill.) struck for a hat trick in BU's 10-2 victory over Prince Edward Island in an exhibition game.
Drew Vogler (Florissant, Mo.) picked up a win in the exhibition contest against New Brunswick in the first start of his sophomore campaign, kicking out each of the 10 shots he faced in the contest.
HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS
Austin Plevy, UMass (So., F; Langley, B.C.) Led UMass with a four-point night, dishing four assists to help the Minutemen overcome a 4-0 deficit to defeat Dalhousie, 7-5, in exhibition play. He also up the game-winning tally with 2:05 remaining in regulation.
John Edwardh, UML (Jr., F; Calgary, Alta) Edwardh notched a game-high three points (1g, 2a) in the 7-0 shutout win vs. PEI to go along with three shots on goal and a plus-three rating.
Mathieu Foget, MC (So.,F; Orleans, Ont.) Foget represented the lone multi-goal performance on the night for Merrimack in its 5-3 win over New Brunswick, scoring in the first and third period. His first-period goal was also the game-winner.
Liam Blackburn, UNH (Fr., F; Prince George, B.C.) Blackburn helped the Wildcats to a 3-1 exhibition win over the University of New Brunswick Sunday afternoon. The rookie tallied a goal and an assist and three shots on goal.
Eric Williams, NU (Jr., D; Newmarket, Ont.) Had a goal and an assist in an exhibition against Acadia.