HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

UMass Lowell closes out the first half of the 2021-22 campaign atop the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings after a road sweep at Vermont with 25 points in 11 games played. Matt Crasa led the River Hawks in scoring with four points (2g, 2a) dishing out assists on two of the River Hawks’ goals in Friday’s 3-0 shutout and scoring both tallies in a 2-1 victory on Saturday. Owen Savory made 50 saves while allowing just one goal on the weekend, including a 16-save shutout on Friday to earn his fourth shutout of the season.

Boston College and Boston University provided an instant classic in the 285th Battle of Comm. Ave Friday night as the Hockey East Game of the Week on NESN. The Terriers took a 2-0 lead into the third period before the Eagles came storming back to take a 3-2 edge. With 8:47 to go, Max Kaufman knotted the game with his second of the night to force overtime. BC netminder Eric Dop saved the biggest of his 32 stops for the most crucial moments of the game, denying both BU shots in overtime with highlight-reel saves before stopping each of the Terriers’ five shootout attempts. Trevor Kuntar scored the shootout winner to deliver BC an extra league point.

Providence swept Princeton by scores of 7-0 and 3-2, utilizing yet another come-from-behind rally late in the third period on Saturday as the Friars scored two goals just 66 seconds apart on a five-minute powerplay to secure the victory. Patrick Moynihan set up both goals.Riley Duran racked up four points (2g, 2a) in the two games, including his first career three-point night in Friday’s 7-0 victory.

HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Marc McLaughlin - Boston College

Marc McLaughlin (Sr., F; North Billerica, Mass.) lived up to his Captain Clutch moniker, scoring the first Boston College goal before setting up the go-ahead goal at 8:11 of the third period in an eventual 3-3 tie and shootout win Friday night at a sold-out Agganis Arena. He finished the week with three goals and an assist in two Eagles’ wins, including two tallies in a 5-2 win over Brown on Tuesday. He fired six shots on net across the two outings.

PRO AMBITIONS CO-ROOKIES OF THE WEEK

Matt Crasa - UMass Lowell
Riley Duran - Providence

Matt Crasa (Fr., F; South Setauket, N.Y.) led the River Hawks in scoring with four points (2g, 2a) in a sweep at Vermont. On Friday, the freshman dished out assists on both of the River Hawks’ assisted goals in the 3-0 shutout, including one on the power play and on the game-winning tally. He returned to the ice Saturday to tally both goals for the River Hawks in a 2-1 victory. The rookie finished the weekend with a plus-three rating. He now sits second among all River Hawks in overall scoring with seven goals and five assists for 12 points and leads all River Hawk freshmen in scoring.

Riley Duran (Fr., F; Woburn, Mass.) racked up four points (2g, 2a) to help power Providence to a weekend sweep of Princeton. The freshman dished out two primary helpers and added a goal for his first career three-point night in Friday’s 7-0 victory before scoring again to spark the Friars offense to a furious three-goal comeback after starting the game down, 2-0, in the first frame.

HOCKEY EAST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

Ty Gallagher - Boston University

Ty Gallagher (Fr., D; Clarkston, Mich.) assisted on all three Terrier goals in Friday’s 3-3 tie against BC, matching his career high which he set on Oct. 23 against Merrimack. He finished as a plus-one and also blocked a shot. In Saturday’s exhibition against is former team, U.S. National Under-18 Team, Gallagher scored a power-play goal to open the scoring at 16:07 of the first period.

HOCKEY EAST GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Owen Savory - UMass Lowell

Owen Savory (Cambridge, Ont.) made 50 saves while allowing just one goal across the River Hawks’ weekend sweep of Vermont. He stopped 16 shots on Friday to earn his fourth shutout of the season and ninth of his career. He returned to the ice on Saturday to stop 34 shots and pick up a 2-1 win. Saturday’s 34 recorded saves matched the senior’s season high and his UMass Lowell record set last year against UConn. Savory owns the best GAA (1.23) in Hockey East and the second-best save percentage (.955) while he is ranked second in the nation both categories. His performance has UML sitting atop the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Jack St. Ivany, BC (Sr., D; Manhattan Beach, Calif.) Dished out two helpers, including the primary assist on the go-ahead goal, to help Boston College earn a 3-3 tie on the road at Boston University in front of a sold out Agganis Arena on Friday night. The Eagles would go on to win in a shootout.

Patrick Giles, BC (Sr., F; Chevy Chase, Md.) Had two goals and two assists for four points in two games last week. Posted a goal and two assists in a 5-2 victory over Brown on Tuesday and netted the go-ahead goal on Friday in the third period against Boston University.

Eric Dop, BC (Gr., G; Lewis Center, Ohio) Kicked out 32 saves on 35 shots in 65:00 of work Friday night at Boston University in his first start in the Battle of Comm. Ave in front of a sold out Agganis Arena. Dop saved his biggest stops for the most crucial moments of the game, denying both BU shots in overtime with highlight-reel saves before stopping each of the Terriers’ five shootout attempts. His efforts earned the Eagles an extra point in league play. He added 16 saves in a 5-2 win over Brown on Tuesday.

Max Kaufman, BU (Gr., F; Rochester, N.Y.) Posted his first two-goal game as a Terrier against BC on Friday, including the game-tying marker in the 3-3 draw. Kaufman tallied four shots on goal and finished as a plus-1. Kaufman has scored a career-high four goals, all of which have come in the last three games.

Marek Korencik, UML (Jr., D; Zilina, Slovakia) Scored one goal and one assist across the River Hawks’ weekend sweep of Vermont. On Friday, the defensemen netted an empty netter in the final minute of action to seal the 3-0 shutout over the Catamounts. He then dished out an assist on Matt Crasa’s game-winning goal on Saturday. Finished the weekend with a plus-two rating and one block.

Jaxson Stauber, PC (Jr., D; Plymouth, Minn.) Stopped 47 of 49 shots faced over the weekend, including his third shutout of the season on Friday against Princeton. Stauber finished with a 1.01 GAA and .959 save percentage on the weekend.