HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES
Five Hockey East programs found success in non-conference action last week, while two others began league play. Massachusetts, Merrimack, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont all claimed victory in non-conference action.
Boston University and UConn battled in a classic Hockey East heavyweight bout, splitting a two-game set at Agganis Arena. On Friday night, UConn’s Andrew Lucas danced around defenders and sniped the game-winning goal in overtime for the Huskies. Boston University’s Matt Brown then turned in a career-best four points (2g, 2a) on Saturday night to lead the Terriers to a 5-2 triumph.
UMass Lowell earned a 3-2 road win over #14/12 Northeastern on Saturday, thanks in part to Owen Fowler’s first career goal, a shorthanded strike, that powered the River Hawks offense.
Maine toppled #3 Quinnipiac, 4-0, on Saturday night at Alfond Arena. Victor Ostman stopped all 33 shots he faced to earn his first career shutout. Massachusetts rolled to a sweep of Union, taking wins by scores of 7-1 and 7-0. Rookies shined for the Minutemen as Kenny Connors racked up five points (3g, 2a) and Cole Brady pitched a 32-save shutout in his NCAA debut.
Boston College skated to a 1-0-1 week, including a road draw with #14/12 Northeastern on Tuesday in a non-conference matchup between the Eagles and Huskies. Mitch Benson then earned his first shutout as an Eagle on Sunday, stopping all 22 shots he faced from New Hampshire in a 5-0 win.
New Hampshire downed Army West Point, 3-1, on Friday night. Cy LeClerc
found the back of the net twice across three games last week, including a
two-goal game in the victory over Army West Point on Friday.
HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Matt Brown - Boston University
Matt Brown (Sr., F; Wood Ridge, N.J.) registered a career-best four points
(2g, 2a) in a 5-2 win over #13/14 UConn on Saturday night, including the
game-winning strike. It was Brown’s first two-goal game as a Terrier and he
now leads Hockey East with nine points (5g, 4a).
PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Kenny Connors - Massachusetts
Kenny Connors (Fr., F: Glen Mills, Pa.) racked up five points (3g, 2a) in a
two-game sweep of Union, all of which game on the power play. He finished
plus-two with seven shots and three blocks across the two games of work.
In Friday’s 7-1 win, he factored in all three of UMass’s power-play strikes,
scoring two, and netted the game-winning goal. He added two power-play
assists in Saturday’s 7-0 victory.
HOCKEY EAST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Lukas Gustafsson - Boston College
Lukas Gustafsson (Fr., D; Atlanta, Ga.) recorded three points (1g, 2a) in
two games for the Eagles. He earned his first career assist on Tuesday
in a 3-3 tie at #12 Northeastern and scored his first collegiate goal, the
game-winning strike, on Sunday in a 5-0 win over New Hampshire. He added an assist in the game for his first career multi-point outing.
STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Cole Brady - Massachusetts
Cole Brady (Jr., G; Pickering, Ont.) pitched his first NCAA shutout in his
UMass debut, stopping all 32 shots he faced in Saturday’s 7-0 win over
Union. He made nine saves on the power play, denying all six extra-attack-
er opportunities for the Dutchmen.
HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS
Colby Ambrosio, BC (Jr., F; Welland, Ont.) Netted a goal and added an assist on Tuesday in a 3-3 draw with #12 Northeastern in a non-league match up. He then added an assist in a 5-0 shutout win over New Hampshire on Sunday for a three-point week and finished plus-four.
Cutter Gauthier, BC (Fr., F; Scottsdale, Ariz.) Scored a goal in his collegiate debut Tuesday night at #12 Northeastern and followed up with a goal and an assist on Sunday in a 5-0 league victory over New Hampshire. He finished the week with two goals, three points, and a plus-four rating.
Mitch Benson, BC (Gr., G; Windsor, Ont.) Earned his first shutout as an Eagle on Sunday, stopping all 22 shots he faced from New Hampshire in a 5-0 win. He added 32 saves on Tuesday in a 3-3 draw at #12 Northeastern.
Lane Hutson, BU (Fr., D; North Barrington, Ill.) scored his first collegiate goal and added an assist for a two-point night in the Terriers’ 5-2 win over #13/14 UConn on Saturday night. He added another helper Friday in an overtime setback to UConn and now has a league-leading five assists. He also blocked five shots over the weekend.
Case McCarthy, BU (Sr., D; Clarence Center, N.Y.) Potted his first goal of the season on Friday night and led the Terriers with eight blocked shots over the weekend.
Ryan Tverberg, UConn (Jr., F; Richmond Hill, Ont.) Finished the weekend with three goals in a two-game split with #9 Boston University, including a tally in a Friday’s 4-3 overtime victory.
Andrew Lucas, UConn (Jr., D; Alexandria, Va.) On Friday night, Lucas scored the game-winning goal in overtime to deliver UConn a 4-3 road victory over #9 Boston University. He also dished out two assists against the Terriers, one in each game, and pushed his point streak to three games (1g, 3a).
Logan Terness, UConn (So., G; Burnaby, B.C.) Kicked out a total of 24 saves in a 4-3 road win on Friday night, backboning the Huskies to a 4-3 overtime triumph against #9 Boston University.
Victor Ostman, Maine (Jr., G; Danderyd, Sweden) Stopped all 33 shots he faced from #3 Quinnipiac to earn a 4-0 shutout win, the first of his career.
Cole Hanson, Maine (So., F; Grand Forks, N.D.) Scored the game-winning goal for Maine as part of a four-goal third period to take a win over #3 Quinnipiac.
Scott Morrow, UMass (So., D; Darien, Conn.) Earned his second consecutive three-point weekend with two goals and an assist in a two-game sweep of Union. All three of his points came on the power-play. He had a two-goal game in Saturday’s 7-0 shutout and helped anchor a UMass defense to it’s second shutout of the season and go a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill.
Owen Fowler, UML (Fr., F; Tewksbury, Mass.) Netted his first collegiate goal on Saturday, a shorthanded tally, to help the #19/20 River Hawks earn a 3-2 win over #14/12 Northeastern.
Ben Meehan, UML (Jr., D; Walpole, Mass.) Scored a goal in UML’s 3-2 win over #14/12 Northeastern on Saturday. He finished the night with a team-best plus-two rating and four blocks.
Henry Welsch, UML (Jr., G; Lakeville, Minn.) Earned his second consecutive win of the season by shutting down 26 shots from #14/12 Northeastern to secure a 3-2 decision. He moves to 2-1-0 on the year with a .928 save percentage and 2.34 goals against average.
Alex Jefferies, MC (Jr., F; Lunenburg, Mass.) Racked up six points (2g, 4a) in three games this week, including netting the game-winning goal against New Hampshire on Tuesday.
Zach Bookman, MC (Fr., D; Syracuse, N.Y.) Picked up a primary assist on Saturday in Merrimack’s setback to Colgate.
Slava Demin, MC (Gr., D; Santa Clara, Calif.) Registered two points on a goal and an assist in a 6-1 win over New Hampshire on Tuesday.
Zachary Borgiel, MC (Jr., G; Fort Gratiot, Mich.) Earned his first career shutout with a 21-save performance over Colgate on Friday, giving Merrimack a 5-0 victory.
Cy LeClerc, UNH (Fr., F; Brentwood, N.H.) Found the back of the net twice across three games last week, including a two-goal game in a 3-1 win over Army West Point on Friday. He recorded his first career game-winning goal and his first multi-goal game.
