Hockey East Player of the Week Justin Hryckowian of Northeastern
Men's Weekly Release: Sweeps Abound in Pivotal Men's League Weekend
UMass Lowell, Merrimack, Northeastern Pick Up Six Points

HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

Five programs earned weekend sweeps in conference play, as UConn, UMass Lowell, Merrimack, Northeastern, and Providence all registered pivotal series sweeps last weekend.

#14 Providence took two wins over #5 Massachusetts thanks in large part to five points each from Brett Berard and Parker Ford. Berard (4g, 1a) assisted on the game-tying goal in the third period on Saturday and scored the game-winning goal in overtime of the Friars’ 4-3 win on the road at UMass. Ford scored twice and added three assists. Max Crozier led all Hockey East defensemen last week with three points on three assists.

#16 Northeastern’s Justin Hryckowian exploded for six points on five goals, including two game-winners, and an assist in a sweep of New Hampshire, including his first career hat trick on Friday night. Devon Levi earned his 12th career shutout in Saturday night, establishing a new Northeastern program record for perfect games.

#8 UConn improved to 9-1-1 on the year, its best-ever start to a season, with a sweep of Maine. Standout rookie Matthew Wood scored the game-tying goal and set up the winner in Saturday’s 3-2 victory. Merrimack took its first weekend sweep of Boston College since 1997.

Mark Hillier collected three points as he dished out two assists in Merrimack’s 3-1 win on Thursday and added a goal in Saturday’s 5-2 triumph. UMass Lowell’s Henry Welsch pitched back-to-back shutouts of Vermont, backboning the River Hawks to 4-0 and 2-0 victories. He kicked out 36 shots in total to deny the Catamounts.


HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

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Justin Hryckowian - Northeastern

Justin Hryckowian (So., F: L’Île-Bizard, Que.) racked up six points (5g, 1a) in a two-game sweep of New Hampshire. He netted five of the Huskies’ nine goals in the sweep of the Wildcats, including a four-point night (3g, 1a) on Friday. He scored both game-winning goals, one on the power-play, won 18 faceoffs and finished with a plus-five rating. He is currently riding a five-game point streak (6g, 4a).


PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

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Matthew Wood - UConn

Matthew Wood (Fr., F; Nanaimo, B.C.) turned in a crucial performance on Saturday night, scoring the game-tying goal and then assisting on the game-winning strike in UConn’s 3-2 victory over Maine. His efforts pushed UConn to 9-1-1 on the year, the program’s best-ever start to a season.


HOCKEY EAST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

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Max Crozier - Providence

Max Crozier (Sr., D; Calgary, Alta.) led all Hockey East defensemen last week with three points on three assists. The senior co-captain also finished the weekend with a plus-two rating as the Friars swept #5 UMass in a home-and-home series.


STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

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Henry Welsch - UMass Lowell

Henry Welsch (Jr., G; Lakeville, Minn.) earned back-to-back shutouts to help lead the River Hawks to a sweep of the Vermont Catamounts. He made 11 saves on Friday to pick up a 4-0 shutout and stopped 25 shots on Saturday to remain flawless and move to a 5-1-0 record on the season. He currently ranks second in the conference in goals against average (1.34) and save percentage (.952) and sits fourth in the country in GAA and save percentage and sits in a tie for second in the country in shutouts with two.


HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Chase Bradley, UConn (So., F; St. Louis, Mo.) Scored two key goals over the weekend to help the Huskies sweep Maine.

Arsenii Sergeev, UConn (Fr., G; Yaroslavl, Russia) Made 29 saves while allowing just two goals on Saturday to help propel the Huskies to victory over the Maine Black Bears.

Mark Hillier, MC (So., F; Labrador City, N.L.) Collected three points in a weekend sweep of Boston College, Merrimack’s first time achieving that feat since 1997. He dished out two assists in Merrimack’s 3-1 win on Thursday and added a goal in Saturday’s 5-2 triumph.

Zach Bookman, MC (Fr., D; Syracuse, N.Y.) Registered an assist in a 3-1 win over Boston College on Thursday.

Mike Brown, MC (So., D; Belmont, Mass.) Scored the game-winning goal in a 5-2 win at Boston College on Saturday, helping Merrimack to a weekend sweep of the Eagles for the first time since 1997. He also blocked five shots.

Hugo Ollas, MC (So., G; Linkoping, Sweden) Made 18 saves in his only start this weekend, a 3-1 win over Boston College on Thursday.

Ryan Brushett, UML (Sr., F; Montreal, Que.) Led the River Hawks with a three-point weekend, scoring one goal and two assists across a two-game sweep of Vermont. Brushett opened his weekend with a pair of assists in Friday night’s 4-0 shutout over the Catamounts and followed up with his first goal of the season on Saturday to complete the 2-0 shutout and sweep. He also added a plus-three rating to his stat line for the weekend.

Scout Truman, UML (Fr., F; Lethbridge, Ont.) Scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in Friday’s 4-0 shutout of the Catamounts. He finished with three blocks and a plus-one rating across both shutouts of the Catamounts. He ranks third on the team in points and is tied for first on the team and sixth in Hockey East in goals with four.

Ben Meehan, UML (Jr., D; Walpole, Mass.) Scored a goal and picked up an assist across UMass Lowell’s two-game sweep of the Catamounts. Took to the ice in Friday’s 4-0 win to pick up a goal late in the third period to help secure the victory for the River Hawks. He returned to the lineup Saturday and dished out an assist and earned a plus-one rating in the 2-0 shutout. Leads the team in points by a defenseman with five.

Devon Levi, NU (Jr., G; Dollard-des-Ormeau, Que.) Picked up two wins and six points in league play for Northeastern with a sweep of New Hampshire, allowing just two goals in 120:00 of work. He made 58 saves on 60 shots, including denying all five power-play opportunities for the Wildcats. He also earned his 12th career shutout in Saturday night, establishing a new Northeastern program record for shutouts.

Parker Ford, PC (Sr., F; Wakefield, R.I.) Registered five points over two victories against #5 UMass last weekend, scoring twice and adding three assists. Ford posted a goal and two assists on Friday before notching the game-tying goal and adding an assist on Saturday at UMass.

Brett Berard, PC (Jr., F; East Greenwich, R.I.) Racked up five points across two wins over #5 UMass last weekend. On Friday, Berard scored twice and added an assist. On Saturday, the junior assisted on the game-tying goal in the third period and scored the game-winning goal in overtime of Providence’s 4-3 win on the road at UMass.