HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

Boston College and Maine are set to battle for the regular season crown in the final weekend of the regular season. The Eagles control their own destiny to repeat as champions and can win the title and the top overall seed with at least two points against Merrimack on Saturday night. Maine is looking to win the regular season title for the first time since 1994-95.

The Black Bears remained in the title hunt with a sweep of Vermont, thanks in part to Taylor Makar’s first career hat trick on Friday in a 4-1 win at Alfond Arena. Albin Boija was the lone goalie to win two games last weekend in Hockey East, kicking out 51 saves.

Massachusetts kept pace in the national tournament discussion with a 1-0-1 weekend over UMass Lowell, moving the Minutemen to 12th in the PairWise. Cole O'Hara took sole lead of the NCAA points race for a moment, scoring his 20th goal and 47th point of the year and extending his point-streak to a program-record 12 games.

With the win on Saturday Greg Carvel became the winningest coach in UMass history, earning 167 victories as the Minuteman bench boss.

HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Taylor Makar - Maine

Taylor Makar (Sr., F; Calgary, Alta.) recorded his first career hat trick and scored the game-winning goal and two power-play goals in Maine’s 4-1 win over Vermont on Friday. He had nine shots on net over the weekend.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Ethan Whitcomb - UConn

Ethan Whitcomb (Fr., F; St. Catherines, Ont.) had two goals, including the game-winning strike, and one assist for three points to help the Huskies to a 7-1 win and a sweep of Northeastern. The win on Saturday guaranteed the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

HOCKEY EAST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

Eamon Powell - Boston College

Eamon Powell (Gr., D; Marcellus, N.Y.) had two assists in an unde- feated weekend against New Hampshire, crossing the century mark for career points. He dished out the game-winning assist in Friday’s 4-1 win and then earned his 100th career point with a primary power-play helper in Saturday’s 1-1 draw.

STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Rico DiMatteo - New Hampshire

Rico DiMatteo (Sr., G; Brasher Falls, N.Y.) posted a 1.34 goals against average and a .949 save percentage on the week as he allowed two goals and made 37 saves during 89:31 of play. He entered Friday’s game in relief and allowed one goal and made six saves at No. 1 Boston College as he played 24:31. He then made his first start in a New Hampshire uniform the next night as he posted 31 saves and only allowed one goal in a 1-1 draw.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Gabe Perreault, BC (So., F; Hinsdale, Ill.) Wrapped a 1-0-1 weekend against UNH three points on one goal and two assists. Perreault had the primary assist on the game-tying goal in Friday’s victory, before scoring the game-tying goal in the third period of Saturday’s 1-1 game.

Jacob Fowler, BC (So., G; Melbourne, Fla.) Posted a 1-0-1 record this past weekend in against New Hampshire. The sophomore made 66 saves over the course of the two games, including 41 on Saturday evening in a 1-1 draw.

Ryan Tattle, UConn (Fr., F; Port Moody, B.C.) Finished the weekend with five total points on two goals and three assists, helping UConn to a sweep of Northeastern to guarantee the program’s first-ever NCAA Tourna- ment appearance. He had two goals and an assist in a 5-2 win and added two more helpers in a 7-1 victory on Saturday. He also won 50% of his faceoffs.

John Spetz, UConn (Gr., D; Oak Ridge, N.J.) Had one goal and two helpers with four blocked shots to aid the Huskies’ sweep of Northeastern.

Oskar Komarov, Maine (Fr., F; Uusikaarlepyy, Finland) Had two assists in Maine’s 2-0-0 weekend. He recorded five shots on goal and had a plus-two rating to go with three blocked shots and eight face-off wins.

Luke Antonacci, Maine (Jr., D; Princeton, N.J.) Posted a two-assist game in Maine’s win on Saturday night over Vermont. He finished the 2-0-0 week with three shots on goal, one blocked shot and a plus-three rating.

Albin Boija, Maine (So., G; Sundsvall, Sweden) Was the only league goaltender to record multiple wins as he went 2-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .927 save percentage in a pair of wins over Vermont.

Cole O'Hara, UMass (Jr., F; Richmond Hill, Ont.) Helped UMass take five Hockey East points in its series against UMass Lowell, scoring in both games and registering a shootout goal in the Minutemen’s 2-1 shootout win on Friday at the Mullins Center. He netted the game-tying goal in the third period on Thursday. Both goals came on the power play and brought his total to 20 for the season, becoming just the seventh player to reach the milestone in the Minutemen’s Hockey East era. He also tied and broke the program record for point scoring streak, now with a point in 12 straight games.

Owen Cole, UML (Sr., F; Dunnville, Ont.) Registered a goal and an assist for two points with a plus-two rating in a 0-1-1 series against UMass.

Libor Nemec, UML (Fr., F; Bratislava, Slovakia) Scored a goal on Saturday in an instant classic game against UMass.

Jack Robilotti, UML (Gr., D; New York, N.Y.) Earned an assist in each game of a 0-1-1 weekend against UMass to finish with two points and a plus-two rating.

Caden Cranston, MC (Fr., F; Rochester, N.Y.) Was the only Warrior to post multiple points last weekend, scoring twice in Merrimack’s 4-2 setback to Providence Friday and collecting an assist on the lone Merrimack goal on Saturday.

Seamus Powell, MC (So., D; Marcellus, N.Y.) Scored his fourth goal of the season in a 2-1 loss on Saturday.

Tomas Machu, PC (Fr., D; Ostrava, Czechia) Registered the game-winning goal for the Friars with 0.9 seconds remaining in the second period of Saturday night’s 2-1 win on the road at Merrimack. He finished the night with two shots on goal and a plus-one rating