HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES
The 2025 Hockey East Men’s semifinals are set, with #2 Maine, #3 Boston University, #4 UConn, and #9 Northeastern advancing to TD Garden. Games are set for Thursday, March 20 at 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the final taking place on Friday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m.
#9 Northeastern became the lowest seed to ever advance to the semifinals with a 3-1 win at #1 Boston College after winning a 3-2, double overtime game at #8 Merrimack on Wednesday. Cameron Whitehead made 74 saves in the two games, while Dylan Hryckowian was the 2 OT hero on Wednesday.
#3 Boston University moved past #6 Massachusetts, 3-2, in overtime off the stick of rookie Cole Eiserman. Freshman defender Sascha Boumedienne also had a goal and an assist for the Terriers, while their classmate Mihail Yegorov made 36 saves.
#2 Maine dispatched #7 UMass Lowell to return to TD Garden for the second straight year with an explosion of seven goals in a 7-1 win. It was a balanced Black Bears attack, as 13 players recorded at least one point including eight players with two points.
#4 UConn was the first to move on to TD Garden, returning to the semifinals for the second time in program history (2022). Jake Richard dished out three primary assists and Joey Muldowney scored two goals.
Hockey East announced the finalists for player, rookie, and coach of the
year on Monday. Boston College’s Jacob Fowler and Ryan Leonard joined
UMass’s Cole O'Hara as the top three players, while James Hagens (Boston College), Cole Hutson (Boston University), and Colin Kessler (Vermont) are finalists for Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year. Ben Barr (Maine),
Greg Brown (Boston College), and Mike Cavanaugh (UConn) were voted
by their peers as top coaches.
HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jake Richard - UConn
Jake Richard (So., F; Jacksonville, Fla.) dished out three primary
assists in a 3-1 quarterfinal win over Providence, lifting UConn into the
semifinals for the second time in program history.
PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Cole Eiserman - Boston University
Cole Eiserman (Fr., F; Newburyport,
Mass.) scored the overtime goal
to send Boston University past Massachusetts and into the semifinals
with a 3-2 win. He also added the primary assist on the game’s opening goal. Eiserman now leads all NCAA rookies with 21 goals on the
year.
HOCKEY EAST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Frank Djurasevic - Maine
Frank Djurasevic (Jr., D; New Rochelle, N.Y.) netted the game-winning goal as part of a two-point night (1g, 1a) in a 7-1 win over UMass
Lowell to help the Black Bears return to the semifinals for just the
second time in 13 years. He finished with a plus-two rating.
STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Cameron Whitehead - Northeastern
Cameron Whitehead (S o., G; Orleans, Ont.) stood tall in a pair of
games, making 74 saves to backbone #9 Northeastern into the semifinals as the lowest seed to ever advance to TD Garden. He made 44
stops in a double overtime victory at Merrimack including 15 stops in
overtime and 14 in the first extra frame alone. He followed it up with
30 saves at #1 Boston College in a 3-1 win.
HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS
Ryan Leonard, BC (So., F; Amherst, Mass.) Assisted on BC’s lone goal of a 3-1 setback to Northeastern, extending his point streak to a national-best 16 games.
Sascha Boumedienne, BU (Fr., D; Stockholm, Sweden) Scored a goal in BU’s 3-2 overtime playoff win against UMass after he broke up a 2-on-1, then joined a 3-on-2 rush the other way and fired a one-timer into the back of the net. He also the primary helper on Cole Eiserman’s OT winner, clearing the puck out of the crease and onto Eiserman’s stick.
Mikhail Yegorov, BU (Fr., G; St. Petersburg, Russia) In Saturday’s 3-2 win over UMass, made 36 stops, including two saves in overtime. One of those stops helped lead to Cole Eiserman’s winner. Yegorov made 18 saves in the third period alone.
Lynden Breen, Maine (Gr., F; Grand Bay-Westfield, N.B.) Scored a goal and added 12 face-off win and four shots on goal in Maine’s win over UMass Lowell to send the Black Bears into the Hockey East semifinals.
Thomas Pichette, Maine (Fr., F; Maskinonge, Que.) Recorded his first career multi-point game with two assists in Maine’s 7-1 win over UMass Lowell and also had a plus-two rating and two face-off wins.
Albin Boija, Maine (So., G; Sundsvall, Sweden) Posted a 1.01 goals against average with a .964 save percentage by stopping 27 of 28 shots to send Maine back to the Hockey East Tournament semifinals.
Scout Truman, UML (Jr., F; Lethbridge, Alta.) Scored the game-winner in overtime Wednesday night to help defeat New Hampshire in the Opening Round.
Chris Delaney, UML (Fr., F; Hopkinton, Mass.) Netted his ninth goal of the year in Wednesday’s opening round, helping the River Hawks pick up a 3-2 victory over New Hampshire.
Nick Anderson, UML (Gr., D; Orono, Minn.) Registered his second goal of the season against New Hampshire, moving to 14 points on the year.
Cam Lund, NU (Jr., F; Bridgewater, Mass.) Recorded three point in two games to help the Huskies to wins over Merrimack and No. 1 BC in the Hockey East Tournament. He tallied two assists in NU’s Opening Round game against MC and scored the opening goal in the win over 1-seed BC. He fired 13 shots and one block in two games.
Joe Connor, NU (Fr., F; Nottingham, N.H.) Recorded the game-winning goal against No. 1 BC to advance to the semifinals. He finished with seven shots and two blocks in two games and has tallied three points (1g, 2a) in four consecutive games against league opponents.
Dylan Hryckowian, NU (So., F; L’Île-Bizard, Que.) Netted the double-overtime game-winning goal on Wednesday at Merrimack as part of a two point (1g, 1a) night.
Jack Williams, NU (Jr., F; Biddeford, Maine) Posted three points on a goal and two assists in powering Northeastern into the Hockey East semifinals.
Jackson Dorrington, NU (Jr., D; North Reading, Mass.) Collected the primary assist on NU’s game-winning goal against MC in double overtime on Wednesday. He finished with six blocks and four shots through two games.
