HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

Northeastern delivered a 1-0 victory over No. 7 Denver on Saturday night in front of a sold out Matthews Arena. Freshman forward Amine Hajibi netted the game-winning strike while Lawton Zacher kicked out all 35 shots he faced for his first shutout as a Husky.

UMass Lowell skated away with a pair of wins at Mercyhurst, sweeping the Lakers by scores of 4-0 and 4-3. Dillan Bentley racked up four points (2g, 2a), including the game-winning goal in the third period on Saturday, while Samuel Richard earned his first NCAA win and shutout with 30 saves.

The Maine Black Bears split a weekend with Colgate, earning the program’s 950th win all-time on Saturday with a 3-2 overtime win. Max Scott scored his first goal as a Black Bear to deliver victory in the extra fame.

Merrimack took down No. 6 Quinnipiac, 4-1, at Lawler Rink on Friday night. Nick Pierre scored two third-period goals to seal the victory while Max Lundgren stopped 27 of 28 shots.

No. 4 Boston University and No. 11 UConn split their first Hockey East series of the season, with the road team claiming victory in each of the two games. BU standout defender Cole Hutson had an assist in each game while UConn’s Ethan Gardula had two goals and one assist for the Huskies on the weekend.

HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Dillan Bentley - UMass Lowell

Dillan Bentley (Sr., F; Peoria, lll.) helped lead the River Hawks to a weekend sweep at Mercyhurst by racking up four points across the two road games. The senior handed out two primary assists in Friday’s 4-0 victory before scoring two goals on Saturday, including the game-winner in the third period.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Amine Hajibi - Northeastern

Amine Hajibi (Fr., F; Montreal, Que.) scored his first NCAA goal as he delivered the game-winning strike in Northeastern’s 1-0 shutout of No. 7 Denver and taking the Huskies’ second consecutive victory against a nationally ranked team. He finished with one shot on goal and a plus-one rating.

ARMY ROTC DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

Brandon Holt - Maine

Brandon Holt (Sr., D; Grand Forks, N.D.) dished out four assists over the weekend to tie for the Hockey East lead in points. In a split with Colgate, he tallied two helpers in each game, including on the game-winning overtime goal on Saturday. Holt had four shots on goal and a plus-two rating.

STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Lawton Zacher - Northeastern

Lawton Zacher (Jr., G; Buffalo, N.Y.) backstopped Northeastern to a 1-0 win over No. 7 Denver for his second-straight upset victory over a ranked opponent. He recorded a season-high 35 saves, turning aside 15 shots in the second period alone, to earn his first shutout of the season and his first as a Husky.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Owen McLaughlin, BU (Sr., F; Spring City, Pa.) Posted four points (3g, 1a) in a weekend split with No. 11 UConn. McLaughlin scored his first two goals as a Terrier in Friday night’s contest. On Saturday night, his goal was a power-play strike that would prove to be the game winner of a 3-1 victory. He also assisted on Harvey’s second goal, an insurance goal in the second period. His back-to-back multi-point performances are his first since Jan. 6 & Jan. 12, 2024.

Jack Murtagh, BU (Fr., F; East Greenbush, N.Y.) Recorded two points (1g, 1a) in a weekend split with No. 11 UConn. Murtagh notched a goal in Friday night’s contest and assisted on the first goal of Saturday’s 3-1 win on the power play. He finished plus-two for the weekend, tied for the best of any Terrier.

Cole Hutson, BU (So., D; Chicago, Ill.) Dished out two assists in a split with No. 11 UConn, handing out one helper in each game including a set up on the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 3-1 road win.

Ethan Gardula, UConn (So., F; Princeton, Mass.) Finished a split weekend with two goals and one assist for three points to help UConn split a home-and-home with No. 4 Boston University.

Tom Messineo, UConn (Sr., D; Westwood, Mass.) Netted one goal and blocked five shots over the weekend to help UConn take down No. 4 Boston University on Friday, 8-4.

Justin Poirier, Maine (Fr., F; Valleyfield, Que.) Had two goals and one assist for three points over a split weekend with Colgate. He scored a power-play goal and had the game-tying goal in Saturday’s eventual win. He put eight shots on goal and a plus-one rating.

Dalyn Wakely, UML (Fr., F; Port Hope, Ont.) Facilitated a weekend sweep at Mercyhurst with three points on three assists. He had one helper in game one, before picking up two in Saturday’s 4-3 win, including the primary assist on the game-winning goal in the third period.

TJ Schweighardt, UML (Sr., D; Manahawkin, N.J.) Scored one goal and added two assists in a weekend sweep of Mercyhurst. He scored in the team’s 4-0 win on Friday, before collecting two assists in a 4-3 game two victory, including one on the game-winner.

Samuel Richard, UML (Sr., G; Sainte-Catherine, Que.) stopped all 30 shots in faced in a 4-0 road win at Mercyhurst on Friday, earning his first NCAA victory and first collegiate shutout.

Nick Pierre, MC (So., F; Cottage Grove, Minn.) Potted two third-period goals in Merrimack’s 4-1 victory over No. 6 Quinnipiac.

Felix Gagnon, UNH (Fr., F; Jonquiere, Que.) Scored two goals on Friday night as the Wildcats defeated LIU, 3-2, in overtime. He gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead late in the first period and scored the game winner in overtime. Gagnon posted his first collegiate multi-goal game and scored his first game winner. He leads the team with three goals this season and is tied for first with four points.

Ryan Philbrick, UNH (Fr., D; Concord, N.H.) Recorded his first two collegiate points with one goal and one assist on Friday in a 3-2 overtime win over LIU. He also was a team-best plus-three on the week. Philbrick scored the first goal of the game and posted an assist on the game winner.

Kyle Chauvette, UNH (Sr., G; Goffstown, N.H.) Went 1-1-0 on the week with a 2.03 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. He made 52 saves on 56 shots. Chauvette posted 25 saves and allowed two goals on Friday in a 3-2 OT win over LIU, while he recorded 27 saves and allowed two goals on Saturday in a 2-0 loss against No. 6 Quinnipiac.

John Mustard, PC (So., F; Oradell, N.J.) Mustard scored a goal in Friday’s 2-2 tie at St. Thomas and added a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 7-4 victory.

Aleksi Kivioja, PC (So., F; Espoo, Finland) Netted the game-tying goal in the third period on Friday night in a 2-2 draw and added two assists in Saturday night’s win. He finished the weekend with a plus-three rating.

Jonathan Fauchon, PC (Fr., F; Saint-Claire, Que.) Tallied the game-winning goal on Saturday night and added an assist in the Friars’ 7-4 win at St. Thomas.

Jack Parsons, PC (Fr., G; Cortland, N.Y.) Made his first-career appearance on Saturday night in St. Thomas, stopping 15 of 16 shots for a 1.47 goals against average and .938 save percentage while earning his first NCAA win after coming in in relief for final 40:44 of play.