At #1 Boston College 4, Merrimack 3
Despite being down three goals midway through the second, senior forward Steven Whitney scored his second goal of the game in the third frame to complete a four goal comeback to defeat the Warriors 4-3 at the Conte Forum. With the win, the Eagles extended their winning streak to nine straight games.
Just 1:15 into the second period, John Gustafsson got things started with a goal for the Warriors. Following suit, senior defenseman Kyle Bigos (Edmonton Oilers) and Mike Collins both scored in the next four minutes to extend Merrimack’s lead to three.
The defending National Champions got on the board at the 7:39 mark of the second frame, when Whitney scored his fifth goal of the season. Eagle’s point leader Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames) assisted on the play.
Patrick Wey (Washington Capitals) and Danny Linell also scored in the second, tying the game at three, allowing for Whitney’s late game heroics.
At Providence 6, Northeastern 2
Friar’s junior Derek Army scored a hat trick for the hosts to lead his team to an essential 6-2 victory over the Huskies. With the win, Providence evens their record at 4-4-1 overall (3-3 in Hockey East).
Following a Tim Schaller goal for the Friar’s midway through the first period, Chris Rooney and Army added goals in the first three minutes of the second to catapult Providence to a 3-0 lead. Later in the second, Mark Jankowski (Calgary Flames) scored his fourth goal of the season, extending their lead to four goals.
Army completed his hat trick early in the final frame, scoring back to back goals to bring the Friars lead to six. With the intent of starting a comeback, Cody Ferreira and Vinny Saponari each scored one goal in the latter half of the third period to bring the score to 6-2.
At Maine 2, UMass 2 (OT)
Down one goal late in the third period, Minutemen coach John Micheletto yanked goaltender Kevin Boyle from the cage to provide his team with an extra attacker. With the advantage, Connor Allen scored his second goal of the season to even the score at two, bringing the game to overtime. The two teams stayed deadlocked for the remainder of the overtime period, finalizing the game at a 2-2 draw.
It was all Maine early in the game, scoring two goals in the first ten minutes of the game. Senior defenseman Mark Nemec got the game going, with Jake Rutt following suit.
With 5:06 left in the second period, Steven Guzzo of UMass halved the Black Bears lead with a goal of his own, making the score 2-1. The teams played back and forth hockey until the 1:08 mark of the third period, leading to Allen’s late game efforts.
UNH 3 at UMass Lowell 0
Wildcat sophomore goaltender Casey DeSmith made 23 saves, recording his fifth shutout of the season. With the 3-0 win over the Riverhawks, the Wildcats improve their record to 7-1-1 overall (5-1-1 in Hockey East). The loss brings the Riverhawks to 2-5-1 on the season (1-4-1 in Hockey East)
It took until late in the second period for the 0-0 gridlock to be broken. With 4:07 left in the frame, Wildcat’s Trevor Van Riemsdyk broke the lock and got UNH on the board with a goal. Midway through the third period, Grayson Downing got on the board with a goal, extending the Wildcats lead to two.
A UNH powerplay in the late minutes of the game allowed for Austin Block to score his team leading eight goal of the season, scoring the third goal for the Wildcats and icing the victory. Senior defenseman Connor Hardowa had an assist on the play.
Boston University 6 at Vermont 2
Six different goal scorers for the Terriers led Jack Parker’s squad past the Catamount 6-2 Friday night in Vermont. With the win, the Terriers solidify themselves in third place with an overall record of 6-3 (5-2 in Hockey East)
Ahti Oksanen kick started a big offensive night for BU, scoring midway through the first period to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead. Sahir Gill and Wade Megan (Florida Panthers) followed suit and also tallied goals of their own in the opening frame to make it 3-0 heading into the second.
4:24 into the middle frame, Alexx Pritivera scored his second goal of the season to extend the Terriers lead to four. On the counter, Catamount’s Chris McCarthy scored his second goal of the season to ruin Sean Maguire’s (Pittsburgh Penguins) hopes of his first collegiate shutout.
Wesley Myron (Vancouver Canucks) and Sean Escobedo scored goals of their own late in the second period to extend their lead to 6-1.