Maine Hockey Journal

A weekend of splits in Hockey East

There was three in conference two games series and UMass-Lowell hosted Penn State for two games as part of the Hockey East/Big Ten Challenge.

All four series ended in a split. Notre Dame needed overtime on Friday night to defeat Merrimack 3-2 with freshman Connor Hurley notching the game winning goal. Merrimack came back on Saturday night with a 4-1 victory Mathieu Tibbet notched his second and third goals of the season.

In the Providence-Vermont match-up, the Friars shutout the Catamounts 3-0 behind Jon Gillies 27 saves in net Friday. Fellow Calgary Flames prospect Mark Janokowski had two assists. The following night, three more goals were scored, this time Vermont taking the 2-1 victory. The Catamounts scored both goals in the first period with Mario Puskarich scoring the game winner.

In a series where both teams desperately needed a victory, New Hampshire and Northeastern each picked up two points. It was a home and home series where UNH won on home ice on Friday night with a 5-3 victory. Matt Willows Collin MacDonald and Casey Thrush each had a goal and an assist for the Wildcats. At Matthews Arena in Boston on Saturday, the Huskies came away with the 2-1 victory. All three goals were scored in the third period with Nolan Stevens notching the game winner as the freshman scored his first career goal. His brother John Stevens assisted on both goals. Nolan also picked up an assist.

The most surprising split of the weekend was Penn State picking up a 4-1 victory Saturday night Casey Bailey scored two goals as the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead. The Riverhawks were coming off a 5-3 victory on Friday night. Robert Francis scored twice to lead UMass-Lowell to the two points.

Three things

1. Brian Billett takes personal leave of absence from Boston College

Brunswick native and senior goaltender Brian Billett has left the Eagles for the time being. In a news release by Boston College, the leave doesn’t stem from violating any team rules. The senior has a 15-8-2 record in his career with the Eagles. He hasn’t appeared in any games this season.

BC added Alex Joyce to the roster and on Tuesday night served as a back-up as Brad Barone made the start in the 6-3 loss to Harvard. The No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko missed the game battling an illness.

2. UConn and Sacred Heart pay tribute to Connecticut hockey icon

In the big business of Division I Hockey, very rarely you see a game played in a 850 seat barn. On Friday night, that’s what UConn and Sacred Heart did by playing their game at the Taft School in honor of Jason Pagni who died in a car accident last January. Pagni played at Merrimack and after his playing career was over, he became a staple in the Connecticut youth hockey system. Sacred Heart came away with the 2-0 win

3. Gustafsson producing on the power play for Merrimack

Merrimack’s Hampus Gustafsson who’s tied for second in team scoring has been a work horse on the man advantage this season. He has 3-6-9 with seven of those points coming on the power play. The Warriors are 3-2-1 when Gustafsson scores on the power play..

Games to watch

1. UMass-Lowell at Notre Dame, Thursday and Friday at 7:35 p.m.(NBCSN on Friday)

The two teams are separated by four points in the Hockey East Standings. If the Fighting Irish can complete the sweep in regulation, they will be tied with the River Hawks with nine points. This series should be an offensive show down.

2. Providence at UNH, Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m.

Both teams are still trying to get in a groove. Providence is tied for fourth in Hockey East with six points while New Hampshire is tied in ninth with two points. This series could add another team in the log jam in the middle of the standings or can widen the gap.

3. Merrimack-Northeastern, Friday at Merrimack, 7 p.m., Saturday at Northeastern, 7 p.m.

The lone home and home of the weekend belongs to Merrimack and Northeastern. With the struggles Northeastern has had this year, this is a good series for Merrimack to rack up points and continue to ascend in the league standings. They have six points entering the weekend.

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