Hockey East Roundup: Feb. 14-16, 2025

How is it possible we’re already at the end of the regular season? We’ve got one more series of hockey left before the postseason starts next week, and there’s a lot happening in Hockey East. Let’s see what the conference had in store for us this past weekend, shall we?

Series Rewind: Holy Cross Sweeps Vermont, Previewing a Potential Playoff Round

I’ll talk more about the playoff picture later on, but the penultimate weekend of the regular season saw Holy Cross sweep the season series from the Catamounts with back-to-back wins at home. 

Saturday was a low scoring decision, and the only goal that either side registered was scored under five minutes in. Sophomore Reghan Chadwick picked up the rebound while all alone in front before lifting the puck over Vermont netminder Sydney Correa’s shoulder to put Holy Cross in front 1-0. The goal came on the power play, the third such goal in four games for HC. 

The score was also just the beginning of a dominant period for the Crusaders. By the end of the first, they outshot Vermont 12-3, though none of their remaining chances found the back of the net. In fact, neither team's chances throughout the rest of the game found the back of the net. Junior Abby Hornung made 23 saves en route to the shutout win, while Correa finished with a 26-stop performance of her own. The game was the third-straight decision between the two teams decided by a single goal, a clear sign of how evenly matched the pair are. 

That was shown again on Sunday, this time in a 3-1 win for Holy Cross. The Crusaders jumped out to the lead in the first period in this game as well, courtesy of sophomore Lulu Rourke, who notched just her fourth of the season 9:11 into regulation. The goal was the lone score of the period, even as the teams combined for 17 shots against Hornung and Vermont's Jane Gervais through those 20 minutes.

Sunday wasn’t the best outcome of the season for Gervais, who made 16 saves on 18 shots. Her team in front of her just couldn’t find a way to solve Hornung, who made another 29 stops on 30 chances in her second-straight win. The lone skater to beat the netminder this weekend was Julia Mesplède, who finally managed to sneak past Hornung with 62 seconds remaining in regulation on Sunday. 

Luckily Chadwick had already extended the lead for Holy Cross in the second, after she stuck with the play to stuff home a rolling puck into the back of the cage. With Vermont then pressuring following the 2-1 goal — and after the Crusaders fell behind in shots 14-3 in the third — Rourke capitalized on a breakout from the HC D-zone to put the puck into an empty net for her second of the game. 3-1 was the final score in favor of the Crusaders, which was just the second time in program history Holy Cross beat Vermont by more than a goal. 

Full credit to Holy Cross’ skaters, who blocked a combined 39 shot attempts in two games led by Rourke and Emma Min, who each had nine in two games. Min has been especially outstanding getting in the way of shots this season, with 82 altogether in 31 games played. It’s been crucial to HC’s game, and that should continue through the end of the year. 

A sneaky weak link for Vermont this weekend was their power play — a common theme all season. All told, the Catamounts went a combined 0-for-10 on the advantage over the two games. Yes, Holy Cross only went 1-f0r-7, but UVM has consistently struggled on the PP all year in ways they didn’t last year. It could play a huge factor heading into the playoffs, and I very much think it will. 

Weekly Awards:

Player of the Week: Reghan Chadwick, F, Holy Cross – Sophomore

With two game-winners in the sweep over Vermont, Chadwick earned top honors this week. The sophomore forward had just one goal in the second semester before Saturday, and is now up to five total on the year — tied for second best on the Crusaders. She also now has three game winners this season after not having any in her rookie campaign. In the 3-1 win Sunday, she additionally had four blocked shots, the third highest total of anyone on Holy Cross. 

Reichen Kirchmair, F, Providence – Junior

Kirchmair is no stranger to the weekly awards, and that continued thanks to her sustained outstanding play over the weekend. The junior had four assists in the sweep over No. 2 UConn, and is now up to 17 helpers on the season. She is just four points shy of doubling her career point mark in a single season, and she continues to hold a narrow lead as the top scorer in Hockey East with 34 total points. 

Pro-Ambitious Rookie of the Week: Kiia Lahtinen, G, Maine – Freshman

After earning goalie of the week honors last week, Lahtinen is back in the weekly awards this time in the rookie category. The netminder had her second shutout in as many weekends with a 19-save effort against Merrimack. She added another 21 saves in the second game of the weekend as Maine fell in the shootout. Her save percentage has now jumped to a .910 on the season, and she’ll look to continue the hot stretch heading into the last weekend of regular season action. 

Defensive Player of the Week: Kendall Sundby, D, Maine – Freshman

Another rookie makes the honorees this week, and for good reason. Sundby scored her third game-winning goal of the season in Saturday’s 3-0 win for Maine over the Warriors. She also added an assist in Friday’s shootout loss, her fifth such point of the season. On the opposite side of the puck, the defender blocked four shots over the two contests, and is now up to 25 total on the season. 

Stop-It Goaltender of the Week: Abby Hornung, G, Holy Cross — Junior 

Hornung has been a star for Holy Cross all season, and no weekend was that more evident than this past one. The netminder made 52 saves across two games, including 23 in her second shutout of the season — and second in the last three weeks. The junior has made 638 stops across the season, and her .942 SV% is tied for second best in Hockey East. 

Complete Scoreboard: 

Friday: 

Merrimack 1 vs. Maine 1 – Merrimack won SO 2-0
Northeastern 5 at Boston College 4 – OT
Providence 3 at UConn 1
Boston University 2 at New Hampshire 1 

Saturday: 

Maine 3 at Merrimack 0
Providence 4 vs. UConn 2
New Hampshire 2 at Boston University 2 – UNH won SO 3-2
Holy Cross 1 vs. Vermont 0

Sunday: 

Holy Cross 3 vs. Vermont 1
Boston College 3 at Northeastern 2

What to Watch: Any and All Games! 

I said this in my NEWHA roundup for this week, but if there’s any time to try and squeeze in all the games on the schedule, it’s this weekend. 

The top two teams — BU and UConn — are separated by just five points in the standings heading into the last weekend. And of course, the two squads are playing each other to close things out. When they last met a few weeks ago, UConn was able to snatch a win from the Terriers at Walter Brown. They’re going to need to do the same thing again this weekend; anything less than six points, and the conference will see a third team win the regular season crown in as many years. 

I’d honestly be pretty surprised if BU doesn’t end up taking the trophy this year. The Terriers have just been so rock solid when they needed to be, and in conference play they’ve been borderline unbeatable. They have just five losses within Hockey East, a marked improvement from their 14 a season ago. UConn on the other hand has also been lights out, with six losses in conference. These two are going to be at each other's throats all weekend, and it’s going to be highly entertaining. 

Then we have a three-team race for the third and fourth spots in the conference, which is really a two-team race. Providence and Boston College are neck-in-neck with 46 points heading into the last weekend of the season. The Eagles are coming off a split with Northeastern, while Providence just swept UConn as they continue to be on fire in the spring. 

BC is set to play a home-and-home series with New Hampshire, who they ran out of the building 4-0 earlier this semester. The Eagles had some struggles defensively over the weekend, but they’ve been consistently strong throughout the year. They just need three points to clinch home ice advantage and to extend their top-four finish in HEA streak for another year, and I think it’s a pretty safe bet that that will happen. 

The Wildcats themselves are coming off a decent weekend against BU, in which they took a shootout win over the Terriers on Saturday. After finishing in third last year, there’s a chance UNH could be playing an opening round game depending on how this weekend goes. They’re currently a point behind Maine for sixth in the standings, and leapfrogging the Black Bears means they get a ticket straight to the quarterfinals. They’re going to need to be on their A-game against BC, and are going to need Holy Cross to cause some damage to Maine as well. It’s an interesting spot to be heading into the last weekend in — and not one I particularly envy. 

The Friars will get arguably the easiest matchup this weekend, which isn’t a knock against Merrimack in the slightest, just a note on how strong Providence has been down the stretch. Similarly to BC, the Friars need just three points to cement a top-four finish, and I’d argue it’s more than likely against the Warriors that happens with ease. Since Merrimack joined Hockey East, they’ve beat Providence just twice — once in November of 2023, and once in February of 2018. The Friars have gone 25-0-2 otherwise against the Warriors, which includes a 4-1 win at Merrimack on Jan. 4th of this year. 

Statistics-wise, the difference is striking. Providence has 2.9 goals per game — that is over a goal higher than the 1.8 Merrimack is sporting. At the same time, the 2.1 goals against for the Friars is nearly a full score lower than the 3.0 goals MC has been giving up.

The Warriors have some firepower, and while their standing spot is pretty much locked into 10th, gaining some momentum before the opening round will be critical here. I’ve also said it time and time again this year: their power play is deadly, and while PC has had strong marks on the penalty kill, I wouldn’t be surprised if Merrimack is able to squeak one or two past the Friars while on the advantage. 

Circling back to Holy Cross and Maine, this series matters in different ways to both squads. HC is sitting at 23 points this season, which doesn’t look wonderful, but it’s still an improvement from their 18 last season. They also know how to win against the Black Bears — evident from their 1-0 shutout win on the first of the month. If HC is able to get even two points (and if Northeastern can sweep Vermont, more on that in a moment), the Crusaders can jump up to eighth in the standings. In all likelihood, they’re going to play the Catamounts in the opening round, but leapfrogging them in the standings allows the Crusaders to host the playoff game. 

Maine is also looking at the playoff standings, mainly (see what I did there?) to get out of the opening round. The Black Bears need to maintain their narrow lead against UNH, which I said above, in order to stay in that sixth spot. Considering how hot Lahtinen has been recently, they’re definitely going to give Holy Cross some trouble. At the end of the day, these are two pretty evenly matched teams, and that lends itself to an entertaining weekend of hockey. 

Which brings me to the final series of the weekend, Northeastern vs. Vermont. The Huskies, after not securing three points over the weekend, are somewhat screwed when it comes to hosting a playoff game. They’re currently three points back of BC and PC, and both teams hold the tiebreaker over them to boot. While they’re guaranteed a top-five finish, it doesn't look like they’re going to get a opening round playoff home game for the first time in nearly a decade. 

And now they’re heading into the Gutterson Fieldhouse, playing a team that constantly plays them hard and where they’ve struggled over the last few seasons. Vermont has struggled this season themselves, but will also be looking to gain home ice advantage over Holy Cross to close out the season. The Catamounts also just shut out Northeastern at Matthews Arena three weeks ago. While this series might not be the most fun for either fanbase, it’s definitely going to be interesting, and it very well could have the biggest implications on the playoff picture. 

Full Upcoming Schedule: 

Streaming Details Available Here

Friday: 

Northeastern at Vermont – 2 PM
Boston University at UConn – 3 PM
Holy Cross at Maine – 6 PM
Providence at Merrimack – 6 PM
New Hampshire at Boston College – 6 PM 

Saturday: 

Northeastern at Vermont – 1:30 PM
Merrimack at Providence – 2 PM
Boston College at New Hampshire – 3 PM
UConn at Boston University – 4 PM
Holy Cross at Maine – 5 PM