Hockey East Roundup: Nov. 15-16, 2024

Another week, another roundup in Hockey East – and things are staying entertaining. This week we’re looking at a low scoring series but an interesting one, and prepping for next week with an intense matchup on deck for birds and dogs alike. Off we go! 

UVM and Providence skate to a tie – twice. 

It was almost as low scoring of a weekend as you could imagine for Providence and Vermont in their two game set. The teams, playing in Rhode Island, worked back-to-back ties on Friday and Saturday, the first such outcomes for either team this season. 

Friday afternoon started interesting, with Reichen Kirchmair scoring for Providence just under 11 minutes into regulation. UVM’s Alaina Tanski followed it up with a goal of her own 50 seconds later to tie the game at one. 

And that was the last scoring done by either side in game-action for the remainder of the weekend. 

All-told on Friday, UVM fired off just 21 shots on goal, which was only narrowly beaten out by Providence, who had 23. The first period was also where the majority of shots on goal occurred, and the team’s both struggled to add to their totals before the end of overtime. 

In the shootout, PC was victorious, after goals from Kirchmair again and Audrey Knapp, who had the winner for the extra Hockey East point. Lara Beecher scored the lone goal for Vermont in the shootout, but both Evelyne Blais-Savoie and Kaylee Lewis were unsuccessful in finding the back of the net. 

If Friday’s game was low event hockey, Saturday’s wasn’t much better. PC was able to up their shot count to 30, thanks to 13 in the second period. UVM on the other hand had just 20, and didn’t get above seven in any of the periods in game two. 

Ashley Kokavec was the hero in game two for Vermont, as she found the back of the net in the shootout to send the Cats back to Burlington with three points on the weekend. Both the Friars and the Catamounts are now tied for sixth in the conference with 11 points. 

Jane Gervais, who has started the majority of the games played this season by UVM, made all 30 saves in the contest before adding another three in the shootout. The goaltender has decent numbers on a Catamounts team that has been struggling – a .913 save percentage with two shutouts and a 2.60 goals against average. She’s also the only goaltender for UVM to record a win this season. 

Gervais did get some help when it came to blocked shots this weekend, with UVM getting in the way of 18 additional Friar chances led by seven combined blocks from Anna Podein. 

Things could potentially get a little easier this weekend, with both non-conference and conference matchups on deck. Providence will play a home-and-home set with the Harvard Crimson (ECAC), who have two wins against ranked opponents in 2024-25 (UConn and Yale). Those wins, however, are Harvard’s only of the season so far. 

UVM has an interesting sequence, with three games in five days between Wednesday and Sunday. First up is a non-conference foe in Union, who has outperformed Harvard to this point in the ECAC, and who should be a tough challenge for the Catamounts. After that, however, are two more Hockey East foes – New Hampshire and Maine. UNH is two points up on UVM in the standings, and are coming off back-to-back wins over Holy Cross. 

Maine is an entirely different story. The Black Bears had a rough weekend, and while they played Northeastern tight, they couldn’t quite find the back of the net. When UVM and Maine met two weeks ago, however, it was a split weekend series with Maine playing well in game one before faltering in game two. With no game on tap for the Black Bears before the Sunday contest against Vermont, it could be an ugly weekend for the Catamounts if their opponents come out swinging like they did just a few weeks ago. 

BC and BU Did Exactly as I Predicted: 

I’ll talk more about Boston College later on, but I wanted to briefly touch on the Green Line Rivalry beforehand.

The series lived up to expectations, however, and my prediction from last week came out perfectly correct. BC won in overtime on Friday, however BU scored their first goal of the weekend thanks to a power play score from Sydney Healey. The following day it was the Terriers on top, as the two schools split the series and the points between them. 

Another special note was BU setting their highest attendance ever for a women’s hockey home game on Friday night. With the Terriers playing in Agganis Arena this fall – while the historic Walter Brown Arena undergoes renovations – that means a higher potential occupancy for home games. And the Terrier faithful showed out, with 2,866 spectators in attendance. 

Weekly Awards:

Player of the Week: Shea Verrier, F, UNH – Senior 

The captain for the UNH squad had a productive offensive weekend as the team swept Holy Cross. Verrier had the game-winning goal in overtime on Friday, scoring just 15 second into the extra period to give her team the win. Her other point on the weekend – an assist – came on the game-winning goal on Saturday. The forward is now up to five goals and 10 points on the season, leading the team in both categories. 

Pro-Ambitious Rookie of the Week: Tuva Kandell, D, Northeastern – Freshman 

Just one week removed from defensive player of the week, Kandell is back in the weekly awards with another solid series. The freshman had three points off three assists in two games played this weekend, including on the game-winner in Friday’s close 2-1 victory. Kandell also added another two blocks, and is now the highest-scoring defender for Northeastern with seven points on the season. 

Army ROTC Defensive Player of the Week: Jules Constantinople, D, Northeastern – Junior 

Another Northeastern defender is on the list this week in the form of Constantinople, who had an assist on the game-winning goal on Saturday. The junior had another assist on Friday’s opening goal, and blocked six shots in total on the weekend. 

Stop It Goaltender of the Week: Lisa Jönsson, Northeastern – Freshman 

Last week’s player of the week kept right on rolling, with her third shutout in four games on Saturday. The freshman gave up just one goal on a combined 62 shots this weekend, and is now up to a .970 SV% on the season – the leader nationally in the statistic. In six appearances, the goaltender has allowed a combined five goals, good for a 0.84 GAA. 

Weekly Scoreboard: 

Friday: 

Providence 1 vs. Vermont 1 – PC wins SO 2-1

Boston College 3 at Boston University 2 – OT 

New Hampshire 3 at Holy Cross 2 – OT 

UConn 3 at Merrimack 2 

Northeastern 2 vs. Maine 1 

Saturday: 

Northeastern 2 vs. Maine 0 

Vermont 0 at Providence 0 – UVM wins SO 1-0 

UConn 2 vs. Merrimack 0 

Boston University 3 at Boston College 1 

New Hampshire 2 at Holy Cross 0 

What to Watch: Boston College/UConn 

Friday at BC, 2 PM and Saturday at UConn, 6 PM 

There were a lot of contenders for this weekend, but I think Eagles/Huskies is the one I personally would have my eye on the most. 

To start the season overall, both teams have been playing well, and find themselves at third and fourth in the conference standings. UConn, with the sweep over Merrimack, leapfrogged Boston College for that third spot over the weekend, while the Eagles split points with BU. 

On paper, these are two fairly different teams. UConn has been playing a higher defensive game than BC has, but the Eagles are out scoring the Huskies by a large margin in return. 

Heading into Friday, UConn is averaging 1.6 goals against per game, with the duo of Tia Chan and Megan Warrener once again playing lights out – so far this season they’ve combined for a .938 SV%, and three shutouts. BC on the other hand has been giving up 2.7 goals per game, but again their stats are slightly skewed by their losses to Wisconsin. 

In net for BC is Grace Campbell, who has been solid the last two weekends. What helps her is the offense in front of her, led by Sammy Taber. The Eagles average 3.1 goals per game, and have scored 12 in the last four games combined. UConn on the other hand is averaging 1.9 goals a game on just 28.9 shots on average. The Huskies have the second-lowest power play in the conference (10.9), while BC has the fourth-best (16.2). 

What I’m interested in is how things shake up between two teams that both had high expectations set before the year. BC was slated to finish third in the Hockey East standings, with UConn in first. It’s a heavily contested matchup – especially if you add in how UConn beat BC in overtime in last year’s conference semifinal en route to the tournament trophy. 

It should be fun, it should be tight, and it definitely will be a matchup you don’t want to miss this weekend. 

Prediction: I’m again going sweep here. I think UConn will do a really solid job shutting down BC’s offense to start, but by game two I’d expect the Eagles to rebound with a couple of goals. I’m intrigued to see how either penalty kill will fare, with the teams being so close in the statistic overall this season. Neither game should be a barn-burner, so those special team chances might be crucial in this one. 

Full Upcoming Schedule: 

All times in EST, streaming details available here

Wednesday: 

Non-Conference:

Vermont vs. Union (ECAC) – 6 PM 

Friday: 

Conference: 

UConn at Boston College – 2 PM 

New Hampshire at Vermont – 6 PM 

Non-Conference: 

Providence at Harvard (ECAC) – 6 PM 

Merrimack at RPI (ECAC) – 6 pm 

Saturday: 

Conference: 

Boston College at UConn – 6 PM 

Non-Conference: 

Providence vs. Harvard – 2 PM 

Merrimack at RPI – 3 PM 

Sunday: 

Maine at Vermont – 2 PM 

Tuesday: 

Non-Conference: 

New Hampshire at Mercyhurst (AHA) – 7 PM