Hockey East Roundup: October 18-20, 2024

There was a lot going on in Hockey East last week, with tense matchups and some great hockey from the team that sits atop the standings – and it’s not one you might have expected. Let’s jump in!

Series of the Week:

BU Sweeps Maine, Leads Standings after Five Games Played

If anyone had the Terriers being 4-1-0 in conference play to start the season, it sure wasn’t me. BU has been playing solid hockey, and after splitting last weekend, they came away with a sweep this time around in their matchup against Maine. 

Friday’s game started quickly – and by quickly, I mean all three goals in the contest were scored within a minute and 12 seconds of another, starting with a Lola Reid tally 12:14 into the first period. Lilli Welcke followed soon after, and while Danielle Brunette brought the Black Bears within one, the team fell short on tying the game the rest of the way. 

I’d like to say the Black Bears made this competitive in the shot count, but they did not. The team combined for just seven shots across the first two periods, and finished with 15 to the Terriers’ 38. Freshman Kiia Lahtinen kept them in it, making 36 saves including 18 in the second period. But a lackluster shot total, and an abysmal faceoff winning percentage (just 18.9% after going 10-for-53) kept Maine from converting again. 

On Saturday, Maine had a better offensive showing, but couldn’t find a way to break past Callie Shanahan, who had a 23 save shutout in the 2-0 win. A Sydney Healey score 13:44 into the first period after a scramble in front of Lahtinen’s net, and a late power play goal from Tamara Giaquinto were the difference makers in this one. Reid capped off her weekend with assists on both goals to bring her season point total to eight so far. 

Maine had a better day in the dot, going 17-25 against a fairly dominant team in the circle in BU. However, they couldn’t find a way to solve Shanahan even on a late power play in the third, and dropped another game to sink their record to 1-5-0 on the year. 

Weekly Awards: 

Player of the Week: Taze Thompson, F, Northeastern

Across two games the senior had five points, including two assists in Saturday’s come back victory for the Huskies. It marks the first time Thompson has earned weekly honors from Hockey East, and after a relatively slow start to the season, it’s a great sign for NU to see their captain in scoring form. 

Pro-Ambitious Rookie of the Week: Lola Reid, F, BU

The second Rookie of the Week award for Reid comes on the heels of the aforementioned three-point weekend. Not only did she open the scoring against Maine on Friday, Reid then assisted on both goals on Saturday en route to the sweep. The forward, who’s played in just seven games in the NCAA, is averaging over a point per game and first earned the ROTW honor two weeks ago. 

Army ROTC Defender of the Week: Maddie Crowley-Cahill, D, UNH 

While the Wildcats played a non-conference slate this weekend, instrumental to their sweep of Union was Crowley-Cahill. The graduate student transfer led the team in blocked shots in their Saturday shutout with six, including one with just eight seconds left. She also assisted on the game-winning (and only) goal of the game for her first point of the season.  

Stop It Goaltender of the Week: Sedona Blair, G, UNH

Another instrumental part of UNH’s sweep was their sophomore netminder, who has been making a name for herself in Hockey East since her first game. Across two starts Blair made 36 saves en route to the weekend sweep, finishing the two game set with a .973 save percentage and a shutout. It’s the second weekly honors Blair has earned this year, but certainly not the last. 

Weekly Scoreboard: 

Friday: 

Conference:
UConn 3, Providence 2

BU 2, Maine 1

Northeastern 4, HC 4 (NU 2-1 in SO) 

Non-Conference:
UNH 2, Union (ECAC) 1

UVM 1, St Lawrence (ECAC) 0 

Saturday: 

Conference:
BU 2, Maine 0

Northeastern 4, Holy Cross 2

BC 2, Merrimack 1  

Non-Conference:
Harvard (ECAC) 1, UConn 0

St. Lawrence 5, UVM 0

UNH 1, Union 0

Matchup To Watch: 

Northeastern at Providence – Friday at 6 PM 

This is a slam-dunk pick even if it’s just one game on Friday. If you think the rivalries Northeastern has with BC and BU are intense, the one with the Friars is arguably even more so. These two schools have no love lost, and consistently battle each other hard. Last season, in their three games played, they combined for 16 penalties across 90 minutes of game action. 

This ended up costing Providence greatly: they gave up four power play goals and gave up another while shorthanded in the three games. 

One thing about the Friars though is that they do not quit, especially against Northeastern. After dropping the first game of the season series 6-1 at Matthews, they turned around for a 3-1 win at home the following day. Taze Thompson scored just 67 seconds in, but from there Providence stonewalled NU for the remainder of the game. The Huskies have not won in Providence since October of 2022, and the teams are an even 3-3 at Schneider Arena dating back to 2020-21. 

I touched on the Friars last weekend when highlighting their matchup against UConn – which they dropped 3-2 last Friday. They were able to limit Connecticut to 21 shots, and went a perfect 3-for-3 on the PK. 

Northeastern on the other hand is riding on back-to-back comebacks, including in a 4-4 tie against Holy Cross in which they were losing 4-2 until under three minutes remaining in regulation.

Both teams are a bit confusing with how streaky they’ve been this season, so it will be interesting to see how they matchup in the only contest of the weekend for both. 

Prediction: This is tough. I think Northeastern either squeaks out a win here or we see a tie for these two programs for just the sixth time since 1999. I’m interested to see how the special teams match up after last season, considering how much of an achilles heel it was for the Friars.

The thing about Providence this season however is they’ve been playing up to their opponents when it matters – just look at their games against Quinnipiac and UConn. Whatever happens, it should be a great game between these two rivals. 

Full Upcoming Schedule:

All times in EST, streaming details available here

Friday: 

Conference:
Northeastern at Providence – 6 PM

Vermont at UNH – 6 PM

Non-Conference: 
Maine at Colgate (ECAC) – 6 PM

Merrimack vs. Lindenwood (AHA) – 6 PM

BU at Syracuse (AHA) – 6 PM

Saturday: 

Conference: 
UVM at UNH – 3:30 PM

Non-Conference: 
BC vs. Clarkson (ECAC) – 2 PM

Merrimack vs. Lindenwood – 2 PM

Maine at Colgate – 3 PM

BU at Syracuse – 3 PM

Sunday: 

Non-Conference: 
BC vs. Clarkson – 2 PM