Men’s Hockey East Weekly Preview
By: Marisa Ingemi
Last Week in Review
Early in the week, the struggling Maine Black Bears tied with the first place Quinnipiac Bobcats. It was the only game this week featuring a Hockey East school.
What to Watch
Northeastern vs Merrimack: All of a sudden, Northeastern is one of the hottest teams in college hockey. Merrimack has been going in a downward direction for most of the season now. It has to be kept in mind now, too, that Northeastern might be one of the scariest teams to face right now.
Boston University vs Maine: While the tie for Maine against Quinnipiac was impressive, the Black Bears are a team which has been slumping. Meanwhile, the Terriers have come out of the gate playing rather well in second half.
UMass Lowell vs Providence: The Riverhawks got back on track last week with a sweep of UMass.
Vermont vs Connecticut: I was foolish to pick Vermont to split with Providence last week. Let’s get that out of the way. However, I loved the way the Catamounts were playing last week before those games and UConn is not a very good home team.
Boston College vs UMass: There are cases where home ice doesn’t matter. This might be one of those cases. Boston College has played excellent of late, and goaltender Thatcher Demko is healthy again.
Notre Dame vs New Hampshire: The Irish have been as hot as any team in college hockey, winning their last ten contests. There is the possibility that Notre Dame wins both of these games, but New Hampshire had been playing well before the break for a reason.
Connecticut vs Boston College: UConn, as I stated above, is a team that I do not believe in and Boston College is a titan in this conference.
Vermont vs UMass: Once again, Vermont is a team playing good hockey and UMass is not.
Predictions
Northeastern vs Merrimack: The Huskies are hot and Merrimack is not. In predictions, unfortunately, you can only go off of past history, though it is a flawed system. This should be a sweep for the Huskies.
Prediction: Northeastern Sweep
Boston University vs Maine: BU lost and tied with Boston College last week, but in the first game at least, the Terriers played well. Maine isn’t a top tier Hockey East team, and though there is a road game here, I am going to go with the BU sweep.
Prediction: BU Sweep
UMass Lowell vs Providence: While UMass Lowell has been playing great, the Friars are terrific on home ice.
Prediction: Split
Vermont vs Connecticut: I still have it in my head that Vermont can go on a roll and, despite some decent wins this season, am not a huge fan of Connecticut as a team. Have to go with Vermont picking up a road victory.
Prediction: Vermont
Boston College vs UMass: UMass has been about as abysmal as any team can possibly be in the second half of this season. In fact, they have just one victory since November 7th.
Prediction: Boston College
Notre Dame vs New Hampshire: More so than the winning streak from Notre Dame, New Hampshire has lost four straight. The Wildcats have home ice on their side in this series, so its difficult to pick a sweep, but it wouldn’t be shocking.
Prediction: Split
Connecticut vs Boston College: A top team vs. a bottom team. Need I say more?
Prediction: Boston College
Vermont vs UMass: Until UMass wins, I am not picking them in anything.
Prediction: Vermont