College Hockey Update:   Last week featured a couple of top-twelve matchups, and Boston University edged up to #6 on its win over Harvard last Tuesday night, and Harvard also edged up to #8 (Harvard beat Bentley on the weekend, and edged up on the vacuum caused by North Dakota’s drop from #5).  Then on Sunday, Minnesota beat Boston College; BC edged up to #3 (they had beaten Connecticut last Tuesday night, and they edged up on he vacuum caused by Quinnipiac dropping from #3), and Minnesota held at #11, having lost to Northeastern earlier in the weekend.

Elsewhere, Denver held at #2 with wins over the United States Air Force Academy and Wisconsin, Quinnipiac dropped a couple of spots to #5 after a tie with St. Lawrence in a goal-tender’s showcase, and then a loss to Vermont, both ‘cross the pond in Belfast.  North Dakota dropped four rungs to #9 after a tie and loss at the hands of Michigan State, and Notre Dame held at #12 after a win over Holy Cross and a loss to Clarkson, at the tournament on Notre Dame’s home ice.  An idle Minnesota-Duluth held at #1, idle UMass-Lowell moved up two slots to #4 (on Quinnpiac’s slide), idle Penn State edged up to #7 (on North Dakota’s drop), and an idle Ohio State jumped up three pegs to #10 on the strength of their record, and on the surprising sweep of Bemidji State by Princeton, giving Princeton its first two wins of the season, and knocking Bemidji State down three notches to #13.

UMass-Lowell has had huge help this season from junior forward C. J. Smith, of Des Moines, IA, who leads the team in goals scored with nine, and is tied for third in assists with eight.  Smith has been a solid contributor all three seasons on the team; as a freshman he scored sixteen goals and added nineteen assists, and last year he scored seventeen goals and added twenty-two assists.  UMass-Lowell is 8-4-2, and is ranked #4.  They will host Connecticut Friday night, and travel to Hartford to play them on Saturday night.

Last Tuesday night, November 22nd, Harvard drove the two miles or so over to Agganis Arena at Boston University, and they were first to score twelve minutes into the first period as Sean Malone gave them the 1-0 lead.  Four minutes later Kiefer Bellows responded for BU to tie it at one apiece.  But only a minute later came one of those very embarrassing moments for BU — Harvard scored to take the lead when they were double-shorthanded five-on-three, on an Alexander Kerfoot break-away down the ice, to put Harvard up 2-1.  BU saved some face when Patrick Harper scored twenty-three seconds later on the powerplay to tie it at two apiece going into the break.  BU briefly took the lead at 3-2 four minutes into the second on a Dante Fabbro goal, but only twenty seconds later Sean Malone scored again for Harvard to tie it at three apiece, and it stood that way for the remaining sixteen minutes of the second.  Nick Roberto gave BU the lead again three minutes into the third, and this time the Terriers held the Crimson off.  Sixteen minutes later it was a Patrick Harper goal that gave BU the 5-3 lead with little time left, and it stood as the final score for the win by Boston University.

In the other top twelve matchup on Sunday, Minnesota visited Boston College and they were first to score on a lightning strike, thirty-four seconds into the first, on a goal by Brent Gates, Jr., for the 1-0 Minnesota lead, and that lead stood for the remainder of the period.  Things got going early in the second when Colin White scored two minutes into the period to tie it at one apiece, and then two minutes later Matthew Gaudreau scored a shorthanded goal to put BC up 2-1, where it stood for the next fourteen minutes.  With two minutes left in the second, a Tyler Sheehy goal tied it for Minnesota and sent the teams into the break with two apiece.  Vinni Lettieri scored eleven minutes into the third to put Minnesota up 3-2, and that lead held until the end, when Mike Szmatula found the empty BC net with only ten seconds left in the game to give Minnesota the 4-2 win.

This weekend features two top-twelve matchups.  Saturday night #3 Boston College will face #9 North Dakota for a single game in New York at Madison Square Garden, and #10 Ohio State will travel to play two games at #11 Minnesota.

This provides the top twelve teams, rankings, records, and last week’s results:

[table id=137 /]

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and go Terriers!

— Tom