College Hockey Update: Last week featured a top-ten matchup, and St. Cloud State edged down to #2 on its split at Minnesota-Duluth, while the Bulldogs held at #5 on the results of the weekend.  Elsewhere, Massachusetts edged up to #1 after hosting, and sweeping Vermont; and Denver held at #3 after they hosted, beat, and tied Nebraska-Omaha.  Ohio State held at #4 after they hosted, and split with Michigan; Mankato State moved up two spots to #6 after sweeping their weekend at Ferris State; and Quinnipiac edged down to #7 after they hosted and beat Dartmouth, but then hosted and lost to Harvard.  Northeastern jumped up four pegs and finds itself in the top ten at #8 after sweeping their weekend at Maine; Bowling Green edged up to #9 after their split at Michigan Tech; and Western Michigan also popped up four notches and now appears in the top ten at #10 after hosting and sweeping Miami of Ohio.

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Last weekend Northeastern had huge help from its senior forward Brandon Hawkins, of Macomb Township, MI., who scored a goal last Friday night in his team’s 3-2 win, and scored two goals Saturday night in his team’s 4-0 win, as the Huskies swept their weekend at Maine.  The 5’10” 203lb. senior is tied for third on his team in goals scored, with seven, and is third in assists, with eleven.  Last Friday night it was Hawkins who got Northeastern on the board seven minutes into the first period, and he was followed only three minutes later by Patrick Schule, who made it 2-0, Northeastern.  And another three minutes later it was Matt Filipe scoring on a power play, to make it 3-0, Northeastern, where it stood at the first break.  The Huskies totally dominated the first period, as indicated by the score, and their 16-7 shot advantage.  Maine got on the board only three minutes into the second and proceeded to hold Northeastern off, despite Northeastern’s momentum and 14-9 shot advantage in the period; the score stood at 3-1 at the second break.  Northeastern totally dominated the third, out-shooting Maine by 12-5, but Maine continued to stand up to the pressure, and in fact scored on their only power play opportunity of the night with four minutes left in the game, to make it 3-2.  Maine added an extra attacker with one minute left in the game but Northeastern would have none of it, and the Huskies took the 3-2 win.  The next night saw even play in a scoreless first, but it became Northeastern’s turn to hold off Maine’s pressure late in the game, and they did.  Northeastern scored three goals in the second and one in the fourth for a 4-0 shutout win.

Hawkins came to Northeastern from Bowling Green, playing the last 22 games of last season after meeting the NCAA transfer requirements, and he ended tied for seventh in goals, with five, and eighth in assists, with twelve.  In his sophomore season at Bowling Green, he was first in goals, with sixteen, and tied for seventh in assists, with fourteen; in his first year there he was third in goals with thirteen, and was fifth in assists with fifteen.  He played for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL in 2013-14, and was tied for first in goals with 26, and was fifth in assists with 22; he played for the Texas Tornado of the NAHL in 2012-13, and was first in goals with 35 and was sixth in assists with 23.  He was named the 2012-13 NAHL Rookie of the Year.  Hawkins’s hometown of Macomb Township is a northern suburb of Detroit, and is home to 87,000 residents in its 36 square miles.  Here’s one for you — the population of Macomb Township has grown 75% since the year 2000!

Northeastern Hockey started in 1929, and with the exception of a three year suspension of play from 1943-46 during World War II, they have fielded a team every year since then.  Northeastern was an independent until the 1961-62 season, when they joined the ECAC, where they stayed until the 1984-85 season, when they joined Hockey East as a founding member.  Northeastern had a great season in 1980-81 when they won the ECAC title, earned the first NCAA playoff berth in their history, and made it to the Frozen Four, ending the year with a 25-9-2 record under Coach Fern Flaman.  Northeastern has had only five NCAA appearances since then, and has not made it past the first round.  But two of these appearances have been in the last three seasons, in 2015-16, and last year, when Northeastern finished 2nd in Hockey East, their highest place Hockey East finish ever.  Jim Madigan has coached Northeastern for six full seasons, and is in his seventh.  With two twenty-win seasons already under his belt, he currently has the Huskies at 14-4-1 and ranked #8.  Northeastern plays a home-and-home series against #1 Massachusetts this weekend, tonight at Massachusetts, and tomorrow night at home.  In fact, that puck drop is in less than three hours, so I’ve got to get this thing posted!

This weekend features two top-ten matchups.  In addition to the #1 UMass vs. #8 Northeastern series just discussed above, #2 St. Cloud State will host #10 Western Michigan for two games tonight and tomorrow night.  These should both be great matchups!

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

[table id=186 /]

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

— Tom