Another Roller-Coaster Season for UNH, and Power Rankings: All Things Hockey East
Last Saturday, New Hampshire completed yet another upset victory over a nationally-ranked team, coming back from two-goal deficit to pull off a 4-3 win at No. 10 Connecticut. While it may have been shocking to some, it wasn't to the Wildcats, who have been doing this all season. The season started that way with a 4-3 victory at then-No. 2 Michigan State, scoring the game winner with just five seconds remaining.
However, the previous night the Wildcats lost at home by a score of 4-1 and by the midway point of the series finale things looked more of the same as the Wildcats found themselves down 3-1 and seemingly out of the game. However, a lifeline appeared with six minutes left in the frame, as New Hampshire would go on the game’s lone power play. It had gone 0-for-4 on the power play in the series opener, but freshman Jacob Newcombe changed that by smacking a loose puck into the back of the net off a shot from the stick of freshman Alex Carr from the point, igniting the comeback.
With over five minutes left in regulation, junior Nick Hing tied it at thre. Just a minute later, senior Kristaps Skrastins reacted and put rebound from the point off the goalie into the net, scoring his first goal of the season. Not only did it secure three points but left the Husky faithful stunned.
Will UNH turn this into momentum remains to be seen, but one thing for certain is that this New Hampshire team cannot be taken lightly. Up two goals, UConn couldn't put the game out of reach and end up getting burned. So did the Spartans, who subsequenlty went on a nine-game winning streak and took over the top spot int eh polls.
Even though the future is uncertain, a gritty hockey team is a tough win, regardless of talent and UNH coach Mike Souza knows that this is just what the team needs as critical conference matchups loom. “They’re an NCAA Tournament team for a reason,” he said about Connecticut. “I think this will give our team a lot of confidence. I was just proud of our guys for sticking with it and sticking with it. It's a great league win for us.”
Splits and Implications
No. 15 Boston College was able to win big in the series opener against No. 10 Maine last weekend, 7-3, but then fell to the Black Bears the following night 3-0 to end a five-game winning streak. Despit it being a bipolar series, it showed that the Eagles are getting back in form with their preseason expectations.
Sophomore James Hagens continues to lead the team and has been the catalyst to the Eagles' November surge, with six goals and 13 points, a great effort thus far by the Boston Bruins seventh-overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. Even with one win in tow, BC coach Greg Brown is still modest, given the great effort from Maine over the course of the series.
“We survived against a tough team tonight,” coach Brown said. “They started on time, really dictating play for a lot of the early part of the game and we were lucky we capitalized on a few power plays. We were able to weather a few Maine surges and it felt like that was the most time we had been stuck in our D-Zone all year.”
Meanwhile, then No. 17 Massachusetts and No. 16 Providence split a home-and-home series, but all things considered, the Minutemen were lucky to walk away with a victory. In total, Providence outshot UMass by a wide margin of 44 shots, 94-50, not exactly a great formula of success. The games were close thanks to unbelievable performances in net by junior goalie Jackson Irving, who made a career-high 48 saves in the Friday victory, and 40 saves in the subsequent loss.
This now marks yet another time the Minutemen have been outshot in a series this season and it needs to change, as the program has tumbled down the league standings, only mustering two wins thus far, which is especially troubling considering the team started the season so well.
"We weren't playing a great game, but it was 0-0 near the end of the second period and we made a poor puck decision to take an icing—faceoff, goal," UMass coach Greg Carvel said. "We came out in the third and actually started playing. We got a great goal from James Duerr. We started to get some momentum, and then their McQueen kid walked right through our defense and scored, things fell apart from there."
For the Friars, they had a solid showing despite the overtime loss. The team continues to build momentum and really only has one true, yet surprising flaw, winning at home. This season, they’re 2-3-1 at home, which if improved could see them being a solid top 15 team by the start of the playoffs.
Hockey East Power Rankings
The first of the 2025-26 season.
1. Connecticut Huskies
Record: 7-5-3 overall (5-3-1 Hockey East)
Goals for-Goals Against: 45-36
Explanation: Swept Northeastern and split against UNH, winner in their last 5 of 7, one of the hottest teams in Hockey East.
2. Northeastern Huskies
Record: 8-4-0 (4-3)
GF-GA: 36-25
Struggling to find their footing, losing 3 of their last 4. In desperate need of an offensive surge.
3. Boston College Eagles
Record; 7-5-1 (5-3)
GF-GA: 42-32
Winners of 5 of their last 6, with series sweeps over Vermont and UMass, this is the Eagles many expected to see from the start of the season.
4. Maine Black Bears
Record: 8-5-1 (5-3)
GF-GA: 53-39
An inconsistent November that saw splits abound, but still one of the best offensive units in the conference and still one of the best teams.
5. Providence Friars
Record: 6-5-2 (4-3-1)
GF-GA: 40-33
The most underrated team in the conference, the depth is remarkable and is backed by tenacity and cohesion.
6. Boston University Terriers
Record: 6-7-1 (4-4)
GF-GA: 49-54
Disappointing. There is still plenty of time left, but for a team that was projected to win the conference, the Terriers have really faltered. Particularly, the porous defense is what has held this team back and places them in the bottom half of the rankings.
7. Merrimack Warriors
Record: 5-7 (3-5)
GF-GA: 33-33
A gritty and tenacious team that sits around .500. A team that has it some nights, and doesn’t on others. A mixed bag for sure, but a team that isn’t easy to put away, the BU series is a testament to that.
8. Massachusetts Minutemen
Record: 8-7-0 (2-5)
GF-GA: 42-49
Purely in conference competition, this team has been lackluster, with only 14 goals for and 27 against in Hockey East play, with only two wins to boot in that span. The team is in desperate need of answers as it looks to transition its overall winning ways into conference play.
9. New Hampshire Wildcats
Record: 6-7 (3-4)
GF-GA: 27-40
Upsets have kept this team afloat this season, but the 'Cats have been unable to capitalize on them while taking some lopsided losses. The team that is missing a leader to bring it out of the bottom three.
10. Massachusetts Lowell Redhawks
Record: 5-7 (3-3)
GF-GA: 28-33
The Redhawks are In need of an identity. They have been average at best, especially by their standards and desperately need something to bring them together as one to get on a winning streak to get them back to the top half of the power rankings.
11. Vermont Catamounts
Record: 4-7 (2-4)
GF- GA: 14-36
They managed an upset at Maine, but that's about it. The biggest issue has been the null offense, as 14 goals in 11 games just isn’t going to cut it in Hockey East.
This Week’s Hockey East Awards
Player(s): Providence Forward Roger McQueen tabs his first player of the week award in his rookie season. His game-tying goal, coupled with the game-winning goal and an assault propelled his team to a split. Massachusetts forward Mikey DeAngelo carried his squad to a victory against the Friars, scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory. This is the first time Deangelo is receiving this honor.
Rookie: Northeastern forward Jacob Mathieu’s late powerplay goal in the first period ignited the Huskies to force overtime versus BU. He continued the momentum by registering an assist in the second period, giving him his first weekly honor in his collegiate career.
Defender: Boston University defenseman Gavin McCarthy blocking a conference-high eight shots over the two games against Northeastern. He also tallied two assists, with one being the assist to the game winner, earning BU all three points in a critical matchup.
Goaltender: Maine goalie Mathis Rousseau made 21 saves to earn his first career shutout versus Boston College, marking the first time that the Black Bears shutout the Eagles since March 4, 2004 and the first shutout road victory in the series since Jan. 10, 1998.
Beyond the Blue Line
All games this weekend are non-conference, most notably No. 18 Massachusetts will take on Army, No. 15 Boston College will host Notre Dame, and No. 19 Boston University will face No. 17 Cornell at Maidson Square Garden. … Like Boston College earlier this season, Boston University nearly fell out of the rankings, similar to the Eagles, the Terriers will have a chance to make things right when they host Vermont in two weeks. … Seven teams made the national rankings this week, with Maine being the highest at No. 10 and Boston University being the lowest at No. 19. … Lowell had a weekend to recover, should be more energized when it takes on Clarkson and St. Lawrence in the Adirondack Winter Invitational in Lake Placid, New York. … Can Merrimack continue to showcase its fight and stubbornness into the holiday season? … BU and Maine need to be more disciplined, as the two lead Hockey East with 61 and 59 penalties. … Northeastern is a true contender with goalie Lawton Zacher between pipes. To say he's for real would be an understatement.
Jake Messer has been covering hockey and other sports at UMass Lowell. He’s sports editor of the UMass Lowell Connector. “I grew up in Dracut Massachusetts, and as things changed in my life, one thing remained the same throughout, sports. Whether it was the reincarnation of the Big Bad Bruins in the early 2010’s, or the dynasty of the Patriots on the gridiron, or even the new generation Celtics securing a record setting 18th championship, sports has always been a fixture in my life and it will be for many more years to come as I pursue a career in sports journalism.”
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