Hockey East Power Rankings: December Edition

Eagles are back on top

Photo courtest of BCEagles.com

As the teams skate into winter break, it's the perfect time to take stock of the conference. It has been a rough month for some teams and an excellent month for others. If nothing else, November served to re-assert the top two in the Hockey East as national title contenders. Without further ado, here are the updated rankings.

1. Boston College - the Eagles haven’t lost since I last wrote one of these Hockey East power rankings. They’ve taken care of business against teams they should beat and have mixed in a few wins against formidable foes. Since the November 1 loss against UNH, BC has rattled off nine-straight victories. In a five-game stretch against UConn, Vermont and Yale, the Eagles went undefeated, outscoring their opponents by a combined 25-4. Arguably the best win of this stretch, and arguably the team’s season, was a Black Friday victory over Harvard. The Crimson entered the game undefeated and held BC to just three shots in the first period. Trailing by two late in the second, the Eagles rattled off three goals in a two-minute stretch to take the lead; they’d go on to add a short-handed goal in the fourth, sealing the victory. They’re currently sixth in Hockey East, but that’s only because they’ve played at least three fewer games than the teams in front of them. The conference schedule picks up in January with three games against UMass.
2. UMass - speaking of the Minutemen, they’re still really good without Cale Makar. In terms of goals against average, UMass has two goalies that rank in the top 10. Matt Murray is 7-1-0 with a 1.39 GAA, while Filip Lindberg is 5-3-1 with a 1.76 GAA. Led by the goalie tandem, UMass has the best scoring defense in the Hockey East. Mitchell Chaffee’s 12 goals are one short of Tyce Thompson and Tyler Madden for most in the conference. Like BC, the Minutemen are on a bit of a winning streak; since dropping back-to-back games against UNH and BU in mid-November, they’ve gone 6-1-1.
3. UMass Lowell - the Riverhawks have quietly exceeded expectations this seasons. At 10-4-4, they’re currently No. 14 in the nation. Even though it’s only December, they’ve positioned themselves as a team that no one wants to play in the Hockey East tournament come March. Proven road warriors, UML isn’t a flashy team with an explosive offense, but they do have the best goalie in the conference right now in Tyler Wall. His .945 wave percentage is the second best mark in the nation, behind only Dryden McKay of Minnesota State who has had a ridiculous start to the season. They have plenty of experience, and success, in high-pressure games, having played seven overtime contests so far this season and having lost only one of them.
4. Providence - the Friars can score. Their 3.82 goals per game is tops in Hockey East and fifth best in the nation. Jack Dugan leads the nation with 33 points; the next closest player is teammate Tyce Thompson who has 27. the prolific scoring makes up for a defense which is just middle of the pack. Harvard transfer Michael Lackey has had some clunkers lately. Against UML, he allowed three goals on 16 shots. Against Northeastern, he allowed four on 11 shots. Overall, they’ve faltered from their hot start, but the scoring is good enough to keep them in the top half of the conference.
5. Northeastern - the Huskies already have a championship to celebrate. Over Thanksgiving, Northeastern won the Friendship Four in Ireland, defeating UNH and Colgate. In the last month, they also swept Maine and laid a 7-3 smackdown on Providence. Merrimack transfer Craig Pantano has been solid in goal, posting a 2.26 goals against average. And Tyler Madden’s 13 goals are tied for first in the nation. One concern is that the Huskies are under .500 in true road games.
6. Boston University - the Terriers have had an up-and-down season. They have some quality wins, beating UMass, Harvard and Northeastern. They’ve also had some bad games, including a winless weekend against Northern Michigan and a tie against Vermont, who is 0-8-1 in conference. Defenseman David Farrance has been the best offensive defenseman in the nation this season, recording 22 points, including 10 goals. Forwards Patrick Harper, Patrick Curry and Trevor Zegras have all chipped in offensively as well. But beyond them, secondary scoring has been an issue. Graduate student Sam Tucker hasn’t been great in net either; despite having arguably his best season yet, his goals against average sits at 2.63. Prior to this season, he played three at Yale. In two of those seasons, he had a GAA over 3.00 and a save percentage under .900.
7. Maine - I’m a big believer in Maine, but they haven’t been good over the last month, having won only one game in the last 30 days. Granted some of the losses came against UMass and Northeastern, but Maine still can’t be slipping against the likes of St. Lawrence and Yale. The Black Bears have the pieces to be a dangerous team, starting with goaltender Jeremy Swayman. But the offense hasn’t helped the Bruins prospect out this season. Mitchell Fossier’s 17 assists are impressive, and Eduards Tralmaks had a blazing start to the season, but their offense ranks in the bottom half of the conference.
8. UNH - the Wildcats are on the same level as Maine, but the Black Bears get the edge thanks to a weekend sweep over UNH in November. As far as team that could pull off an upset in the first round of the Hockey East tournament, the Wildcats are certainly a team to look out. In a ten day stretch, they blanked BC and beat then-No. 2 UMass. At the same time, they’ve slipped against Bentley and Merrimack. UNH also loses points for cancelling a home game because the ice melted in their arena.
9. UConn - the Huskies are a steady team. They beat the teams they’re supposed to beat and lose to the ones they’re supposed to lose to. They swept Miami and Vermont and went winless in weekends against Providence and BC. On offense, they’re deep but lack top-end talent. Eleven players have at least seven points, but no one has more than 13. And defensively, they rank second lowest in the conference.
10. Merrimack - the Warriors aren’t very good, but lucky for them there is a team in the conference that is much worse. Merrimack has the second worst scoring offense in the conference and the worst scoring defense by almost quarter of a goal per game. Yet, they play scrappy, having forced ties against Northeastern and UMass.
11. Vermont - I wish Vermont was better, I really do. a couple of my friends and I went up to Gutterson Fieldhouse to watch BC’s two games in Burlington. It’s a great arena and the fan base is passionate about the Catamounts. Yet, they’re 1-11-2 and have scored only 22 goals this season. Andrew Lucas leads the team with seven points, and a few players are tied for the team lead in goals with three.