Monday, February 28, 2000
 
BOSTON UNIVERSITY WINS REGULAR SEASON TITLE
UMass Earns Huge Win Over BC; Plenty To Settle In Final Week
 
LAWRENCE, MA - The Boston University Terriers, selected to finish fifth in
the Hockey East pre-season coaches poll, collected their sixth Hockey East
regular season title in seven seasons by completing a two- game sweep of
Northeastern on Sunday. BU opened the weekend with a 3-1 win on Friday
before finishing up with a closely contested 4-3 victory over the Huskies
on Sunday afternoon. With the win, BU is assured a berth in the NCAA
tournament as well as the first seed in the Hockey East tournament.
 
Meanwhile, the UMass Amherst Minutemen came up big, earning a weekend spilt
with the Boston College Eagles. UMass Amherst now finds itself in sole
possession of the eighth and final playoff spot heading into the final week
of regular season action. If the Minutemen finish in a tie with UMass
Lowell, they would lose the tie-breaker in head-to-head comparison with the
River Hawks (UML leads 1-0-2).
 
The four quarterfinal sites have been determined, with BU, New Hampshire,
BC and Maine all hosting. Tickets will be available through each of the
hosting institutions. With the race for the final five spots so tight, it
is impossible to determine who will face whom in the first round.
 
Tickets for the 2000 Hockey East Championship at the FleetCenter continue
to sell at a record pace, far exceeding anything the league has seen in the
past. To reserve seats, call TicketMaster at (617) 931-2000 or visit the
FleetCenter Box Office in the North Station lobby.
KOHO Player of the Week:
MARKUS HELANEN, UMass Amherst - (JR G, Vantaa, FINLAND) made 35 saves in
Saturday's critical 5-1 win over BC to propel UMass into eighth place.
Rookie of the Week:
DEVIN RASK, Providence College - (FR F, Parkside, SK) registered 2-1-3 in
two wins over UMass Lowell to help secure a playoff berth for the Friars.
Defensive Player of the Week:
PAT AUFIERO, Boston University - (SO D, Winchester, MA) anchored the BU
defense in two-game sweep of Northeastern, while netting 0-3-3, to help win
regular season title.
Hockey East Honor Roll:
JASON TAPP, Boston University - (SO, G, Kelowna, BC) had a career high 42
saves in 3-1 win over Northeastern on Friday to remain undefeated (5-0-1)
in Hockey East play.
 
BRIAN COLLINS, Boston University - (FR, F, Shrewsbury, MA) scored the first
two BU goals in 3-1 win over Northeastern on Friday night.
 
BARRETT HEISTEN, University of Maine - (SO, F, Anchorage, AK) netted 0-4-4
in two wins for Maine.
 
CHRIS HEISTEN, University of Maine - (FR, F, Anchorage, AK) had 2-1-3 in
sweep of Merrimack.
 
ROBERT EK, University of Maine - (SR, D, Lulea, SWEEDEN) posted two-goal
game against Merrimack.
 
SANDY COHEN, Merrimack College - (SR, F, Whitby, ON) registered a two-goal
game at Maine this weekend.
 
TIM TURNER, UMass Amherst - (FR, F, Saginaw, MI) catapulted the Minutemen
to victory with three assists in 5-1 win over BC on Saturday.
 
DOUG SHEPPARD, Providence College - (SR, F, Georgetown, ON) went 0-4-4 in
two wins over UMass Lowell this weekend.
 
BOYD BALLARD, Providence College - (SO, G, Weyburn, SK) continues to look
hot, registering 79 saves in two-game sweep of UMass Lowell.
Hockey East Notes:
BOSTON COLLEGE will face off against Boston rivals Northeastern and Boston
University in its final games of the regular season...BOSTON UNIVERSITY
finished the regular-season with a 12-0-3 record at Walter Brown Arena. It
marks only the third time in Walter Brown Arena history that the Terriers
finished with an undefeated season. They were 10-0-0 in 1977-78 and 12-0-2
in 1974-75. Since moving in to Walter Brown Arena in 1971-72, the Terriers
are 319-106-30. Picked to finish fifth in the league in the pre-season poll
of the Hockey East coaches, the Terriers have won the regular-season
titleeven with two games left on the schedule. This is the sixth time in
the past seven years that B.U. has won the regular-season title. A total of
10 Terrier players are having their best offensive seasons this year. The
biggest improvement has been made by Chris Dyment. A year ago, hampered by
injuries during the second half of the year, he had 1-6-7 in 25 games. This
year, in 35 games, he has 11-17-28, an improvement of 21 points in 10 more
games....UNIVERSITY OF MAINE will face off for two games against Providence
College on the road this weekend...UMASS AMHERST brothers Tim and Jeff
Turner (Saginaw, MI) both scored three points in the 5-1 win over Boston
College on Saturday night. Tim had three assists, while Jeff had two
assists and the game-winning goal. Jeff leads the team in scoring with 32
points, while Tim is tied for second on the team with 24 points. Junior
goaltender Markus Helanen (Vantaa, FINLAND) made 68 saves in the two game
series with BC last weekend, allowing just three goals in the two-game
series. Helanen shut out the proficient BC power play which was 0 for 13 on
the weekend...UMASS LOWELL outshot Providence in both games this weekend,
42-23 on Friday night and 41-26 on Saturday night. The River Hawks only
managed four goals on those 83 shots. Lowell was 0-11 on the power play
this weekend. Josh Allison (SO, D, Blairsville, PA) has scored two of his
three career goals at Providence. Lowell has scored one goal or less in 11
games this season. The last time UML failed to win 10 games in a season was
1988-89, right now the River Hawks have just eight wins. The fewest points
ever to lead UML in scoring was 36, this year the River Hawks leading
scorer has just 26 points (Chris Bell)...MERRIMACK COLLEGE clinched its
third straight Hockey East playoff berth on Friday night with UMass
Lowell's loss to Providence. The Warriors' five ties this season match the
school record set in 1994-95 and tied in 1995-96. Senior Sandy Cohen scored
two goals on Saturday marking the second time in the last five games that
he has accomplished that feat. Cohen has scored 12 of his 13 goals this
season against Hockey East opponents. The Warriors have killed off 22 of
its opposition's last 23 power play opportunities. Senior Mike Rodrigues
played in his 100th career game for Merrimack on Friday at Maine. Merrimack
will play its final regular season game at home on Friday when they host
Boston University. The game will also mark the final home game for seven
seniors, Cris Classen, Sandy Cohen, Andrew Fox, Drew Hale, Chris Halecki,
Mike Rodrigues, and Tony White...UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE clinched home
ice despite being idle this weekend. BU's win over the Northeastern Huskies
assured UNH a home advantage for the quarterfinal round for the fourth
consecutive season. The 'Cats, vying for NCAA tournament position, will
finish out the season with a home-and-home series with UMass Amherst this
weekend...NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY's leading goal-scorer Todd Barclay (SR,
F, Fairbanks, AK) returned to action in Friday's game against BU after
missing 13 games due to a shoulder injury. He was limited to only one shot
on goal in the 3-1 loss, but scored one of the Huskies' three goals in
Sunday's 4-3 defeat at BU. NU is on a five-game losing streak and finished
February with a 1-7 record after going undefeated (3-0-3) in January. In
the seven losses, NU scored a total of eight goals. Sunday's game was only
the second time this month the offense has managed to score three goals or
more. The Huskies continued to struggle on the power play, going 0-for-5 in
this weekend's two game set. The unit is in a 2-for-41 slump. Rookie Mike
Ryan (FR, F, Milton, MA) scored his fourth goal of the season on Friday. It
was his first since Oct. 30. The Huskies' modest three-game undefeated
streak at Walter Brown Arena was broken Sunday. NU tied a game there
earlier this season after winning both meetings at BU in the 1998-99
season. Prior to that, NU had lost 17 consecutive games at BU's home
rink....PROVIDENCE COLLEGE has now posted an 11-4 mark at home this season,
heading into the final weekend of action with a two-game home set against
Maine. The Friars have an all-time record of 14-13-0 against the Black
Bears at Schneider Arena and will hope to maintain their current momentum
heading into the quarterfinal round.