Monday, March 6, 2000
 
HOCKEY EAST QUARTERFINAL ROUND SET TO BEGIN
FOX Sports Net To Open Coverage At New Hampshire On Thursday
 
 
LAWRENCE, MA - Boston College closed out the 1999-00 Hockey East regular
season with a 6-2 win over Boston University on Sunday night, ensuring
itself a third place finish. The Eagles will host crosstown rival #6
Northeastern University in the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East
Tournament, while #1 seed Boston University is set to take on #8 UMass
Amherst, #2 New Hampshire will play #7 Merrimack, and the #4 University of
Maine will face off against #5 Providence College.
 
The Minutemen of UMass Amherst captured the eighth and final playoff berth
with a 3-3 tie at the University of New Hampshire on Friday night, with
junior netminder Markus Helanen (Vantaa, FINLAND) coming up big to earn
Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors.
 
The final week of the regular season also brought with it several annual
awards. Maine senior forward Cory Larose (Campbellton, NB) claimed the
Hockey East scoring title with a final count of 9-24-33 in league play.
Boston College junior netminder Scott Clemmensen (Urbandale, IA) is Hockey
East's goaltending champion with a GAA of 1.98. The University of New
Hampshire claimed it's second Charles E. Holt Team Sportsmanship Award in
as many seasons, averaging 13.58 PIM per game.
 
The 1999-00 Hockey East season proved to be one of the most closely
contested ever, with 18 of a possible 108 games (nearly 17% of all league
games) ending in a tie. The previous record for ties in a season was 11.
 
Remaining tickets for the Hockey East Championships at Boston's
FleetCenter on March 17th & 18th are available by calling TicketMaster at
(617) 931-2000.
KOHO Player of the Week:
DAN KERLUKE, University of Maine - (JR F, Brampton, ON) scored a hat trick
against Providence on Saturday to erase a 2-0 deficit and win the game,
3-2.
Rookie of the Week:
KRYS KOLANOS, Boston College - (FR F, Calgary, AB) registered second hat
trick of the season in 7-2 win over Northeastern before ending the week
with 4-0-4.
Defensive Player of the Week:
MARKUS HELANEN, UMass Amherst - (JR G, Vantaa, FINLAND) led the Minutemen
into the Hockey East playoffs with 28 saves at New Hampshire on Friday.
Hockey East Honor Roll:
FREDDY MEYER, Boston University - (FR, D, Sanbornville, NH) posted 0-3-3
in two games for the Terriers.
 
JEFF FARKAS, Boston College - (SR, F, Williamsville, NY) tallied 4-0-4 in
two games, including a hat trick on Sunday against BU.
 
BILL CASS, Boston College - (FR, D, Hingham, MA) netted 1-2-3 in 7-2 win
over Northeastern.
 
NATHAN SELL, UMass Amherst - (SR, F, Pembroke, ON) factored in all three
goals, scoring 1-2-3 at UNH on Friday.
 
CHRIS BELL, UMass Lowell - (SR, F, Chase, BC) went 0-4-4 in final game for
UMass Lowell.
 
KEVIN BERTRAM, UMass Lowell - (SR, F, Nanaimo, BC) scored 1-3-4 against
Northeastern.
 
ANTHONY AQUINO, Merrimack College - (FR, F, Mississaga, ON) tallied two
goals against BU to set Merrimack rookie goal-scoring record.
 
DARREN HAYDAR, University of New Hampshire - (SO, F, Milton, ON) scored
3-2-5 on the weekend for 99th career point.
 
MIKE SOUZA, University of New Hampshire - (SR, F, Wakefield, MA) scored
2-3-5 in two games for the 'Cats.
 
JON DiSALVATORE, Providence College - (FR, F, South Windsor, CT) scored
2-1-3 against Maine this weekend.
Hockey East Notes:
BOSTON COLLEGE set a new Hockey East record (125 for 136) for best
penalty-killing percentage in a season (91.9 percent). Entering the BU
game, the Eagles were first nationally in penalty-killing percentage
overall (90 percent). They finished the regular season at 89.7 percent
overall (175 for 195). The Eagles also just missed out on the league
record for fewest goals allowed in a season (49 by UNH last year). BC
surrendered just 50 goals in 24 league games. Jeff Farkas' (SR, F,
Williamsville, NY) final goal against BU was his team-leading fourth
shorthanded tally of the year. BC has 10 shorthanded goals on the season
and has surrendered just one. Farkas' hat trick was also his 50th career
multiple-point game...BOSTON UNIVERSITY is looking forward to the return
of freshman defenseman John Cronin (Duxbury, MA) for next weekend's Hockey
East quarterfinals vs. UMass Amherst. He has missed the last four games
with a separated right shoulder. On the down side, sophomore defenseman
Pat Aufiero (Winchester, MA) is questionable next weekend, as he
aggravated a left groin injury vs. Merrimack and did not play against BC.
Then, in the second period of the Eagles' game, sophomore left wing Jack
Baker (Boston, MA) sustained an injury to his ribs and his status for this
weekend is up in the air. The Terriers will try to end a two-year streak
in which they have been eliminated in the quarterfinals. Two years ago,
seeded number one, they were eliminated by eighth-place Merrimack, 2 games
to 1 in the best-of-three series. Then, last year, seeded fifth, the
Terriers were eliminated by fourth-place Providence College, 2 games to
1...UNIVERSITY OF MAINE extended its unbeaten streak to eight games with
this weekend's 6-6 tie and 3-2 win against Providence. The Black Bears
enter the post season not having lost a quarterfinal game since being
swept by Boston University in 1994 This year, Maine will host Providence
in the quarterfinals, a team to which it has not lost in since December 6,
1997(7-2)...UMASS AMHERST senior Nathan Sell (Pembroke, ON) broke out of a
scoring drought in grand fashion, scoring two goals and two assists in a
two-game span, leading the Minutemen to a 5-1 win over Boston College and
a 3-3 tie at New Hampshire. Junior Jeff Turner and his brother Tim Turner
(Saginaw, MI) are the top two scorers on the UMass squad. Jeff scored his
team-leading 15th goal of the season on Saturday night, while Tim notched
his team-leading 20th assist. Jeff leads the team with 33 points, Tim is
second with 25. Tim has assisted on each of Jeff's last seven goals,
excluding a penalty shot vs. UMass Lowell on Feb. 6. UMass' five ties this
season is the second most in school history, second only to the six draws
in the 1995-96 season ...UMASS LOWELL finishes 9-22-3. It is the first
time since 1988-89 that the team failed to win 10 games. The 1988-89
season was also the last time that the River Hawks failed to play in the
Hockey East playoffs and finished last. UML scored just 99 goals this
season. It is the first time since joining Hockey East that the team
failed to score 100 goals. UML has beaten Northeastern at home eight
consecutive times. Chris Bell (Chase, BC) finished his career with 114
points, tied for 27th among UML career scoring leaders...MERRIMACK COLLEGE
matched a school-record with its 10th overtime game last Friday. The ten
overtimes tie the record set during the 1984-85 season. The Warriors have
posted a record of 2-2-6 in those ten games. Freshman Anthony Aquino's
(Missiassauga, ON) 15 goals this season broke the previous Merrimack
College Division I record for goals scored by a rookie set by Casey
Kesselring in 1995 and then tied by Greg Classen last season (14). The
Warriors finish the Hockey East regular season with 18 points, the highest
point total since the 1996-1997 season when Merrimack finished 11-11-2.
Nine of Merrimack's last 11 games have been decided by one
goal...UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE's second-place finish marks the fourth
straight year in which the Wildcats have hosted the first round of the
Hockey East Tournament. UNH became the first team in the league to crack
100,000 for home attendance this season. Through 17 games UNH has played
in front of 106,165 at the Whittemore Center and registered its 13th
sellout of the season and eighth in a row. Darren Haydar (SO, F, Milton,
ON) needs just one point to crack the century mark for his career.
Currently, Haydar has 52-47-99 in 75 games at UNH. Mike Souza (SR, F,
Wakefield, MA) scored his 50th career goal Friday night and cracked into
the top 20 on the all-time UNH scoring list. UNH's power play received a
boost this weekend as the Wildcats went 3-for-7 on the man-advantage. With
the Wildcats' 5-1 victory Saturday, UNH allowed just one goal for the
eighth time this season. UNH forward David Busch (SO, F, Toronto, ON)
suffered a broken ankle in Friday's 3-3 tie and is out for the remainder
of the season. Junior forward Corey Joe Ficek (Bedford, NH) sprained his
knee in the same game and is return date is unknown...NORTHEASTERN
UNIVERSITY defenseman Arik Engbrecht (SO, Winnipeg, MAN) scored his first
goal in over two years when he found the net in Thursday's loss to BC. His
last goal was Jan. 30, 1998 vs. UNH. Rookie goaltender Matt Coates
(Dedham, MA) made his collegiate debut against BC on Thursday. He entered
the game when it was 6-1 in favor of the Eagles and gave NU fans something
to cheer for with 10 saves in 10 minutes played on great BC scoring
chances. He gave up only one goal and inspired the Huskies to score one as
well...PROVIDENCE COLLEGE junior netminder Boyd Ballard (Weyburn, SK)
recorded his 2,000th career save against Maine this past weekend and now
has 2,013. Senior forward Fernando Pisani (Edmonton, AB) has played in 141
consecutive games for the Friars. Seven of PC's last 10 games have been
against ranked teams, yet they have managed a 6-3-1 record. The Friars
hold an all-time Hockey East quarterfinal record of 15-11-1. They are
21-20-1 all-time in the tournament as a whole.
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