1992-93 FINAL HOCKEY EAST REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
3/7/93                 Hockey East                Overall
                       GP  W-L-T   Pts  GF-GA  || GP   W-L-T    GF-GA
                       ===============================================
 1  Maine              24 22-1-1   45  162-56  || 38  35-1-2   250-86
 2  Boston University  24 18-5-1   37  126-84  || 34  25-7-2   173-111
 3  New Hampshire      24 11-11-2  24  102-98  || 34  16-15-3  140-131
 4  UMass-Lowell       24 10-13-1  21  100-100 || 35  18-16-1  145-133
 5  Providence         24  9-12-3  21   91-109 || 34  16-15-3  142-137
 6  Merrimack          24  8-16-0  16   85-141 || 34  14-18-2  130-170
 7  Boston College     24  6-15-3  15   80-120 || 36   9-22-5  114-176
 8  Northeastern       24  6-17-1  13   89-127 || 33  10-22-1  131-178
UMass-Lowell finishes 4th ahead of Providence due to 2nd tiebreaker,
league wins.
 
RESULTS
03/02/93 Boston College      1 at Maine               9 HE
03/05/93 Northeastern        7 at Boston College      6 HE ot
03/05/93 Boston University  12 at Providence          6 HE
03/06/93 New Hampshire       2 at Maine               5 HE
03/06/93 Merrimack           5 at UMass-Lowell        4 HE ot
(end of regular season)
03/12-13 Hockey East Quarterfinals (best of 2, sudden death if series tied)
03/19/93 Hockey East Semifinals at Boston Garden, 5:00 (NESN)/8:00 (NESN)
03/20/93 Hockey East Cons/Champ at Boston Garden, 5:00/8:00 (NESN)
 
QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFF MATCHUPS (Fri-Sat March 12-13, 1993 at higher seed)
#8 Northeastern at #1 Maine
#7 Boston College at #2 Boston University
#6 Merrimack at #3 New Hampshire
#5 Providence at #4 UMass-Lowell
 
QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFF FORMAT
Hockey East has changed its quarterfinal format this year from the
single elimination that was used the last two seasons.  Each of the
two games in a series will be played complete with five-minute overtime
if necessary, as in the regular season; if either game is tied after
the five-minute overtime, it ends as a tie.  Should the series be even
after the second game (if each team wins a game or both games are ties),
then sudden death will be played to decide the series.  This is the 5th
different quarterfinal format used in 9 years of HE play, the others
being two games total goals, two games w/minigame, single elimination,
and best of three.
 
QUARTERFINAL PREVIEWS
#8 Northeastern at #1 Maine: Maine won all four meetings and outscored
the Huskies, 29-9.  Scores:
  12/04/92 NU 4 at Maine 5
  12/05/92 NU 2 at Maine 11
  02/12/93 Maine 7 at NU 1
  02/13/93 Maine 6 at NU 2
OUTLOOK: Defensive woes make it unlikely that the Huskies will be able
to prevent Maine from winning both games.
 
#7 Boston College at #2 Boston University: BU swept the season series
4-0-0 and outscored the Eagles, 27-9.  Scores:
  12/09/92 BC 4 at BU 7
  01/15/93 BU 5 at BC 1
  01/16/93 BC 2 at BU 7
  02/01/93 BC 2 vs BU 8 (Beanpot semifinal)
OUTLOOK: BU has had the Eagles' number all year, but the Terriers may
have peaked already and BC gets fired up for this rivalry; the Eagles
upset BU on the road in last year's quarterfinal.  But BU is bound to
remember that and not let it happen again.
 
#6 Merrimack at #3 New Hampshire: UNH won the season series, 2-1-0, and
outscored the Warriors, 19-14.  Scores:
  01/08/93 UNH 7 at Merrimack 5
  01/09/93 Merrimack 5 at UNH 9
  02/06/93 UNH 3 at Merrimack 4 (ot)
OUTLOOK: Both teams are playing well lately, especially defensively, so
this should be a hard-fought series.  Warriors could have taken both
of the first two games in January if they had been playing as well in
their own end as they are now.  Home ice advantage will help Wildcats
unless Merrimack can take the crowd out of the game.  Both teams have
history of pulling together at the end and eking out wins, so it's never
over until it's over.  Possible Merrimack upset, probably in sudden death.
 
#5 Providence at #4 UMass-Lowell: The teams split the season series,
  2-2-0, with UML outscoring PC 16-15.  Scores:
  11/20/92 PC 4 at UML 3 (ot)
  11/21/92 UML 6 at PC 2
  02/19/93 UML 3 at PC 7
  02/20/93 PC 2 at UML 4
OUTLOOK: Friars were playing well a few weeks ago when they appeared
to have a stronghold on third, but they faltered of late and may have
peaked.  Goaltending could be the difference as the teams are pretty
evenly matched, though Lowell has the edge in defense and PC has more
scorers.  This being playoffs, defense and goaltending become of prime
importance and should help Lowell win the series, but sudden death is
a possibility if Mullahy/Bell come up big and help PC win a game.
 
NESN PLAYOFF COVERAGE
NESN will show both NU-Maine quarterfinal games, Fri-Sat March 12-13,
live at 7 pm each night.  NESN will also show both semifinals on Fri
March 19 at 5 and 8 pm, as well as the championship game Sat March 20.
 
WEEKEND RECAP
UMass-Lowell backed into fourth place and the final home ice spot when BU
beat Providence, 12-6.  But the next night, the Chiefs dropped a 5-4 OT
decision at home to Merrimack, enabling the Warriors to finish 6th.
Maine finished with wins over BC and UNH to break its record for most
wins in a season.  BC had a chance to clinch 6th with at least a tie
at home against NU, but the Eagles opened the door for Merrimack with a
7-6 OT loss.
 
ALL-TIME WIN RECORD COULD FALL
Maine is five wins away from tying the NC$$ record for most wins in a
season, held by the 1986-87 North Dakota team which went 40-8-0 and won
the NC$$ championship.  The Black Bears could tie the record by winning
four games in the HE tournament and then winning their NC$$ quarterfinal
on March 27.  They could set a new record on April 1st if they go on to
win the NC$$ semifinal in Milwaukee.  Maine's 35 wins thus far ties the
record for most wins in a season by an Eastern team, as the 1984-85 RPI
team went 35-2-1 and won the NC$$ championship.
 
LAST WEEK'S PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (from HE release 3/1/93)
HE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brett Abel, Sr G, UNH: Abel stopped 49 of 53 shots on the weekend
 to help UNH wrap up 3rd place in HE, as the Wildcats tied UMass-Lowell
 2-2 and then beat the Chiefs 5-2.
Honor Roll: Josh Singewald, BC; Doug Friedman, BU; Garth Snow, Maine;
 Mike Doneghey, Merrimack; Bob Cowan, PC.
 
HE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Chris Ferraro, Fr RW, Maine: Ferraro had two goals and two assists in
 Maine's road sweep of Merrimack, 4-2 and 8-1.  He had an assist on
 the game-winner Friday and scored the game-winner shorthanded on
 Saturday.
Honor Roll: David Hymovitz; BC; Mike Sullivan, UNH; Bob Bell, PC.
---
Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)    *HMN*