2/6/91 Hockey East Overall Non-league GP W-L-T Pts GF-GA || GP W-L-T GF-GA W-L-T ======================================================== 1 Boston College 16 12-4-0 24 76-56 || 30 23-7-0 143-92 | 11-3-0 2 Maine 16 11-4-1 23 84-55 || 32 24-6-2 177-98 | 13-2-1 3 Boston University 17 10-5-2 22 76-52 || 29 18-9-2 154-99 | 8-4-0 4 Providence 15 8-5-2 18 70-57 || 25 18-5-2 136-85 | 10-0-0 5 New Hampshire 16 7-7-2 16 60-60 || 29 19-8-2 131-102 | 12-1-0 6 Merrimack 16 7-9-0 14 58-72 || 27 13-13-1 120-124 | 6-4-1 7 Lowell 17 4-12-1 9 50-83 || 29 9-19-1 103-139 | 5-7-0 8 Northeastern 17 1-14-2 4 60-99 || 28 4-22-2 106-159 | 3-8-0 2/5/91 New Hampshire 5 at Lowell 2 HE Providence 5 at Merrimack 3 HE 2/8/91 New Hampshire at Boston College HE Boston University at Merrimack HE Lowell at Northeastern HE Maine at Providence HE 2/9/91 Maine at Providence HE 2/11/91 Harvard vs Northeastern NC Beanpot Consolation Boston College vs Boston University NC Beanpot Championship PROVIDENCE 5, at MERRIMACK 3 The Friars went up 2-0 in the first, then fell behind 3-2 in the second only to come back and get the win. Mike Boback (10:47) and Mark Doshan (15:25) both scored on shots that The Goose probably should have stopped, but Howie Rosenblatt (17:50) scored his 18th from right in front of Brad Mullahy to get the Warriors on the board. There was some scuffling at the end of the period, resulting in Rosenblatt (a Providence native) ending up in the box and PC coach Mike McShane calling him names. McShane's Steve Rooney and Jeff Robison joined Rosenblatt, all three penalties coming at 20:00. The first period was almost completely up-and-down action. BC coach Len Ceglarski called Merrimack "one of the best skating clubs in the country", and when a team like Providence decides to skate too, the result is some fast, exciting hockey. The penalties at 20:00 were the first of the game. After the 4-on-3 was killed off, Merrimack really began to dominate play. The 4th line of John Barron-Brendan Locke-Jim Gibson was the most effective, and they tied the score when Barron poked in his own rebound at 4:16, his 5th goal of the year. When Teal Fowler (#12) scored on the power play at 12:58 from pointmen Claude Maillet and Tim Doyle, it looked like the Warriors were on their way to kncoking off the Friars for the second time in a week and a half. But PC is a good club, and they quickly retook the lead, Gary Socha (#12) beating The Goose at 15:35 and Boback netting his second of the game on a nifty play from Shaun Kane and Rooney at 17:58. Boback's goal came on the power play. After referee Drew Taylor let several obvious Friar infractions go, he called Gibson for throwing an elbow behind the Friar net at 17:11. Merrimack held the edge in shots 14-7, but several great stops by Mullahy were the difference. All six of the game's power plays (three aside) came in the second period, which ended with PC up, 4-3. The third period saw Providence continue their edge in play for a bit, but then Merrimack fought back and tested Mullahy a bit. Leading scorer Agostino Casale (19-18-37) was sent in alone and nearly faked Mullahy enough to flip the puck past him, but Mullahy somehow got a piece of it and deflected it over the glass. As the clock ticked down, Bob Cowan finally nailed the insurance goal with 2:41 left. Mario Aube hit him with a cross ice pass, and The Goose couldn't get over quickly enough to stop Cowan's blast from the left circle. The Goose ended up with 30 saves, but it wasn't one of his better outings. Brad Mullahy stopped 32 shots and was named second star. Boback earned first star with his two big goals, each of which put the Friars ahead. Brendan Locke played perhaps his finest two-way game of the year and was named third star for Merrimack. NEW HAMPSHIRE 5, at LOWELL 2 UNH jumped out to a 3-1 first period lead on the way to the win. Dave Gatti put Lowell in front 1-0 at 5:03, but Kevin Thomson and Scott Morrow (two goals) gave UNH the lead they wouldn't relinquish. Savo Mitrovic made it 4-1 at 10:23 of the second, then Dave Pensa and Joe Flanagan swapped goals in the third for the 5-2 final. Mark Richards had 31 saves for Lowell, which was outshot 36-18, and freshman Jeff Levy made 16 saves. IMPLICATIONS Last night's action all but eliminated Merrimack from home-ice contention; having lost the season series to Providence 2-1, the Warriors would need five points in their final five games (BU, Maine twice, UNH, Lowell) - or at least, five more points than Providence. UNH also has five games left (BC, PC, Lowell, Merr, Maine), and from Merrimack's viewpoint, the UNH game is the biggest of the year as the Warriors can still finish fifth. The question is, is it better to go to PC or to BU for the quarterfinals? New Hampshire looks to finish anywhere from fourth to sixth. To finish fourth and gain home ice, they will probably have to beat PC in addition to getting at least as many points as the Friars in the remaining four games. They could finish sixth if they lose to Merrimack. Providence is in the best shape; remaining games are with Maine (2), UNH, BU, BC, and NU, so they have a game in hand on UNH and Merrimack. If they get hot, they could even beat out BU for third, on whom they have two games in hand. NOTES David Emma (BC) was named HE Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday 2/3, tallying 5-2--7 in two BC wins. Including the Beanpot, he has scored in 18 straight games. Mike Murray (Lowell) is the Rookie of the Week for the same period with 1-3--4 in Lowell's 7-2 win at Yale (he had 4-2--6 in 22 games prior to that). BC is 8-1 against teams ranked in the Top Ten (whose?) at the time BC played them. Before the Beanpot, BU was 7-6-1 in its last 14 games. They began the season 10-3-1. Before last night, Lowell was 7-for-its-last-74 (9.46%) on the power play. In terms of total points, Maine's Jean-Yves Roy (66) and Jim Montgomery (65), and Emma (64) were the nation's leaders prior to the Beanpot. Maine's 9-3 win at NU was just its 2nd in its last 13 games at Matthews Arena (2-9-2 since 1983). UNH is 9-0 at home when classes are in session and 11-2-1 overall at home. The Wildcats have sold out five times at "Lively" Snively Arena. EXPANSION CONT. The Hockey News reports that HE Commissioner Stu Haskell has been talking to two schools about the possibility of their joining the conference. No mention was made of who the schools are. OTHER SCORES FROM LAST NIGHT Bentley 4, Wesleyan 1 Connecticut College 4, Amherst 1 Fitchburg St 9, Framingham St 1 St Michael's 1, Plymouth St 1 (ot) Salem St 3, Colby 3 (ot) UConn 7, Holy Cross 5 - mike p.s. anyone have the Fairbanks-UW score?