by Chris Aliano
1. BC (8-3-2, 6-3-2 HEA - LAST WEEK: 2) – They've been flying under the radar all season, and now Jerry York's Eagles are at the top of the rankings and just behind New Hampshire for first place in the conference. Coming off a weekend sweep of then-top-ranked UMass and archrival Boston University, the Eagles are soaring at the moment. Parker Milner stopped 23 of 24 shots against the prolific Mass-Attack, and he continues to be a reliable backup to John Muse, who has struggled so far but was impressive in earning the first star honors in the 4-1 win against BU. A pair of road trips will test them this week as they travel to Harvard on Wednesday before making the trip to Providence on Saturday.
2. UMass-Lowell (9-5-1, 5-4-1 HEA - LAST WEEK: 3) – In danger of dropping four straight games, the River Hawks rallied for the win against rival UMass in a 5-3 victory Saturday night, salvaging the weekend after dropping a tough 2-1 decision against UNH the night before. David Vallorani notched his first career hat trick in the win against the Minutemen, one that could get them right back on track as they open up a home-and-home series with struggling ECAC foe Princeton this weekend. Nick Schaus (4g, 12a, 16 points) has the second-most points among defensemen in the conference.
3. UMass (9-5-0, 5-4-0 HE - LAST WEEK: 1) – Well, that was fast. The Minutemen did their best impersonation of last week's UMass-Lowell squad that was struggling for the first time this season after starting off hot. UMass drops two in a row against top-ranked Boston College and the River Hawks on back-to-back nights. Don't expect that streak to continue against Merrimack this Saturday in a battle of two of the league's best forwards: James Marcou vs. Stephane Da Costa.
4. UNH (7-6-3, 7-2-2 HEA - LAST WEEK: 4) – We knew the Wildcats were one of the best teams in Hockey East, and now they're back in the national rankings. You've got to think Dick Umile's team has got to be feeling good about themselves after downing No. 9 UMass-Lowell and Vermont over the weekend. Senior captain Bobby Butler is the league's overall goals-per-game scoring leader, clocking in at 0.82 goals per contest, to go along with the conference's best team offense (3.82 goals per game). They head to Providence on Friday in their lone contest this week.
5. Maine (8-7-1, 6-4-1 HEA - LAST WEEK: 5) – The weekend sweep against lowly Providence pushes the Black Bears all the way up to third in the standings. Not bad for a team that barely qualified for the playoffs last season. Is this a sign of greater things to come for Maine? Perhaps, but there's still plenty of work to be done. Nyquist Gustav trails UMass' James Marcou by a point for the overall scoring lead (11g, 13a, 24 points). Will O'Neill is fifth best in the confernce amongst defensemen scoring (4g, 9a, 13 points), so the Black Bears boast a dynamic scoring punch. Scott Darling has become one of the conference's best as well, posting an 8-3-1 mark to sport a 2.59 GAA and a .909 save percentage. Maine will look to keep it going against Northeastern in its lone game of the weekend on Saturday night in Orono.
6. Vermont (6-6-2, 4-5-2 HEA - LAST WEEK: 6) – Statistically, Vermont is a team that should be far worse than its .500 record indicates. Its offense chips in only 2.45 goals per game, while its defense has allowed 3.45 per game (good for eighth and ninth-best in the conference, respectively). Rob Madore and Mike Spillane have been middle-of-the-pack goalies, but Madore seems to rise to the occasion when his team needs him most. They are a far-cry from last year's Frozen Four squad, and coach Sneddon has his work cut out for him as the Catamounts close out the first half against a pair of ECAC squads.
7. Merrimack (7-7-0, 4-5-0 HEA - LAST WEEK: 7) – Much like was the case with Providence following its string of impressive victories earlier in the season, Merrimack appears to be stuck in a rut as the fall semester comes to a close. The Warriors can't seem to decide what kind of team they want to be, but as of now cling to the final playoff spot. They're still scoring plenty of goals, but inconsistently. The defense, meanwhile, made strides last weekend in a split against Northeastern during which they proved to 7-1 at home. Stephane Da Costa and Joe Cucci continue to rack up points for the second-best offense in the conference (3.78 goals per game), and Merrimack's special teams have been incredible so far (best power play, second-best penalty kill). The Warriors need to improve their discretion at which they take penalties, as have allowed the second-most penalty minutes in the conference.
8. Northeastern (6-7-1, 4-6-1 HEA - LAST WEEK: 10) – While Northeastern is struggling in offense and special teams, its defense has exceeded expectations through this point of the season (third-best overall in Hockey East allowing 2.82 goals per game). Home-and-home split against Merrimack gives them some room to work with heading into Saturday night's tilt against Maine. Chris Rawlings has done respectably in net, and is fourth-best in the conference in save-percentage (.913) and has stopped the second-most shots among HE goalkeepers (367).
9. BU (4-8-3, 2-7-2 HEA - LAST WEEK: 9) – Everything about the Terriers reeks of mediocrity, at best. Seventh-best offense in the conference (2.64 goals per game), eighth-best defense (3.45 goals allowed per game), middle of the road special teams, and an attitude that leaves one to wonder if any of this would have happened if Matt Gilroy and John McCarthy were still captains. The obvious answer is no, which means that Kevin Shattenkirk, Nick Bonino and Eric Gryba are to fault. Jack Parker faulted his team's ability to get themselves mentally prepared for a game after Friday night's 3-3 tie against Vermont, but that is just one of many things that are wrong with the Terriers. April 11th seems as if it was decades ago.
10. Providence (7-7-1, 2-5-1 - LAST WEEK: 8) – While the Friars may boast one of the conference's best goalkeepers in up-and-coming star Alex Beaudry (6-5-1, 2.25 GAA, .929 save-percentage), they only won twice in the month of November after their promising start. Dropping back-to-back decisions against Maine doesn't help them in their attempt to climb out of the conference cellar, either. Providence next hosts UNH on Friday before welcoming Boston College on Saturday.
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