There remains just one unbeaten team in the country thanks to Boston University. That leads the three things I learned this week.
1. A motivated BU team knocks off Quinnipiac
Maybe a 3-2 loss on Friday night to Yale was the motivation that Boston University needed as a night later, after falling behind, 1-0, to Quinnipiac, the Terriers rallied for a 4-1 upset of the Bobcats. The reality is the weekend was another one for BU where there wasn’t a consistent output for back-to-back nights. The Terriers have only swept one weekend this year, against Northeastern in the beginning of November. This BU club certainly has the potential to be a championship contender but might need a bit more consistency after the break.
2. Notre Dame continues to have BC’s number
Notre Dame scored three late goals on Thursday night to overcome a 3-1 deficit against Boston College, pulling off a 4-3 victory. It does seem that the Irish have BC’s number since coming into Hockey East. Last season, an unranked Notre Dame team split a series at home with the Eagles, who at the time were ranked No. 9 in the USCHO.com poll. The season prior, 14th ranked Notre Dame knocked off the No. 1-ranked Eagles, 2-1 in overtime, to close the season then returned two weeks later to upset BC in a best-of-three quarterfinal series. The two play another single game in Chestnut Hill on January 29 looking for the regular-season sweep.
3. Friars are the nation’s remaining unbeaten
Providence won the first game of the Mayor’s Cup series against cross-town rival Brown on Thursday and, coupled with Quinnipiac’s loss on Saturday, the Friars are the only unbeaten team in college hockey. Despite being the defending national champs, few people saw this coming after the loss of Jon Gillies to the pros. But Nick Ellis has been phenomenal, posting a 1.69 goals against average and a .940 save percentage.
