These are the three things I think I learned.
1. Northeastern moves into prime position
The Huskies took on one of the hottest teams in college hockey–Maine, who had gone 7-0-2 in its last nine–and swept! Putting nine goals past Jeremy Swayman is a feat, but the Huskies sure can score.
With the two league wins, they’re now one point behind Boston College for first place, and hold a game in hand.
2. Providence also makes a move
The Friars were the other mover and shaker near the top of the standings. They beat first place Boston College to narrow the Eagles’ lead, then tied Boston University one night later.
Had they been able to get both points from BU, they would have almost put BU away as competition, since that would have widened their lead to four points and two games in hand.
Even with the single point, though, the Friars are nicely positioned to finish third or fourth, if not challenge Northeastern and BC for the top spot.
3. Lost weekends for Maine and UNH
Both squads got swept this weekend. For UNH, whose season started in such promising fashion, losses to BU and BC are no embarrassments, but the Wildcats still find themselves in 10th place (albeit with games in hand against Merrimack and UConn).
For Maine, getting swept was a bigger surprise. The Black Bears had been riding high (7-0-2, as noted above), but took back-to-back 5-3 losses at Northeastern. They’ll try to get back on track on Tuesday against UMass, and then against struggling UNH on the weekend.
