Roundup: UNH Falls in Umile's Home Finale

UMass Clinches Home Ice; Idle UConn Gets a Bye

CHN Staff Report

Adam Gaudette only scored once, but his teammates, for the second straight night, did their part for Northeastern.

The Huskies completed their weekend sweep of New Hampshire with a 4-0 win Saturday night in Durham.

"Obviously, we didn't win the game, but I thought we played one of our better games for what it's worth," UNH coach Dick Umile said. "We've had difficulty scoring all year. Tonight might have been one of the most difficult ones where we didn't score. We had a lot of good chances.

"That's kind of what's been happening to us a lot. We're playing well, we miss scoring opportunities, and they come down and score. Hopefully that can change in the playoffs."

The game was likely Dick Umile's last game ever at Whittemore Center. He will step down this season after 28 years leading his alma mater's men's hockey program. The 11th-seeded Wildcats head to Maine next weekend. Umile's time may come to and end at the hands of the program's most hated rival.

The Huskies ended the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the Hockey East tournament. They'll be off next weekend before facing the second-lowest-seeded team reamining seed.

"This was the first part of the season for us, the regular season," Northeastern coach Jim Madigan said. "We won't play now for a couple of weeks. We'll have time to get rested up."

Sweeping the Wildcats put Northeastern in the 11th spot in the Pairwise to end the weekend.

BC 2, Maine 1

After clinching a regular-season title on Friday night, Boston College had only its NCAA tournament status to worry about Saturday.

Maine, however, had a chance to earn a bye through to the Hockey East quarterfinals with good showing Saturday in Boston.

It wasn't to be.

BC defeated Maine, 2-1, to close out the regular season for both clubs.

Next weekend, the Eagles will rest up for their Hockey East quarterfinal series. As the No. 1 seed, BC will host the lowest remaining seed in a best-of-three series in two weeks. The sweep of Maine helped BC move into 16th in the Pairwise.

"We want to play Denver. We want to play St. Coud State," BC coach Jerry York said. "We're not gonna shy away, and we expect to beat them. I think our team now would have a good chance to win."

Maine finished the regular season tied for fifth with Connecticut. However, UConn won the tiebreaker with Maine by virtue of having more league wins.

Maine will be the tournament's No. 6 seed and host archrival New Hampshire next weekend for a best-of-three series at Alfond Arena.

The Black Bears were in good position to earn a bye entering February. However, a 2-5-0 month means Maine will play next weekend.

Friday night, BC used a first-period goal from David Cotton and one in the second from Christopher Brown to double its lead. Rob Michel brought Maine within one at 18:46 of the second period, but the Black Bears wouldn't get closer.

BC goaltender Joe Woll made 30 saves, including 11 in the third period, to seal the win.

"He's a had a good year, but the last three weekends have been the best hockey of his two-year career with us at BC," York said. "Right now, he's at the very top of his game, and that's why we came right back with him."

UMass 1, Providence 0

Providence's season has hardly been a disappointment all things considered.

The Friars will certainly earn an NCAA tournament berth. They'll also host a quarterfinal series two weeks from now at Schneider Arena.

However, the Friars ended their regular season with a result that largely defined their struggles — a 1-0 loss to Massachusetts.

"I thought we tested (UMass goaltender Matt Murray," PC coach Nate Leaman said. "Twice, we've come in this building, and I've liked our chances. I've liked the chances we've had a lot, but I just think he stood the test and their other guys did a good job making sure we didn't get second chances."

With its win, UMass clinched the No. 8 spot in the league playoffs. For the first time since the 2007 Hockey East quarterfinals, UMass will host a playoff series. Ninth-place Vermont heads to the Mullins Center next weekend.

"In my four years, we've never had the opportunity to host a playoff series, and, with that win, it clinched it, so it's something that we're looking forward to," UMass senior Jake Horton said.

Austin Albrecht scored the game's lone goal, putting UMass ahead, 1-0, at 4:57 of the first period.

UMass goaltender Matt Murray made 31 saves to earn the shutout — his fourth of the season.

The loss puts Providence at the No. 12 position in the Pairwise at the close of the weekend's action.

Lowell 5, Merrimack 0

Massachusetts-Lowell defeated Merrimack, 5-0, Saturday night at Tsongas Center in Lowell.

The River Hawks ended the regular season a disappointing seventh place in Hockey East. They'll host Merrimack next weekend, meaning the teams will play at least four consecutive games against each other.

Saturday's win ended a five-game losing streak for UML.

Ryan Dmowski scored two goals to lead the River Hawks to the win.

UML goaltender Christoffer Hernberg made 21 saves to earn the shutout.

BU 1, Vermont 1 (OT)

Boston University and Vermont played to a 1-1 tie Saturday night in Boston.

Jordan Greenway scored at 18:44 of the first period to put BU ahead, 1-0. The lead stood until 38 seconds into the second period when UVM's Alex Esposito scored to tie the game.

BU goaltender Jake Oettinger made 28 saves. UVM's Stefanos Lekkas made 33.

The Terriers entered the weekend locked in to the No. 4 spot in the Hockey East tournament. BU will be off next weekend before hosting UConn in the tournament's opening round.

UVM will travel to Amherst for a best-of-three series against UMass.