**** Official Hockey East 2008-09 Season Thread ****

[Lil Bit Special]

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081005-SPORTS-8100503671. Boston College

Coach: Jerry York, 15th season (336-180-50)

Last year: 25-11-8 (11-9-7 HE, 4th place), won Hockey East tournament, won NCAA championship

Outlook: Undisputed favorite after returning most of the players that pulled off the Beanpot-Hockey East-national championship trifecta with great play down the stretch. ... Leading scorer Nathan Gerbe jumped to the pros, but Joe Whitney, Ben Smith and Benn Ferriero all managed at least 40 points. Toss in a healthy Brock Bradford, an experienced defense led by Tim Filangieri and a battle-hardened goalie in John Muse (2.20 GAA, .921 save percentage) and this is a team

[Lil Bit Special]

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081005-SPORTS-810050364

University of New Hampshire men

[Lil Bit Special]

http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/recaps09.php?msfxuml1.o05LOWELL, Mass. (Oct. 5, 2008) - David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) and Patrick Cey (Saskatoon, Sask.) each had a goal and an assist as UMass Lowell defeated Saint Francis Xavier, 6-1, in an exhibition hockey game Sunday afternoon at the Tsongas Arena.

In addition to Vallorani and Cey, Nick Schaus (Buffalo, N.Y.), Kory Falite (Billerica, Mass.), Michael Budd (Burlington, Ont.) and Mark Roebothan (St. John's, Nfld.) scored for the River Hawks.

Sean Flinn (Halifax, N.S.) scored the only goal for the X-Men.

Six of the seven goals scored on the afternoon came in the first period. Three of the five freshmen in the lineup for UML recorded at least one point. Along with Vallorani and Budd's goals, Matt Ferreira (Brampton, Ont.) picked up an assist.

Juniors Schaus and Falite opened the scoring in the hockey game with goals one minute apart in the first period. Schaus got the game's first goal, on the power play, at 3:40 with an assist from Scott Campbell (Navan, Ont.) and Barry Goers (Ivyland, Pa.). Falite made it 2-0 at 4:40. Paul Worthington (Langhorne, Pa.) had the assist on Falite's strike.

Flinn got the X-Men on the board at 10:13 of the opening period. Rob Warner (Whitehorse, Y.T.) and Ryan Desrosiers (New Waterford, N.S.) assisted on the goal.

The River Hawks added three more goals before the first period ended. Vallorani answered the Flinn goal at the 16:05 mark of the period. Linemates Sammy D'Agostino (Medford, Mass.) and Cey had the assists.

Budd added to the UML lead at 16:51 - 46 seconds after Vallorani's goal. Ferreira and Nick Monroe (Groton, Mass.) had the assists.

At 19:41 the line of Cey, Vallorani and D'Agostino combined for another goal. Cey scored the goal, at 19:41, with assists from Vallorani and D'Agostino.

Neither team scored again until late in the third period when Roebothan tallied at 18:14 of the third period. Campbell picked up his second assist of the afternoon winning the face off before slipping the puck to Roebothan.

Carter Hutton (Thunder Bay, Ont.) started the game for the River Hawks and made four saves - allowing one goal - in 29:45 of action.

Freshman T.J. Massie (Lexington, Mass.) played the final 30:12 of the contest. Massie stopped all nine shots he faced.

Ryan Aschaber (Peterborough, Ont.) took the loss in goal for Saint Francis. Aschaber made 34 saves and allowed all six goals.

The River Hawks out-shot the X-Men 40-14 for the game. UML was 1-for-4 on the power play.

Sunday's exhibition contest as UML's only of the 2008 pre-season. The River Hawks open the regular season Saturday night, October 11 at Colgate. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

[Lil Bit Special]

http://terrierhockey.blogspot.com/2008/10/terriers-exhibit-skilled-frosh-in-4-1.html

BU's highly regarded freshman class made its presence felt in today's 4-1 exhibition win over a hard-fighting Univ. of New Brunswick team. Chris Connelly and Corey Trivino--on a sniper's goal from the bottom of the circle--provided the first two scores.Vinny Saponari (photo) assisted on Trivino's power play goals and then either scored or assisted on a third first-period, depending on which boxscore you read. USCHO has co-captain John McCarthy finding the back of the net. The BU and Hockey East accounts contend it was Saponari.

Eric Gryba's new partner, David Warsofsky showed why he's projected as one of the conferences best newcomers with slick passing and puck carrying and power play creativity.

But the freshman most fans were anxious to see were goalies Kieran Millan and Grant Rollheiser, who each played half the game in net. Millan started and stopped eight of nine shots (only yielding a deflected 5-on-3 goal) while showing good postioning and puck-moving skills. Thanks to several Terrier penalities, Rollheiser faced more pressure from UNB, but turned away all 15 shots faced displaying a fast glove and side-to-side quickness. If either goalie was nervous, it didn't show. A start for each in the IceBreaker next weekend would not be a surprise. Despite yielding a single power play goal, BU, playing one day after official practice begam, struggled at times in the defensive zone

College Hockey News announced its preseason all CHN teams. . Co-captain Matt Gilroy was selected for the second team, while Colin Wilson was named a

[Lil Bit Special]

http://media.www.mainecampus.com/media/storage/paper322/news/2008/10/06/MaineSports/Mens-Hockey.Initiates.Fresh.Faces-3470481.shtmlThe University of Maine men's hockey team gave fans a taste of winter Saturday night, as they took to the ice for the annual preseason Blue-White intersquad scrimmage at Alfond Arena.

Fans were pleasantly surprised as they found their seats and got their first look at a newly installed scoreboard system in the arena. It features a video screen displaying instant replay and graphics on the center ice scoreboard, and smaller screens showing game information at opposite ends of the ice. The new arrangements were made to meet NCAA facility requirements.

The Black Bear faithfuls also got their first opportunity to assess the highly anticipated recruiting class that makes up nearly half of the roster coach Tim Whitehead assembled for the 2008-2009 season.

Senior captains Jeff Marshall and Simon Danis-Pepin warmed up on opposite ends of the ice, as they led evenly balanced squads in a scrimmage consisting of two 25-minute periods. A shootout followed that allowed players to show off for the crowd in a laid-back environment.

Newcomers to the team did not disappoint. Freshman forward Kyle Solomon was first to light the lamp for the Blue team 2:46 into the first period on a redirected shot from freshman line mate Brian Flynn.

Solomon's goal was the only one produced in the period. After the intermission, both teams put on a show, beginning with Solomon returning the favor for Flynn, setting up a one-timer from the left side that Flynn sent past White team goalie David Wilson 1:12 into the period.

The White team got on the board 11:51 into the second when sophomore forward Glenn Belmore tipped a Nick Payson shot by Blue goalie Scott Darling to cut the lead to 2-1.

The Blue team went on to score three more times in the period, securing the lead with goals by sophomore forward Keif Orsini, junior forward Brett Carriere, and the second goal of the game from Belmore, who switched teams midway through the period.

The 5-1 result is meaningless to both sides, as the primary purpose of the game was to give the team a progress report heading into a pair of exhibition games on the road against a talented University of New Brunswick team.

Belmore, who emerged as the star of the night was impressed by the ability of his freshmen teammates in their first appearance in front of the home crowd.

"They're all very skilled hockey players. They all know how to use the puck. They all know how to make plays, so it's very, very easy to come in and have those guys on your line."

The scrimmage carried far less significance than a regular season game, but the players maintained the intensity of a game situation.

"We had a lot of fans here watching us and we don't want to show them the wrong impression," Danis-Pepin said. "We wanted to come out and play as hard as we can and show them right off the bat that we mean business this year."

Coach Whitehead was not seen in his familiar position behind the bench for the scrimmage, as he took an opportunity to step back and critique the early tendencies of his team. He was pleased with the effort shown by both teams in attempting to connect with each other and make plays happen.

"The young guys played well, and I thought everyone belonged out there and certainly contributed in a positive way," Whitehead said. "We've got a long way to go, but it's a very good start for us."

The most significant fault Whitehead noticed was the frequency of turnovers by lines that are still unfamiliar with each other. Several puck management errors proved costly, typically resulting in goals or penalties.

The three goalies on the Black Bears roster all saw significant time in net in the two periods. Junior David Wilson, who saw action in four games last year as the backup for Ben Bishop, started for the White team. Freshman Scott Darling was introduced to the Alfond crowd starting for the Blue team. Freshman Josh Seeley replaced Darling to finish the first period, then switched teams during intermission to give Wilson a rest midway through the second. Each goalie saw plenty of action, as the White team had 27 shots on goal in the two periods and the Blue team had 23.

The two exhibitions in New Brunswick on Oct. 10 and 11 will be the last rehearsals for the Black Bears before they begin the regular season in Fairbanks, Alaska at the Alaska Goal Rush Tournament where they will face the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The team returns to Alfond Arena on Oct. 24 and 25, when the stakes will be much higher than they were Saturday night, as Hockey East conference opponent Northeastern University comes to town for the regular season home opener. The Huskies were picked fourth in the Hockey East Preseason poll, while UMaine was selected ninth.

[Lil Bit Special]

http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/recaps09.php?mmcgver1.o05BURLINGTON, Vt. - Vermont junior Viktor Stalberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) scored the game-winning goal with 4:11 remaining and junior Mike Spillane (Bow, N.H.) stopped 17 shots to lead the Catamounts to a 3-2 victory against McGill in front of a crowd of 3,818 at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon.

Sophomores Justin Milo (Edina, Minn.) and Josh Burrows (Prairie View, Ill.) scored first period goals for the Catamounts in their preseason opener.

Guillaume Doucet scored a power-play goal and Leonard Verrilli notched a short-handed tally for the Redmen.

"McGill is a very good hockey team; they really challenged us tonight and deserve a lot of credit," Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "They are going to be a great team in their respective league. We gained something out of this tonight, which is not always the case with preseason games. This was certainly a great test for our team."

Doucet gave McGill a 1-0 lead at 3:06 of the first with a power-play goal inside the slot.

The Catamounts responded with back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 lead after one period. Milo struck first at 13:08 on a rebound from the low slot off a shot by sophomore Jack Downing (New Canaan, Conn.).

Then Burrows scored from the left point on a wrister that was redirected by a McGill defenseman. Stalberg and senior captain Dean Strong (Mississauga, Ontario) both picked up assists.

The Catamounts outshot the Redmen 9-1 in the second period, but Verrilli's short-handed goal at 16:41 tied the game 2-2. Verrilli skated in on a 2-on-1 with Max Langelier-Parent and found the back of the net from the right post.

Vermont outshot McGill 20-5 over the course of the final 40 minutes but didn't get the go ahead goal until Stalberg scored at 15:49 of the third. Junior Patrick Cullity (Tewsbury, Mass.) found Stalberg at the left post on a cross-ice pass from the right circle to give Vermont a 3-2 advantage. Senior assistant captain Corey Carlson (Two Harbors, Minn.) also assisted.

"Kind of a lucky play," Stalberg said. "It was a great play by Cullity. The puck bounced our way as we came over the blue line and he saw me backdoor. We hear a lot about his great passing skills and it was great to see it on that play."

"I love our speed," Sneddon added. "We are a lot faster than we were last year, a lot stronger. Viktor Stalberg looked like a different player out there tonight because he is a lot stronger. A lot of players paid the price and worked this summer with the strength coach. Those things are going to pay off. It's exciting for our coaching staff to be able to work with our speed."

Danny Mireault finished with 28 saves for McGill. The Catamounts went 0-for-10 on the power play while the Redmen were 1-for-10.

Vermont returns to action next Saturday against RPI at 4pm at the Pavillon de la Jeunesse in Quebec City. The game is set to be the first-ever NCAA Division I hockey game in Quebec as part of the city's 400th anniversary and proceeds from the contest will benefit cystic fibrosis.

NOTES: Former Catamount Aaron Miller '93, who spent 12 seasons as a defenseman in the NHL, made his debut as a color analyst on the WVMT radio broadcast ... Vermont out shot McGill 31-19 ... Lance Herrington, Matt Marshall, Justin Milo and Drew MacKenzie all made their debuts for the Catamounts ... McGill defeated Merrimack last night 2-1.

[Lil Bit Special]

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081008/GJSPORTS_01/710089932/-1/FOSSPORTS

DOVER

[Lil Bit Special]

http://www.uscho.com/news/college-hockey/id,15793/200809HockeyEastSeasonPreview.html

Three Favorites, Then Anything Goes

On paper, Boston College, Boston University, and New Hampshire rank as the clear favorites in Hockey East this season. The three programs contend for the title almost every year

[Lil Bit Special]

Umass loses. what a surprise.

great way to waste a friday afternoon/evening.

[Gainzo]

Umass loses. what a surprise.

great way to waste a friday afternoon/evening.

And you had to watch the game at BU. That blows.

[Gainzo]

http://insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/Notebooks/0809/hea_0702.htm

Part 1:

THE SKINNY

Hockey East seemed to take it on the chin last year when just two teams earned a bid in the NCAA Tournament, the league

[Gainzo]

Part 2:

BEST PLAYER

Boston College must cope with the loss of dynamic forward Nathan Gerbe, but a healthy Brock Bradford will lessen that sting.

This is the most difficult call in recent memory, but Boston College appears to have cornered the market among the candidates. Sophomore John Muse is the best goalie, and he

[Lil Bit Special]

Umass wins.

Lowell loses.

Im in NY for the weekend for football so no updates.

go to:

http://uscho.com

for all the details.

[JetFreak89]

Here's to a good healthy season for Hockey East....Go Terriers!

[Lil Bit Special]

Here's to a good healthy season for Hockey East....Go Terriers!

'

rough em up

f#ck em up.

BC sucks!

[Lil Bit Special]

Well.... after having computer problems for 2 weeks, im finally back full time! Yay!

Time for some recap action:

Northeastern leads the HE standings early on... beating Providence and defending champ BC last weekend.

BU is tied for 2nd after beating Merrimack and losing to UNH.

UNH also tied for 2nd after beating BU in their only HE action last week.

Maine/Lowell/Amherst/VT didnt play HE games last week and are tied with the losers of last weekend BC, Providence and Merrimack.

OVERALL RECORDS SO FAR:

Northeastern 3-0-1

UNH 3-0

VT 2-0-1

BU 3-1

MAINE- 1-1

UMAmherst- 2-1

BC 2-1

Merrimack 2-1

Prov 1-1

Lowell 1-2 but only has allowed 4 goals in 3 games...

POLLS:

uscho/cbs college sports poll

BC-3rd

UNH- 4th

BU- 6th

VT- 11th

Northeastern- 14th

Lowell- 25th

Umass- 28th

Maine-30th

Prov- 34th

Merrimack- Never ranked

USAToday Poll

UNH- 3rd

BC- 4th

BU- 7th

Northeastern- 11th

VT- 12th

Lowell 23rd

Mass/Maine/Prov/Merrimack not ranked

[Lil Bit Special]

This weeks schedule:

Northeastern goes to Maine for 2 games Fri and Sat. Great chance for NU to get a big lead in HE early on. Great chance for Maine to get off to a hot start against a good NU team

Prov at Lowell- Fri- Time to see what Lowell is made of. Should be an easy victory, but Lowell needs to score... only 5 goals in 3 games. Need to build off their trip to Mich State where they split against then ranked 11th team in the nation. Should be fun at the Tsongas tonight.

UMass at UNH- Fri- Uh oh. The Whit. The place where the Minutemen's season ended last year and was the scene of my last game as a water boy for the Minutemen. Not one of my favorite places to take in a game... too many bad memories.. Minutemen could use an early season victory against a top team.

VT at BC- Fri- A nice drive through New England enjoying the foliage might distract the Catamounts and lead to a long night.. BC is pissed off after losing to Northeastern. My game of the weekend.

Other Games:

Merrimack at Niagra Sat

Providence at Holy Cross Sat

Michigan at BU- Sat- This should be fun.

Merrimack at Canisius Sun

UNH at St Lawrence- Sun

[Lil Bit Special]

UNH Game Notes:

http://epic.unh.edu/unhwildcats/media/pdf/hockeym/umass_slu08.pdf

UMass game notes:

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/umas/sports/m-hockey/auto_pdf/rpi_unh_notes_102408.pdf

Vermont game notes:

http://www.uvm.edu/~sportspr/mens_hockey/gamenotes.pdf

BC game notes:

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/bc/sports/m-hockey/auto_pdf/weekly-release.pdf

Providence game notes:

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/prov/sports/m-hockey/auto_pdf/Notes2.pdf

Lowell notes:

http://www.goriverhawks.com/men/iceHockey/notes.html

Northeastern game notes:

http://www.gonu.com/mhockey/2009/notes.pdf

Maine Game Notes:

http://goblackbears.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/main/sports/m-hockey/auto_pdf/weekly-release

[Lil Bit Special]

UMass and UNH tie 1-1.

[Lil Bit Special]

Friday night scores from around Hockey East:

Northeastern destroys Maine 5-0

BC beats VT 3-2

Lowell smacks Providence 4-1

UMass UNH tie 1-1.

Standings:

Team________ Hockey East Record ______Points

1.Northeastern-------3-0-0------------------------------6

2.New Hampshire----1-0-1------------------------------3

t3.Boston College-----1-1-0-----------------------------2

t3.BostonUniversity---1-1-0-----------------------------2

t3.Mass.-Lowell--------1-0-0-----------------------------2

6.Massachusetts------0-0-1------------------------------1

t7Maine----------------0-1-0------------------------------0

t7Merrimack-----------0-1-0------------------------------0

t7Providence-----------0-2-0------------------------------0

t7Vermont---------------0-1-0-----------------------------0

[Gainzo]

Friday night scores from around Hockey East:

Northeastern destroys Maine 5-0

BC beats VT 3-2

Lowell smacks Providence 4-1

UMass UNH tie 1-1.

Standings:

Team________ Hockey East Record ______Points

1.Northeastern-------3-0-0------------------------------6

2.New Hampshire----1-0-1------------------------------3

t3.Boston College-----1-1-0-----------------------------2

t3.BostonUniversity---1-1-0-----------------------------2

t3.Mass.-Lowell--------1-0-0-----------------------------2

6.Massachusetts------0-0-1------------------------------1

t7Maine----------------0-1-0------------------------------0

t7Merrimack-----------0-1-0------------------------------0

t7Providence-----------0-2-0------------------------------0

t7Vermont---------------0-1-0-----------------------------0

They had a little over 6,000 at Tsongas on Friday night. Excellent crowd and the 3rd highest ever at the Arena. Lowell needs to take advantage of the early home schedule if they want a chance of a top 4 finish.

With that said, Hockey East is wide open this season. Should be fun.

[war ensemble]

My sister goes to BU and apparently has really started to like the BU hockey team over there. Goes to all the home games and every BU-BC game. I guess I'll root for BU by association, then.

[Gainzo]

My sister goes to BU and apparently has really started to like the BU hockey team over there. Goes to all the home games and every BU-BC game. I guess I'll root for BU by association, then.

Don't do it man. BU is evil, just like BC.

Jump on the Lil Bit Special (UMass) or my wagon (UMass-Lowell). BC & BU are private schools with money to burn. They are evil!!

[Lil Bit Special]

My sister goes to BU and apparently has really started to like the BU hockey team over there. Goes to all the home games and every BU-BC game. I guess I'll root for BU by association, then.

but then I have to hate you.... and I dont want to have to do that.....

[war ensemble]

but then I have to hate you.... and I dont want to have to do that.....

Oh man, then it's not worth it.

I'll stick without a team, for now. Let's see how long that lasts...

[Lil Bit Special]

Oh man, then it's not worth it.

I'll stick without a team, for now. Let's see how long that lasts...

Go ahead and root for them...

I'll still hate BU and everything about them... but I'll still be your buddy.

[Lil Bit Special]

sat and sun updates:

Northeastern sweeps Maine winning 2-1 Sat night after trailing for 2 1/2 periods.

Non conference:

Providence beats Holy Cross 6-4.

BU bitch slapped Michigan 7-2.

Merrimack fell to Niagra 1-0.

Sunday:

Merrimack and Canisius tied 1-1.

UNH falls to St. Lawrence 4-1.

[Lil Bit Special]

STANDINGS AS OF MONDAY 10/27/08

Team----------------Hockey East Record-------Points

1.-Northeastern--------------4-0-0---------------------------8

2.-New Hampshire-----------1-0-1---------------------------3

t3.-Boston College------------1-1-0---------------------------2

t3.-Boston University---------1-1-0---------------------------2

t3.-Mass.-Lowell---------------1-0-0---------------------------2

6.-Massachusetts-------------0-0-1---------------------------1

t7.-Maine-----------------------0-2-0---------------------------0

t7.-Merrimack------------------0-1-0---------------------------0

t7.-Providence------------------0-2-0--------------------------0

t7.-Vermont---------------------0-1-0--------------------------0

[Lil Bit Special]

USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll

October 27, 2008

http://www.uscho.com/rankings/

BC- 2nd

BU- 3rd

UNH -6th

NU- 9th

VT- 14th

UMass- 25th

Lowell- 28th

[Lil Bit Special]

This week's schedule:

Thursday:

Merrimack at BC

Quinnipiac at Lowell (non conference)

Friday:

BC at Merrimack

Northeastern at UNH

Providence at UMass

Niagra at Maine (non conference)

Saturday:

UNH at Northeastern

BU at VT

Umass at Providence

Niagra at Maine (non conference)

Sunday:

VT at Dartmouth (non conference)

[Gainzo]

This week's schedule:

Thursday:

Merrimack at BC

Quinnipiac at Lowell (non conference)

Friday:

BC at Merrimack

Northeastern at UNH

Providence at UMass

Niagra at Maine (non conference)

Saturday:

UNH at Northeastern

BU at VT

Umass at Providence

Niagra at Maine (non conference)

Sunday:

VT at Dartmouth (non conference)

The NU/UNH series should be a good one. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

BTW: I just picked up a couple of tickets for the UNH/Lowell game on Nov 14th at Tsongas (Row 2, Section . 124 is in town for the Jets game so I'm taking him to see his first ever college hockey game.

[Lil Bit Special]

The NU/UNH series should be a good one. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

BTW: I just picked up a couple of tickets for the UNH/Lowell game on Nov 14th at Tsongas (Row 2, Section . 124 is in town for the Jets game so I'm taking him to see his first ever college hockey game.

We'll have to meet up.... what #'s are your seats?

[Gainzo]

We'll have to meet up.... what #'s are your seats?

Seats 2 & 3. Should be a pretty big crowd as the students are still on campus, it's a Friday night, and UNH always draws their fair share of fans.

[Lil Bit Special]

Seats 2 & 3. Should be a pretty big crowd as the students are still on campus, it's a Friday night, and UNH always draws their fair share of fans.

I was able to get the seat right next to you... seat 4 sec b

now all I need to do is get out of work early that day

[124]

I was able to get the seat right next to you... seat 4 sec b

now all I need to do is get out of work early that day

Sweet Jay. Look foward to seeing you the day after our triumphent victory over the Pats.

GO UMASS LOWELL!!!