It may not have been the most ideal
Thanksgiving dinner for friends Don Cahoon and Jack
Parker last year, as the two brought their respective
teams out to Colorado for a post-Turkey dinner dessert
with Denver and Colorado College, but UMass and BU
can digest their stuffing in their own barns for the
series this year.
On Friday night, the Minutemen will
host Colorado College while the Terriers welcome in
Denver, and they will switch up their opponents on
Saturday night. While Parker and Cahoon wanted to
package a deal with the two national powers out west,
they are probably hoping their stale feast last year
doesn’t snowball into food poisoning this weekend.
UMass lost to the Tigers, 3-1, on Nov.
26, 2004, before getting drubbed by the Pioneers,
6-1, the next night. Boston University faced a similar
fate, losing a 4-1 decision at Denver before dropping
a 7-3 game to CC on Saturday.
Great Weekend Getaway
Colorado
College and Denver at Boston University and
Massachusetts Depending on which side of the
state you live on, head out to Agganis Arena
to watch the Terriers take on Denver and Colorado
College, or stroll down to the Mullins Center
to see the Minutemen do the same thing.
While You’re in
Amherst: Jump on I-91 and take a 10-minute drive
to the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield
where the UMass hoops team will play UAB in
the annual Tip-Off Classic at 1 p.m. on Friday.
While You're in Boston: Hey,
since Friday is the biggest shopping day of
the year, contribute to the cause and break
the bank down on Newbury Street, one of the
most high profile spots in the country. Or,
if you want your friends to think you just spent
the day on Newbury Street but don’t want
to shell out all that dough, find the right
street merchants who will make all of your dreams
come true with “Rolex watches” and
“Armani suits” for no more than
you’ll spend on a pretzel at Agganis.
Stick
Salute
If
John Madden were a hockey analyst, he would
say something to the effect of, “To beat
a team like UNH, you really need to outscore
them.” UMass Lowell’s top
line of Jeremy Hall, Jason Tejchma
and Bobby Robbins did just that over the weekend,
particularly in Saturday’s win to give
UML a series split. The trio put in a 4-7—11
effort, half of the team’s point total,
over the weekend to outscore UNH’s heralded
top line performance of 1-3—4, but on
Saturday, the three River Hawks scored three
goals and added six assists in the 6-3 win.
Bench
Minor
Merrimack’s
3-0 loss to Vermont on Friday night
dropped its league record to 0-4-0 and extended
its Hockey East losing streak to an eye-gouging
19 consecutive games. The Warriors haven’t
earned a league point since their 2-2 tie at
Maine on Dec. 3, 2004, and they haven’t
won an HEA contest since their 5-2 victory over
UMass since Nov. 6, 2004, going 0-23-1 in the
league since then.
Don’t expect the WCHA powers to
give some extra thanks to their Hockey East foes this
weekend by passing an additional slice of pumpkin
pie, though, as Colorado College is in the third slot
of the latest INCH Power Rankings while the Pioneers
lay at No. 13. Neither UM or BU are on the list.
FRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG
• UMass was out-shot by Vermont
31-11, got its lone scoring from a pair of freshmen
and had to play in one of the most hostile environments
in the league after traveling four hours north of
its Amherst campus – yet the Minutemen stole
a 2-1 decision from the Catamounts by way of Chris
Davis’ third career goal with just under three
minutes left in the game.
• BU has scored two goals
in five consecutive games, going 1-2-2 in that stretch,
including two straight ties after falling behind 2-0
in each game – first to Providence on Friday
night and then to Harvard on Tuesday.
• Last Tuesday marked the first
time in over three years that the Friars have knocked
off Northeastern, as the 2-1 advantage ended a seven-game
winless stretch, in which they were 0-3-4 against
the Huskies.
• New Hampshire’s 6-3 loss
at Lowell on Saturday night means that UMass, which
stands at 3-7-0 overall and 2-5-0 in the conference,
is the hottest team in Hockey East with a two-game
winning streak. Merrimack’s three-game losing
streak has it anchored on the other half of that list.
• Former BC defenseman and current
Boston Bruins rookie Andrew Alberts recorded his first
career NHL point Saturday night when he picked up
an assist on a P.J. Axelsson’s second-period
goal.
A
variety of sources were utilized in the compilation
of this report. Inside College Hockey offers somewhat
abbreviated notebooks this week as we celebrate the
Thanksgiving holiday.
