By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
Given the way the entire season has gone throughout Hockey East, is it any more fitting that the regular season championship comes down to the last weekend?
Several things are still to be decided heading into the last week of the regular season with the crown being tops on the list. Second-place Boston College trounced Merrimack in a Tuesday-night affair, which put the fifth-ranked Eagles just two back of No. 10 UNH. They then closed the gap to one point with an overtime win over freefalling UMass and a 4-4 UNH tie with Northeastern after the Wildcats came back from a 3-0 deficit. But UNH got two crucial points with a three-goal third period on the back end of the Northeastern series, giving them a bit of breathing room.
Now it comes down to it. Two games, three points separating the two teams. The first tiebreaker in Hockey East is head-to-head record and the teams are knotted at 0-0-1. BC doesn't hold any tiebreakers (wins in conference play; best record against first place, second place, etc.), so in order to win the title, BC has to sweep the home-and-home series, which will be no easy task. The first game is at the Whittemore Center, where UNH has yet to lose this year in Hockey East play. They at 9-0-3 this year and 14-0-3 at home against the league since January 25, 2009.
Still, BC is the hottest team in the league, going 8-2-0 over its last 10 games and always has had a habit of beating the Wildcats when it matters. Last year, a BC team that didn't even make it to the national tournament swept UNH in the Hockey East tourney's quarterfinal round, including a 1-0 shutout in the second game. The year before, BC topped UNH in the semifinals in a triple-overtime game. in 2007, UNH lost to BC in the Hockey East finals. In 2005, it was the same scenario, same result.
In any event, it should be an exciting weekend, which pits two of the top three offensive teams in the league against each other. UNH is led by Bobby Butler, who is first in the league and second in the nation in goals score and second in the league and sixth in the nation in total points. BC features the fourth- and fifth-ranked scorers in the league in Brian Gibbons and Cam Atkinson. Gibbons and Atkinson recorded hat tricks in back-to-back games against Northeastern (7-1 win) and Merrimack (7-0 win) for the Eagles, who have scored five or more goals in six games since the holiday break.
Boston College also features one of the best power plays in the country and the best in Hockey East, but that may not come into play nearly as much as it would against other teams. UNH, despite its youth, has been very disciplined, compiling the least amount of penalty minutes in the league.
But even though the league title is a two-team race, there's still plenty to play for for almost everyone in the league. Let's take a look at the logjam, er, standings:
1. UNH 15-5-5, 35 points (16-10-6)
2. Boston College 15-8-2, 32 points (20-10-2)
3. Maine 13-10-2, 28 points (16-13-3)
4. UMass-Lowell 11-11-3, 25 points (17-14-3)
T-5. Boston University 11-12-2, 24 points (14-15-3)
T-5. Northeastern 11-12-2, 24 points (16-14-2)
T-5. Vermont 9-10-6, 24 points (15-11-6)
8. Merrimack 11-13-1, 23 points (14-17-1)
9. UMass 11-14-0, 22 points (16-16-0)
10. Providence 5-17-3, 13 points (10-19-3)
Only the two aforementioned teams (both of whom have clinched home ice) and No. 17 Maine have even secured a spot in the conference tournament. The Black Bears clinched with a 5-1 win over Merrimack after dropping the first half of the road series, but still are at risk of losing out on home ice in the first round. Maine finishes off the season with a pair of home games against the struggling and desperate UMass. Even despite losing six straight and eight of their last nine, the Minutemen are still within reach of the postseason, which makes them dangerous. Maine can finish no better than third because even if the Black Bears sweep and BC loses both of its games to lock them in a tie at 32 points, BC won the season series, 2-0-1.
UMass-Lowell is also in position for home ice, but if the chips fall just right, including UMass sweeping Maine, the River Hawks could be out of the tournament altogether. In fact, there are two series that pit teams in danger of missing the postseason against each other: No. 16 Vermont at UMass-Lowell for two and Northeastern vs. Boston University in a home-and-home.
Merrimack is still in the mix and honestly could have the easiest road to the postseason with a home-and-home against last-place Providence.
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