Do you believe in the Celtics?

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Now is the time for the Celtics to start finding their groove as a team.

It's one thing to beat on the weak in the NBA, but this club needs to show they can beat the elite clubs.

If you have to play a 7-game playoff series against Cleveland, Orlando or even Atlanta, do you give the Celts the edge? No way.

It pains me to say this, but I don't see the Celts beating the Cavs or Magic in a playoff series. The Hawks, perhaps, but that young and athletic team could very easily send the C's packing.

So what's wrong with Boston?

Age has to be a factor with this club, but injuries are the biggest concern.

I honestly feel like Kevin Garnett makes this team go. When he's on, the C's are a machine. When he's missing or hobbling around because of that bum knee, the C's struggle. He's the heartbeat of the C's, bottom line.

Garnett needs to get healthy. You can't make me drink that silly juice about KG being completely healthy. There's no way in hell he's 100 percent. He gimps around the court at times, and he's always tugging at the knee brace. No way he's even close to the force on offense and defense that he was a couple years ago. Perhaps his elite days are a thing of the past? It's sad if that's the case.

Ray Allen can still flat-out shoot the ball from long range, and Paul Pierce can take over a game when he needs to. Pierce is a big-game player; he'll elevate his game in the playoffs and take every crucial shot this team needs him to take.

But it just can't be Pierce and Allen, and occasionally KG, pulling all the weight.

All good teams have other players that deliver.

Rajon Rondo is a silky-smooth point guard, but he scares me every time he shoots. Granted, he's gotten better with the jumper, but he's not even close to being a weapon on the outside. Drive, drive, drive to the bucket Rajon, and keep dishing out the assists.

Nate Robinson is a spark plug off the bench with that second unit. He was a nice pickup. Rasheed Wallace, despite shooting way too many 3s, isn't a problem with me, either. He's got his fair share of haters, but I think Wallace is the type of veteran that knows his intensity and game need to be cranked up a lot more in the postseason.

Kendrick Perkins, start cleaning up your game and please be more consistent.

This whole team needs to get focused on the home stretch of games, and be clicking when the playoffs begin.

It's going to take a full team effort to really do damage in the playoffs.

Is this team the best? No, but if they can get hot, look out. They have the guns to win it all, but they've also shown throughout the year they are not consistent enough to be considered a favorite.

But don't be that guy that counts them out just yet!

Patriots looking for help at TE

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is watching the offseason take shape, and he's got to be hoping his club will add some more weapons.

Tight end is a major area of concern since former first-round pick Benjamin Watson (he just never developed like we all would have hoped) signed a deal with the hapless Cleveland Browns, and Chris Baker was surprisingly released.

So there's really no quality depth at the position. If I said Rob Myers and Robbie Agnone, would you know who I'm talking about? It's OK, even the biggest diehard Pats fans have never heard of the two guys who are currently on the roster.

Yes, we need help.

In steps veteran Alge Crumpler, who has one of the best names ever in football.

Crumpler is close to signing, according to various reports floating around the Internet.

Crumpler was once one of the premier tight ends in the game -- both catching the pigskin and sealing the edge by being an outstanding blocker.

Remember when Crumpler was an absolute beast? Check these stats out while Crumpler was in his prime: 2004 (48 receptions, 774 yards, 6 TDs), 2005 (65-877-5), 206 (56-780-8).

But unfortunately, he's not that type of player anymore. Crumpler has only 51 catches, 479 yards and 2 TDs, the last two years combined.

But the 32-year-old should have some gas left in the tank.

The 6-foot-2, 262-pounder can still catch, so perhaps he could really shine as a red zone target and third down security blanket for Brady. That would really help, considering Watson could get open but always had an issue with drops.

But Crumpler's biggest asset is in the blocking department. He got a lot of credit last season when Tennessee's Chris Johnson rushed for over 2,000 yards, and Crumpler was responsible for the dirty work on the outside.

Crumpler could be a quick fix, but he's not the longterm answer, obviously. You can bet your bottom dollar that Bill Belichick and Co. will be drafting a TE at some point. Don't be shocked if it's in the first or second round, too, unless they can pull off a trade with Chicago for TE Greg Olsen.

In any case, expect the Pats to do more than just ink Crumpler. They will get younger one way or the other (trade or draft).

Until then, here's to hoping Crumpler can be a productive player in New England.

It's all about March Sadness

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

They call it March Madness, and some call it March Sadness.

It's NCAA college basketball tournament time. You may not follow the college game all season, but it's hard not to have your own bracket team at your office or on Yahoo! Anyone can play and there's no real science to picking each game (but it's wise if you never select a No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed).

Fans just love to see the upset -- a No. 5 over a No. 12, a No. 15 over a No. 2, and so on. But while many enjoy the Cinderella stories, I'm not really an underdog type of fan.

I like the March Sadness part, and it usually gets me pumped to see a mid-major team get hammered by a national power. As far as I'm concerned, there's no way a low seed -- Murray State, UC Santa Barbara, etc. -- should ever win, never mind people thinking they can actually be a giant killer and win the whole tournament, or even make the Final Four.

Like I said, I like the favorites. I know I'm in the minority on this, but I'm not into the Little Engine That Could.

It doesn't float my boat, I would rather see those lesser known and less talented teams sink.

It's all about the top seeds for me -- Kansas, Duke, Kentucky and Syracuse.

I'm going out on a limb this year and I'm picking No. 1 Kansas to win it all. What, did you think I'd be stupid and pick a team like Morgan State?

Interested to find out if you're jacked up for the tournament, and if you like underdogs and who's your pick to win it all.

Let the Sadness (cue the tears) continue.

BC establishes dominance in HEA quarterfinals

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

So I decided to be hip and trendy with a pretty graphic to go along with my predictions for the Hockey East tournament in my last posting. It would have worked out perfectly, too, if UNH hadn't forgotten how to score in games two and three of its series with Vermont. Instead, the reseeding that takes place before the semifinal round makes my pretty bracket graphic worthless. Even with UMass-Lowell losing, the bracket set up still would have held up. So without any fanfare or pictures or anything, here are the recaps of this weekend's series and what lies ahead.

No. 1 New Hampshire vs. No. 8 Vermont
Predicted results: UNH wins series, 2-1 (W, 3-1; L, 4-3 OT; W, 4-2)
Actual results: UVM wins series, 2-1 (L, 7-4; W, 1-0; W, 1-0 OT)
After seeing the score of Friday night's game, my fiance Eileen commented that UNH might have used all of its goals for the series in one game. Turns out she was right. The Wildcats came back froma 4-2 deficit in that game, but scored five unanswered goals as they continued a trend of dramatic, resounding comebacks. But in the next two games, UNH was unable to muster a single goal, displaying the same streakiness they exhibited all season. Hats off to Rob Madore, who rebounded after giving up six goals on 15 shots on Friday to post back-to-back shutouts. Hat off as well to losing keeper Brian Foster, who earned his scholarship money this postseason. Say what you will about his playoff record, but this was not his fault. UVM outshot UNH in every game and 111-77 for the series. Foster made stops on 105 of those shots, including 50 in the series-deciding OT game on Sunday, good for a .946 save percentage.

No. 4 Maine vs. No. 5 UMass-Lowell
Predicted results: UMass-Lowell wins series, 2-0 (W, 5-2; W, 4-3)
Actual resutls: Maine wins series, 2-1 (L, 2-1; W, 2-0; W, 3-2 OT)
While we're on the subject of standout goalie performances, let's talk about Maine senior backup Dave Wilson. Before this series, Wilson had played in just eight games and started just two. Not exactly the resume you want your goalie going into the playoffs to have. But Wilson sparkled against the River Hawks, not allowing more than two goals in a game and posting the only shutout by a Black Bears goalie all season. With the series loss, that 800-pound gorilla that resides on the Lowell's back in regards to winning at Maine has decided to put on an addition and put in a pool.

No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 6 Merrimack
Predicted results: BU wins series, 2-1 (L, 4-3; W, 5-1; W, 3-2)
Actual results: BU wins series, 2-1 (W, 3-2; L, 3-2 OT; W, 3-0)
As expected, Merrimack did not go quietly. But they also were unable to maintain a lead. The Warriors got and gave up three leads in the first two games and the first one turned out to be costly. Merrimack went up, 2-0 early in the second period of game one, but then (maybe at least partially because goalie Joe Cannata almost had his head taken off by his own player's stick) gave up three unanswered goals in a loss. Twice in game two they held one-goal advantages, but BU was able to knot it up both times before Merrimack eventually came away with the victory in overtime. BU's special teams won game three for the Terriers with two power play goals, while killing seven Merrimack man-advantages.

No. 2 Boston College vs. No. 7 UMass
Predicted results: BC wins series, 2-0 (W, 4-1; W, 3-1)
Actual results: BC wins series, 2-0 (W, 6-5; W, 5-2)
The Eagles were the only team to sweep a quarterfinal series as they continued their domination of UMass. The Minutemen put up a fight in the first game because, as my fiance says, "We're BC. We like to give up leads." BC held three-goal advantages twice in the second period at 5-2 and 6-3 and held the latter going into the third, but UMass got two past Parker Milner in the third to make it interesting. John Muse started game two in the place of Milner and was again unimpressive (16 saves on 18 shots), but got the win as it was BC this time tht came on strong in the third, scoring three unanswered goals (one empty-netter) after being tied through two periods. Cam Atkinson continues to play well for the Eagles, recording a hat-trick, plus an assist in game one. Springfield native Barry Almeida had three points in game two and four in the series.

So now comes the reseeding. Because UNH was knocked out, No. 2 Boston College is the highest seed and therefore will play the lowest seed, which in this case is No. 8 Vermont. No. 3 BU, being the second-highest seed, takes on No. 4 Maine. It's all really too bad, because if UNH had beaten UVM, it would have set up some great semifinal drama with the two biggest rivalries in Hockey East taking the ice at the Fleet (I will never call it the Garden. There was, is and always will be only one Garden) in UNH vs. Maine and BC vs. BU. But I digress. Let's take a look at the matchups.

No. 2 Boston College at No. 8 Vermont
Vermont put itself back in the national tournament discussion with the win over UNH, but it still probably isn't enough at this point. The Catamounts probably need to win the tournament altogether to get in. It is possible that if every other conference tourney plays out according to seeding that UVM could squeak in, but that's in an ideal world and there are probably more scenarios that would keep the Catamounts out than would keep them in. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's not forget that BC stands in their way. BC actually lost the season series with UVM, 2-1, but the two teams haven't faced each other since mid-November and since then BC has become one of the best teams in the nation. UVM proved in the UNH series that they are a team that can shut down even strong offensive teams (UNH was third in the league in scoring behind Maine and BC, who were tied for first). But BC is a much more balanced team than UNH and surely won't be giving up 51 shots in a game. The interesting thing to watch is which goalie Jerry York will go with. York has recently put his faith in Parker Milner, but didn't give Milner the start in game two. Was that because he knew game two was not a do-or-die game, or because he saw his freshman keeper get rattled after turning what should have been a fairly decisive win into a nail-biter? My money's on Milner starting.
Projected result: BC wins, 4-2

No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 4 Maine
In order for either of these teams to make it beyond the conference tournament and join the field of 16, they probably will have to win it outright. Neither have a strong enough body of work, plus there is one fewer spots in the tournament because Bemidji State did everyone a disservice by not winning the CHA tournament, giving the CHA an undeserved two spots. Can Dave Wilson work similar magic against the Terriers that he worked against the River Hawks? Probably not. Against a team like Lowell, which has more than its share of problems, Wilson stood a chance. But BU put up 12 goals in two games against the Black Bears about a month ago against now-suspended starter Scott Darling, including chasing Darling out of a televised game. They had their hands full withy fiesty Merrimack, but the Terriers were able to erase deficits and were never out of control in any game. Plus, what could be better for Hockey East than to see another meaningful game between BU and BC?
Projected result: BU wins, 5-3

Breaking down brackets, Hockey East style

By Chris Maza

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

With all the talk about brackets going on, I thought I'd join in the fun, though not in the classic March Madness sense. The Hockey East tournament starts up tomorrow and I'm here to break down how this tourney will shape up.

First, lets' take a look at my bracket:

First, let's take a look at the Quarterfinal matchups. I did this at the beginning of the week, but let's go into a little more detail.

No. 1 New Hampshire vs. No. 8 Vermont

UNH won the season series against UVM, 2-0-1, and has not lost to a Hockey East team at home in 18-straight contests (14-0-4) dating back to last season. That said, the Catamounts took the Wildcats to overtime in both ends of the series at the Whit on February 19 and 20. Vermont needs to win this series to have any shot at the national tournament and the only reason they have any shot at all is because they have early-season wins over top-ranked Denver, No. 6 Yale and No. 14 Minnesota-Duluth. Since then things haven't gone well as they have gone 5-6-5 since beating M-D in the Catamont Cup in the beginning of January. UNH still has a shot to get in without going deep in the tournament, but winning this series would go a long way towards guaranteeing a spot.

Projected results: UNH wins series, 2-1 (W, 3-1; L, 4-3 OT; W, 4-2)

No. 4 Maine at No. 5 UMass-Lowell

Lowell was in an absolute tailspin, picking up just six of a possible 20 points at one point, but salvaged the season with a 3-0-2 record over the remaining games. Maine went from a team that had a shot at the No. 2 seed to a team that was really lucky to capture home ice after going 2-6-0 over the Black Bears' last eight games. The two teams actually both ended the regular season tied with Boston University with 28 points, but Maine and BU won the conference wins tiebreaker vs. Lowell, 13-12, and BU won the head-to-head tiebreaker with Maine, giving the teams their seeding. Maine holds the head-to-head advantage over Lowell, but the Bears have problems, mostly stemming from goaltending. Scott Darling was suspended after missing the final two games of the regular season and there are reports he's getting treated for alcohol-related issues. His replacement didn't fare well in the two contests against UMass at home, getting chased in both, allowing four goals on 17 shots in the first and two goals on five shots in the second.

Projected results: UMass-Lowell wins series, 2-0 (W, 5-2; W, 4-3)

No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 6 Merrimack

Merrimack had an impressive end of the season, going 6-2-2 over its last 10 games and all but the last two were meaningful games against teams fighting for the postseason. What was most impressive was the 3-1-1 mark on the road over that span. Before that, Merrimack had been dismal on the road with an 0-12-0 record. But has Merrimack really turned the corner? Probably not. And facing BU at the Aganis Arena, where the Terriers are 8-3-2 is probably where the ride ends for the Warriors.

Projected results: BU wins series, 2-1 (L, 4-3; W, 5-1; W, 3-2)

No. 2 Boston College vs. No. 7 UMass

The Eagles are the only team in the conference to record 20 wins this year and while they fell short of winning the regular season title, they are the best team in Hockey East, ranked fourth in the nation. Throw on top of that the fact that they have completely dominated the Mass Attack this season, going 3-0-0, and things don't look good for the Minutemen. The wins include a 7-1 drubbing at the Mullins Center that could have been far worse. I can attest to that. I was there. I was also there for the 3-1 win the Eagles had over the Minutemen and again, it could have been far worse. Bottom line, UMass has one of the best scorers in the country, but little else. Boston College has more speed, better stick handling, better goaltending and defense and is just plain more talented.

Projected results: BC wins series, 2-0 (W, 4-1; W, 3-1)

That will pit UMass-Lowell against UNH against each other and will open another chapter in the story of the Battle of Comm. Ave in the Semifinals.

No. 1 UNH vs. No. 5 UMass-Lowell

This is where things can get bad for the Wildcats. UNH was a sub-.500 team away from their Olympic-sized ice sheet in Durham, going 7-9-2. UNH plays a wide-open style of hockey and when the play is more bunched, the team has a hard time. Lowell and UNH skated to a 1-1-1 mark during the regular season. It's an interesting matchup that pits one of the best scoring teams in Hockey East against the top team in scoring defense.

Projected result: UNH wins, 4-2

No. 2 Boston College vs. No. 3 Boston University

What can be said about this rivalry that hasn't already been said? Pretty much everything is pretty well documented. They split the season series, 2-2-0. The Eagles and Terriers split the first two games, then BU captured the Frozen Fenway game by a score of 3-2 after dominating most of the game and BC captured the Beanpot. 4-3, in a game it dominated most of the way. BU's style of play makes them a formidable opponent for the Eagles, who rely on their defense to create offense. BC's transition game is what makes them tough, especially against attacking teams like UMass and UNH. But teams like BU that like to control the zone and use their defensemen to cycle the puck instead of just attacking the net find more success against the Eagles. Still, BC has been one of the best teams in the nation and the power play could be a major part of this game. BU has racked up the second-most penalty minutes in the league and Boston College has the best special teams in Hockey East.

Projected result: Boston College wins, 2-1

That brings us back to where we were a week ago - with UNH and BC playing for a Hockey East title.

No. 1 UNH vs. No. 2 Boston College

BC has dominated the play between the two squads. The record for the three-game regular-season series is in favor of the Eagles just 0-1-2 with a one-point difference in points scored, but both ties required third-period comebacks by the Wildcats, including a 3-goal effort to capture the regular season crown. Still, it should be interesting with two young teams (four seniors on each side) vying for the title.

Projected result: Boston College wins, 5-3

Hit on Savard brings two major problems to light

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Boston sports world (or at least that fanatical, hardcore faction known as Bruins fans) is buzzing in the wake of the brutal hit laid upon center Marc Savard. Savard took an elbow to the side of the head from Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Cooke after putting a puck on net that left him down on the ice with a grade 2 concussion during the B's 2-1 loss.

Take a look at the hit here.

Was it a dirty hit? Was it an ILLEGAL hit? Shouldn't Cooke be suspended?

First of all, yes, it was a dirty hit. However, it was technically not an illegal hit because the NHL has no hard, black-and-white rules about hits to the head. Elbowing could have been called, but it would have been a tough sell because at full speed, it does look like a shoulder. Even when slowed down, it is not an obvious infraction. Dirty players like Cooke know how to mask dirty hits. He didn't come flying in with his elbows up, but lifted his elbow to head level just as he was passing Savard. The league is now trying to cover up the fact it was an elbow by stating they looked at the tape for about an hour and a half and ruled it was a shoulder.

The real issue here is the fact that regardless of whether or not a hit delivered to the head was with a shoulder, elbow, hand or whatever, there should be rules punishing players who put other players in serious danger with obvious blows to the head. Cooke realistically can't be suspended for a hit that wasn't a penalty. And that is the league's fault.

The league has shown little interest in protecting players in the past and this is just another example of it. Every rule change the league has implemented has been in order to increase excitement in the game. Some have argued that while it wasn't an obvious elbow, it should have been called anyway, pointing out how many times questionable hooking or tripping calls have been made. There's a very real difference here: The league's focus on tripping and hooking was not a measure taken to make the game safer, but rather to increase offense, give forwards more free reign to maneuver in the zone uninhibited.

I'm not saying that these guys need to be babied. There was a time not all that long ago when players played without helmets at all. But the fact of the matter is players are bigger, stronger and faster than they ever were and with the league expansion, the talent isn't there the way it used to me, so there are more goons, more headhunters, that make their living just blasting people without contributing any talent to a team. There's nothing wrong with enforcers. But when enforcers become headhunters, then there is a problem and the league is the only entity that has the power to curb that problem and they can do that by enforcing penalties for hits to the head they way they do in the college game now.

These rules should not limit players who rely on toughness from using that attribute, but rather should encourage clean physical play. Yes, it exists and is one of the things that makes hockey such a great and unique sport.

And while we're on the subject of toughness, that subject is the second problem this incident brought to light. Toughness. The Bruins don't have any.

The best player on the team just got laid out and whether it was a dirty hit or not, someone should have responded. Michael Ryder, for example, was behind the play at the blue line, saw it happen and did nothing, continuing to coast into the zone. But let's not lay it all on one guy. No one did anything, whether immediate or over the last five minutes of the game. If a team's best player gets hit, you expect that team to respond an lay some lumber on the opposing team's best player, but Sidney Crosby was virtually untouched. Even Evgeni Malkin would have been a suitable target. But instead the Bruins showed no heart, no guts and showed the league they are a group you can walk all over.

Empty title for UNH in otherwise lost weekend

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

First of all, let me take the time to congratulate the University of New Hampshire Wildcats on winning the regular season Hockey East title for its eighth regular-season title and third in the last four years. For sure, it is an accomplishment, especially with the amount of unrest there was in the league this season. And for me personally, it was a pleasure to be there at ice level to see it.

That being said, the Wildcats did little to help themselves in terms of the big picture. UNH captured just one of a possible four points in the weekend tilt and despite winning a trophy, actually hurt themselves when it comes to winning hardware that actually matters.

Don't let the trophy fool you. UNH is not the best team in Hockey East. Not by a long shot. The past weekend proved that as through seven periods of hockey (six regulation and one overtime), the Wildcats were outplayed in six of them. UNH was unable to beat Boston College at all this year, and while going 0-1-2 while being outscored 10-9 against the Eagles isn't terrible, the quality in all three contests was on BC's side. Remember that in both of the two ties, UNH needed frantic third-period comebacks to salvage a point and UNH was totally out-played by the Eagles on Saturday, getting outshot, 40-18, in a 3-2 loss.

Now the Wildcats have put them in a must-win situation. They are in the top-10 in the PairWise Rankings, which are designed to mimic the system used by the NCAA when seeding teams, but remember that teams outside the top-16 in the rankings can make the tournament by winning their conference tournaments. Therefore, if you want in, you had better have a pretty good spot within the top-10. At this point, the regular season champs run a very real risk of missing the national tournament altogether, which would snap an eight-year streak of making the tounament, the second-longest in the nation.

Win the whole thing and the PWR is meaningless in terms of getting in and rankings only matter for seeding. But the Wildcats have to at least win their quarterfinal series against Vermont at the Whittemore Center to improve their stock. Vermont is still ranked in the USCHO poll and is tied for 16th in the PWR, so a sweep in that series would do wonders. That followed by a win over either UMass-Lowell or rival Maine would solidify their place as a tournament team. But lost out in that first round and forget it.

One thing teams need down the stretch and in the playoffs is great goaltending and after this weekend, that is one thing I am convinced the Wildcats have. Brian Foster made some huge saves in an overtime period of the 3-3 tie on Friday that was spend almost competely in the UNH zone and on Saturday, he made 37 saves, giving him 69 on the weekend with a .920 save percentage.

Boston College finished the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the nation, picking up 17 of a possible 22 points in February to improve to No. 4 both in the USCHO and PWR rankings, giving them a very good shot at a No. 1 seed in the national tourney. The interesting thing to watch for in the playoffs is who gets the start between the pipes - frosh Parker Milner or John Muse, the veteran with a national championship under his belt? My money is on Milner, who has been outstanding down the stretch, aside from one bad period on Friday night, and owns a 1.91 GAA. Muse was less than spectacular on Saturday and Jerry York has shown no qualms about sitting a veteran for the hot hand in the past.

So let's take a look at the quarterfinal matchups of this Hockey East Tournament:

No. 8 Vermont at No. 1 UNH
Vermont has remained in the national tournament conversation because of some tough early-season wins against non-conference opponents, but have done very poorly within the league. The Catamounts do hold a 2-1-0 record against the Wildcats this season, but UNH has yet to lose a game on home ice.

No. 7 UMass at No. 2 Boston College
This season the Eagles have absolutely owned the Minutemen, who needed help to get into the tournament and got it. BC has not lost to UMass (3-0-0) and have held the Mass Attack to one goal in all three games, while potting 10.

No. 6 Merrimack at No. 3 Boston University
The storyline in this one is great. Due to inconsistency and injury, BU was a basement team at the beginning of the season and ascended all the way to a third seed and home ice. Merrimack has been that cute little cousin who tries really hard, but just can't play with the big boys over the last few years, but have come on late to make a solid case as a team to watch and fear in the tournament by beating some of the better teams in the league.

No. 5 UMass-Lowell at No. 4 Maine
Both of these teams have shown nothing but inconsistency this season. Maine looked like it could compete for a two seed at one point, but a sweep by lowly UMass at the end of the season displays that this team still has a lot of problems. Not the least of those problems is the fact that their starting goaltender missed the final series of the season and was suspended indefinitely while reportedly being treated for alcohol-related problems. Lowell is in a very similar situation (other than the suspension issues), having been one of the top teams to start the season, falling almost out of the tournament altogether, then rebounding.

Prediction:
UNH over Vermont, 2-1.
UMass-Lowell over Maine, 2-0
BU over Merrimack, 2-1
BC over UMass, 2-0

In another related topic, Hockey East proved to be one of the most unpredictable leagues in college hockey. My preseason predictions were way off, as were the predictions of both USCHO and InsideCollegeHockey.com, the two major online sources for national college hockey news. Let's take a look at just how different the Hockey East landscape ended up from how it looked before the season started.

As you can see, myself, USCHO and InsideCollegeHockey all failed to be clairvoyant enough to forsee injuries to BU and all of us thought UMass-Lowell would be fighting for top billing in the league after a strong finish to last season. All of us saw UNH as more of a middle-of-the-road team than an actual contender and none of us forsaw Merrimack making a late-season run into the playoffs as the sixth seed.