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Huskies Have the Regular Season Crown in Sight - This Week in Hockey East · This Week in Hockey East

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome into this week in Hockey East.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: We have a lot to talk about, including men's beanpot, this week's key matchups, and a woman's team with a chance to clinch first place in the standings this week.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Bridget Prew here with Eric Galante.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with the men's beanpot semifinal matchups.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Eric, and who's going to be facing off in the championship game next Monday?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, let's start with Boston College, right?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: They play that first game against Harvard.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: The Eagles are a winner.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: BU in a shootout takes down Northeastern.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: So we'll have a battle of Camav in the final.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: I think when you look back at the Boston College game against Harvard, it can kind of be a little bit deceiving because BC had a 3-0 lead in the first period.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: They had a ton of shots.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: They end up with 37 shots over the first two periods.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: But it's not like Harvard didn't push, right?
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_02: Harvard had 18 shots of their own in the first period.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: So it was actually really impressive that BC came out of the first the way they did.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: They even said at post-game it didn't feel like a 3-0 period.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_02: It was that second period that they kind of pulled away.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: BC's had to do it a little bit shorthanded here recently.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_02: Teddy Stega didn't play again on Monday.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: He and Conme were both out on Friday.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I think this is one of the stories of the year, Bridget, right?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: We'll talk about it with Andre Gasso in a minute.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: He was out for a lot of the first half.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yelvik's been out since November.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: There's been guys going in and out, and yet they've been able to sustain their offense all the way through it.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: They scored three goals in 11 straight games and 15 of their last 16.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: Remember last year when Oscar Yelvik went out, right around this time, right?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_02: Right around Bean Pot, it just the offense was never quite the same.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: It really hurt.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: So as good as you had, you know, Leonard and Haggins and Perot up front, once Yelvik went out of that top six, they never found the right combinations.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: It just never really gelled.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: This year, it actually feels like they're a little bit deeper up front.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: They've been able to sustain some of these injuries.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: They've been able to find some good combinations, and it's allowed them to continue to be as good offensively as they have all the way through this stretch.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: Greg Brown called it kind of like the beginning of the season all over again with all these new guys coming back and Gasot and Hemming and so on and so forth.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: But now, Bridget, it feels like they've found some combinations that have really been successful.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that line of James Hagen's, Andre Gasso, and Oscar Heming has been really impressive since they were put together.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: It has a combination of Hagen's speed and IQ and two bigger guys that kind of think the game the same way.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the chemistry is already forming.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: You can see it despite them just being together for four games.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: It was really on display in this Dean Pot semifinal game.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: They factored into BC's uh five to one when each of them uh with a multi-point game.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oscar Hemming, who was added midseason, like we talked about, assisted on both of James Hagen's goals.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: So did Andre Gasso.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And he's now been on a point streak since he's come back from his injury.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: In all six games since returning from missing two and a half months, he's had uh points in each game, totaling nine points so far in this half of the year.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: And James Haggins nearly had the hat-trick.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: He had two goals in that game against Harvard and assisted on Dean Laterno's first look like maybe it was a hat-trick, but Laterno got a piece of it.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: So James Haggins is our service credit union scoring leader, taking a look at the goals that he had in this game.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: And Greg Brown talked to us this week about the way that Hagins has played as of late.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: He said he's been getting points the whole season, but I agree.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: He's more impactful of late.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe his decisions are a little bit better or a little bit quicker.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: And in total, Bruins' prospects really showed up in the beanpot semifinal.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: They counted for four goals, five assists, and nine points.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: And I think what some of what you're seeing in those clips, Bridget, is Hemming specifically setting up some of those Hagen's goals.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I think this is a really important point because one of the things that we've talked a lot about with James Haggins is how he's thinking the game at an NHL level right now, where his hockey IQ is.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: And someone, the level of prospect of Hemming, even at 17 years old, I think can match him in terms of how he's thinking the game, where his hockey IQ is.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's really important for why Hagens and why Heming have been thriving coming in.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: I think the other thing, though, that we just need to at least note is that Luca Klucci in goal is playing his best of the entire season right now.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: Over this four-game winning streak, he has a 966 save percentage, back-to-back 30 save games against BU Friday and Harvard on Monday.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: He's been awesome, not just in terms of statistically, but the eye test as well.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: And that was a really crucial NPI game for BC, right?
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_02: BC held at 12, so their ranking didn't change, but they moved closer to that group ahead of them.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: Just as a way to put it, you know, kind of if you look at playoffstatus.com, which does a nice job giving you the probability that a team will make the NCA tournament before that game, they gave BC a 63% chance.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: After that game, a 74% chance.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: So that was the impact of that game.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, they had it, they had a great game.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then we look now to the BU Northeastern matchup, which was the late game that night.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, another back and forth game between BU and Northeastern.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: They've already met four times this season.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Every game has been really close and kind of going back and forth.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, all were one goal games, two needed extra time, and Monday night was no different.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, Northeastern led twice, BU countered twice, and the game eventually went to overtime.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of where the real drama started.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Lawton Zacker ends up getting injured on a Cole Eiserman net drive, and Zacker takes a sec to shake off.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: He gets looked at, and he ends up deciding to stay in the net uh despite being a little bit shaken up.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: So he stays in to finish out overtime, and then BU thinks they win it.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Ryder Ritchie scores, but it gets called back a penalty on Gavin McCarthy.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: So they end up having to go on a four-on-three penalty kill for the final 34 seconds.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: They end up killing that off.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: They force a shootout, and this shootout was also back and forth.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Jack Harvey scores for BU, then Dylan Ritzkovian scores for Northeastern.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: And Jay Pandolfo then asked Cole Hudson if he wanted to go as the third skater in this shootout for Boston University.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: He nodded his head yes, and he scored the shootout winner.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And Jay Pandolfo said, We pretty much had peak Cole Hudson today.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not surprising, Lane Hudson and Quinn Hudson also had some really big moments for us, and Cole did it for us tonight.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And Pandolfo also said, obviously, it's been a bit of a struggle for us recently, but this was a huge win, and he's hoping this will give BU some momentum heading into another matchup against Boston College and into their weekend game against Maine on Friday, 7 p.m.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: That is a nesting game.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, just one game this weekend before they play the Beanpot Championship game.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: 7:30 in the 300th battle of Calm Av against BC.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, how fitting that that's going to be the 300th all-time meeting between these teams.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's kind of crazy.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: BC's now won seven of the last nine games against BU, but the two that BU have won in the beanpot, including last year's final.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_02: So a little revenge on the mind in terms of the Eagles there.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_02: I thought, you know, you go back to Friday's game.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_02: I thought that first period may have been one of BU's best periods of the year.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: They put a ton of shots on goal.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_02: They really, you know, kind of did what the game plan was.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, stop being a possession team, just get the puck on net.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_02: They did that.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: Kluche was just awesome in that first period.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: So then Jay Pandolfo said, we just didn't really quite sustain the game plan.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: Can they do that on Monday?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_02: Their shots are up.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: That's what he was looking for, but can they sustain it?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: That'll be the question for BU after coming off a win against Northeastern.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_02: We'll talk more about Northeastern later in the show.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_02: They have a big game with UConn this weekend before they play Harvard in the third place game on Monday.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: And as a reminder, now that third place game is streamed once again, as it has been the last couple of years.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: You can see that right here on Nets and Nation.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: That's a 4.30 start on Monday for Northeastern and Harvard.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we have a lot of exciting stuff going on around Hockey East, not just the bean pot.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: One of the big events of the year on Saturday is Pack the Gut as UVM plays host to Northeastern.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: We'll talk with UVM head coach Jim Plumer about that on the other side here on This Week in Hockey East.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to this week in Hockey East.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, UVM gets to host their annual Pack the Gut game on Saturday evening against Northeastern, and we're joined by UVM women's head coach Jim Plumer.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Our interview is presented by Boston Harbor Hotel.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Plan your getaway today at BostonHarborHotel.com and experience Boston's best waterfront views.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Jim, thank you for joining us today.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, want to start out with something that I noticed uh two weeks ago when you were in Boston playing Boston University, and what we've been tracking, you know, just a really strong month of January for your line of Stella Retram, Lauren O'Hara, and Kaylee Lewis, all juniors making a huge impact for you guys recently.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, really happy with the way that line has has come together.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: We had there's two transfers on that line, and um, I think we had an idea that we wanted Stella and Lauren to play together because they had a little bit of a history of some summer hockey and some hockey growing up together in Minnesota.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, it it took a it took the better part of the first semester.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: They had some bright spots, but um, since we come back from from the new year, uh, they've really been um they've been really magic out there.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: They're you know you've got really hard working play, three hardworking players uh with skill, and they're really enjoying playing together, and um, yeah, it's been fun to watch them succeed.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Can you talk a little bit more about Stella Retram as well?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: She ends up getting named uh the Hockey East Player of the Month just for the the production that she's had.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um can you just tell us what what's impressive about her and maybe her progress this season?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean we you know we we we wanted her here because we thought she could score goals.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh she had had some proven success at Penn State.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um in fact she scored more goals than anyone on our team had last year, so we were hopeful that that was gonna translate here.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think the pleasant surprise for her, and this doesn't necessarily show up on the stat sheet, is um her defensive game is really strong.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like she's become a key penalty killer for us, killer for us.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: And she did have a short-handed point the other the other day.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I guess that does that does show up on the score sheet occasionally, but um plays hard both ways, really has uh impressed me with her 200 foot game.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: And she has a nose for the net.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: And Bridget, I know you did that those two games at BU a couple weeks ago, like the second, the second game, the game winner, just kind of uh a loose puck thrown towards the net that she anticipates and is able to is able to to catch the goalie unaware.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like those are I think those are things that are hard to teach someone.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: We spend a lot of time with skills and and working on finishing, and and then there's people who just see see plays develop.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, she does have the skill to be able to finish in the more classic way, but also some some grindy goals around the net that um, you know, you need hard to score goals at this level.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_02: Coach, let's talk about Josie Hemp a little bit.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_02: Speaking of another transfer coming in from Minnesota, probably one of the more underrated defenders in the league.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: What kind of influence has she had on the group this year?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, she definitely is.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we started to see it last year, right when she got here.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she played on our top pairing, and um it really kind of at the end of the season had really had really risen in most of the categories that we value.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: The interesting thing was she just didn't get on the score score sheet that much last year.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so um she's she's really kind of sneaky in in that she's physical and she's really good defensively, and uh, we've seen it in practice for two years.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: I was kind of I was kind of hoping that she'd be able to start putting some pucks in the net.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I think she's got five goals for us this year, including a a big one that tied the game late on Saturday against Providence.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, power play, penalty kill, five on five.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: She's seen the most minutes uh of any of our defensemen.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: And um probably, like I said, maybe the underrated part of her game is defensive.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: She's she's very, very hard to beat one-on-one.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: And Julia Mess fled for you guys going to the Olympics to play for her home country of France.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, I know that she had a flight out during that storm.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Did she make it out on time?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, she did that.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: The funny thing about that, um, that whole weekend was that she and the Welkies were both supposed to fly out on that Sunday night and with the big storm coming, all three of them moved their flight to 840 on Saturday night.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: They were all on the same flight that was going through Munich.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, we we gave Julia the option to play a couple periods and uh and then head off to the airport.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: Our game was at four.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: And um she did that.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: The Welkies didn't play, I'm sure that that was uh to our advantage.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so she's a top six player for you.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh how long will you be without her and what will the group miss about her during those games?
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, it depends on how far they go.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, they're they're they're an under underdog there.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: So um if they don't make the quarterfinals, um, we could see her back late next week.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I don't think we we play at Maine on Friday of next week.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: I she certainly wouldn't be back for that, but I think it's it's conceivable that she could be back in Burlington by then and maybe have a couple days to get ready.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: We play on Sunday the following weekend.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, she she's I think the bittersweet thing about her her getting this Olympic opportunity, which is obviously phenomenal for her, is um this is by far the best year she's had for us.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: She's got nine goals.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um she's a dynamic playmaker, something that quite honestly, I expected right from the get-go, and for a variety of reasons, including a tour in ACL, her freshman year that impacted half of that season and probably most of the next season.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: It took her a while to sort of get comfortable enough and develop and and and have the confidence to be able to play at this level.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: But um I think the thing that we miss the most is she's a dynamic playmaker down low.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: She's uh she's slippery, hard to get her pinned in low in the offensive zone.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and um, you know, she's got good chemistry with with Rosie Brochiew and Ona Havana, which we saw at the end of last season, and um they've they've kept it going.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: So um listen, it's it's a it's an incredible opportunity for her to get to play any Olympics, but we we sure are missing her right now.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_02: Coach, before we let you go, we want to talk a little bit about this Saturday and the annual Pack the Gut.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm sure many folks know about it.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe for the folks who don't, can you tell us a little bit about the tradition of it, what you guys are trying to accomplish in terms of the record, and just how it's become really an important part of your team and your program?
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it is.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um it started in the fall of uh 2013, was our first time.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we had a a rising senior who had the had the idea in the summer of uh before her senior year before the 2013-14 season.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: And uh she originally conceived it as a way to get fans here, but also to um as a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels, which was something that she had had experience with.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so it started out in that dual capacity, and I I think that first year we may have set the hockey east attendance record, and we've said it a number of times during that, during this event.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: I know that um I think BU, I think there's some teams, um, Northeastern at their last game at at Matthews had like 3,000 fans or more.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I know uh it might be it might not be uh e even available for us to to to break, but we've had you know we had over 2,000 that first game, and we've had a a number of times that we've broken it with uh our our our high right now is uh 2705.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: But her real idea was, you know, at those times like our our men's team was selling out every game.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: There was waiting lists for first season tickets for the men's hockey, and I think all of sort of in-person sports is is down a little bit nowadays, but um just for our players to feel the energy of the crowd and to you know have that experience and playing in front of a big crowd, um, we've been able to get big crowds to some of our playoff games over the years, and we even had a classroom game earlier this year that happened at 11 in the morning where we had, I think, 1400 school kids screaming and and and even that the energy in the building um you know it definitely feeds our players.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: So uh we're hoping we're hoping that with our good run that we had um prior to last weekend, that we've built some awareness in the community.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: This community really supports UVM athletics.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: We don't have pro sports here in Burlington, I think.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, with some of the things that have happened in the last few years, like our men's soccer team winning the national championship and now selling out every home game.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's it's pretty fun for for uh that to come to women's hockey as well.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we hope you enjoy that.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Good luck with the Pack the Gut event.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, thank you to UVM head coach Jim Plumer.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: When we come back, we'll go around the men's side of Hockey East coming up next.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to this weekend hockey east.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to go around the men's side of Hockey East.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll start with a matchup between UMass and UMass Lowell.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: They meet again this weekend after a crazy week last week, playing two games already against each other before they uh come out for another one this weekend.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about how good UMass has been defensively and their goaltending.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh well, this is a different style of game.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: It was a high-scoring game.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: It ends up being six to four, a UMass win.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: And part of that, thanks to a hat-trick by Jack Musa.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: But Lowell scored uh as well four times.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about it.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: Two goals in the third, and then UMass scoring late, Cam Dunn getting the game winner.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, really a nice win for a short-handed UMass team that's had some key injuries in this middle part of the season.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: And for Lowell, it's kind of crazy.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: They get nine goals uh between the two games, but they're still on the wrong side of both of them.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: So UMass able to take those games.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: Seven straight wins for them.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh as low as 42nd on January 19th.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now they've moved their way up to 18th uh this week in the NPI.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: So incredible to be back in the picture for them.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, these two games are huge, and another one coming up.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's not gonna be easy to win like 9, 10, 11 in a row, but UMass is right there.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: If they can win some of these games, they have a very good chance of getting themselves, not just in the tournament picture, but maybe in the tournament.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: Another important one, UConn for one game will go to Northeastern.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: That'll be at um at Bentley this weekend for that game.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: UConn was off last weekend, off of their big win in CT Ice just a couple of games ago.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_02: UConn's right there at third in the hockey standings entering this weekend.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the question is, is UConn gonna jump up into that group with Providence in Boston College?
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_02: They're three back of BC, they're five back of Providence, or are they gonna be in that group where if you look at three through eight right now, they're only separated by six points.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: So is it a top trio or is it a group that, you know, kind of three for eight?
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: Where does Yukon fit in?
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's what we're gonna figure out over the next couple of weeks.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_02: They get Northeastern today.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, the the other side of it here for Yukon, they're right on the NPI bubble.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: They've literally been flipping the last couple of days with Augustana.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: When Lowell had lost, they went down.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: Then when Merrimack won on Tuesday, they went back up.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's that close between those two teams.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_02: Right now, playoffstatus.com puts their odds at 42% to make the NCA tournament this morning.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: So they're right there, but they gotta win these games and they gotta take care of business.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: So it'll be an interesting matchup with Northeastern, a team that UConn beat twice earlier this year.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_02: Lawton Zaccher, by the way, for Northeastern, was great in that beanpot game.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_02: If you look at some of the advanced numbers again, just ridiculous performance in a game that they couldn't have.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: But hopefully, hopefully, Eric, hopefully he's healthy, right?
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's something that we we don't know yet.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: And if he's healthy, uh, you know, and good to go, that'll be something to watch out for too.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it'll be interesting to see.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: We'll wrap things up on the women's side when we come back.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to go around the women's side of Hockey East presented by Boston Children's Hospital, where the world comes for answers.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: We want to talk about the race in the middle, but first, Eric, there's a clinching situation this week at the top of the hockey east standings.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it Northeastern's magic number is just six entering this week, folks.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: So if they get all six points this weekend or UConn were to lose somewhere, Northeastern will have clinched the regular season title the next time we talk to you, still with a couple of weeks to go.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's just shows how good they've been this year.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: But I think it's interesting in that five to eight range in the standings entering this week.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: There's not a lot of separation there.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: Somebody's gonna emerge and not have to play an opening round game, right?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_02: Who are those teams?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: I think we're gonna find out.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: One key matchup, Maine at BU on Saturday, will have that game for you here on Nesson.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: Maine played two really high-scoring competitive games against Boston College last weekend, a 4-3 win on Friday.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_02: Then they fell in overtime on Sunday.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_02: Ava Stevenson had a great weekend.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_02: She's our Jersey Mike's, a sub-above player of the week.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: She scored in both games.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_02: She had a three-point game on Sunday, seven shots overall for the weekend.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, she's just really been one of a few players who've been excellent for Maine recently.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, another has been Mackenzie Pod uh Podwell.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: She's been great.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, also a four-point weekend for her, four goals and seven points over the last seven games.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they're taking on a BU team that just swept Merrimack last weekend.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: So they're to come in with a little bit of confidence as well.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: They play UVM on Thursday.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, Maine will be at Northeastern on Thursday as well.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_02: There's a couple of these split weekends, so it makes it a little bit trickier to figure out.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_02: UVM's right in that mix of five through eight.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_02: We just talked to Jim Plumer.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: Then New Hampshire, too, coming off another nice solid weekend against Yukon.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: They lose 1-0 Friday, but 3-2 overtime win on Saturday.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, 49 saves for Naomi Martinez.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh UNH has Merrimack Friday, and then a game at Holy Cross on Saturday.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: So interesting stuff all around.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_02: We're getting to that time where you know the hockey's race really heats up, the NPI race really heats up.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, one thing, if you're really tracking it, you should look at look at the Augustana Michigan State series this weekend on the men's side, because that might determine where UConn finds itself at the end of this weekend.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_02: All these things interconnect, right?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: We we're gonna start looking at the bubble on both sides quite a bit over the next couple of weeks.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_02: So it should be a lot of fun.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_02: And then, of course, we have the 300th meeting and the Battle of Comav and the beadpot final on Monday night.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_02: So there's all a lot of really good stuff going on this time of year.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I think it's gonna be fascinating to watch, and that's why, you know, you look at this group of five through eight on the women's side, Bridget.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_02: You know, not a couple of teams can get out, right?
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: And it might be decided right now who are the teams that are going to jump out of that mix versus who will play an opening round game.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_02: We can't wait to see what happens.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: Should be a lot of fun this week.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for joining us, folks, for this week in Hockey East.