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International Tournaments, and Holiday Break Superlatives! - This Week in Hockey East · This Week in Hockey East

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to this episode of This Week in Hockey East.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: We have a really important game this week.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna get to a lot here in the first segment and talk about it throughout the show.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: A milestone in the history of Boston Sports as the final game at Matthews Arena is set for this Saturday between Boston University and Northeastern.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: The men take the ice for one final time at the historic rink.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Eric, I know we've talked about it over the last few weeks, but it kind of doesn't feel real that it's actually here.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of what this whole week has been about: just kind of acclimating, coming to terms, bringing people back together, getting everyone that final go-around and uh talking about a lot of memories at this rink.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was cool seeing it was like 50 former coaches and important people in the Boston hockey community who were at Matthews a couple days ago taking a final skate together.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it really is amazing.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: And again, you know, as you said, we've talked about this.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: But the thing that really stands out about the building is that there's so many different cross-sections of things that make, you know, are so important in the city of Boston that originate at Matthews Arena, right?
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: Going back to 1910, it's the oldest indoor hockey building still in use in the world.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I always like what Bernie Corbett, the voice of the Terrier, says.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: It's the ancestral home of the Terriers.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: It's the ancestral home of all these different things, right?
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: The Bruins started there, the Celtics started there, the Carolina Hurricanes started there as the New England Whalers, and then eventually the Hartford Whalers, each of the local college hockey programs in Boston all played their early games there.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_02: The first Bean Pot tournament was there, as we talked about.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: You could go back to all these famous political rallies, right, with Teddy Roosevelt and the Bull Moose Party and William Howard Taft and all that stuff.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: But the thing that I think stands out more than anything is just the number of, you know, guys that you talk to who said, Yeah, I played high school hockey there, or I played youth hockey games there, and you know, those formative years of playing hockey in this series uh in this city, even the graduation ceremonies that were there.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: So there's all this stuff that goes back through this building.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_02: And obviously, there's a lot of you know, pretty significant memories there that it's worth, you know, talking about.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: We understand it's gonna be replaced, it's gonna be a great building that's there, but there are all these significant notes that are gonna, you know, run through that building.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: And obviously it's worth, you know, kind of bringing up and discussing.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's been we talked to Vinny Borghese about it last week on the show.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: I've talked to coaches throughout this week um uh just about the their favorite moments.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it's been a week of memories reminiscing, uh bringing a lot of people back together to the rink, like I mentioned.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the Northeastern women celebrated their win in their final game at Matthews Arena in front of over a hundred alumni, including Alina Mueller and Aaron Frankel from the Boston Fleet, Kendall Coyne Schofield from the Minnesota Frost.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you see, that's the coaches that all got together this week, and and they're able to uh just share share that last time on the ice, and the men will have a similar situation in the building this Saturday.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so it'll be really, you know, emotional.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: It'll be exciting.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_02: But the thing is, the game's really important and it's worth discussing here a little bit when Northeastern, who got off to this wonderful start to the season, they're holding their spot right now in the top 15 at the NPI.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: But if, you know, you can't necessarily do things in a vacuum as we talk about all the time.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: But if they were to lose this game, they're out of the NCAA tournament picture, despite all of their good work in the first half.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: So trying to put a capper on the first half of the season against a BU team that this is one of their last opportunities in terms of key, key road games.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_02: You have this, you have Harvard starting the second half to try to jump up and build a little bit of momentum going into the second half of the season.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: So just like kind of crucial in terms of the game itself as well.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: Bridget, you saw Northeastern last week, they end up splitting with UMass, including dropping that Sunday game.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they won their first two games of the season series.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be a four-game series this year.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they meet quite a bit between UMass and Northeastern, but they lost that Sunday game two to nothing at Matthews Arena.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: I was surprised they didn't score in the third period of that game.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: They outshot UMass 21 to 4 in the third, and they just seemed like they were coming and coming and testing Jackson Irving, who was in net instead of Robble for that night.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, he obviously had a great game, kept them scoreless in what was a good final push for them.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: So they head in, probably hungry for a little bit of redemption at their home rink, but also wanting to win the final game there.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously the in the same fashion that the woman did this past weekend.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: And you look at the play of Dylan Ritzcovian.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: He's a guy I think will be key in this game.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: He's somebody who had a lot of chances in that last game against UMass.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: He leads Northeastern with nine goals, nine assists in 15 games this season.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: He leads Hockey East in points per game.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And he's driving a line with two freshmen on it.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he's got seven points in his last four games, so things are really coming.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: And you're seeing him be a leader, and you're seeing him uh just take steps even more so than he already has as a junior.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it just feels like they're more of a balanced lineup this year as well, the way they're able to spread out their talent.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And Lawton Zacker coming back from injury recently is big for them as well.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: He remains the top goalie in terms of save percentage in the country.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: So he's gonna be back in net for that final game, and he's been really good this season.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, quickly on the BU side of things, they split at home with Vermont last week.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: Oddly enough, they've actually struggled with their scoring a little bit here recently.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: Outside of the 4-3 win in overtime against Northeastern back November 22nd, they've scored just two goals in five of their last six games.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: So I think their defense has actually settled down a little bit, but now it's about finding some of that offense again here, Bridget.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I know that's something that Jay Pandolfo has talked about the last couple weeks.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he's talked about the offense needs to get going, but Mikhail Yagorov, he thinks, is playing a little bit better in his net.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: He says he's noticing he has some of that presence that he had last season when they went on that tournament run to the championship game.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And they've been dealing with injuries, right?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the scoring has come from that.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: They've been shorthanded in their forwards.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: They've been rolling nine to ten forwards pretty much uh every game over the last two weeks.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: So they're looking to get a little healthier.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Not sure if they're gonna get Ben Merrill back or Conrad Fondrik back, uh, or even Owen McLaughlin.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll see if that if they get a little healthier, what that can do to their lineup.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it should be a really interesting game.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: Coming up, we're going to transition to another huge game this weekend.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_02: The UNH Wildcats coming off their sweep of Maine.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna talk with UNH head coach Mike Sousa, ahead of a big game against the number one team in the NPI.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: That is next here on This Week in Hockey East.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to This Week in Hockey East.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's time to bring in our guest today, who's presented by the Boston Harbor Hotel.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_02: Plan your getaway today at BostonHarborHotel.com and experience Boston's best waterfront views.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: We're joined by the head coach of the UNH Wildcats, Mike Sousa, whose team just went up and swept Maine at Alphonse Arena.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_02: Coach, appreciate you being here.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for joining us.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it always has to be special, I'm sure, going up to Alphonse, getting a sweep over your rivals.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, just take us through that weekend and how proud you are of your team.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely, Eric.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: It was uh it was a great weekend for the program.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, most importantly, getting six uh huge league points.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh tough place to play, as you know.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you were there, so tough place to play.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we were leaking oil a little bit there on uh Friday night, stuck with it, uh five on six situation, then found ourselves in the exact same situation the next night.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: Saw the game through, got some big saves, and uh now we're on to Dartmouth.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna ask in that first period, Maine got off to that start, but again, so many of their chances weren't necessarily on goal early, which is one of the things that you guys do so well when things are going right.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_02: What was kind of the messaging on the bench, you know, five minutes in, ten minutes into that first period that allowed you guys to settle down, get into the game, and eventually go on to get the victory.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, one of the things about playing up there, as you know, there's always a flurry in that first five to eight minutes, always up there.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, we had talked to our team about that, you know, as a coach, you're trying to weather that, get through that, uh, ideally trying to you know create some chances for yourself.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: But we found ourselves under siege early and uh survived.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, the game settled in.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: I thought our kids settled in.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, first experience for a lot of our players up there.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it was a unique experience.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, one of the great rivalries in all college sports.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: People always reference you know, college hockey.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's one of the great rivalries in all college sports.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: You're in the midst of a four-game win streak right now.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: What trends have you seen from your team that have contributed to the success you've had recently?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think we're learning, we're growing.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, here we're on the other side of Thanksgiving.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we've had some ups and some downs.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: We struggled to win on Saturday nights for a while there.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, some immaturity in our game.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: I think I hope we're on the other side of that.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've seen a lot of growth from our young decor.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh gotten solid goaltending for the most part all year from from both Kyle Shavet and then Jerry Will stepping in big time uh down at UConn.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know what?
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: We're growing.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, I'm a big believer in you you grow you grow through winning.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um people love to talk about growing through losing, but I think that the you know growing through winning is the best way to go about it.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I hope our guys realize you know, some of the things they've done over the last few weeks are the reasons we've been successful, and hopefully we can sustain that moving forward.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: Mike, just going back to the first weekend of the year, it feels such a long time ago now, but going out to Michigan State, getting a victory in that first game, how important was that to just kind of setting the season off on the right foot?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think it was huge.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think it it showed a uh a standard that you know we could play to if you know if if we played the right way.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: And uh things went our way that night.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: We got a little bit of a fluke goal early, and and uh, you know, I thought our kids defended and played hard that night, and and uh, you know, we uh we got solid goaltending that weekend.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, that that was sort of the standard and set us on our way.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, some ups and downs since, but it's all about uh it's all about the next one.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: And for us, uh, you know, the next one is uh is really big.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned goaltending twice just now.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: I want to talk a little bit about goalkeeper Kyle Chavet.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Can you just describe his style of play and what he's brought for you guys this season?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: He's been pretty good recently.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he's a kid, you know, he's got a lot of experience, played a lot of hockey at Union.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, not a flashy goalie.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he makes the saves he's supposed to make, and uh once in a while the ones he's not supposed to make like he did on Saturday late in the game.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: So just a solid veteran presence in the net.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um as I as I mentioned, not flashy, he's very diligent in his approach, and and he's uh he's you know he's been a really hard-working kid.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: He's acclimated himself well.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great story, he's a New Hampshire kid, uh, familiar with our program for a long time.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: So happy to see him playing well.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_02: Mike, we talked a little bit about this offline last week, but you guys brought in a bunch of guys from major juniors, which is obviously one of the big things we've been talking about in college hockey this year.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: There's obviously a geographic element that makes sense based on where you guys are.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, can you just talk about the decision to bring some of those guys in and the impact you feel like they've had for your team early in the season?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, of course.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, we you know we're trying to obviously improve our roster any way we, you know, any way we could.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: And uh you mentioned the Maritimes, a lot of kids from the Maritimes, uh, you know, there's Maine, then there's New Hampshire, where I guess the next stop, right?
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: So uh we were familiar with some of the kids, as you and I have talked about before, from recruiting them prior to them signing and playing major junior.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, Sam Oliver comes to mind.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: He, you know, he was on a visit here years and years ago, but being familiar with Jacob Newcomb and Alex Carr through through various contacts that we had, like all the programs do, but uh sort of trying to get on those guys early.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh those guys have acclimated themselves very well into it into our culture.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, a year plus ago, they weren't thinking about going to college.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Here they find themselves in a dorm, dining halls, all these practices.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we practice all the time.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we don't play all that many games, uh, but I think they've adjusted well and they're all they're all fantastic kids.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: We want to get a little bit into that matchup with Dartmouth a little bit later, but first, uh, wanted to talk to you about your involvement with the U.S.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Collegiate Selects at the Spangler Cup.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna be an assistant coach there.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Can you talk us through what the roster selection process was like and what have you enjoyed about being part of that process so far?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so there was an early criteria that set you know the roster up to give us you know six or eight guys returning all Americans to college hockey.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then it was a matter of us just huddling up every Sunday night, using contacts.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: We've had a sort of extended scouting staff of some NHL scouts, um, you know, using our contacts around college hockey, talking to coaches.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we've met as a staff every week, and uh you know, we're trying to build the most competitive roster we can.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, some guys, due to uh obligations with their teams, you know, uh that maybe would be on would be on the roster, uh, aren't coming.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: But we we're really, really confident in our group and excited to coach uh some of the more talented players in all of college hockey.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be fun.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's an experience of a lifetime.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: But uh yeah, the selection process was unique.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it wasn't a you know, certainly not a perfect science.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure there's guys that could be on the team that maybe weren't selected.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, we're hoping to put the most competitive team on the ice that we can.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: So that not only do our guys have an incredible experience, have an opportunity to win the tournament, we would like to get invited back and really showcase college hockey.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we've got a first-class group of coaches and staff, and it's been a lot of fun and a great honor to be a part of it.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you played your part of your your career, your playing career overseas in Switzerland and in Italy.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so so obviously you have a little bit of experience over there.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: When I was looking through your your bio and it said you played in Cortina, it popped a question in my mind.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: What are your thoughts on the Olympics being there?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, having been someone that's played there, and maybe is there something we don't know about the hockey culture, the hockey community in in Italy?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: What is that tournament gonna look like, you think?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, it's funny, you know, Italy doesn't probably get a lot of recognition for for its hockey, but as you, you know, people think of the boot, but I always say it's like a piece of broccoli.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: So if you get up into the Dolomites, uh, you know, there's some great hockey towns and great hockey villages.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I was fortunate to play over there for a while and uh play on the Italian national team and be a part of that.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Really, you know, Cortina ironically hosted the 56 Olympics.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so there's a great, there's a great history there of the Olympic Games, but also you know, hockey tradition in the in northern Italy in particular.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, you know, I hope they get all the facilities finished, you know.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the Italians, you never know.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: We'll get it done at the 11th hour, certainly.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: But it'll be a great experience for all the all the uh countries that are participating.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be spread out.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Milano and Cortina are a good four four plus hours apart.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: So what a place to what a place to to play.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I was very fortunate.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh went to Switzerland for a year and ended up staying over there for I don't know, five or six years.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: It was, you know, one of the more unique experiences I've ever had in hockey.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: Mike, quickly before we let you go, we'll talk about the NPI implications of playing Dartmouth and all that.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: But just, you know, how big a game is this and how big for the state of New Hampshire to see both teams doing so well?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: And uh how much are you looking forward to Sunday?
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Reed's done a great job.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're they're a well-constructed team from the goal on out.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, top defender and foley and and uh Stavroff's got a goal game.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so so they're good in all areas.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: They defend really well, they defend hard, and then they can score.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know what, we're worried about U and H.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: We're worried about playing well and doing the things that we've done over the last few weeks to manage our own game.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're we're all about trying to find that level of consistency, and and and uh the big greens obviously off to a great start.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be a real tough, uh, tough test for us on Sunday afternoon for sure.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: We appreciate your time, Mike.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: Good luck this weekend.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thanks for having me on.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: That's Mike Sousa, the head coach of New Hampshire.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_02: We'll continue on with our show after this.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to this week in Hockey East.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to go around Hockey East, presented by Boston Children's Hospital, the official children's hospital of Hockey East, Boston Children's where the world comes for answers.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: More to get into with that UNH Dartmouth game, like we were just talking about with Mike Sousa.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Eric, can you elaborate a little bit more on UNH's wins last weekend in Orno?
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think you know what he was talking about was really the craziest thing, right?
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: Maine got off to such a good start in that game on Friday, and they got off to a pretty good start again on Saturday.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_02: There was a power play attempt, too.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: But what New Hampshire does when they're going right is that even when you have this flurry, it doesn't all end up on goal, right?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: They push you to the outside, they force the shots to come from the blue line.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, you look at the numbers, it was like 25% of Maine's attempts ended up on goal.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and so that's why UNH was able to kind of weather it to settle in, and then, you know, eventually Cam McDonald scores the one goal on Friday.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: You'll talk about him in a second, and you know, they score some more even in the game that they were down on Saturday.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: So I was just so impressed how New Hampshire kind of stuck to their structure so well and did the things they needed to do to pull off another road victory.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and maybe not one guy in particular that jumps out at the top of the card for UNH, but what a weekend for Cam McDonald! He scored the lone goal on Friday, had two assists Saturday, and he's a fifth-round pick of the Lightning.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: He's a bit of an older freshman, but he's was starting to really get his skates under him this past weekend.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: And we talked a little bit about Kyle Chavet as well with Coach Sousa.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's we usually do the service credit union scoring leader, but this week, let's do the service credit union scoring stopper.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: He has been really doing a great job in his efforts at Maine in particular.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: His last three games, all on the road.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: He's allowed just two goals, he had two shutouts, and stopped 71 of 73 shots.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, how about Maine, uh, excuse me, New Hampshire now?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_02: Seven and three on the road this year.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_02: They have the win against Michigan State, they have a win against Yukon, they have two wins at Maine, and now they get this opportunity against Dartmouth.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: Uh already moved up 14 spots last week alone for their sweep of Maine.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_02: So they're in the conversation.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, Dartmouth now, it feels like it's not just this early season Ivy League bump anymore.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: They're 10-0.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: They're still number one in the NPI.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_02: It feels like they're far enough ahead of, you know, that group at the top three feels far enough ahead that they're not just gonna drop all of a sudden, especially if they keep playing as well as they have.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: So this is a huge, huge opportunity for New Hampshire here.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's what we look at this time of year, right?
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: The opportunities that are available, whether it's BC over the holidays playing against a Western Michigan, even though they're gonna be short-handed, whether it's a Maine going out to Denver the first week of January.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_02: There's all these chances to potentially move up, but you got to take advantage of them.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_02: And this is a huge one.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's great for the state of New Hampshire, and we can't wait to watch it on Sunday.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: Dartmouth, number one in the MPI against this really red-hot New Hampshire team, which will help wrap up the first half.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_02: We'll talk more about the first half and kind of put a bow on things when we come back on this week in Hockey East.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to this week in Hockey East.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_02: This is the final week of the first half, the pseudo first half before we go into holiday break.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: We looked at some of the best players on the women's side last week.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: We figured we'd do the same on the men's side before we go.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: Bridget, let's just start to talk about some possibilities.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: It feels like there's a player of the year race here in Hockey East that could be pretty wide open.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we we couldn't really narrow this one down yet because it seems like there's a lot of guys competing for it right now.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: And Jack Musa for UMass was somebody that came to mind for me.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: He's the leading point scorer in Hockey East at this point in the season.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: He's extremely consistent so far.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's what makes him one of those leading candidates.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: He's got goal, uh, he's got points in 14 of his 18 games played so far.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think he's a really good candidate.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: I think you have to talk about the Boston College guys, right?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_02: The Bruins guys.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_02: James Hagen's 10 goals has really done everything you could have hoped for this year.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, now being a little bit more of a driver, the shot stands out, the hat trick against Notre Dame certainly stands out.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_02: It'll be fun to watch him at World Juniors.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_02: And then Dean Laterno, right?
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: This has gone beyond just, hey, good story, hey, exciting prospect.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like if you use the real term of most valuable player, I know that's not what the award technically is, he's way up there in terms of what he's done for Boston College.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: He feels like one of, if not the best players on the ice every time BC takes the ice.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_02: And it's such a credit to what he's done this year.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, watch out for Dean this year, right?
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then another guy I want to mention, Dylan Ritzkovian, hockey east leader in points per game, averaging 1.2 points per game this season.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: He's extremely important to his team in his junior season, and uh he's been one of the more consistent players as well.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: Northeastern hasn't played quite as many games, so that's why you look at the uh the averages for him, and he's right up there.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, let's take a look at some of the rookies, and I think this could even be a rookie or a player of the year conversation, depending on what happens with Justin Poirier as things keep going through.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he has led the hockey east in goals.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_02: He led it by a decent amount earlier this year.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: Some guys have caught up, but you know, jumped up with that hat trick in his debut against Holy Ross.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_02: He's been such a good scorer, five out of five, and on the power play.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, no reason to think he's gonna stop anytime soon.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Another rookie that looks like they're doing really well so far.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Vaslav Nestrasil from UMass, 10 goals, 10 assists in 18 games played.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: And his head coach Greg Carvel said he competes hard, he creates energy, he doesn't get tired, uh, and he's got a really impressive skill set.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, he's got 20 points already this season, and he leads all hockey east rookies in that category.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think he's the impressive one.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_02: You could maybe talk about a Luca Clucci here if he keeps playing as well as he has, and that kind of transitions us into the goalies where Lawton Zacker certainly has been the guy, Bridget.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Lawton Zacker, best save percentage in the nation.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Transfer from Brown to Northeastern this offseason.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: Jerry Keefe told me that they thought he was the best goalie available in the transfer portal, and the Huskies goalie coach Brian Mahoney Wilson told me that after watching a lot of his tape, he said we knew he was going to be a great fit, and he is one of the most competitive players that we've ever seen.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think there's a bunch of guys you can throw in here, right?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: Muslik stands out for UConn, doing it basically all on his own.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_02: Austin Elliott has sneaky been really good.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_02: Sfedback's been pretty good, so that'll be an interesting one.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: And then on D, maybe just a quick thought about Cole Hudson, Virgin.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Cole Hudson once again seems to be the front runner.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: Both the second most points per game of any Hockey East player.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: He's already been the Hockey East defender of the month twice in October and November, off to another good start.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so that's it's gonna be fun to watch what happens here.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: So we're gonna be off now for a little bit.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_02: We'll be back with you the first week of January.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_02: So make sure to tune in.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: Spangler Cup, December 26th to December 31st in Switzerland.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_02: Six hockey guys participating there.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: World Juniors, as we know, December 26th through January 5th in St.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_02: Paul, Minnesota.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_02: Bunch of hockey guys involved in the U.S.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: team in terms of on the coaching staff as well, and some of the other teams as well.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: How about Hockey Canada taking a bunch of college guys?
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: That never happens.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_02: So exciting stuff.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_02: Hope you enjoy it.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_02: We'll talk to you on the other side in January for the stretch run here on This Week in Hockey.