Boston College claims the Beanpot. The Lake Erie Monsters split with the Rochester Americans and regain a defenseman. The Golden Gophers get back on track after a disappointing weekend in Denver. We take another look at the PairWise rankings as the college hockey regular season draws to a close. Sit back, relax and, get ready for another tantalizing edition of TWIAP!

The 60th Annual Beanpot Tournament was decided in dramatic fashion last Monday. Long time rivals Boston College and Boston University took to the TD Garden ice and it was the Eagles who came up victorious. Bill Arnold snapped a wrist shot past Kieran Millan with just under seven seconds remaining in the first overtime. Millan made 44 saves in what will be his final appearance in the Beanpot tournament.

For Boston College, it is the 17th time in which the team has won the tournament, but BU has 29 titles to its name. Paul Carey did not have a point in the game, but the senior forward had five shots for the Eagles. Boston College's fortune continued into the weekend, where they swept Merrimack and claimed the top spot in the Hockey East conference with 31 points. BC has four games remaining and a one point lead over UMass-Lowell and a two point lead on Boston University.

BU ended up splitting a weekend set with the aforementioned UMass-Lowell. The club has slipped to sixth in the PairWise; whereas Boston College currently sits in the top spot.

After sweeping the Bemidji State Beavers, Minnesota currently has a two point lead over Minnesota-Duluth, and four point lead over Denver in the WCHA standings. The team is currently tied for eighth in the PairWise. Minnesota's 3-0 win on Friday to Bemidji State gave Kent Patterson his sixth shutout of the season. His 21 wins lead the nation.

Luke Moffatt hasn't recorded a point in the last two weeks, but his Michigan Wolverines are currently tied for second in the PairWise rankings. Gus Young and the Yale Bulldogs continue to find themselves in an uphill battle when it comes to national tournament hopes. The team is unranked and is a game under 0.500.

The Monsters have kept themselves in playoff contention with a 7-2-0-1 record in their last 10 games. Lake Erie has split their last four games, with home wins against Texas and Rochester and losses in Rochester and on Monday afternoon in Toronto.

Lake Erie continues to rely upon the stellar play of Gerald Coleman as Trevor Cann and Cedrick Desjardins recover from injury. However, when Jean-Sebastien Giguere was injured last week in a game against the Vancouver Canucks, Desjardins was surprisingly recalled. Desjardins, who was close to returning to the Monsters lineup, has not seen any game action in two months.

The recall of Desjardins wasn't the only change for Lake Erie, forward Mark Olver was also recalled. Olver had put up two goals and seven assists in 15 games with the Monsters. The Monsters did receive defenseman Tyson Barrie back. Barrie played in four games with the Avalanche, not recording a point and having a minus two rating.

With a makeshift lineup and 22 games remaining in the season, the Monsters currently trail eighth place San Antonio by three points in the Western Conference. Lake Erie has games against Hershey, Grand Rapids, and Rochester this week.

Next week, things will change up a little. There will still be recaps of the Monsters, college hockey, and a CHL update. However, with the end of February upon us, I'll take a look at some prospects who will be looking for their first professional contracts this spring and summer. Until next time!

The Lake Erie Monsters find themselves at the bottom of their division in the American Hockey League. The latest PairWise rankings in college hockey finds Boston University sitting pretty. A recent draftee finds the back of the net for the first time this season. More news and notes in this week's edition of TWIAP!

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Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you had a safe and happy holiday season. The World Junior Championship crowns a new champion and an Avs prospect put on a solid performance. As players return from holiday breaks in the Canadian Hockey League, clubs position themselves for a run to the playoffs and consider the future of their organizations. The Lake Erie Monsters find themselves in a downward spiral.

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Greetings MHH readers! In this week's edition, a review of the latest happenings with the Lake Erie Monsters. While the Avs will not have any representation for Canada or the US in the upcoming World Junior Championships, there is a certain goalie you should keep your eye on. Also, Plymouth soars, while Saskatoon sinks and the Boston University hockey team is dealt a double dose of bad news. All this and more in this pre-Christmas edition of TWIAP!

The Monsters have seen more defections than additions in the last few weeks with the likes of Stefan Elliott, Brad Malone, David Van der Gulik and Evan Brophey being recalled to the big club. Thus is life for a minor league affiliate. The Monsters are coming off a stretch in which they lost two tough games in Abbotsford, fended off Hamilton and split with rival Grand Rapids.

Despite missing some time recently due to injury, Cedrick Desjardins has been spectacular for the Monsters. He has been credited for seven of the Monsters 13 wins, while posting a goals against average of 1.49 and save percentage of 0.952. The team currently sits in third place of the North Division with 28 points, six behind division leading Toronto.

While Joey Hishon and Mark Olver continue to miss time with concussion like symptoms, forward Patrick Rissmiller has recently returned from injury and has contributed a goal in his first two games with the club. With fellow draftee Stefan Elliott up with the Avalanche, Tyson Barrie has turned up his production in recent games. The defenseman now has 17 points in 29 contests. The Monsters will face Rochester on Wednesday before their holiday break.

The shock and disappointment of Duncan Siemens and Calvin Pickard not being named to the Team Canada selection camp for the World Junior Championships has worn off a bit. Yet, there is a certain prospect Avs fans should keep an eye on and that is 2010 draft pick Sami Aittokallio. Aittokallio is expected to start in net for Finland. They'll get a tough challenge right out of the gate; facing Canada on Boxing Day.

Entering the holiday break, the Plymouth Whalers find themselves winners of seven of their last 10 games. They currently lead the West Division by four points over Sarnia. Garrett Meurs has 15 goals on the season, including five tallies in six games during the month of December. With 31 points in 33 games, he is well on his way to surpassing his 41 points from the previous season.

Things are not going as well for Duncan Siemens and the Saskatoon Blades. The club finds themselves mired in a slump, in which the team has lost eight of their last 10 games. Saskatoon has dropped to third place in the East Division. Siemens is finding it difficult in helping to replace the offensive production lost by the departure of Stefan Elliott. He has only two assists in seven games thus far during the month of December.

Perhaps no team had a more devastating week than the Boston University Terriers. BU most recently played on December 10th against Maine, in which they came away with a 5-1 victory. And that's where the good news ended, just a few days later, it was reported that Corey Trivino was booted from the team after being arrested (for allegedly assaulting a female student). At the time of his departure, Trivino was the leading scorer for the Terriers with 17 points in 15 games. The senior's draft rights belong to the New York Islanders.

The bad news didn't end with Trivino. Just a few days later, it was revealed that forward Charlie Coyle left the school to sign with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Coyle, whose rights belong to the Minnesota Wild, will join a club that has the second best record in the QMJHL. All this means is that there is increased pressure on goaltender Kieran Millan to help overcome the losses of two of the club's top five scorers.

That's all for this week. Most prospects are off this week due to holiday breaks. However, there will still be some prospects news fit to print. A recap of the Monsters lone game in Rochester. How will Sami Aittokallio fare against the Canadians in the opening game of the World Junior Championships? Find out next week! Happy Holidays!

And we are back...my apologies for the brief hiatus. Sometimes real life gets into the way. Now on to the prospects news! The Monsters make do without their starting goaltender. Calvin Pickard and Duncan Siemens received some bad news. A recent draft pick is having a solid season in the Ontario Hockey League. Bitter rivals faced off in Boston. Kent Patterson keeps on rolling.

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The Lake Erie Monsters were not very welcoming to the San Antonio Rampage this past week. Stephen Silas represented the Ontario Hockey League in the Subway Super Series. The Gophers faced a tough challenge in Madison and came up with a split. More news and notes in this week's edition of TWIAP.

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On time and for your reading pleasure; this week's edition of TWIAP! It was an ugly week for the Lake Erie Monsters...to say the least. Kent Patterson continues an impressive start for the Minnesota Gophers. All Calvin Pickard needs is a little bit of defense. Jonos Holos getting ice time and enjoying life in Sweden.

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Now that you have filled yourselves with yummy Halloween candy, it's time for another edition of TWIAP! It was a good, bad and ugly week for the Lake Erie Monsters. Duncan Siemens and Calvin Pickard will represent the Western Hockey League in the upcoming Subway Super Series. Minnesota makes a trip to Alaska and comes away with a sweep.

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