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!