BC, UNH, and Maine: Race for the 1-seed
By Joe Micik
There are more teams in the hunt for the top spot in Hockey East, but for the purposes of this article, I will look at the schedules of the three top teams: New Hampshire, Boston College, and Maine. UNH leads at 29 points, BC is behind on 26, and Maine trails at 24. I will start with Maine’s.
Maine (24 points, 3rd place)
vs. UMass Lowell (20 pts, 7th)
vs. UMass Lowell (20 pts, 7th)
at Merrimack (17 pts, 9th)
at Merrimack (17 pts, 9th)
vs. UMass (22 pts, t-4th)
vs. UMass (22 pts, t-4th)
4 home games, 2 away
Records to date against competition:
vs. UML 1-0
vs. Merrimack 1-0
vs. UMass 0-1
My guess at how many points they’ll have at the end of the regular season: 32; 3rd-place finish
New Hampshire (29 points, 1st place)
vs. Vermont (19 pts, 8th)
vs. Vermont (19 pts, 8th)
at Northeastern (21 pts, 6th)
vs. Northeastern (21 pts, 6th)
vs. Boston College (26 pts, 2nd)
at Boston College (26 pts, 2nd)
4 home games, 2 away
Records against competition:
BC 0-0-1
NU 1-0
UVM 1-0
Boston College (26 points, 2nd place)
at Northeastern (21 pts, 6th)
vs. Northeastern (21 pts, 6th)
vs. Merrimack (17 pts, 9th)
vs. UMass (22 pts, t-4th)
at New Hampshire (29 pts, 1st)
vs. New Hampshire (29 pts, 1st)
4 home games, 2 away
Records against competition:
UNH 0-0-1
UMass 2-0
NU 1-0
MC 1-1
It will not be impossible for Boston College to catch up, provided that they win their games in advance of the 2-game set with New Hampshire. I would say that UNH will probably be at about 35-37 points before it begins while BC will be at 32-34 I figure. BC would do themselves a major favor by starting another long win streak before playing New Hampshire, because UNH’s schedule is relatively easy. Even so, the Eagles may have to win both New Hampshire games to get the top seed, depending on how things unfold.
No team has a schedule that’s ridiculously difficult, but I would say that BC might have the most difficult of all three. In addition to having to play the top team twice, they also draw a decent Massachusetts squad. I still wouldn’t say the deck is stacked against them, because it is still a manageable schedule, but any losses for the Eagles from here on in will be damaging hits.