Up by one with two remaining

Northeastern 3, UMass Lowell 0
Northeastern 3, UMass Lowell 1

UMass Lowell and Northeastern are both prime examples of the steady improvement present at the lower tier of Hockey East. Both teams ride generally strong goaltending behind good coaching and neither has made much of a splash in the standings for a few seasons now.

I say this because UML is not a joke this season. They are not the doormats of the league. They aren't the Riverhawks who provided me with my first collegiate win at Matthews (I missed the win over UMass earlier that season). This is a well-coached team that, until this weekend, was a contender for home-ice in a very strong Hockey East.

Northeastern played their best hockey of the season on Friday night. I missed the game to catch a flight to New Jersey, but the Huskies outshot the Riverhawks 9-2 in the first period, getting goals from Mike McLaughlin and Steve Silva in the opening frame. The Huskies haven't played very well in the first this season, so it was encouraging to see that kind of domination early on.

Oh yeah, NU has the best goalie in the nation. That helps. You should read his blog.