UMass heads the crowded HEA pack
UMass sits atop Hockey East going into the weekend. But not by much.
The Minutemen, who met nonleague foe Yale last night, are 4-2-0 in HEA play. UMass Lowell, UNH, BC and Vermont are tied for second with seven points, and Merrimack and Maine have six each.
BC visits Maine for a big Friday-Saturday series, and BU and UNH will meet in a home-and-home.
Merrimack heads to Lowell for a key tilt on Saturday.
Scoring stars
Our picks for the top point threats in HEA this year:
1 Bobby Butler, a senior captain at New Hampshire, has never scored fewer than nine goals in a season. He’s already there in 2009-10, with 9-5-14 totals through just 11 games.
2 Stephane Da Costa, a Paris, France, native, is opening eyes as a freshman at Merrimack. He’s tied with Butler with 14 points, but five of his eight goals came in one game against Army.
3 James Marcou has helped UMass to the top spot in HEA with three goals and 11 assists.
4 Ben Smith of BC doesn’t have gaudy nonleague stats, but has been good for 6-2-8 in seven conference games.
5 Brian Gibbons, a Braintree native, has been about as impressive as BC teammate Smith. He has 2-7-9 totals in seven HEA games.