After a weekend of interconference competition, Hockey East returned to its regularly intriguing intraconference matchups. At the time of writing, games between UConn vs 11^th ranked Maine and UMass Lowell vs Vermont have not been played; however, both games stand to have minimal impact on the conference standings as we rapidly approach the end of the 2023 slate of games. As has become a recurring theme in the Hockey East, we have witnessed another pair of upsets that will shake the national rankings.

Lane Hutson took a starring role for the Boston University Terriers this weekend by recording 4 points in two winning contests against Merrimack College. The Terriers winning both games by scores of 4-1 and 5-2 respectively helped to put them back into the conversation for a top-3 spot in the national rankings. In a shocking 2-game series, 1^st ranked Boston College would split with Northeastern. Cam Lund was phenomenal in Northeastern’s shocking 5-3 win on Friday by recording a hat trick. The Eagles responded with a 3-1 victory on Saturday, propelled by multi-point nights from Smith and Perrault. Gabe Carriere and Ryan Miotto were spectacular for Vermont on Saturday in their 2-1 (OT) upset win over the 10^th ranked UMass Minutemen, Carriere stopping 32 of 33 shots, and Miotto recording 2-points, including the game winning goal. UConn and UMass Lowell played yet another uneventful defensive slog on Saturday that ended in a 2-0 victory for the Huskies. It was a great shutout for Ethan Haider, who stopped 22 shots in the game, but both teams combining for 38 total shots over 60 minutes is enough to lull even me, the most devout of defensive hockey fans, to sleep. In a heavyweight contest, 11^th ranked Maine took care of business against 15^th ranked UNH. Josh Nadeau recorded a hat trick for the Black Bears, with Bradly Nadeau collecting 3-assists, in a game backup goalie Aiden Boija was only tested 20 times by the usually tremendous Wildcat offense.

               Following this weekend’s actions, the conference standings have finally fallen into place. The top 5 squads in the Hockey East are: 4^th ranked Boston University, 1^st ranked Boston College, 9^th ranked Providence, 11^th ranked Maine, and 15^th ranked University of New Hampshire. With Boston University currently boasting a points percentage of 85% through 9 contests, barring some turmoil, or a very hot run from one of these other 4 groups, they will likely be the frontrunners for the regular season conference title. Also of note on the topic is that Boston University does not play another Hockey East game for the rest of 2023, meaning that this top-5 will likely still be intact when we ring in the new year.