The River Hawks were second in offense in Hockey East, averaging 3.11 goals per game in league play. They were third in defense, allowing 2.44 goals. They were the best penalty-killing team in the league, allowing power-play goals just 10.9% of the time and killing off 44 of the last 46 enemy power plays of the regular season. Their power play ranked second, scoring on 19.7% of their chances.
How on earth did this team finish fifth in Hockey East?
Here’s the difference between the River Hawks and Northeastern, which almost went wire-to-wire in a bid for its first-ever regular-season title before being overtaken by Boston University on the final day of the season:
The Huskies did not lose one game all season in which they gave up two goals or less, posting a 17-0-4 record in those games. The River Hawks lost five, going 13-5-0.
Turn around those five defeats, and the unranked River Hawks would have been 22-10-2 going into this weekend's Lamoriello Trophy Tournament, a record comparable to fourth-ranked Northeastern’s 23-9-4 mark. Yes, the River Hawks would probably be ranked in the Top Ten and virtually guaranteed an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Now if the River Hawks are to get to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 13 years, they’ll have to do it the hard way.
They will have to beat Vermont two out of three on the road and then win the Hockey East playoffs.