It's too early to say the River Hawks have turned the corner yet, but they're certainly headed in the right direction again after picking up four points this past weekend with a 5-4 victory over Merrimack and a 3-1 triumph over 10th-ranked Boston College. You can even safely call them the River Hawks again.
Until this past weekend it looked as if the River Hawks should change their nickname to the Martha Coakleys ... they look unbeatable but just can't win.
But the River Hawks, 14-9-2 overall and 8-6-2 in the league, now find themselves in fourth place and just two points behind BC and UMass Amherst for second place -- which is where they were picked to finish in the pre-season coaches' poll. Not too bad a spot for a team that has struggled to score goals, stay out of the penalty box, and kill penalties lately.
The River Hawks, ranked 19th in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll last week and dropped from the USA Today/College Hockey Magazine poll (which doesn't rank teams beyond No. 15), should move up a few notches in the new USCHO poll that will be released today.
They did a creditable job of staying out of the penalty box this weekend, being assessed six minors in as many periods. But Merrimack scored two power-play goals in its three chances, running UML's streak of games in which it had given up a power-play goal to six with nine goals scored in 35 penalty-kills before the Eagles came up empty on all three of their chances Saturday night.
Meanwhile the River Hawks showed signs of ending their own power-play famine. They ended a 1-for-25 spell with two power-play goals against the Warriors but were 0-for-5 against BC on Saturday.
Senior defenseman Jeremy Dehner continues to play inspirational hockey at both ends of the ice for the River Hawks. He had a goal and three assists in the win over Merrimack, and while he was held pointless by the Eagles he was constantly in the offensive mix.
Dehner has 3 goals and 7 points in his last 5 games and has now moved into a three-way tie for third place on the school's all-time scoring list for Division I defensemen. With 74 career points he has matched Paul Ames (1983-87) and Carl Valimont (1984-88). He probably won't catch second-place Ed Campbell, who had 91 points in just three seasons for the River Hawks from 1993-96 before turning pro.
Senior defenseman Nick Schaus moved into a tie with Scott Drevitch for ninth place on the list with an assist on Saturday night, giving him 63 career points.
Senior Kory Falite could crack the 100-point mark in career scoring soon, though probably not this weekend since the River Hawks play only one game, at Northeastern on Friday. Falite has 96 points.
The last UML player to reach 100 points was Andrew Martin in 2006.