Even though this might be our first week back on campus as students, our university’s men’s and women’s hockey teams have been busy at work for a few weeks. Both teams were given a few weeks off for the holidays, but the men got right back into action in late December, followed shortly thereafter by the women’s team in early January. With all that in mind, let’s take a look at the past month in review and what could be next for both the men’s and women’s hockey teams.
Men’s Hockey
The men made their return to the ice in late December for the 56th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament in which they were dominant. They played an exhibition game against the University of Rhode Island club team in which they won 5–0. They carried that play into a game against Post University in which the Beacons won by a staggering score of 7–0.
After capping off a successful Codfish Bowl Tournament, the Beacons continued to impose their will on their opponents by winning three straight conference matchups while maintaining a plus 19 goal differential in just those three games. Since the beginning of January, the Beacons hold a 4–2 record, which brings their conference record to 7–4–1 on the season, which is good enough for second place.
Looking ahead, the Beacons still have two weeks remaining in the regular season and three of their final six games will be coming against two of the bottom three teams in the conference. Those teams are Castleton University and Johnson & Wales University, who combine for just two conference wins between the two of them. If the Beacons can take care of business against those teams, they will undoubtedly finish as one of the top teams in the conference.
Women’s Hockey
The women made their return to the ice on Jan. 3 when they faced off against Middlebury College, but it was far from the return they had hoped for, as they lost by a score of 8–0. However, they followed that game up with a big conference victory over Castleton University by a tight margin of 3–2. In the month of January, the Beacons have an overall record of 4–3 and a conference record of 4–1, so it is safe to say they have been getting the job done against conference opponents recently.
As it stands, the Beacons currently sit in third place in the conference with an overall conference record of 7–4 on the season. Like the men’s team, the women’s hockey team’s regular season will be coming to a close in just two weeks. Six of their last seven games will be coming against teams lower than the Beacons in the conference standings, so it will be vital that the Beacons take care of business against those teams if they want to remain one of the top in the conference.
Going into the final two weeks of the season, both the men’s and women’s hockey teams here at UMass Boston have put themselves in prime position to finish as a top team in each of their respective conferences. Both the men and women will finish their season playing only teams in their conference, so every win will come at a premium going forward. Both teams will have very winnable games to end the season, and only time will tell if they can take advantage.