Boston College clinched its third Hockey East regular-season title in the last four years with a 5-3 win over Vermont on Saturday night. It is the Eagles’ 13th regular-season title since the league’s inception in 1984.
The win also extended the Eagles’ unbeaten streak to 17 games (16-0-1). They are 15-1-1 in league play, putting them on pace to post the best in-conference record since Paul Kariya‘s 1992-93 Maine squad went 22-1-1 en route to a national championship.
Chris Calnan opened the scoring Saturday night on a shorthanded tally with 1:42 left in the first, then Bill Arnold made it 2-0 just 1:06 later. Nick Bruneteau cut the lead to 2-1 early in the second, but strikes from Johnny Gaudreau and Kevin Hayes made it 4-1 by the end of the period. Vermont cut the lead to two twice in the third period, but that was as close as it would get.
Gaudreau’s goal extended his point streak to 26 games, and his two points (he also assisted on Hayes’ goal) upped his nation-leading points total to 61 (27 goals, 34 assists). In 17 games playing together, the Gaudreau-Arnold-Hayes line has combined for 38 goals and 54 assists.
With two weekends left in the regular season, there is still plenty to be decided behind BC. Spots two through six — currently held, in order, by UMass-Lowell, Maine, Northeastern, New Hampshire and Providence — are separated by just six points.