When Northeastern assistant coach Gene Reilly, filling in for head coach Greg Cronin, was asked about the challenges of teaching the Huskies how to handle success, Reilly looked to a New England team with a much longer track record of success.

“I think it’s pretty simple," Reilly said. "Fortunately, I’ve been involved with some tremendous programs that have won on every level, from junior hockey to collegiate hockey to professional hockey. Greg Cronin has also been a part of several successful programs and Shawn McEachern has played. So, for us, it’s taking a page out of the Patriots book with ‘Humble Pie’ and we know exactly where we’re at here and it’s pretty easy to keep the kids focused because we haven’t won anything. And when you win, you can have a little bit more cockiness or an attitude, but we know where we’re at. To be redundant, it’s very easy to keep these kids focused on a daily basis because we haven’t won anything.”

At the other end of the spectrum, Merrimack has been more competitive this season than in the past under Mark Dennehy, and the Warriors are certainly within striking distance of the Hockey East Playoffs. As they try to get there for the first time since 2004, they too have their eyes toward Gillete Stadium.

"I'd be a fool not to take a page out of Bill Belichick's book," Dennehy said. "In an era where we're probably watching the best team coach in New England history, and not just football, but potentially any sport, shame on us if we're not taking it on a day-to-day basis. That's an approach we took our first two years, knowing that we had a long way to go before we'd be able to go toe-to-toe with the best teams in this league, and I think that's just the way to approach it regardless of the makeup of your team.

Oh, those Hockey East coaches...if it's not the Red Sox, it's the Patriots.

Of course, the success of the Patriots could make things interesting for Vermont and UMass-Lowell, who will meet on Super Bowl Sunday. Originally scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. on February 3, the River Hawks and Catamounts will now play at 4 p.m. to accommodate a certain five-letter network, which means that the end of the game will now run right up against the start of the Super Bowl, which is scheduled for a 6:18 kickoff. When I spoke to UVM head coach Kevin Sneddon at Hockey East Media Day, he had mentioned offering to help Blaise MacDonald find a place to watch the game. Those efforts might become more important now.

"If New England's playing, I know Blaise will have some serious interest in that," Sneddon said. "Blaise hasn't called me yet, so I don't know what their intentions are, but we can probably help them out."

As for the game, he said, "We're looking forward to it. It could be a lot of fun here. We're probably one of the few fanbases in the country that can sell out a game on Super Bowl Sunday. We're trying to create some events around it. We have our hockey game, it should be over by 6:15, 6:30, in time for folks to get to where they want to get to to watch the Super Bowl. We don't think it'll affect the crowd."

Of course, any good coach knows not to take anything for granted, but you can tell these guys are having fun right now.