Hockey East Mascot Power Rankings

We can all agree that Providence has the most terrifying mascot of all time, but how do the rest of Hockey East’s mascots match up? So we present to you the official, mostly unbiased BCI Hockey East mascot power rankings.

(Notre Dame was not included because a) they’re leaving Hockey East and b) their mascot is just a human dressed like a leprechaun.)

1. Baldwin the Eagle, Boston College (48 points)

We might be biased, but Baldwin easily won the top spot on this list. He has universal appeal and isn’t too cute or too scary. Grant noted that Baldwin “looks cool while also appealing to kids.” Baldwin also has enough color to pop without being garish (I’m looking at you, UML). Joe was the only person to rank Baldwin low, which he did because Baldwin blocks his view at games...

2. Jonathan the Husky, UConn (42 points)

Real dog Jonathan the Husky really raised UConn’s rankings here. They would’ve been much lower without him, and probably would have come in first if the real live husky was the only mascot. UConn’s husky costume is much less cute than Northeastern’s husky costume, and it isn’t intimidating enough to make up for that. Grant had real Jonathan at the top of the list, but fake Jonathan toward the bottom because it “looks too real for a mascot costume, which is probably the point, but it doesn’t work.” REAL HUSKY IS SUCH A GOOD DOG THOUGH.

3. Paws the Husky, Northeastern (37 points)

Paws was pretty consistently ranked in the middle of the pack, but because nobody ranked him particularly low he ended up earning the third spot on this list. Paws has a much nicer looking husky costume than Jonathan. He’s fluffy, but somehow still more intimidating than the UConn mascot - Brian said Paws has “a crazy look in his eyes.” Like Baldwin, Paws is a good mix of looking tough without being too creepy for kids.

4. Wild E. Cat and Gnarlz the Wildcats, UNH (36 points)

Instead of trying to find a balance in one costume, UNH has one tougher looking mascot and one cuter mascot. Gnarlz and Wild E. Cat’s names were universally panned by the BCI panelists, but as Joe said “I hate UNH but those are quality mascots.” Like Baldwin and Paws, the wildcats earned points for looking cool enough to appeal to adults while still looking nice enough to not scare kids.

5. Sam the Minuteman, UMass (35 points)

Nobody had anything too glowing to say about Sam, but nobody had anything too bad to say about him either. Grant described him as “a pretty solid mascot” while Joe said Sam is “too generic.” I think Sam is pretty creepy, but his creepiness is toned down by the fact that Hockey East has some abnormally creepy mascots.

6. Rally the Catamount, UVM (34 points)

Rally was the first mascot to be all over the place on people’s ballots - he was ranked as high as third and as low as ninth. He’s a little weird looking because of the size of his head, but that is accurate to the animal he represents. He’s the kind of mascot that you know isn’t terrific, but that you can’t help but like anyways. He also does a good job of being both cute and intimidating. With a costume upgrade, Rally could potentially move pretty far up the list.

7. Rowdy the River Hawk, UML (29 points)

Rowdy was ranked as high as second and as low as second to last. Brian ranked him low for not being a real bird and Grant thinks Rowdy “is a bit cartoonish, but it works.” Rowdy is memorable and stands out, but his all-over bright red and navy blue color scheme is also a bit much. The more I look at him the more intimidating he gets, so that is a plus I guess?

8. Rhett the Terrier, Boston University (22 points)

I think bias played into this one, because Rhett is actually a pretty solid mascot. I was the only person to give Rhett a high ranking, and multiple people admitted that they gave him a low ranking because of BU. Rhett’s breed also played into his rankings, and BU probably could’ve been ranked higher if the mascot was a big dog. Boston Terriers are extremely unthreatening dogs, but BU did a good job of making Rhett intimidating. Grant likes that Rhett’s costume looks very similar to their logo, and they are the only team on this list to really have pulled that off successfully.

9. Bananas the Black Bear, Maine (21 points)

Bananas inspired this post after I saw his new look earlier this season. Old Bananas actually looked like a bear and would have been higher on this list. New Bananas looks like a panther and I’m really mad about it. The mascot makeover was supposed to make Bananas look more like Maine’s logo, but they failed to pull off what BU did successfully. Brian and Bailin both ranked Bananas in the middle of the pack, calling him “pretty average” but everybody else put him near or at the bottom of the list. #BringBackOldBananas

10. The Friar, Providence (18 points)

Being so horrifying played to the Friar’s benefit on some ballots, but placed him near the bottom on others. Brian ranked the Friar pretty high, giving “mad respect to the grim reaper's mascot form” and Joe ranked the Friar last but said he could have just as easily been ranked first. Grant spoke for everyone when he called the Providence mascot “the creepiest thing I've ever seen.”

11. The Warrior, Merrimack (13 points)

The Merrimack mascot is also pretty terrifying but he gets overlooked because he isn’t as frequently seen as the Friar. In addition to being creepy, he’s pretty garbage. Grant ranked him quite low because of “too much attempted muscle.” Unlike Sam and the Friar, the Warrior has a very unexaggerated face, which keeps him from standing out. He is somehow both creepy and forgettable.

Leave your own rankings in the comments!