A pair of Thursday night games in Hockey East got New England’s Division 1 slate going again this week. The winners were a pair of teams with some significant momentum as UMass scored late to beat Providence and Boston College rolled past Vermont for its second straight win.
The Minutemen, who have a three-point edge over Connecticut for the top spot in Hockey East, and Friars conclude their weekend clash of nationally-ranked foes on Saturday night in Providence. Five league foes also have league games scheduled over the course of Friday and Saturday nights.
Elsewhere, the ECAC slate will have two New England-centric contests on both nights when Harvard and Dartmouth hit the road for Brown and Yale. Quinnipiac gets a chance to take its own ice in Hamden, Conn., welcoming in the Capital District pair of RPI and Union.
Three Atlantic Hockey clubs hit the road, while Sacred Heart has a home-and-home series with Army West Point on tap. To round out the slate, Merrimack steps out of Hockey East play and hits the road to the State of Hockey where it will take on WCHA-leading Bemidji State.
HOCKEY EAST
Vermont (3-4, 1-3) at Boston College (2-5, 2-1)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Conte Forum
What to watch for: A Hockey East win during the first weekend of November began a dominant month for the Eagles a year ago, so Jerry York’s club is hoping history can repeat itself when this series concludes. Both clubs entered the set following Saturday wins as junior David Cotton’s four-point game lead BC past Merrimack while sophomore Ace Cowans (Beverly, Mass.) beat the buzzer to cap a two-goal comeback against UConn, but the Eagles were 4-1 winners on Thursday.
Fun fact: Four Eagles scored and 10 had points in the series opener. Cotton’s third goal in two games came in the third period, following Oliver Wahlstrom’s (Quincy, Mass.) first collegiate strike a 14:08 of the first.
Connecticut (4-3-1, 2-2-1)/UMass Lowell (4-4, 1-2) at Northeastern (4-3-1, 1-1-1)
Friday, 7 p.m./Saturday, 7 p.m. at Matthews Arena
What to watch for: A battle of Huskies begins a two-game slate of Hockey East action at Matthews Arena, where Northeastern managed just one point during its most recent series against Boston University. UConn has five points (2-1-1) in a four-game span, despite sitting in the Hockey East pack (fourth in offense, fifth in defense) statistically. Lowell, which has gotten leading contributions from freshman Sam Knoblauch, will look to put itself in position for better than a split for the first time entering this contest in Boston.
Fun fact: Northeastern captain Eric Williams enters this weekend having played in all 125 collegiate games on the blue line.
New Hampshire (1-4-1, 1-1-0) at UMass Lowell (4-4, 1-2)/vs. Boston University (1-4-1, 1-2-1)
Friday, 7:15 p.m. in Lowell, Mass.
Saturday, 7 p.m. in Durham, N.H.
What to watch for: The Wildcats will look to bump their Hockey East record above .500 on a back-to-back league weekend for the first time this season. Saturday’s 5-1 loss to UMass was their most lopsided this season, though sophomore Kohei Sato netted his second collegiate goal. UNH meets a pair of teams looking to break out of the middle of the standings, beginning with the always-tough River Hawks at Tsongas Center.
Fun fact: UNH sophomore Charlie Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) has two multi-assist games and five total helpers over his last four appearances.
Massachusetts (7-1, 4-0) at Providence (5-2-1, 2-1-0)
Saturday, 7 p.m. in Providence, R.I.
What to watch for: The Minutemen are on a 4-0 run to start Hockey East play after freshman defenseman Ty Farmer scored with 1:25 left in regulation en route to a 3-2 win in Thursday’s series opener in Amherst. UMass had its 2-0 lead after the first period slip away, but sophomore Matt Murray made 12 of his 29 saves in the third period and set the stage for Farmer’s winning goal. And that was only the first of two games! Expect more of the same in the Ocean State.
Fun fact: Thursday’s game marked the first between a pair of top-10 teams at Mullins Center since 2008. The Minutemen spent six weeks ranked that high during the 2007-08 season.
ECAC
Dartmouth (2-1, 2-1)/Harvard (0-2-1, 0-2-1) at Brown (0-3-1, 0-2-1)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. in Providence, R.I.
What to watch for: Brown’s experienced defense corps will have its hands full against a pair of teams that have scored 13 goals through just three games, including a Crimson attack that ranks second in the nation with 4.33 goals per game and a 6-for-14 power play. Dartmouth got goals from three of its lines in a bounce-back win over Quinnipiac, while all three Bears with three or more points are rookies. Justin Jallen and Tristan Crozier have two goals apiece.
Fun fact: Dartmouth sophomore Matt Baker scored “The Goal” against Princeton for the second straight year last Friday, breaking a streak of five consecutive years in which a freshman scored to commence the traditional throwing of tennis balls onto the Thompson Arena ice.
Harvard/Dartmouth at Yale (2-1, 2-1)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. in New Haven, Conn.
What to watch for: Venerable Ingalls Rink opens for another season after the Bulldogs won two of their first three games on the road, most recently Saturday at Colgate. Senior Joe Snively has, unsurprisingly, led the Elis’ attack with seven points through three games, including three of the team’s nine goals. Friday marks the Virginia native’s 100th collegiate gme.
Fun fact: Dartmouth swept the Connecticut foe last season. In a 6-4 win in New Haven, Needham, Mass., native Quin Foreman became the first Big Green freshman to record a hat trick since Hugh Jessiman in 2003.
RPI (3-4, 3-1)/Union (6-2-1, 2-2-0) at Quinnipiac (6-1, 1-1)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. in Hamden, Conn.
What to watch for: The Bobcats had their second-longest win streak to open a season snapped last Saturday at Dartmouth, but the final two home games left before Thanksgiving are a good chance to start up a new one and stockpile some more ECAC points. Senior Chase Priskie has a hot stick from the blue line, having scored goals in five consecutive games. As for the opponents, Union swept Clarkson and St. Lawrence last weekend, while RPI beat the Saints on the heels of sweeping the Dutchmen in the prior series.
Fun fact: Quinnipiac had not trailed in a span of 328:04 before allowing Dartmouth’s first goal in its most recent game.
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
Army West Point (4-4-1, 3-2-1) vs. Sacred Heart (1-3-1, 1-1-0)
Friday, 7:05 p.m. in West Point, N.Y.
Saturday, 2:05 p.m. in Bridgeport, Conn.
What to watch for: The Pioneers will look to break through in this home-and-home series after going 0-2-2 last season against a New England-heavy West Point club that dropped two 4-2 games to Air Force last weekend. A pair of first collegiate goals helped SHU crack the win column last Friday at Bentley, but it will need its returners like sophomores Matt Tugnutt and Marc Johnstone to step up and help deliver more league points this weekend.
Fun fact: New England natives Trevor Fidler (Watertown, Mass.) and Dominic Franco (Portsmouth, R.I.) scored the Army goals in last Friday’s loss to rival Air Force.
Holy Cross (1-5, 1-2) at Niagara (3-5, 3-3)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. in Niagara University, N.Y.
What to watch for: Two teams clad in purple clash twice this weekend in the upstate New York, with the Crusaders looking to snap a five-game losing streak since beating Canisius to open the season. Holy Cross is an experienced bunch and will take on a Niagara club that is loaded with underclassmen. However, five of the Crusaders’ 18 goals and 13 of 45 points have come from freshmen. Matt Barry’s 3-4-7 line leads the team through six games.
Fun fact: Holy Cross defenseman Spencer Trapp scored game-winning goals against Niagara in two of his first three seasons.
American International (3-5-1, 3-2-1) at RIT (3-3-1, 1-2-1)
Friday, 7:05 p.m./Saturday, 5:05 p.m. in Rochester, N.Y.
What to watch for: The Yellow Jackets look to build a winning streak off Saturday’s 6-1 triumph over Canisius as they return to New York for a second consecutive weekend. Junior Kyle Stephan broke a five-game goal scoring drought with two (and also added an assist) in that one. AIC has had 12 players find the back of the net this season, so it will need to find that balanced offense against a team that allows just 2.43 goals per game and already has a win over UMass Lowell on its resume.
Fun fact: Defenseman Brennan Kapcheck has recorded six of his seven points during three separate two-assist games, including his latest against Canisius.
Bentley (2-4-1, 2-2-1) at Air Force (4-4, 4-2)
Friday, 9:05 p.m./Saturday, 9:35 p.m. in USAFA, Colo.
What to watch for: Bentley had two weekends at home to drum up a pair of wins and now hits the road to meet the team of Falcons that stands atop Atlantic Hockey following a three-game win streak. Air Force will surely test whoever starts in the Bentley net as its 28.62 shots per game lead the league, as does Bentley’s offense with 3.14 goals per game.
Fun fact: Seventeen different players found the back of the net for Bentley last year, which is just four more than have done so through seven games this season. Senior Drew Callin has a team-leading three goals.
NON-CONFERENCE
Merrimack (3-6, 2-3 HE) at Bemidji State (4-1-1, 3-1-0 WCHA)
Friday/Saturday, 8:07 p.m. in Bemidji, Minn.
What to watch for: The Warriors are the lone New England club in non-conference action as they head west to face a Bemidji State club that has four wins, including the last three in a row in WCHA play. Merrimack looks to maintain a balanced offense out in Minnesota as six of its last seven goals have come from different players, with Patrick Kramer (Bridgewater, Mass.) being the lone player with two in the four-game span.
Fun fact: The history between these two teams dates back to a 1984 date for the Division 2 national title, but this marks the first meeting since 2007. Merrimack has won three straight games in the series.
