Thanksgiving has taken New England’s Division 1 teams to a myriad of destinations.
For some, it’s just down the road. Bentley crosses a few town borders to meet Boston College for the first time ever before heading out the Massachusetts Turnpike to Holy Cross for Atlantic Hockey action Saturday night in Worcester. Sacred Heart is also in league action at Canisius.
One of the nation’s highlight series takes Providence more than halfway across the United States to take on another elite ranked program in Denver, while Princeton visits UMass for a Saturday clash. In addition, Saturday night marks the season’s first Harvard-Cornell meeting; it’s a non-league affair, but it will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York.
But the travel winners of the weekend are Yale, Connecticut, and Boston University as the three New England programs join Union in Belfast for the fourth straight playing of the Friendship Four. Since 2015, two Hockey East and two ECAC schools have made the trek to Northern Ireland as part of a sister city agreement with Boston. Those doubleheaders will be televised on NESN (Friday) and NESNplus (Saturday).
Among the highlights elsewhere, Maine and New Hampshire are on home ice for two-game, non-conference series. The former club hosts Quinnipiac in a regional clash.
FRIENDSHIP FOUR
Friday’s semifinals of this tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland are, respectively, ECAC and Hockey East league games.
Yale (2-2-1, 2-2-1 ECAC) vs. Union (7-3-1, 3-3 ECAC)
Friday, 10 a.m. at The SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
What to watch for: The first Friendship Four semifinal should be a spirited affair as both ECAC clubs in the tournament had last weekend off in preparation for the overseas trip. Yale managed just one point out of its last weekend of action as it salvaged a tie against Harvard after a shutout loss to Dartmouth, so the Bulldogs will be looking to use fresh game legs to their advantage at the outset against a Union club that has a plus-69 shot margin and scored 3.55 goals per game.
Fun fact: This tournament marks Yale’s longest journey since visiting Fairbanks, Alaska, for three games around Thanksgiving of 1992.
Boston University (3-5-1, 3-3-1 HE) vs. Connecticut (5-6-1, 2-5-1 HE)
Friday, 2 p.m. at The SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
What to watch for: Hockey East then takes center stage at the home of the Elite Hockey League’s Belfast Giants as BU and UConn meet in their first-ever overseas action and for the first time since a pair of one-goal quarterfinal playoff games in March. UMass Lowell swept the Huskies last weekend, and the Terriers look to recover from a 3-1 loss to Maine to cap a split series. While UConn’s freshmen have led the way, BU captains Dante Fabbro and Bobo Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) have both logged points in five straight games.
Fun fact: BU graduate forward Max Willman (Barnstable, Mass.) will become the first player to compete in the Friendship Four twice as he also made the trip to Belfast for the inaugural tournament as a Brown sophomore in 2015.
Consolation & Championship
Saturday, 10 a.m./2 p.m.
What to watch for: The losers and winners of Friday’s semifinals will meet, creating crossover games between the ECAC and Hockey East teams.
Fun fact: UMass Lowell and Vermont won the first two Friendship Four titles for Hockey East before Clarkson beat Providence to take home last year’s edition.
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
Sacred Heart (2-6-1, 2-4) at Canisius (4-7, 3-6)
Friday/Saturday, 1:05 p.m. at HarborCenter, Buffalo, N.Y.
What to watch for: Sacred Heart heads to Buffalo for a series between two teams in the midst of three-game losing streaks. The Pioneers took Mercyhurst to overtime and then lost a 3-0 shutout, remaining the only Atlantic Hockey team below the two-goal ledger on average. Canisius was on the wrong end of a three-goal margin twice in a home-and-home with rival Niagara, but Dylan McLaughlin is still the league’s top scorer with seven goals and 16 points.
Fun fact: SHU junior Vito Bavaro scored his first two goals and points of the season last Friday against Mercyhurst. The Brooks School product ranks second to senior defenseman Liam Clare on the Pioneers in career scoring.
Holy Cross (1-7-1, 1-3-1) vs. Bentley (3-7-1, 3-5-1)/at American International (5-7-1, 5-4-1)
Saturday, 7:05 p.m. at Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.
Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. at MassMutual Center, Springfield, Mass.
What to watch for: Holy Cross is one of just two Atlantic Hockey teams that has played fewer than 10 games, but it will catch up quickly with a pair of league contests in a short span after a Friday visit to Merrimack. The Crusaders’ climb back up the ladder needs to start with getting some points during this stretch, which spills into next Saturday with the Yellow Jackets ― who swept Air Force last weekend ― in Worcester.
Fun fact: Crusader freshman Erik Gordon set a career-high saves mark for the second consecutive game with his 39 against UMass on Saturday.
NON-CONFERENCE
Providence (7-3-1, 4-2 HE) at Denver (6-3-1, 3-3 NCHC)
Friday/Saturday, 9:07 p.m. at Magness Arena, Denver
What to watch for: Providence is the lone New England team competing stateside this weekend that is headed outside of the region, but this series should be well worth it. After a 7-2, 7-5 sweep against Merrimack, the Friars score an average of 3.82 goals and are one of just seven teams in the country allowing fewer than two goals per game. Denver stacks up at both ends, though, having posted a 3.7-2.2 scoring margin.
Fun fact: Seven different Friars scored in last Saturday’s game. A pair of Connecticut natives connected for one of them as Darien’s John McDermott picked up his first point at Providence with an assist to Milford native Tyce Thompson.
Princeton (3-3-1, 3-2-1 ECAC) at Massachusetts (10-1, 6-0 HE)
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Mullins Center, Amherst, Mass.
What to watch for: UMass has already taken care of one ECAC opponent (RPI) this season, but this one poses a distinct challenge with the Tigers’ Ryan Kuffner and one of the country’s most talented senior groups. League-leading scorer John Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and the Minutemen look to extend their win streak to eight, while Princeton dropped its last two games at Colgate and Cornell.
Fun fact: UMass scored multiple power-play goals in five of its first 11 games this season.
UMass Lowell (6-5-1, 3-3-1 HE) vs. Rensselaer (3-6, 3-3 ECAC)
Friday, 4 p.m. at Tsongas Center, Lowell, Mass.
Sunday, 4 p.m. at Houston Field House, Troy, N.Y.
What to watch for: Lowell steps out of Hockey East play for the first time nearly a month and can clinch its first three-game win streak since January with a positive start to the series. The Engineers haven’t cracked two goals per game this year, so facing a streaking goaltender like River Hawk junior Tyler Wall, who made 66 saves in last weekend’s sweep of UConn, isn’t the most ideal scenario.
Fun fact: Four of Lowell junior Colin O’Neill’s 10 collegiate goals have come shorthanded.
Quinnipiac (9-2, 4-2 ECAC) at Maine (4-5-1, 2-3-1 HE)
Friday, 7 p.m./Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at Alfond Arena, Orono, Maine
What to watch for: The Black Bears picked off a series split at BU to gain a pair of Hockey East points and turn their attention to a non-conference bout with Quinnipiac, which is coming off a league sweep that ended with a 5-0 win at Colgate. The Bobcats have the ECAC’s second-best offense and top defense, so another big effort from sophomore Jeremy Swayman certainly wouldn’t hurt Maine after his 79 saves on the road last weekend.
Fun fact: Quinnipiac’s Wyatt Bongiovanni scored twice on the power play and added an assist at Colgate en route to ECAC Rookie of the Week honors. Four of Bongiovanni’s five goals have come in just two games.
Miami (9-5, 3-3 NCHC) at New Hampshire (1-6-3, 1-3-2 HE)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Whittemore Center, Durham, N.H.
What to watch for: The Wildcats have come close in just about every game this year, but a win hasn’t come their way since Oct. 27 against Vermont. Locals Ara Nazarian (Boxford, Mass.) and Charlie Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) have been hot of late, but they’ll have to break through against a RedHawk club allowing 1.86 goals per game.
Fun fact: Kelleher has five points in his last three games, while Nazarian’s five-game point streak is the longest by a Wildcat this season.
Bentley (3-7-1, 3-5-1 AHC) at Boston College (3-5-1, 3-1-1 HE)
Friday, 3 p.m. at Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
What to watch for: The Falcons snapped their three-game skid with a big 4-2 win over Army in Saturday’s Atlantic Hockey series finale, but nine-goal, 13-point junior David Cotton and the Eagles have been tough after a historically slow start, going 3-0-1 in their last four games. In order to pull off the upset, Bentley will need more contributions from the likes of sophomore Michael Zuffante who scored two of his three goals last weekend.
Fun fact: Bentley has wins over Hockey East opponents in eight of the last 10 seasons. The Falcons have defeated Northeastern three times, UMass Lowell, New Hampshire, BU, UMass, and Maine.
Holy Cross (1-7-1, 1-3-1 AHC) at Merrimack (4-9, 2-5 HE)
Friday, 4 p.m. at Lawler Rink, North Andover, Mass.
What to watch for: A Hockey East victory would be the perfect way for Holy Cross to break out of its eight-game winless streak. The Crusaders have the scoring advantage in this game, but their 4.22 goals allowed per game have posed major problems. Merrimack allowed 14 goals to Providence last weekend, but scored five of its own to keep the second game close. Freshman Chase Gresock had a goal in both games against the Friars.
Fun fact: Merrimack junior Tyler Irvine already has a career-high 11 points this season, including three assists last weekend.
RIT (6-3-1, 4-2-1 AHC) at Northeastern (7-3-1, 4-1-1 HE)
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Matthews Arena, Boston
What to watch for: Northeastern returns to Matthews Arena to battle a team it had never played until last October in Rochester, N.Y. The resilient Huskies, who have won four times when trailing after two periods this season, aim to extend their current winning streak to four games as well as a 8-0-3 run against Atlantic Hockey while facing a Tiger club that beat Hockey East’s UMass Lowell last month.
Fun fact: Junior Grant Jozefek is just the third Northeastern skater since 2012-13 to score eight goals in 11 games, joining Adam Gaudette last season and Kevin Roy in 2013-14.
Vermont (3-6, 1-5 HE) at Dartmouth (3-2, 3-2 ECAC)
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Thompson Arena, Hanover, N.H.
What to watch for: The former ECAC border rivals continue their long-standing series on the Granite State side with their 80th all-time meeting. Vermont has played to one-goal scores in seven of its nine games this season, but repeating that could be a tough test against a Big Green squad that scored seven goals, five goals, and pitched a 3-0 shutout in its wins over league foes. But junior Stefanos Lekkas and his .936 save percentage certainly looks good for the Cats.
Fun fact: Senior Carl Hesler (Boxborough, Mass.) is slated to become the 101st player in Dartmouth history to play in 100 career games.
Harvard (2-3-2, 1-2-2 ECAC) vs. Cornell (5-3, 3-1 ECAC)
Saturday, 8 p.m. at Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.
What to watch for: This game doesn’t count in the ECAC standings like next Saturday’s rematch in Cambridge will, but it’s always a battle when the Crimson and Big Red meet. Several of Harvard’s games have been shootouts as it both scores and allows more than 3.5 goals per game, so the Crimson will look to settle things down opposite a team that has given up only one or two goals in all five of its wins.
Fun fact: Harvard and Cornell have not met outside the Boston area or Ithaca, N.Y., since the series began in 1910 and 1911 at now-defunct St. Nicholas Rink in New York.
