Only a pair of Division 1 hockey games scheduled next week involve New England clubs, so this weekend marks the final opportunity to gain valuable points in the Hockey East, ECAC, or Atlantic Hockey standings before Christmas.
UMass Lowell and Boston University play a crucial Hockey East home-and-home series looking to break above .500 in league games, while Boston College returns to home ice for a Friday night game aiming to sweep Connecticut. Merrimack is back in North Andover, Mass., for rematches with Providence and Northeastern.
In this ECAC, this weekend’s games are a clash between New England and New York. Brown and Yale are the only teams in league action, welcoming Union and Rensselaer over to the region for games in Providence and New Haven.
Atlantic Hockey action sees Holy Cross travel to Robert Morris and Sacred Heart visit RIT.
UMass and Quinnipiac meet in a non-conference series featuring the region’s top two teams, while old rivals New Hampshire and Dartmouth play a home-and-home set for the first time ever in Hanover and Durham. Vermont rounds out the slate with a series out west at Colorado College.
HOCKEY EAST
UMass Lowell (7-6-1, 3-3-1) vs. Boston University (4-7-2, 4-4-2)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Agganis Arena, Boston
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Tsongas Center, Lowell, Mass.
What to watch for: Two of Hockey East’s premier programs in recent years only sit at .500 in league play, so pivotal points are on the line in their lone series this season. Lowell is playing its only games in a 32-day span as a bye week followed its 5-2 win at RPI on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The River Hawks have the statistical edge on offense and defense, but Tyler Wall and BU’s Jake Oettinger in the nets should make this a fun series.
Fun fact: Lowell sophomore Connor Sodergren hasn’t scored a point in his last three games, but the Tewksbury, Mass., native reached the seven-point mark 11 games sooner this season than he did last.
Providence (8-4-3, 5-2-1)/Northeastern (9-3-1, 5-1-1) at Merrimack (4-10-1, 2-6)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Lawler Rink, North Andover, Mass.
What to watch for: The Warriors look to put last Friday’s 9-1 loss at Northeastern behind them as they close the first half with back-to-back games on home ice. The two teams tied for second in Hockey East stand in their way for repeat meetings. Merrimack often keeps things close, having played eight one-goal games this season, but both of its opponents average four goals per game and have already swept three combined meetings with the Warriors.
Fun fact: Merrimack senior Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) has made at least 30 saves four times this season, going 3-1 in those games.
UConn (5-10-1, 2-8-1) at Boston College (5-6-2, 5-1-2)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
What to watch for: This series opened a night early in Hartford, so the Eagles head back home for a chance at the sweep after Thursday’s 4-0 win. Despite five consecutive losses to open the season, BC can enter the break with a .500 record and a four-game unbeaten streak with another win against the Huskies. Meanwhile, UConn will look to avoid its seventh straight loss. In the series opener, Joseph Woll made 30 saves for his second straight shutout and benefited from junior classmate Julius Mattila’s first collegiate hat trick.
Fun fact: UConn has played just five home games thus far and will not be at the XL Center again until Jan. 16 against RPI.
ECAC HOCKEY
Union (8-3-2, 3-3)/Rensselaer (4-9, 3-3) at Brown (1-6-2, 1-4-2)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Meehan Auditorium, Providence, R.I.
What to watch for: The Bears are back in Providence for the first time since Nov. 10, so they’ll look to cook up some good times on home ice and snap a four-game winless streak in their final action of the semester. Brown and RPI are two of the ECAC clubs averaging fewer than two goals per game and allowing three or more, though the Bears put up 44 shots and senior defenseman Brady Schoo assisted twice in a 2-2 tie at St. Lawrence last Saturday, but Union’s dynamic, senior-driven offense will provide a stiff test first.
Fun fact: Brown senior Tommy Marchin scored four goals against the Dutchmen and Engineers last season, including a hat trick to win in overtime in Troy, N.Y.
Rensselaer/Union at Yale (5-2-2, 4-2-1)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Ingalls Rink, New Haven, Conn.
What to watch for: Unbeaten in four straight games are the Bulldogs after their first sweep of Clarkson and St. Lawrence since 2012-13. Yale continued its strong first half with the wins last weekend, thanks to goals from seven different players and victories from both Sam Tucker (Wilton, Conn.) and Corbin Kaczperski in goal. The Elis will face a pair of streaking teams as the Engineers have lost four straight and the Dutchmen made it three games unbeaten at the Friendship Four before an off week.
Fun fact: Defensemen Phil Kemp (Greenwich, Conn.) and Jack St. Ivany were named to the preliminary U.S. roster for the World Junior Championship. Current Islander farmhand Ryan Hitchcock was the last Bulldog representative at the tournament in 2016.
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
Sacred Heart (3-8-2, 3-6-1) at RIT (6-6-1, 4-4-1)
Friday, 7:05 p.m./Saturday, 5:05 p.m. at Gene Polisseni Center, Rochester, N.Y.
What to watch for: These two teams meet for the first time since opening the Atlantic Hockey postseason with a three-game series last March. The Pioneers would love similar results in the same building and to create momentum after defeating Robert Morris for the first time in program history to begin last weekend’s series split. That Friday win was thanks in part to another deciding goal from Austin Magera and freshman classmate Josh Benson’s 21 saves.
Fun fact: SHU senior Stephen Hladin (1-3-4) and junior Austin McIlmurray (2-2-4) had four points apiece against the Tigers last postseason.
Holy Cross (1-10-2, 1-6-1) at Robert Morris (6-7-1, 5-4-1)
Friday, 7:05 p.m./Saturday, 5:05 p.m. at Colonials Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.
What to watch for: The Crusaders head to the Keystone State looking for a strong bookend to the season’s first half in their final games of the calendar year. Holy Cross is looking to break out of a 12-game winless streak despite averaging 3.38 goals per Atlantic Hockey game, which ranks third in the league. Robert Morris poses a challenge to that hope as it edged past Sacred Heart in overtime for a tight split in its last series and went 3-0-1 against the Crusaders last year.
Fun fact: Freshman Erik Gordon has started six straight games in the Crusader net, all of which have been decided by two or fewer goals.
NON-CONFERENCE
Massachusetts (12-1, 7-0 HE) vs. Quinnipiac (13-2, 6-2 ECAC)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Frank Perrotti, Jr. Arena, Hamden, Conn.
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Mullins Center, Amherst, Mass.
What to watch for: The highlight of the weekend around New England is another clash with a ranked team for the now-No. 1 Minutemen, who had not been able to say that in program history before this week. Friday marks QU’s first-ever home game against the nation’s top-ranked team, but both sides have lived up to their rankings as they have scored and defended at the top rates (UMass 4.08-2.00, QU 3.87-1.80) in their respective conferences. However, one streak will end this weekend barring any ties as UMass boasts the nation’s longest winning streak at nine games and Quinnipiac has six W’s in a row.
Fun fact: Quinnipiac sophomore Odeen Tufto recorded his second straight six-point weekend against Princeton and has recorded 14 of his 24 points on the season in the last five games.
New Hampshire (2-7-5, 1-4-3 HE) vs. Dartmouth (4-3-1, 4-2-1 ECAC)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Thompson Arena, Hanover, N.H.
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Whittemore Center, Durham, N.H.
What to watch for: The New Hampshire foes play a home-and-home series and on consecutive days for the first time in their 59-game series dating back to 1936. The only back-to-back losses for either of these teams came in UNH’s first two games, but Longmeadow, Mass., native Charlie Kelleher looks to extend his four-game point streak and help the Wildcats finish the first half strong. The Green has averaged 3.25 goals per game and not won, lost, or tied consecutive games yet.
Fun fact: Dartmouth junior Cam Strong, who hails from Billings, Montana, scored his first two goals of the season in back-to-back games last weekend against Cornell and Colgate.
Vermont (4-7-1, 1-6-1 HE) at Colorado College (6-6-2, 2-5-1 NCHC)
Friday, 9:37 p.m./Saturday, 8:07 p.m. at Broadmoor World Arena, Colorado Springs
What to watch for: The host Tigers have played their best hockey of late with a win over Miami and a win and a tie against Omaha over the last two weekends, while the Catamounts head to the Springs looking for their second straight non-conference win and to bounce back from a 0-1-1 series with Maine at home. CC has scored four shorthanded goals and averages 30.36 shots per game, so the stout junior Stefanos Lekkas and his defense should see a lot of rubber in all situations.
Fun fact: Last Friday’s 2-1 overtime loss was UVM’s sixth one-goal setback of the season.
