As the college hockey schedule inches closer to playoff time, the games begin to mean even more across Hockey East, ECAC Hockey, and Atlantic Hockey. There are two points at stake in every game involving New England teams in all three conferences this weekend.
All four Beanpot teams get at least one day of the weekend off in preparation for Monday’s second round at TD Garden. Northeastern kicks off the slate with the nation’s lone Thursday game against UConn, while Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard all skate the following night. BC visits UMass Lowell before the River Hawks host UMass in a clash of sister institutions. First, the Minutemen will have a sold-out home crowd on its side against BU.
Elsewhere in Hockey East, Providence heads to Maine, and New Hampshire plays a border rival for the second consecutive weekend with its series at Vermont. UConn is a home team on Saturday as well, hosting Merrimack.
Union and RPI are in New England for ECAC games this weekend. The Engineers have a Friday night game at Dartmouth, while Union visits Harvard as well as the Big Green. Yale and Quinnipiac meet for the first time this season, and Brown visits Princeton before the Bears and Bulldogs swap opponents on Saturday night.
