It’s all about conference action for Hockey East, ECAC Hockey, and Atlantic Hockey schools from New England during this upcoming first weekend of February.
Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, and Northeastern will have a quick turnaround to the 67th Beanpot at TD Garden — a non-conference tournament although three schools play in Hockey East — after playing on the next two Fridays. Before the famed tournament commences on Monday night, it’s a busy week across the three conferences.
There are two Hockey East series that extend over the two weekend nights as Maine travels down to face rival New Hampshire and Providence hosts Vermont.
Quinnipiac returns to ECAC action with games in the North Country of New York. League travel partners Brown and Yale have a Saturday night skate scheduled in New Haven, a night after Dartmouth and Harvard do the same.
New England’s programs in Atlantic Hockey will all go their separate ways this weekend. American International looks to keep its hold on first place as Niagara brings its league-leading offense to Springfield, while Bentley hosts Air Force, Holy Cross welcomes Army West Point, and Sacred Heart travels to Robert Morris.
HOCKEY EAST
Maine (9-12-3, 5-6-3) at New Hampshire (9-8-8, 5-5-5)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Whittemore Center, Durham, N.H.
What to watch for: These bitter border rivals currently hold the No. 7 and No. 8 positions in the Hockey East standings and have everything to decide in their season series after skating to a 4-4 tie in the Jan. 21 meeting up at Alfond Arena. UNH stands at 7-1-3 in its last 11 games, but junior Liam Blackburn’s nation-long point streak has spanned even four games longer. The Black Bears are 2-1-1 in their last four games since losing twice to Northeastern, including last Saturday’s win over UMass in which sophomore Jeremy Swayman made 53 saves.
Fun fact: Maine has a 2-0-3 advantage in the last five meetings with its archrival. The current streak has followed six consecutive New Hampshire victories from Dec. 2015 to Dec. 2016, including games in Portland, Maine, and Manchester, N.H.
Vermont (10-13-1, 3-10-1) at Providence (15-7-4, 8-5-1)
Friday/Saturday, 7 p.m. at Schneider Arena, Providence, R.I.
What to watch for: One team’s winning run will end during this series in the Ocean State as Vermont is coming off a home sweep of Merrimack that concluded with an overtime win and Providence posted a combined 7-1 score in home-and-home wins over Northeastern. Ten points separate these teams in the Hockey East standings, but Vermont will likely need to make a run over the final month in order to find itself among the top eight teams qualifying for postseason as it currently stands one point out of the cellar.
Fun fact: Vermont junior Derek Lodermeier had a point in each game last weekend (Friday goal, Saturday assist) and enjoyed a dominant series in the faceoff circle, going 31-for-40.
UMass Lowell (14-8-2, 8-4-2) at Northeastern (15-7-1, 9-5-1)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Matthews Arena, Boston
What to watch for: UMass Lowell has momentum from last weekend’s three-point performance against Boston College, but the host Huskies will look to sweep this three-game season series after erasing a late two-goal deficit to win in overtime back in November. Northeastern, which is coming off being swept in a Hockey East set for the first time this year, will use this tilt as a final rehearsal for defending its Beanpot title beginning on Monday night at TD Garden. Senior Ryan Dmowski (East Lyme, Conn.) has scored Lowell’s last three game-winning goals, and five of the 10 in his career have come this season.
Fun fact: A win on Friday would be Northeastern’s third straight against the River Hawks for the first time since 2011 and make it only the second Hockey East team to post a 3-0 season series sweep over an opponent this season, joining Providence (against Merrimack).
Boston College (8-12-3, 8-4-3) at Connecticut (7-16-2, 2-11-2)
Friday, 7:05 p.m. at XL Center, Hartford, Conn.
What to watch for: BC remains in the thick of the Hockey East race at four points behind first-place UMass, but a pair of lost two-goal leads in Saturday’s 4-4 tie made for a missed opportunity as it had to settle for only one point last weekend against UMass Lowell. Both of the Eagles’ wins during a current 2-3-1 league run came over Providence, though senior Christopher Brown has scored five goals and junior David Cotton also has six points during that time. UConn, which is 0-4-1 in its last five games, lost 4-0 and 3-2 to BC in early December.
Fun fact: BC has already clinched the season series against four Hockey East opponents and all but three of its games for the rest of the year will be against top-20 teams in the PairWise.
Massachusetts (19-5, 11-3) at Boston University (10-10-3, 8-5-2)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Agganis Arena, Boston
What to watch for: Looking ahead to either Monday of the Beanpot won’t be an option for the Terriers as they take on Hockey East’s top team on consecutive Fridays before making the short trip into TD Garden. BU also returns to league play this week after splitting its non-conference series with independent Arizona State, including a 4-2 win in the Friday opener. UMass is looking to bounce back from taking its third loss of January (and out of five this season) last Saturday in Maine, despite pouring on 56 shots on goal.
Fun fact: BU junior Jake Oettinger has the nation’s fourth-best save percentage (.938) in college hockey since Nov. 3, while his second-year UMass counterpart Matt Murray is tied for the second-most wins (12) during that span.
ECAC HOCKEY
Quinnipiac (18-5-1, 7-4-1) at Clarkson (17-7, 8-4)/St. Lawrence (3-20-1, 1-10-1)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Cheel Arena, Potsdam, N.Y.
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Appleton Arena, Canton, N.Y.
What to watch for: The Bobcats’ first action since a Jan. 22 win over Holy Cross comes in the form of a two-game trip to the North Country. They will face a Clarkson club that suffered its only blemish of a current 9-1 run last Friday at Harvard as well as the Saints, who have lost nine straight. A team effort has guided Quinnipiac to a 3-1-1 record in five games as it scored at least four goals in three of the contests and junior Andrew Shortridge has amassed a .944 save percentage during that time.
Fun fact: Quinnipiac will look to start the weekend off with a big win against a Golden Knights team that over which it has an all-time advantage in Potsdam. The Bobcats have a 7-6-1 record at Cheel Arena.
Dartmouth (8-10-2, 7-5-1) at Harvard (10-6-3, 7-5-2)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Bright-Landry Hockey Center, Cambridge, Mass.
What to watch for: The Oct. 27 season opener between these two teams in Hanover, N.H., saw three ties in the third period and 13 total goals in a 7-6 overtime win for the Big Green. Both coaches are probably hoping for and expecting a better showing on the defensive side now that their teams have settled into the season and sit only a point apart in the ECAC standings. Of late, they have; the Crimson hasn’t allowed more than three goals in any of the last five games, while the Big Green spit last weekend with St. Lawrence and Clarkson despite allowing only three total goals after junior Adrian Clark logged two shutouts earlier in January.
Fun fact: Harvard’s Adam Fox has logged 95 points in 83 collegiate games. According to College Hockey Inc., a junior defenseman has not reached the century mark since Wisconsin’s Justin Schultz in 2011-12.
Brown (8-9-3, 5-5-3) at Yale (10-7-3, 8-4-1)
Saturday, 7 p.m. at Ingalls Rink, New Haven, Conn.
What to watch for: These two New England rivals conclude their season series on a Saturday night in the Nutmeg State after continuing to climb in the ECAC a week ago. The Bears posted a weekend sweep in New York’s Capital District behind freshman Michael Maloney’s late goal at Union, while the Bulldogs moved even with Cornell at the top of the league after concluding their series out there with a 3-2 win at RPI. Yale has gone 4-4-1 in nine straight games decided by two or fewer goals.
Fun fact: Yale has held the lead through two periods in all 10 of its wins this season. The Bulldogs are 10-0-1 when holding an advantage after 40 minutes.
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
Niagara (10-12-3, 9-7-3) at American International (13-12-1, 13-8-1)
Friday, 2:05 p.m./Saturday, 1:05 p.m. at MassMutual Center, Springfield, Mass.
What to watch for: It’s been a long time since these teams matched up as the Oct. 12-13 split up on the Canadian border represented AIC’s first league action this season. The finale of that series was the first of 13 Yellow Jacket wins in conference play, while the latest (an 8-5 win last Saturday at Mercyhurst) extended the program’s record in that category. Junior Blake Christensen netted a hat trick and was one of three AIC players with three points last Saturday.
Fun fact: Junior Martin Mellberg played in his 100th collegiate game with the Mercyhurst series finale on Saturday. Eric Lang reached that mark for his AIC head coaching career one night earlier.
Air Force (13-9-4, 11-6-3) at Bentley (10-11-3, 9-7-2)
Friday/Saturday, 7:05 p.m. at Bentley Arena, Waltham, Mass.
What to watch for: This two-game battle of Falcons will be a big one as the teams are only five points apart in Atlantic Hockey. Second-place Air Force swept a November edition of this series out west, but times are different now with Bentley on a 5-0-2 run that is tied as the nation’s longest. Sophomore Luke Santerno’s 10 points in the last seven games for Bentley will be put to a stingy test as Air Force possesses the stingiest defense (2.46 goals allowed per game) and penalty kill (88.7) in the league; the latter mark is third nationally.
Fun fact: Air Force sophomore defenseman Zach Mirageas (Newburyport, Mass.) had two assists in a Nov. 9 win over Bentley and has three helpers in his last three games.
Army West Point (8-13-3, 7-8-3) at Holy Cross (5-16-3, 5-11-2)
Friday/Saturday, 7:05 p.m. at Hart Center, Worcester, Mass.
What to watch for: The Crusaders snapped a four-game losing streak and earned a series split with last Saturday’s 4-1 win at Sacred Heart, but that means it’s status quo in the Atlantic Hockey standings for the boys from Worcester with five weekends of the regular season to play. Though freshman Erik Gordon has given it .939 goaltending in his last three games and junior Kevin Darrar scored twice last weekend, Holy Cross remains a point deep in the cellar as Army West Point makes the trip to Massachusetts in the midst of a 0-6-2 skid.
Fun fact: Crusader senior Michael Laffin scored the game-winning goal on Saturday. He has logged 27 of 81 career points against Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart (8-13-3, 7-9-2) at Robert Morris (9-16-1, 8-11-1)
Friday, 7:05 p.m./Saturday, 4:05 p.m. at Colonials Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.
What to watch for: Thanks in large part to freshman Josh Benson’s 33-save performance, the Pioneers just earned their fifth consecutive win over UConn since the latter became a Hockey East program in 2014-15. SHU looks to carry the momentum of Tuesday night’s winning result onto the road again as it faces a Robert Morris squad that has dropped three straight games after losing twice by two goals at Air Force.
Fun fact: Pioneer freshman Austin Magera has scored six goals this season, including four game-winning goals to tie for the Atlantic Hockey lead. RIT senior Gabe Valenzuela and Mercyhurst junior Joseph Duszak have matched Magera in the latter category.
