Boston College vs. #8 Providence, at New Hampshire, vs. Maine
- Boston College returns to home ice after starting the second half of the season with road trips to Notre Dame and Arizona State. The Eagles were shutout, 4-0, in their only game against the Irish and dropped both games in the desert to the Sun Devils, 5-2 and 2-0.
- Junior Joseph Woll (St. Louis, Mo.) was named the Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Month for his play in December. The netminder went 2-1-1 in four appearances, posting two shutouts, a 1.23 goals against average and .956 save percentage.
- New Hampshire looks to extend its five-game unbeaten streak as they head into a pair of Hockey East match ups with Boston College and Boston University. In the first weekend of 2019, the Wildcats outlasted Merrimack to take a 2-1 overtime victory in league action, before playing to a 5-5 overtime draw with then-#15 Yale.
- Anthony Wyse (Newton, Mass.) posted a career-best three points on one goal and two assists in Saturday's draw against the Bulldogs. The junior's goal was a short-handed tally.
#2 UMass vs. Vermont
- UMass plays host to the Catamounts for a two-game series over the weekend. The two teams met in last year's Hockey East Opening Round, with the Minutemen advancing on to the quarterfinals.
- The Minutemen dropped their first game back from break, coming up short against UMass Lowell on Friday night but bounced back on Saturday to defeat American International, 6-1.
- Marc Del Gaizo (Basking Ridge, N.J.) paced the Minutemen offense in the win over AIC, finding the back of the net once and dishing out three assists. The freshman earned Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week honors for his play.
- Vermont aims to rebound after having a four-game win streak snapped by then-#19 Clarkson on Sunday afternoon. The Catamounts edged out Sacred Heart, 3-2, on Friday, before dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to the Golden Knights.
- Sophomore Max Kaufman (Rochester, N.Y.) opened the scoring against Sacred Heart and then went on to net the game-winning tally just over five minutes into the final frame.
Boston University vs. New Hampshire, at #8 Providence
- The Terriers take on their first Hockey East opponents of the new year when they play host to New Hampshire on Friday night and visit Providence on Saturday. In the Terriers' first game back from the break, Boston University played to a 2-2 overtime draw with Harvard last Tuesday night.
- Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) turned away 26 Crimson attempts on the night and dished out the first assist of his career on Joel Farabee's (Cicero, N.Y.) game-tying goal at 5:54 of the third period on the power play.
Maine vs. #11 Northeastern, at Boston College
- Maine heads into this weekend riding a two-game win streak since returning from the break. Most recently, the Black Bears knocked off then-#15 Yale in dramatic fashion with a 4-3 overtime victory on Jan. 7. • Sophomore Eduards Tralmaks (Rīga, Latvia) extended his point streak to three games when he netted the game-winner with under a minute to go in the extra frame to send the Black Bears past Yale.
- Northeastern will look to bounce back after having their own eight-game win streak snapped in its first Hockey East match up since returning from the break. The Huskies were shutout in the third and final regular season meeting with Merrimack, but held a 2-1-0 advantage over the Warriors in the series.
UMass Lowell at Colgate
- UMass Lowell heads to upstate New York to take on non-conference opponent Colgate for two games. The two teams have only met 18 times in program history, with the River Hawks an 11-7-0 advantage in that span. The last meeting came on Dec. 30, 2016 at the Ledyard Bank Classic at Dartmouth, with UMass Lowell skating away with a 3-2 victory.
- In their first return to the ice for the second half, the River Hawks showed up in a big way, taking down #2 UMass on the road, 2-1. Senior Christoffer Hernberg (Espoo, Finland) earned Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week accolades for his play against the Minutemen after posting 33 saves, including 12 in the final frame to seal the victory.
Merrimack vs. UConn
- Merrimack takes on UConn in its only game of the weekend after playing three games in five days, all on the road. The Warriors dropped their first game of the weekend at New Hampshire, before snapping a nine-game winless streak with a 1-0 victory at then-#11 Northeastern. Scott Borek's team then went on to push their win streak to two games with a 4-2 triumph at Michigan.
- Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) stood tall between the pipes in Saturday's shut out over the Huskies, turning away all 42 attempts he faced. The senior earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors en route to helping the Warriors to their first win over Northeastern since March 7, 2015.
#8 Providence at Boston College, vs. Boston University, at Brown
- Providence is riding an eight-game unbeaten streak as they the Friars roll into a span of three games in five days. The Friars will take on Hockey East opponents Boston College and Boston University over the weekend, before dueling with cross-town rival Brown in the annual Mayor's Cup competition. Last year Providence shutout the Brown Bears, 5-0.
- The Friars enter the weekend after going 1-0-1 against then-#16 Miami at home. Rookie Jack Dugan (Rochester, N.Y.) pushed his point streak to five games, dishing out three assists on the weekend. The freshman now has six points in that span on one goal and five assists.
UConn at Merrimack, vs. RPI
- UConn returns to the east coast after going 1-1-0 in the Ice Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Huskies fell to then-#17 Western Michigan, 5-1, in their first match up of the tournament, before bouncing back to defeat St. Lawrence, 6-3, to earn third place.
- Karl El-Mir (Montréal, Qué.) pushed his point streak to four games after tallying one goal and two assists on the weekend. His goal was the lone strike for the Huskies in their loss to Western Michigan.
