Massachusetts hosts Maine for teo games this weekend
Hockey East Men's Weekend Preview
News and notes from the upcoming weekend of Hockey East action

#10 Boston College vs. #9 Notre Dame (home and home)

- An old rivalry series renews between #10 Boston College and #9 Notre Dame at Conte Forum on Friday as part of a rare Friday-Saturday home-and-home series. The Eagles will then fly out to South Bend for a Sunday matinee.

- The Fighting Irish took a 4-0 win last December when they hosted Boston College in the only game of the season.

- The Eagles look to continue a seven-game win streak after defeating Yale, 6-2, last Tuesday and handing then-#9 Harvard its first loss, 4-2, on Friday. Both Alex Newhook (St. John's Newfoundland) and Logan Hutsko (Tampa, Fla.) each tallied three points to lead BC to an undefeated week.

- Freshman Goaltender, Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.), continues to shine, extending his winning streak to seven games and recording a 2.00 GAA with a .926 save percentage on the weekend. He was named Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month for his efforts, including leading Hockey East in wins (7), save percentage (.959), goals against average (1.12), and shutouts (2), while he ranked tied for first nationally in wins and shutouts, and second in all other categories.


#16 UMass Lowell vs #15 Providence (home and home)

- A top-20 ranked home-and-home series between the River Hawks of Lowell and Providence Friars begins in Providence on Friday night. Providence swept the River Hawks in their last series of the 2018-19 season.

- UMass Lowell hosted two out-of-town squads last weekend as part of the inaugural Turkey Leg Classic. They shut out RPI, 4-0, and battled then-#7 Penn State to an overtime period where they defeated the Nittany Lions, 3-2, to win the tournament title.

- Senior netminder Tyler Wall (Leamington, Ont.) stopped 57 of 59 shots on the weekend by netminder, who was once again named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week. Friday night's shutout was the ninth of his career as he recorded 23 saves. For his play in the month of November, Wall was named Stop It Goaltender of the Month on Thursday.

- The Friars had a one-game, one-win weekend over cross town rival Brown in the annual battle for the Mayor's Cup. Rookie Parker Ford (Wakefield, R.I.) and sophomore Tyce Thompson (Milford, Conn.) each recorded a goal and an assist in the 4-2 win.


Maine at #11 Massachusetts

- The Maine Black Bears travel south to Amherst this weekend for a double header with #11 Massachusetts. Last March was the last time these two programs saw each other, when the Minutemen defeated Maine, 6-0, at the Mullins Center. The teams also split a season series in Orono, Jan. 25-26.

- UMass is coming off of a split series with Quinnipiac this past weekend. The Minutemen fell, 2-1, in Saturday's contest, but goaltender Matt Murray (St. Albert, Alberta) earned a shutout in a 3-0 victory on Friday night. Now with six career shutouts, Murray holds the Massachusetts program record for career shutouts outright as a junior.

- Maine also squared off in non-conference competition with a trip to Canton, New York, and went 1-0-1 against St. Lawrence. A 5-2 win to start the weekend included two goals from senior Ryan Smith (Roanoke, Va.). Smith struck first while shorthanded in the second period. The Black Bears then proceeded to skate to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night to cap off their weekend.


#8 Northeastern at Boston University

- A one-game weekend is on the horizon for both Boston University and Northeastern as they line up on Saturday night at Agganis Arena. The last time these teams saw each other was when the Huskies ended the season for the Terriers in the Hockey East Tournament semifinal last season en route to their third Lamoriello Trophy.

- Northeastern lands back on American soil after winning the Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland last week, reclaiming the Belpot Trophy for Hockey East in the tournament's fifth iteration.

- Senior captain Ryan Shea (Milton, Mass.) earned Hockey East Player of the Week Honors after being named Tournament MVP for scoring both two game-winning goals and tallying three assists for a total of five points to power the Huskies to the international crown.

- Craig Pantano (Bridgewater, Mass.) recorded his first shutout as a Husky in a 3-0 conference win over New Hampshire with 25 saves to propel this team into the Friendship Four Grand Final against Colgate.

- The Terriers are fresh off a weeknight win over #12 Harvard last Tuesday. BU was able to find the back of the net five times and only let up two for a 5-2 victory. Senior forward Patrick Harper (New Canaan, Conn.) posted three points on the night with a goal and a pair of assists.

- Blueliner David Farrance (Victor, N.Y.) continues to lead the NCAA in multi-point performances, this being his seventh, as he contributed two assists on the five Terrier goals. He now leads BU with 21 overall points and 10 goals.


Vermont at UConn

- Vermont will spend the weekend in Hartford, Connecticut where they will battle with the Huskies of UConn for a back-to-back series.

- Last March, UConn hosted the Catamounts at the XL Center and defeated them, 5-1, in Hockey East competition.

- The Catamounts flew cross-country last weekend and took a 0-1-1 record away from the Arizona State Sun Devils. Ace Cowans (Beverly, Mass.), recorded the lone goal in Friday's 2-1 setback and had another goal and an assist on Saturday night along with a goal from Vlad Dzhioshvili (Moscow, Russia), to extend Saturday's contest into overtime, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

- UConn had a pair of wins last weekend as they swept Miami of Ohio. Friday night's 6-4 win included two goals and an assist from Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week Vladislav Firstov (Yaroslavl, Russia). Junior Brian Rigali (Libertyville, Ill.) capped off the weekend with four points, contributing a career high of three assists on Friday night and another helper on Saturday in a 4-3 win.


Merrimack vs. New Hampshire (home and home)

- UNH hosts Merrimack Friday night to initiate a home-and-home series with the Warriors this weekend. Upon meeting up twice last season, the Wildcats earned both conference wins.

- Two non-league match ups left the Warriors with a 1-1-0 mark this past weekend. Friday, they faced off with then-#7 Penn State and were shut out for three periods, falling 7-0.

- The Warriors turned it around on Saturday night to top RPI, 5-1. Sophomore Chase Gresock (Powell, Ohio) netted his first career hat trick to help Merrimack secure the win.

- The Wildcats have returned from their journey to Belfast, Northern Ireland where they went 1-1-0, earning third place in the Friendship Four. Their overseas conference game resulted in a 4-0 loss to the Huskies of Northeastern. Goalie Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) recorded 21 saves in the effort from the 'Cats.

- Saturday saw senior forward Liam Blackburn (Prince George, B.C.) find the back of the net twice and a noteworthy career-first goal from Filip EngarĂ¥s (Stockholm, Sweden) went down at the game-winner to push UNH past Princeton in a 3-2 victory.