#9 Massachusetts at #7 Denver
- #9 UMass heads west for a back-to-back weekend with #7 Denver in a two-game rematch of the 2019 Frozen Four. In that national semifinal, the Minutemen took the game in overtime to advance to their first-ever national championship game.
- The Minutemen have already started their second half of the season after defeating RPI, 5-3, in Troy, New York last Sunday.
- Senior forward Niko Hildenbrand (Vacaville, Calif.) found the back of the net twice to push the Minutemen to victory.
Vermont at #5 Boston College
- The Catamounts ride into Boston for a Saturday afternoon face off at the Conte Forum to complete a three-game season series with the Eagles. In a two-game set at Gutterson Fieldhouse in November, the Eagles earned a sweep, outscoring Vermont, 8-1, on the weekend.
- #5 Boston College has not hit the ice since sweeping Notre Dame in a home-and-home on Dec. 6 and 8 and the Eagles are currently riding a nine-game winning streak. The Eagles will be without the services of starting goaltender Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.) who is on loan to Team USA at the 2020 World Junior Championship.
- Vermont started out its second half hot with a two-win weekend in the Catamount Cup to earn the first trophy of 2020. Senior goaltender Stefanos Lekkas (Elburn, Ill.) posted two shutouts for the green and gold, earning himself the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week title and becoming the first Cats netminder to post consecutive shutouts since 2010.
- Kevin Sneddon's squad swept the weekly awards as fellow Catamounts Ace Cowans (Beverly, Mass) and Jacques Bouquot (South Windsor, Conn.) were awarded Hockey East Player of the Week and Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week, respectively. Cowans netted two game-winning goals, while Bouqout added assists on both decisive strikes and a tally of his own in the tournament sweep.
#12 Providence vs. Army West Point, vs. #6 Ohio State or #2 Cornell
- #12 Providence travels to Las Vegas to take part in the Fortress Invitational against Army West Point and then will have the chance to line up with a top-10 ranked team, either #6 Ohio State or #2 Cornell.
- It has been since 2014 since the Friars last saw Army and earned a 3-0 win at Schneider Arena.
- Last weekend, Providence participated in the Catamount Cup hosted by Vermont. The opening game of the tournament led them to a 2-1 victory over Lake Superior, where Greg Printz (Fairfax, Va.) notched the overtime game-winner.
#12 Northeastern vs. UConn, vs. Bentley
- After playing just twice since winning the Friendship Four on Nov. 30, #12 Northeastern gears up for a pair of competitions this weekend to start off the New Year at UConn and a Monday night non-eague match up with Bentley.
- The UConn Huskies recently posted an overtime draw with St. Lawrence on Dec. 28 after tying the game with just 0.3 seconds left in regulation off a goal from senior Alexander Payusov (Montreal, Que.) In the ninth round of a shootout, Carter Turnbull (Naniamo, B.C.) converted to advance his team to the championship of the Ledyard Classic, where his team fell to host Dartmouth.
- Northeastern has won six of its last seven, including a 6-4 victory over Dartmouth before the holiday break. Two goals and two assists came from freshman Aidan McDonough, (Milton, Mass.), earning him Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on Dec. 16.
Maine vs. Omaha
- Maine puts its undefeated 6-0-1 record at home on the line as the Black Bears host the Mavericks this weekend for a two-game series, including Saturday's finale at Portland's Cross Insurance Arena. The weekend matinee tilt begins at 12pm.
- The Black Bears began their second half with a 5-1 win over AIC last Sunday. Seniors Ryan Smith (Roanoke, Va.) and Patrick Shea (Marshfield, Mass.) combined for six points in the victory. Shea tallying two goals and an assist while Smith dished out three helpers.
- Netminder Jeremy Swayman (Anchorage, Alaska) posted an impressive 41 saves on the game, the second time he has made at least 40 saves in a game this year and the 16th outing in which he's made at least 30 stops.
New Hampshire vs. Yale, vs. Brown
- Two ECAC rivals await the Wildcats, as both Yale and Brown travel to New Hampshire for the weekend. Mike Souza's team is currently 2-0-0 against ECAC foes, including wins over Dartmouth and Princeton, and holds a 4-3-1 non-conference record on the year.
- The last time Yale and UNH faced off was almost exactly a year ago, where the two teams skated to a 5-5 draw at the Whittemore Center.
- It's been two years since the Brown Bears have taken a trip to Durham, where they also drew a 4-4 stalemate.
#13 UMass Lowell at Merrimack
- The River Hawks return to the ice after toppling an All-Star Team from the CCHL, 3-1, in an exhibition contest on Dec. 29.
- Across the last five outings between Merrimack and UMass Lowell, each team owns a record of 2-2-1 dating back to Feb. 24, 2018. Merrimack's most recent wins over UMass Lowell came in the 2018 Hockey East Tournament Opening Round, and the Warriors have lost just one of the last four games played in North Andover (1-1-2).
Boston University at USA Hockey's National Development Program Under-18 Team (ex)
- Last weekend, the Terriers broke off the holiday rust as they hosted Concordia for an exhibition at the Agganis, where they grabbed a 3-0 win. The exhibition run continues as Boston University flies out to Plymouth, Michigan to take on the U.S. National Under-18 Team on Friday, a program in which eight current Terriers were developed.
- Both netminders, Nico Lynch (Barnstable, Mass.) and Ashton Abel (Fort McMurray, Alta.) made their season debuts against Concordia, combining for a shutout with 16 and 10 saves, respectively. Rookie Ethan Phillips (Dartmouth, N.S.) scored shorthanded and adding an assist on the win.
