Hockey East Weekend Preview
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Vermont hosts the 21st iteration of the Catamount Cup this weekend

#14 Boston College vs. UConn - Sat 12/30 at BC

- Prior to the holiday break, BC fell to Northeastern at home, 5-2 on Dec. 9. Julius Mattila (Tampere, Finland) had an assist in the contest, extending his point streak to six straight outings. Christopher Brown (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and Michael Kim (Toronto, Ont.) accounted for the Eagles' two goals.

- The Eagles will be without starting goaltender Joseph Woll (St. Louis, Mo.), who is currently backstopping Team USA at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. Ryan Edquist (Lakeville, Minn.) is the next-most experienced netminder on the Eagles roster, boasting a 2-1-0 record in three games this season with a 1.97 goals against average and .939 save percentage.

- To cap off the first half of the season, the UConn Huskies defeated then-no.16 Colgate on Dec. 8, 4-2. A pair of power-play goals in the third period from Johnny Austin (St. Louis Park, Minn.) and Maxim Letunov (Moscow, Russia) secured the win over the Raiders. Jesse Schwartz (Toronto, Ont.) extended his point streak to six games with a goal of his own.


Merrimack vs. #2 Denver/Colorado College - Fri. 12/29 at Denver, Sat. 12/30 at CC

- Merrimack travels west for a pair of non-conference tilts to kick off the second half of the season, the final two games remaining out of Hockey East play for the Warriors. In the Warriors' last outing, the team skated to a 1-1 tie against then-#8 Northeastern on Dec. 16. Senior Jace Hennig (Port Moody, B.C.) scored the lone goal for Merrimack, posting his seventh of the season.

- The Warriors are unbeaten in their last three games, moving to 2-0-1 since Dec. 8. This is the longest unbeaten stretch for Merrimack this season.


#8 Northeastern vs. American International - Sat. 12/30 at NU

- Northeastern adds defenseman Collin Murphy (Wilmington, Mass.) to its roster for the second half of the season after Murphy started the season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL. He had one goal and one assist in 21 games.

- Dylan Sikura (Aurora, Ont.) and Jeremy Davies (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que.) are currently skating with Team Canada at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. The tournament, running Dec. 26-31, serves as an evaluation in preparation Canadian Olympic team selection.

- The Huskies welcome the Yellow Jackets for the first time since Feb. 8, 1973 and carry a 22-2-1 record against AIC all-time.


#11 Providence vs. Arizona State/LSSU or Robert Morris - Fri. 12/29, Sat. 12/30 at PPG Paints Arena

- Providence split a two-game series at home against RIT on Dec. 8-9, kicking off a five-game stretch outside of Hockey East play. The Friars downed the Tigers in game one, 8-3. Five players for Providence posted multi-point efforts in the win, including Brian Pinho (North Andover, Mass./2g) and Scott Conway (Basingstoke, England/2g).

- Erik Foley (Mansfield, Mass.), the Hockey East Player of the Month for November, contributed three points in the win over RIT, including his team-leading 10th goal of the season. Foley now has 17 points over his last nine games.

- Providence has added defenseman Davis Bunz (Middleton, Wis.) for the second half of the season. Bunz appeared in 18 games this fall with the Central Illinois Flying Aces of the USHL, totaling two goals and seven assists with plus-six rating.


#16 New Hampshire vs. Dartmouth/Yale - Fri. 12/29, Sat. 12/30 at Dartmouth

- In the last week of the first half, the Wildcats defeated RPI, 6-3, but suffered two losses at the hands of Army West Point and conference opponent Merrimack. Jason Salvaggio (Hanson, Mass.) had two tallies in the victory at RPI, recording his sixth career multi-goal game. Patrick Grasso (Ankeny, Iowa) also tallied a career-best three assists in the contest.

- New Hampshire next travels to Dartmouth to face a pair of ECAC opponents in the Big Green and Yale at the Ledyard Bank Classic to start a three-game set against ECAC teams before returning to Hockey East league play for the remainder of the season.


Maine vs. RPI - Fri. 12/29, Sat 12/30 at RPI

- Maine and RPI will meet for the second and third times this year after first clashing in the third-place game matchup at the Friendship Four Tournament held in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Nov. 25. The Black Bears defeated the Engineers in the contest, 4-2.

- Rookie netminder Jeremy Swayman (Anchorage, Alaska) recorded 95 saves last time out in two road wins at Quinnipiac, earning Hockey East Player of the Week honors on Dec. 11. The Black Bears backstop hasn't lost a game since Nov. 24 and is currently with Team USA at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.


UMass Lowell vs. Harvard/St. Lawrence - Fri. 12/29, Sat. 12/30 at UVM

- UMass Lowell will meet Harvard for just the fourth time in program history carrying a 2-1-0 record over the Crimson. It marks the River Hawks' second appearance in the Catamount Cup, finishing in second-place after winning both games but falling to Vermont in the tie-breaker system.

- Kenny Hausinger (Anchorage, Alaska) and Ryan Lohin (Chadds Ford, Pa.) lead the River Hawks in scoring with 14 points apiece heading into the second half of the season.


Vermont vs. St. Lawrence/Harvard - Fri. 12/29, Sat. 12/30 at UVM

- Vermont hosts the 21st iteration of the Catamount Cup this weekend, returning from the holiday break sitting at 4-10-3 overall. All-time in the Catamount Cup, host institution claims a 18-5-1 record under current head coach Kevin Sneddon.

- The Catamounts have just one win in their last eight games, while St. Lawrence is riding a six-game losing streak, Harvard is 2-4-1 in its last seven and UMass Lowell is 6-3-0 since the beginning of November.

- Vermont meets St. Lawrence, a former ECAC rival and the second-longest running rivalry for the Catamounts, in round one for the 95th all-time meeting between the programs. The Catamounts are 24-14-2 over the Saints in that series.