New Hampshire and Northeastern hit the ice for two games this weekend, marking their first meetings since last February.
Hockey East Weekend Preview
News and notes from the upcoming weekend of Hockey East action

#2 UMass vs. UConn, at #10 Providence

- UMass hosts UConn for the second of three meetings this season on Thursday night, with the home team holding a 1-0-0 advantage, before heading to Providence to close out their three game regular season series on Saturday. The Minutemen have won the series with the Friars, posting a 2-0-0 record through their first two games.

- The Minutemen head into the weekend after taking four points in a home and home series with Boston College. They edged out the Eagles, 4-3, on home ice Friday night, before defeating them 4-2 on the road. The two victories were good for the first-ever regular season series sweep for UMass over the Eagles.

- UMass junior Jake McLaughlin (Hinsdale, Ill.) netted just his second goal of the season on Friday night with 2.3 seconds left on the clock to give the his team the come-from-behind victory.

- UConn is back in action after a weekend split with Boston University. The Huskies posted a 3-2 overtime victory on Friday, before being shut out, 2-0, on Saturday.

- Alexander Payusov (Moscow, Russia) found the back of the net just under a minute into the extra frame on Friday to send the Huskies past the Terriers.


Maine vs. Boston College

- Maine welcomes Boston College to Alfond Arena for two games to close out their regular season Hockey East Series. The two teams met for the first time back on January 16, a 7-2 Black Bears win.

- The Black Bears are back on home ice after taking three points in league play on the road at Merrimack. They played the Warriors to a 3-3 overtime draw in their first meeting of the weekend, before coming from behind to earn a 4-3 victory in game two.

- Mitchell Fossier (Alpharetta, Ga.) recorded three points on the weekend, dishing out two assists and adding a goal. • Boston College looks to get back on track after going 0-3-0 last week. They fell to Northeastern, 4-2, in the Beanpot championship game, before being swept by UMass.

- Eagles forward Graham McPhee (Las Vegas, Nev.) posted his first multi-goal game of the season on Saturday, netting each of Boston College's goals in a 4-2 loss to the Minutemen.


New Hampshire vs. #12 Northeastern

- New Hampshire and Northeastern hit the ice for two games this weekend, marking their first meetings since last February. The Huskies took last year's three-game Hockey East series, posting a 2-0-1 record against the Wildcats.

- The Wildcats are back in action after a bye week. First year head coach Mike Souza's team has posted a 7-3-3 record through the second half of the season, after starting off the year at 4-7-5.

- Northeastern heads to Durham riding a three-game winning streak. The Huskies earned their second straight Beanpot title after knocking of Boston College, 4-2, in the championship game on Monday night, before going on to sweep Vermont in a two-game home stand.

- Sophomore Cayden Primeau (Voorhees, N.J.) was named Hockey East Player of the Week and NCAA First Star of the Week after posting a 1.33 goals against average and .957 save percentage through three games last week. The netminder was named the Beanpot MVP and earned the Eberly Award for his performance in the tournament, and going on to record 88 saves across his week.


Vermont vs. Boston University

- Vermont and Boston University face off for two games at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Last season the Terriers took the regular season series between the two, posting a 1-0-1 record.

- The Catamounts look to stay in playoff contention after dropping two games to close out their regular season Hockey East series with Northeastern. They fell to the Huskies, 4-1, on Friday, before dropping a 2-1 decision on Saturday, finishing the series with an 0-3-0 record. • Boston University enters the weekend after putting a stop to a six-game skid with a 2-0 shutout victory over UConn on Saturday. On Friday, the Terriers came up short in a come-from-behind effort in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Huskies.

- Goaltender Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) turned away all 26 shots attempts on Saturday to earn his second blank sheet of the year.


#14 UMass Lowell vs. Merrimack (home and home)

- UMass Lowell and Merrimack hit the ice together for the first time since the opening round of the Hockey East Tournament last year, a series that saw the Warriors advance through the best-of-three series and on to the quarterfinals.

- The River Hawks saw their 10-game unbeaten streak comet to an end in Friday night's 6-1 loss to Providence. They then dropped a 1-0 decision to the Friars on the road on Saturday, with Christoffer Hernberg (Espoo, Finland) turning away 28 of the 29 shots he faced.

- Merrimack posted a 0-1-1 record in two games on the road at Maine last weekend, falling out of playoff contention. They played the Black Bears to a 3-3 overtime draw on Friday, before dropping a 4-2 decision on Saturday.


#10 Providence vs. #2 UMass, at UConn

- Providence closes out two regular season series this weekend, hoping to secure home ice in the playoffs, as the Friars take on UMass and UConn. Providence has posted a 0-2-0 record through their first two meetings, while PC holds a 1-0-0 advantage over the Huskies heading into Tuesday's game.

- The Friars took four points in a home and home series with UMass Lowell last weekend, putting an end to UML's 10-game unbeaten streak and moving into a tie for second place in the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings with the River Hawks in the process.

- Tyce Thompson (Milford, Conn.) recorded a goal in each game for Providence, including the game-winning tally in Saturday's 1-0 victory, en route to being name Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week. On the back end, Hayden Hawkey (Parker, Colo.) turned away 41 of 42 shots face on the weekend, posting a 0.50 goals against average and .976 save percentage. The senior is now the all-time winningest goaltender at Providence with 65 wins and earned Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts.