February 17, 2011

UMass Lowell hosts Maine for two games, including Saturday night on NESN

No. 9 UNH at Vermont - Two-Game Series (Fri. CBSCSN, Sat. at Gutterson Fieldhouse)

- UNH need two points to secure home ice in the quarterfinal round for a league-record 15th straight season.

- Senior captain Mike Sislo has 28 assists this season for the Wildcats. The last Wildcat to dish out 30+ assists in a season was Sean Collins in 2004-05 with 37 helpers.

- Wildcats forward Paul Thompson ranks first in the nation in power play goals with 11 man-advantage tallies.

- Vermont has scored 16 goals in its last three outings, averaging 5.33 goals per contest.

- Sophomore forward Sebastian Stalberg has 17 points in the last 15 contests for the Catamounts.

Maine at UMass-Lowell - Two-Game Series (Fri., Sat. NESN, at Tsongas Center)

- Friday night will mark the 105th all-time meeting between the two programs, with Maine holding a commanding 72-29-3 (.293) record. UMass Lowell is is just 4-12-0 vs. Maine since the opening of the Tsongas Center.

- The River Hawks are two wins away from the program's 700th victory.

- Maine Junior standout Gustav Nyquist has tallied at least one goal in four straight games. Over that span, he has seven goals and one assist for eight points.

Northeastern vs. No. 1 Boston College - Two-Game Series (Fri. at BC, Sat. at NU)

- Northeastern and Boston College will conclude their season series against each other this weekend. The Eagles have edged out two victories in as many meetings this year with scores of 2-0 on Oct. 9, and more recently a thriller Beanpot Championship game 7-6 (OT) on Monday.

- The Eagles need one point to clinch home ice for the Hockey East quarterfinal playoff round.

- Huskies forward Tyler McNeely enters this weekend with a career high seven-game point streak (4g,5a).

No. 5 Merrimack vs. Massachusetts - Two-Game Series (Fri. at UM, Sat. at MC)

- UMass will be looking to bounce back in front of its home crowd after Merrimack skated away with an 11-2 win over the Minutemen two weeks ago at Lawler Arena. The Minutemen own a 34-32-5 all-time mark against Merrimack.

- Merrimack goaltender Joe Cannata stopped 65 of 69 shots (.942 save%) last weekend and in the weekend sweep of UNH, earning him Athletic Republic Player of the Week honors.

Providence vs. No. 15 Boston University - Two-Game Series (Fri. at BU, Sat. at PC)

- The Terriers lead, 98-51-12 in the all-time series and they also captured the first meeting this season (2-1 at Agganis Arena) on October 23.

- The Friars have played in 10 overtime games this season, matching a school record that was established in 1984-85 and 2007-08.

- In the last 13 games, the Friars have killed off 72 of 79 penalties (91.1 %), including 54 of the last 59 penalties.