December 6, 2012

Boston College travels to Providence College on Friday night

No. 7 Boston University at No. 1 New Hampshire (Thurs. at the Whittemore Center)

- The Wildcats have won both meetings in the season series so far, Oct. 20 (4-1) and Nov. 18 (3-1), but BU has won seven of the last 10 meetings and the teams are an even 10-10-1 in the 21 games since the start of the 07-08 season. The Terriers are the only Hockey East team with a winning record at the Whittemore Center, owning a 11-9-5 (.540) mark in their 25 visits to the building.

- UNH comes into the game with an eight-game (7-0-1) unbeaten streak, tied for the second longest streak in the country along with Quinnipiac (7-0-1) and behind Niagara at 11 games (9-0-2). UNH's 96% penalty kill also ranks second in the nation, killing off 48 of 50 opponents chances on the year.

- BU junior Sahir Gill has nine points (2g,7a) in 11 career games against UNH, while Casey DeSmith is 3-3-0 all-time vs. BU with a 2.21 GAA and a .934 save percentage.

No. 2 Boston College at Providence (Fri. at Schneider Arena)

- Eagles' head coach Jerry York stands at 924 all-time wins and needs only one victory to break the longtime record held by Ron Mason.

- Boston College won all four meetings last season, including a 4-2 semifinal win in the Hockey East Tournament at the TD Garden last March. The Eagles outscored the Friars by a combined score of18 to 3 in the four meetings.

- PC's Jon Gillies (Portland, Maine), along with Vermont's Brody Hoffman (Wilkie, Sask.) are the only two freshman goaltenders in the country to start every game for their respective teams. Gillies has allowed two goals or fewer in 11 of 14 starts this season for the Friars. His 2.11 GAA in league action is fourth best among conference goalies.

Colgate at Massachusetts - Two-Game Series (Fri., Sat. at the Mullins Center)

- Sophomore Kevin Boyle (Manalapan, N.J.) has started four straight games for the Minutemen and 10 of 13 on the season for UMass. He owns a 1.67 GAA and a impressive .936 save percentage. His GAA ranks first among conference netminders and his save percentage is second best among league goaltenders.

Harvard at Merrimack (Fri. at Lawler Arena on WBIN-TV)

- The Warriors own a 1-0-1 record this season vs. ECAC Hockey teams.

- Merrimack's Rasmus Tirronen (Espoo, Finland) has a 1.56 GAA and .942 save percentage in his last five starts, allowing only six even strength goals in that span

Maine at No. 7 Boston University (Sat. at Agganis Arena on CBS Sports Network)

- The Black Bears won the season series vs. BU last year, 2-1, and won the last meeting in the Hockey East semifinals by a 5-3 score at the TD Garden last March.

- BU sophomore Cason Hohmann (Plymouth, Mich.) is tied for sixth in the country in plus-minus at +13.

- Junior Martin Ouellette (St.-Hippolyte, Que.) has started seven games this season for the Black Bears, posting a 2.40 GAA and .911 save percentage.

Northeastern at UMass-Lowell (Sat. at the Tsongas Center)

- The River Hawks won the season series vs. Northeastern last year, 2-1, with UML winning the last meeting on January 21 in overtime by a 3-2 score. Then sophomore Derek Arnold (Foxboro, Mass.) scored his 10th goal of the season 2:50 into the extra frame.