Men’s Hockey
MAINE vs. BOSTON COLLEGE
Time, site: Friday, 7 p.m., Cross Insurance Arena, Portland; Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono
Records: Maine 3-3-2 (0-0 Hockey East); BC 6-2-1 (2-0-1)
Series, last meeting: BC leads 64-46-9, BC 2-0 on 11/8/15
Key players: Maine — LW Mitch Fossier (6 goals, 3 assists), LW Nolan Vesey (3 & 4), C Chase Pearson (4 & 1), C Blaine Byron (3 & 2), D Eric Schurhamer (1 & 4), RW-C Patrick Shea (2 & 2), G Rob McGovern (3-2-2, 2.57 goals-against average, .927 save percentage); BC — LW Matthew Gaudreau (3 & 5), RW Chris Brown (3 & 5), C Colin White (5 & 2), D Casey Fitzgerald (3 & 4), LW Ryan Fitzgerald (3 & 4), C Austin Cangelosi (5 & 1), G Joe Woll (4-2-1, 2.13, .931)
Game notes: Coach Jerry York’s Eagles have made seven straight NCAA tournament appearances and have two NCAA titles during that stretch. York will miss the series while recuperating from Oct. 25 eye surgery. Associate head coach Greg Brown will run the team. BC lost seven players with remaining eligibility to pro hockey in the offseason including goalie Thatcher Demko, who shut out UMaine twice last year. Freshman Woll, a third-round draft pick of Toronto, has filled in nicely. Maine’s freshmen have 14 goals, tops in the nation. Three of BC’s top scorers off last year’s team are back in Ryan Fitzgerald, White and Cangelosi. The Eagles are quick and highly-skilled so UMaine is going to have to play exceptional team defense and not allow 40-plus shots as it has in the last four games. UMaine also must stay out of the penalty box and try to jumpstart its own power play, which has gone 1-for-17 in that stretch. BC is the nation’s sixth-most penalized team (21.9 penalty minutes per game) while UMaine is 30th (16.5). UMaine has won five of the last six meetings at Alfond Arena. The teams are 6-6 in their last 12 games.
