MAINE vs. No. 20 BOSTON COLLEGE
Time, site: Friday, Saturday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Records: UMaine 16-12-4 (10-9-3 Hockey East), Boston College 16-13-3 (16-6)
Series, last meeting: BC leads 67-47-9, BC 5-0 on 2/17/18
Key players: Maine — LW Mitch Fossier (11 goals, 17 assists), C Chase Pearson (7 & 20), RW Eduards Tralmaks (9 & 14), LW Nolan Vesey (9 & 10), D Patrick Holway (6 & 12), D Brady Keeper (6 & 9), G Jeremy Swayman (13-8-3, 2.64 goals-against average, .924 save percentage); BC — RW Logan Hutsko (11 & 15), C Julius Mattila (11 & 14), LW David Cotton (8 & 16), LW Graham McPhee (12 & 8), D Casey Fitzgerald (5 & 13), D Michael Kim (5 & 10), G Joseph Woll (13-10-2, 2.57, .909)
Game notes: Both teams have a lot to play for. The Black Bears are seeking a top-five finish which would secure a first-round bye in the Hockey East playoffs while BC is seeking a conference regular season title. BC needs just a tie to claim the championship. Woll made 33 saves in last Saturday’s 5-0 win in Orono but the Black Bears squandered a number of odd-man rushes and must cash in this weekend. The Eagles are quick and highly skilled and play an aggressive high-risk style of game which can be exploited. UMaine will have to manage the puck because the Eagles feed off turnovers, turning them into transition opportunities. Each team’s top three point-producers are linemates. BC is averaging a conference-best 3.23 goals per game. These two teams have 25 players with at least 10 points, BC with 13 and UMaine with 12. BC is 20th in the Pairwise rankings that emulate the NCAA Tournament selection process due to an 0-7-3 non-conference record so the Eagles are in desperate need of wins.