The last time the No. 2 Boston University men’s hockey team played the University of Massachusetts Amherst, things didn’t go so well for the latter.
They went well for BU (15-4-4, 10-2-2 Hockey East), though, in the form of an 8-1 drubbing of the Minutemen (8-16-1, 3-11-1 Hockey East). But with a matchup at Agganis Arena set for Friday evening, the Terriers expect an improved effort from UMass.
It’s been a trying 2014-15 campaign for the Minutemen, as the team is currently tied with the University of New Hampshire for last in Hockey East standings. Head coach John Micheletto’s squad has righted the ship in some ways since Christmas, posting a 4-4-1 record over its last nine games after compiling a despondent 4-12 mark to start the year.
“They’re a much different team than the one that we saw in October,” said BU coach David Quinn. “They’re very talented on the power play. They’ve played a lot better since Christmas. We realize the challenge we have in front of us.”
Defense has served as UMass’s greatest weakness this season, as the Minutemen have relinquished an average of 4.12 goals per games — easily the highest mark in the conference.
Despite their deficiencies on defense, the Minutemen have the ability to light the lamp, scoring 2.84 goals per game — tying the University of Vermont for fifth in Hockey East. Nearly all of the Minutemen’s offense comes from underclassmen, led by sophomore Frank Vatrano, who has tallied a team-best 22 points (13 goals, nine assists) this season.
Meanwhile, the Terriers are on an even more impressive streak of their own. They have lost just two games in their past 10, and have won three straight games over two ranked opponents, then-No. 6 University of Massachusetts Lowell and then-No. 12 Vermont (15-8-2, 7-6-1 Hockey East).
In its most recent series, against the Catamounts, BU showed resilience, holding off a third-period comeback attempt from Vermont Jan. 23 and then completing a third-period and overtime comeback of their own on Saturday.
“We are a resilient group,” Quinn said. “Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of practice at getting down by a goal or two during the course of a game, but I’ve said this all along, I think there’s a very confident, respectful belief in the locker room.
“We believe that we can come back from the situations that we’ve been in, because I think there’s a lot of self-confidence, but I also think there’s a lot of confidence in each other. When you have that, you always have a chance.”
Senior assistant captain Evan Rodrigues, who had the game-tying goal and game-winning assist on Saturday, is currently on an eight-game point streak. He has totaled 15 points during that stretch, propelling him into the top 15 players in the nation in points per game (1.22).
Rodrigues and his linemates, freshman Jack Eichel (1.64 ppg) and junior Danny O’Regan (1.22 ppg), are the top three scorers in Hockey East.
BU enters the weekend with a four-point lead over second-place Lowell (15-7-3, 8-4-2 Hockey East) in the Hockey East standings. With that, and with the Beanpot tournament looming on Monday, Quinn said he wants the team to stay grounded.
“We’re trying to just stay focused and take one game at a time,” Quinn said. “I know it’s cliché-ish, but it’s the truth. It’s a very important two points in our league. All of the sudden, it’s in late January, and we’ve got eight games remaining in the league, so we’ve got to make sure that we end the season on the high note.”
Sarah covers men's hockey and other sports for The Daily Free Press, and is the chairman of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the FreeP during the Spring 2014 semester and was Sports Editor in Fall 2013. She has also written for the Boston Globe and seattlepi.com. When she's not writing, she loves baking and going to concerts. You can contact her by tweeting her at @Kirkpatrick_SJ or emailing her at sjkirkpa@bu.edu.
