UMass Lowell weekend awaits men’s hockey

The No. 7 Boston University men’s hockey team will face one of the league’s best teams in No. 11 University of Massachusetts Lowell during a home-and-away series beginning Friday at Agganis Arena.

The Terriers (16-8-4, 9-4-3 Hockey East) snapped a six-game unbeaten streak with a loss to No. 3 Boston College Monday in the Beanpot final. However, the Terriers have still won their past four conference games and look to extend that conference streak against the River Hawks (17-6-5, 10-4-4 Hockey East) with crucial Hockey East points on the line.

With six league games remaining, the Terriers sit at fifth place in the conference with 21 league points, two points behind fourth-place No. 5 Providence College. Just five points separate first-place No. 8 University of Notre Dame and BU. The top four teams in Hockey East will receive home ice and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

“I just think you’ve got to take it game by game,” said BU head coach David Quinn. “I know they pay attention to the standings and everybody does and should, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to win a hockey game on Friday night against a team that’s very good. We’ve just got to do the things we’ve done over the last month and a half that have allowed us to have success.”

BU’s offense — the second-best in the conference, at 3.54 goals per game — will look to bounce back after being held scoreless in their 1-0 Beanpot overtime loss to the Eagles (20-4-4, 11-1-4 Hockey East).

The Terriers have had major contributors on offense recently, though. Senior assistant captain Danny O’Regan’s nine-game point streak was ended in the Beanpot. Additionally, freshman forward Jordan Greenway had seven points across the five games leading up to Monday’s game.

Conversely, some of BU’s top scorers early in the season have quieted as of late. Freshman center Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, who has 23 points on the year, has just one point over his past four games. Sophomore defenseman Brandon Fortunato, the team’s top-scoring blue liner, has no points in his past five games.

“Obviously you’d like them to be consistent, but their offensive production, sometimes that doesn’t reflect their ability, how they’re playing,” Quinn said. “Sometimes stats can be a little bit deceiving. But I think that sometimes points can be streaky, and those guys might look like they’re going through a downturn from a points standpoint.”

BU will also rely heavily on senior goaltender Sean Maguire, who was named Beanpot MVP after his 41-save performance in the final.

“I think he’s playing incredibly confident,” Quinn said, “and he should.”

Lowell, a team that is searching for its first win since Jan. 30, ranks sixth in the league in terms of offense, averaging 3.04 goals per game. Sophomore C.J. Smith leads the team with 30 points this season, including seven points over his past four games.

Forward Adam Chapie, the River Hawks’ second-leading scorer with 27 points this season, will be suspended for Friday’s game as a result of a spearing penalty against the University of New Hampshire on Feb. 6.

However, Lowell has the best defense in the conference, allowing opponents to score just 1.71 goals per game. Goaltender Kevin Boyle has been reliable in net for the River Hawks, having started 27 of the team’s 28 games. He has posted six shutouts — third most in the nation — and has posted a .94 save percentage and 1.73 goals-against average. The latter two marks rank each second in Hockey East.

“They’re really disciplined,” Quinn said. “They make you earn every inch of ice you have. They’re very sound defensively, they’re structurally sound, so we’re going to have to be patient, not force plays and do the things we’ve been trying to do throughout the season.”