Boston University
Connecticut
No. 20 Terriers Begin Hockey East Stretch Run at UConn
February 15, 2018 | Men's Ice Hockey
| Boston University (15-12-3, 10-7-3 HEA) vs. Connecticut (14-16-2, 10-11-1 HEA) | |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | Friday, Feb. 16 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Venue | XL Center | Hartford, Conn. |
| Watch | ESPN3 |
| Listen | TSRN |
| Live Stats | UConnHuskies.com |
| Game Notes | BU | UConn |
| Podcast | Inside BU Hockey |
| @BUGameDay | @TerrierHockey | |
The Hockey East stretch run begins in earnest for the No. 20 Boston University men's ice hockey team Friday night as the Terriers inaugurate a stretch of their final four league games at UConn.
Faceoff at the XL Center in Hartford is set for 7 p.m. with ESPN3 providing a webstream of the contest. Saturday night, BU will be in action at Merrimack as the team, currently tied for fourth in the league, aims to solidify a top-five standing and first round playoff bye. UConn is in sixth place, just two points behind the Terriers so this game could prove crucial relative to whom has to play the first weekend in March and who can rest up for the league quarterfinals the following weekend.
Back in October the Terriers kicked off Hockey East play by taking three of four points in a home-and-home series with UConn. Junior Bobo Carpenter scored a pair of shorthanded goals in a 2-2 tie at Agganis Arena on Oct. 20 before notching his first collegiate hat trick with three power-play goals in a 6-3 road win the following night. All four goals in the first game came during UConn power plays as the Huskies converted twice on the man advantage. In Hartford, the Terriers scored twice in the opening 89 seconds to take a lead they would not relinquish.
The Terriers and Huskies have had nine prior meetings and BU is 5-2-2 in them, including a 3-1-0 mark at the XL Center. The teams have split their league series in each of the past two seasons. Last season, the road teams emerged victorious while each squad won at its own rink during the 2015-16 campaign.
Freshman Shane Bowers has fueled the Terrier offense lately. He leads all freshmen nationally with 16 goals scored, one ahead of Michigan State's Mitchell Lewandowski. Bowers has at least one goal in five of BU's last six contests and a point in seven of the Terriers' last eight. With 25 points on the season, Bowers ties for fifth nationally among his freshman peers while also leading all Hockey East rookies. Bowers' +14 rating also ties for the lead among all freshmen nationally.
While BU's power play has been the best in the nation since Jan. 13 for a school with at least 20 chances, clicking at .360, the Terriers do need to make sure they get more chances while riding a historic opportunity drought. The Terriers have been granted just six power plays over their last four games. It marks the fewest power plays for BU over any four-game span since at least the 1985-86 season. Among teams which have played at least four games in February, BU's six power plays are by far the nation's fewest. Michigan State is the next lowest with 10 attempts.
The UConn game does kick off a tough stretch of mileage for the Terriers who will ride 100 miles home after the game on Friday night to turn around the next day for a 45-minute ride to North Andover. This only continues a recent trend for BU though. The UMass game on on Feb. 9 was BU's lone home contest out of an eight-game span. The last time BU played a stretch with seven out of eight regular season contests coming away from Agganis Arena was from Oct. 26-Nov. 17, 2007.
