No. 11 Terriers Visit No. 1 Friars on NESN
November 12, 2015 | Men's Ice Hockey
| #11 Men's Ice Hockey (5-3-0, 3-2-0 HE) at #1 Providence (6-0-1, 0-0-0 HE) |
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| Date | Friday, Nov. 13 | 6 p.m. |
| Venue | Schneider Arena | Providence, R.I. |
| Television | American Sports Network (listings), NESN, TSN2 |
| Game Notes | BU | Providence |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Listen | TSRN |
| @TerrierHockey | @BUGameDay | |
| Weekly Podcast | Inside BU Hockey - Episode 6 |
Riding a three-game win streak, the No. 11 Boston University men's ice hockey team heads to top-ranked and undefeated Providence on Friday (Nov. 13) in the opener of a weekend home-and-home series. The game starts at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast by the American Sports Network. NESN will air the game locally and TSN2 will be showing the game in Canada.
Friday's affair is a rematch of last season's national championship game, as the Terriers look to avenge the loss that resulted in the Friars' first-ever NCAA title.
The Terriers and Friars first met in the 1926-27 season and have played 174 times since that encounter. BU leads the series, 106-55-13 (.647), and is 10-4-1 in their past 15 meetings.
Providence has put together a seven-game unbeaten streak to start the season and is 10-0-1 since being eliminated in last year's Hockey East quarterfinals. Friday's game is PC's league opener.
The Friars have won their past five contests and haven't played since sweeping a weekend series at Colgate on Oct. 30-31 with scores of 7-2 and 4-3.
Sophomore defenseman Jake Walman is pacing the Friar offense with 12 points on seven goals and five assists. Senior forwards Mark Jankowksi (3g, 7a) and Trevor Mingoia (2g, 8a) have recorded 10 points apiece.
Junior goaltender Nick Ellis has started six of Providence's seven games and has a 2.18 goals-against average to go along with a .920 save percentage.
Providence is ranked second in the country in scoring offense with 4.57 goals per game, in large part due to the fact it has scored on 15 percent of its shots.
The Terriers and Friars split their home-and-home weekend last season with the road team winning each end on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. BU posted a 4-1 win at Providence on Halloween before the Friars posted a 2-1 win at Agganis the following night.
BU is coming off a weekend home-and-home sweep of crosstown rival Northeastern. Senior Ahti Oksanen tallied three points, including the game-winning goal in the third, to push BU to a 5-4 victory at Agganis Arena on Friday. On Saturday, the Terriers turned in a 4-1 victory at Matthews Arena, as sophomore Connor LaCouvee came within a minute of his first career shutout.
Senior captain Matt Grzelcyk made an impressive season debut after recovering from offseason knee surgery, scoring the first goal in both wins and adding an assist in Friday's triumph. For his efforts, he was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week.
Fellow senior Danny O'Regan has tallied two points in each of the past three games and leads the team with 11 points (2g, 9a). Three others are tied for second with eight points. That group consists of senior Ahti Oksanen (4g, 4a), freshman Ryan Cloonan (4g, 4a) and sophomore Brandon Fortunato (3g, 5a). Oksanen and Fortunato are riding four-game point streaks.
The Terriers have won their past two contests against teams ranked No. 1 in the country, most recently in last season's Frozen Four semifinal against North Dakota. Before that, BU faced off against the nation's top-ranked team in three straight games during the 2012-13 season, splitting a home-and-home weekend with BC before defeating UNH the following weekend.
