Boston University
Providence
No. 5/6 Terriers Kick Off Providence Weekend at Schneider Friday
December 1, 2016 | Men's Ice Hockey
| #5/6 Men's Ice Hockey (7-4-1, 2-1-1 HE) at Providence (5-5-2, 1-3-1 HE) | |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | Friday, Dec. 2 | 7 p.m. |
| Venue | Schneider Arena | Providence, R.I. |
| Watch | Friars.com |
| Listen | TSRN |
| Game Notes | BU | PC |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| @BUGameDay | @TerrierHockey | |
After a 10-day break from its schedule, the No. 5/6 Boston University men's ice hockey team returns to action on Friday (Dec. 2) when it visits Providence in the opener of a Hockey East home-and-home series. Game time at Schneider Arena is set for 7 p.m.
The Terriers (7-4-1, 2-1-1 Hockey East) and Friars (5-5-2, 1-3-1 HE), who have both scored 38 goals in 12 games this season, will wrap up their weekend series on Saturday (Dec. 3) at Agganis Arena at 7 p.m.
BU first met Providence in the 1926-27 season and have played 176 times since that encounter. The Terriers lead the series, 106-55-15, and are 10-4-3 in the past 17 meetings but winless in the past four (0-2-2). In 69 meetings at Schneider Arena, BU is 33-29-7 against the Friars.
Neither team emerged victorious in last year's home-and-home weekend (Nov. 13-14, 2015) with the teams skating to a 1-1 draw at Providence before playing to a 3-3 score the following night at Agganis.
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson was the star in the series finale, scoring two goals and an assist - all in the third period - to erase a 2-0 deficit and give BU a late lead before the Friars got the game-tying goal from Jake Walman. Ahti Oksanen allowed the Terriers to leave Providence with a point by scoring an extra-attacker goal with 1:29 left in the opener. He also scored a goal at home the following night.
Providence is coming off a 3-2 home win over Colgate on Saturday to rebound from a 5-2 loss at Merrimack the night before. The Friars haven't been over .500 since winning their season opener but are 4-1-2 at home.
The Friars rank second in the nation in both penalty minutes per game (18.9) and shots allowed per game (23.8) while ranking fifth in faceoff percentage (.556).
Sophomore Erik Foley leads the team in both points (14) and goals (6) and is tied with freshman d-man Jacob Bryan for the squad lead in assists (8). Rookie Josh Wilkins has 12 points on five goals and seven assists while junior Brian Pinho - PC's active career points leader with 54 - has added 11 on four goals and seven assists.
Sophomore Hayden Hawkey has started all 12 games in goal and has a 2.73 goals-against average to go along with an .883 save percentage.
BU, which has five games remaining before the holiday break, hasn't played since earning a 5-3 victory over then-No. 9 Havard on Nov. 22. The Terriers are an even 3-3-1 on the road thus far this season.
The Terriers' penalty kill ranks fourth in the nation with a 90.7-percent success rate (68-of-75) and has successfully killed off 17 of its opponents' past 18 power plays.
Freshman Patrick Harper continues to lead the squad in points (17) and assists (11) and he shares the team lead in goals with sophomore Jordan Greenway at six. Greenway has added seven assists for a total of 13 points and Forsbacka Karlsson has put together a 2-10--12 scoring line to round out the top three.
Freshman defenseman Dante Fabbro, who doubled his point total with a three-point night (1g, 2a) in the win over the Crimson, found out earlier this week that he is one of two NCAA players who have been invited to Team Canada's World Junior Evaluation Camp.
