BOSTON - Needing a win to make a fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance, the No. 18 Boston University men's ice hockey team takes on No. 9 Providence in the 2018 Hockey East title game on St. Patrick's Day at TD Garden. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
The contest will be televised by NESNplus and streamed on ESPN3 for those outside the NESN viewing area. In Canada, the game can be accessed through TSNGo. Â
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TERRIERS, FRIARS FACE OFF FOR HOCKEY EAST TITLE
• For the second time, Boston University and Providence meet for the Hockey East title. They faced off in the 1995 championship game with BU claiming a 3-2 win. Â
• The Terriers and Friars played three times during the regular season with each team earning a shutout victory at home before a 2-2 draw at Agganis Arena in their most recent meeting on Jan. 13.
• BU needs to win to get into the NCAA tournament while Providence is guaranteed a spot, coming into Saturday seventh in the PairWise.
• The Terriers have won eight Hockey East titles with the most recent one coming in 2015. The Friars, who are in the title game for the first time since 2001, have captured two Hockey East crowns (1985, 1996).  Â
SERIES HISTORY
• The Terriers and Friars first met in the 1926-27 season and have played 181 times since that encounter. BU leads the series, 108-56-17 (.644).
• BU is 13-5-4 against Providence in their past 22 meetings but has just two wins in the past nine (2-3-4).
• Providence is BU's most common opponent in the Hockey East tournament as they have faced off 21 times with the Terriers holding an 11-10 edge.
• They are an even 8-8 in the quarterfinals and an even 2-2 in the semifinals. BU won its fourth Hockey East title in 1995 with a 3-2 triumph over the Friars.Â
• PC has won both meetings that have taken place at TD Garden (1996 Hockey East semifinal, 2015 NCAA title game). Â
SCOUTING THE FRIARS
• Like BU, Providence reached the Hockey East title game with three straight one-goal wins.Â
• The Friars finished third in the league standings and hosted Maine in the quarterfinals, earning 4-3 and 3-2 victories. Last night, PC used an overtime goal from Brandon Duhaime to down Northeastern, 3-2.
• PC has won six of its past seven games to move into the top 10 of the national polls and the PairWise.
• Junior Erik Foley leads the team in points (35) and goals (16) and his those totals rank fourth and tied for fifth, respectively, among Hockey East players.Â
• Senior captain Brian Pinho has 31 points (12g, 19a) while sophomore Josh Wilkins has added 30 (15g, 15a).
• Sophomore Hayden Hawkey has started all 37 games this season and sports an .915 save percentage and a 2.12 goals-against average.
• Foley and sophomore defenseman Jacob Bryson were named Hockey East First Team All-Stars while Hawkey earned second-team honors and Pinho received a third-team nod.Â
LAST MEETING
• Paced by a two-goal night from junior Bobo Carpenter, Boston University skated to a 2-2 draw with No. 11 Providence on Jan. 13 at Agganis Arena.
• All four goals came in the second period as the Friars opened the scoring just past the midpoint of regulation before Carpenter answered with goals less than two minutes apart to give the home team a 2-1 lead.Â
• Providence made it a 2-2 affair with 1:10 left in the middle stanza and successfully killed off nearly 10 minutes of power-play time for the Terriers in the third period and overtime.
• A five-minute major and game disqualification on Vimal Sukumaran with 6:09 left in the third gave the Terriers a prime chance for a winning goal but the PC penalty kill was up to the task and also killed off a two-minute minor in overtime to create a 2-2 final.
• The Terriers held a 33-21 shot advantage.
TERRIERS, FRIARS TRADE SHUTOUTS
• Sophomore Chad Krys broke a scoreless tie with goals less than two minutes apart and classmate Jake Oettinger stopped all 31 shots he faced to lead Boston University to a 2-0 victory over Providence on Nov. 3 at Agganis Arena.
• Six days prior, BU was done in by a three-goal second period by the Friars in a 3-0 loss at Schneider Arena.Â
• In BU's win, Krys got the Terriers on the scoreboard with a perfectly executed give-and-go with classmate Patrick Harper in the eighth minute of the third.
• Moments later, Krys intercepted a pass and this time did all the work himself, streaking through the bottom of the slot, left to right, before pushing a backhand past PC goaltender Hayden Hawkey's reach at the 8:55 mark.
• It was the first two-goal game for Krys as a Terrier.
• Oettinger picked up his first shutout of the season after recording four as a rookie.
• In the opener, the Friars put three shots past Oettinger in the middle stanza.
• Vimal Sukumaran took full advantage of a BU turnover behind its own net, opening the scoring with a wide-open look at the right post 1:53 into the second.
• Providence later scored twice within a minute beginning with a power-play wrister from the left slot by Erik Foley at 11:18 of the second.
• Just 53 seconds later, right after another Friars' power play expired, a bid by Brandon Duhaime off a loose puck at the left post snuck underneath Oettinger's right arm.Â
OETTINGER SHINES VS. FRIARS
• Sophomore goaltender Jake Oettinger has excelled against Providence in his career, posting a .948 save percentage and 1.55 goals-against average in five starts.
NOTABLE
• Eight of BU's past nine Hockey East tournament games have been decided by a single goal and the Terriers are 6-2 in those contests.
• The Terriers' current six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) trails only Princeton, which is at seven (6-0-1).Â
• The Terriers are now a perfect 3-for-3 against BC in overtime postseason games with a 6-5 double-overtime win in the 2003 Hockey East semifinals and a 2-1 overtime triumph in the 2006 Hockey East title game.
• BU improved to an even 12-12 in Hockey East semifinal contests.
• BU head coach David Quinn is now 11-4 all-time in the Hockey East tournament.
• The Terriers reached the 20-win mark for the fourth straight season and the sixth time in the past seven seasons.
