Currently on a nation-long five-game win streak, the No. 10 Boston University women's ice hockey team will open a home-and-home series with Merrimack on Friday night at Walter Brown Arena. That contest, which will be televised live on NESN, is scheduled for 7 p.m. The two teams will then meet on Saturday at Lawler Rink (4 p.m.)

POTENTIAL PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS

• The Terriers enter the weekend in third place in the Hockey East standings with 24 points thanks to a 10-5-4 league record.
• Merrimack is fifth with 21 points (10-7-1), though the Warriors do have one game in hand on the Terriers.
• A sweep by either team will be a major factor in whether BU or Merrimack finishes in the top four and gets home-ice advantage in the Hockey East quarterfinals. 
• After this weekend, the Warriors still have four games remaining against teams currently in the top four of the league standings, while BU has just one such contest.

LOOKING BACK AT OCTOBER

• Katelyn Rae scored with 2:45 remaining in regulation to secure a 2-2 tie between BU and Merrimack on Oct. 12, 2018 at Lawler Rink.
• The Warriors opened the scoring at 13:13 of the first period, but junior Abby Cook responded just 43 seconds later to even the score before senior Reagan Rust gave the Terriers a 2-1 lead with an unassisted goal at 17:26 of the first frame.
• Sophomore Corinne Schroeder made 27 saves, including four stops in overtime.
• Freshman Alex Allan and junior Natasza Tarnowski both assisted on Cook's goal.

HISTORY WITH THE WARRIORS

• The Terriers are 7-2-1 all-time against Merrimack after this season's tie.
• BU is 3-1-1 against the Warriors in North Andover and 4-1-0 at home, including a 3-1-0 record at Walter Brown.
• One of those four home wins came at Agganis Arena.
• The Terriers have never lost twice to Merrimack in a single season.
• BU has held Merrimack to a mere 1.50 goals per game at home.

BEST OF BU AGAINST THE WARRIORS

• Abby Cook leads the Terriers with eight points against the Warriors, including a team-high six assists.
• Four of those helpers came in the Terriers' 5-1 win at Merrimack on Jan. 25, 2018.
• Sammy Davis (2g, 1a), Reagan Rust (2g, 1a), Kristina Schuler (3a) and Natasza Tarnowski (1g, 2a) each have three points against Merrimack while Breanna Scarpaci and Abbey Stanley have both accumulated a goal and an assist against the Warriors.
• Deziray De Sousa and Nara Elia have each lit the lamp against Merrimack.
• In three career starts against Merrimack, Corinne Schroeder owns a 2-0-1 record with a 1.35 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage.
• Only two of the Warriors' four goals scored against Schroeder have come at even strength.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS

• Merrimack has already won a program-record 14 games in its fourth season as a Division I program.
• The Warriors swept a home series against Maine last weekend, earning a 3-0 victory on Jan. 18 and a 3-1 triumph the next day.
• Senior Katelyn Rae leads the Warriors with 19 goals and 26 points.
• Junior Mikyla Grant-Mentis has collected a team-high 14 assists and is second on the squad with 21 points.
• Senior Samantha Ridgewell has started 22 of the 23 games in which she has appeared this season.
• She leads the league with a .944 save percentage and is second among Hockey East goaltenders with a 1.61 goals-against average.

LOTS OF SIMILARITIES

• BU and Merrimack enter the weekend with almost identical numbers in a couple key categories.
• The Terriers allow a league-low 1.75 goals per game, just ahead of MC (1.80).
• Merrimack's power play is best in the conference at 23.6% while BU is second at 23.5%.
• The Terriers average 2.96 goals per game while the Warriors have scored 2.80 goals per game.

ALL THEY DO IS WIN

• BU owns the longest active win streak in the nation at five straight victories.
• The Terriers have outscored opponents, 23-7, during that span.
• Three of those wins were on the road.