BOSTON - Closing out a stretch of three home games in five days, the Boston University men's ice hockey team welcomes Sacred Heart to Agganis Arena for a pre-Thanksgiving match-up on Tuesday (Nov. 26). Game time at Agganis Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Tuesday will be Fan Appreciation Night at Agganis Arena with various prizes given out throughout the game.
The Terriers ended a run of 10 straight Hockey East contests on Saturday with a 3-3 draw against Vermont and enter Tuesday with an even record of 4-4-5. BU is 3-1-3 at Agganis Arena this season.
Tuesday's contest features the top two power-play goal scorers in the country this season. BU's David Farrance leads all players in power-play tallies with eight, which would have been the most on eight of the previous 10 Terrier squads, dating back to the 2009-10 season. Sacred Heart senior Austin McIlmurray ranks second with seven.
The Terriers and Pioneers have faced off just one other time, as BU posted a 7-0 victory in the 2016-17 home opener. Current seniors Patrick Harper and Patrick Curry both played in that game as freshmen with Harper collecting a pair of assists. While at Yale, Sam Tucker faced the Pioneers once, stopping 18 of 19 shots in a 2-1 road victory on Dec. 9, 2017.
Sacred Heart has won four of its past five contests and is coming off a home-and-home split against Holy Cross with each team winning on the road, capped by the Pioneers' 4-1 triumph in Worcester on Friday.
The Pioneers are 0-2-1 in non-conference play with two losses at Penn State and a home draw against UConn.
Sacred Heart boasts the most balanced scoring attack in the nation with four players tied at the top of the statsheet with 14 points apiece and another with 13. Seniors Jason Cotton and Austin McIlmurray each have nine goals and five assists this season while classmate Mike Lee and freshman Braeden Tuck have both scored once while adding a team-best 13 assists apiece. Junior Mark Tugnutt has contributed eight goals and five assists for 13 points.
Sophomore Josh Benson has started all 14 contests in goal and has a .906 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average.
SHU was picked tied for third in the 2019-20 Atlantic Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll, its highest preseason ranking since the 2006-07 season when they were picked second.
The Pioneers are tied for first in the country in shorthanded goals with four and their offense ranks eighth at 3.64 goals per game.
BU is coming off a three-point home weekend against Vermont, posting a 3-0 win on Friday before Saturday's draw. Tucker stopped all 26 shots he faced to pick up second shutout of the season in the opener. Freshmen Domenick Fensore and Sam Stevens scored the first goals of their collegiate career in the series.
Three Terriers are currently among the top 50 nationally in points per game. Farrance ranks 12th at 1.46 while senior Patrick Harper is right behind in 13th at 1.45. Senior Patrick Curry (1.15) is tied for 41st.
Farrance currently has a seven-game point streak with 12 points (7g, 5a) during the run. He was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after recording a goal and two assists in the weekend series versus Vermont.
