Boston University
Vermont
Terriers Head North for Weekend Series at Vermont
February 21, 2019 | Men's Ice Hockey
Looking to stay in the race for home ice in the Hockey East playoffs, the Boston University men's ice hockey team heads to Vermont for a weekend series on Feb. 22-23. Both games at Gutterson Fieldhouse will be being at 7 p.m.
| Boston University (11-15-3, 9-8-2 HEA) at Vermont (12-16-2, 5-13-2 HEA) | |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | Friday, Feb. 22 | 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 | 7 p.m. |
| Venue | Gutterson FIeldhouse | Burlington, Vt. |
| Tickets | UVMAthletics.com |
| Watch | CatamountTV |
| Listen | TSRN |
| Live Stats | UVMAthletics.com |
| Game Notes | BU | UVM |
| Podcast | Inside BU Hockey - Episode 16 |
| @BUGameDay | @TerrierHockey | |
BU enters Friday tied for sixth in the Hockey East stadings, just three points behind Northeastern for the fourth and final home ice spot. The Terriers ended a six-game losing streak last Saturday in a 2-0 win over UConn.
The Terriers and Catamounts have played 80 times since the 1971-72 season, with BU holding a 47-24-9 (.644) advantage, including a 13-4-2 lead in the past 19 meetings. BU is 20-10-4 (.647) in the 34 meetings that have taken place at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
From 1974-84, the teams shared time in the ECAC, with BU posting a 13-4-1 record against the Catamounts during the span. Since the Catamounts joined Hockey East in 2005, the teams have met 39 times and BU holds a 20-13-6 advantage in those contests.
Vermont is tied for ninth in the Hockey East standings but needs wins in its final four games and some help to qualify for the league playoffs. Last weekend in Boston, the Catamounts dropped a pair of games at Northeastern on the heels of a 4-1-1 stretch.
The Catamounts have one of the top penalty kills in the nation, operating at a 86.1-percent success rate, which ranks ninth.
Vermont has a balanced scoring attack with eight players having scored scored between 11 and 18 points on the year. Sophomore Max Kaufman has a team-best 18 points on eight goals and 10 assists while senior Liam Coughlin is right behind with 17 points on six tallies and 11 assists. Sophomore Alex Esposito (7g, 9a) and junior Derek Lodermeier (4g, 11a) have added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Junior Stefanos Lekkas has played every minute in goal for UVM and has a 2.28 goals-against average to go along with a .930 save percentage.
BU took three of four points from Vermont in their 2017-18 series, which took place at Agganis exactly a year ago. After a 2-0 win in the opener, BU settled for a 1-1 draw the following night. Jake Oettinger posted a 33-save shutout in the opener with Drew Melanson and David Farrance providing the goals. Jordan Greenway opened the scoring on night two before Vermont got a game-tying power-play goal in the third from Alex Esposito.
The Terriers are coming off a home-and-home split with UConn as each team won on its home ice. In the opener, the Terriers scored twice in the third period to force overtime before falling, 3-2, in the extra session. Oettinger posted a 26-save shutout to lead BU to a 2-0 victory in the weekend finale, securing the season series with the Huskies following a win back in November in the Friendship Four. Sophomore Ty Amonte opened the scoring on Saturday with a goal early in the third and freshman Joel Farabee added a shorthanded goal.
Four Terriers - Shane Bowers, Bobo Carpenter, Patrick Curry and Joel Farabee - have 10 or more goals this season. BU is one of just seven teams in the nation to have four scorers with 10 or more goals, joining Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Massachusetts, St. Cloud State and Mercyhurst.
BU's penalty kill has successfully killed off 38 of its opponents past 39 power plays, including a stretch of 26 straight, which was the program's longest such streak since a string of 27 straight that ended on March 24, 2017. The Terrier penalty kill has moved up to 16th in the nation at 84.4 percent.
