Boston University
Providence
Terriers Head to No. 8 Providence Thursday on NBC Sports Boston
February 27, 2019 | Men's Ice Hockey
| Boston University (13-15-3, 11-8-2 HEA) at #8 Providence (20-9-5, 13-7-2 HEA) | |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | Thursday, Feb. 28 | 7 p.m. |
| Venue | Schneider Arena | Providence, R.I. |
| Tickets | Friars.com |
| TV | NBC Sports Boston |
| Watch | Friars All-Access ($) & NBC Live Extra App |
| Listen | TSRN |
| Live Stats | Friars.com |
| Game Notes | BU | Providence |
| Podcast | Inside BU Hockey - Episode 17 |
| @BUGameDay | @TerrierHockey | |
The Terriers, who are in search of their first four-game win streak since March of last season, enter Thursday in a tie for fifth-place in the Hockey East standings with Maine, just three points out of third place, which is currently shared by Northeastern and UMass Lowell. If BU wins its final three games, it will be assured of a top-four finish and will earn the right to host a Hockey East quarterfinal series.
BU will attempt to win its season series with Providence after the teams each posted a road win earlier this season. The Terriers topped Providence, 4-3, at Schneider Arena last month after dropping a 5-0 contest to the Friars in their home opener on Oct. 26.
The Terriers and Friars first met in the 1926-27 season and have played 183 times since that encounter. BU leads the series, 110-57-17 (.644). BU is 15-6-4 against Providence in their past 25 meetings but the teams are an even 4-4-4 in the past 12. The Terriers are 35-30-7 (.535) against the Friars in the 72 meetings at Schneider Arena.
Providence is riding a four-game win streak and coming off a 5-2 road win over UConn on Tuesday. The Friars knocked off league-leading UMass by a score of 3-2 at Schneider Arena on Saturday.
PC has 28 points in Hockey East - good for second place - and can clinch home ice with a win on Thursday.
Junior Josh Wilkins has a team-high 33 points on 13 goals and 20 assists while Jack Dugan leads all Hockey East freshmen in points with 30 (9g, 21a). Junior Brandon Duhaime has been the Friars' top player as of late and has 28 points (9g, 19a) on the year. Junior Kasper Björkqvist has 25 points on the strength of a team-best 14 goals while senior Scott Conway has added 24 points (13g, 11a). nine • Junior Jacob Bryson (4g, 19a) is the top-scoring blueliner on the team with 23 points.
In goal, senior Hayden Hawkey ranks first among Hockey East goaltenders with a 1.82 goals-against average and also has a .921 save percentage. The Providence defense ranks fifth in the nation, allowing just 1.91 goals per game.
The Terriers are coming off a weekend road sweep of Vermont, posting a 2-1 come-from-behind win on Saturday after a 1-0 overtime triumph in the opener. Junior Chad Krys scored the game's lone goal on Friday with an empty-netter in overtime while classmate Jake Oettinger stopped all 29 shots he faced for his second consecutive shutout. Vermont needed two points to keep its slim Hockey East playoff hopes alive and pulled goaltender Stefanos Lekkas after 64:30 of scoreless action.
On Saturday, the Terriers scored late in the second and third periods to come away with a 2-1 victory. The Catamounts scored the lone goal of the opening period before junior Patrick Harper got an equalizer with 1:35 left in the second. Freshman Joel Farabee provided the late heroics, scoring with 57 seconds left to push the Terriers' win streak to three games.
Oettinger made 19 saves and stopped 48 of the 49 shots he faced in the weekend series and was named Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. BU held a lead for only 57 seconds all weekend but came away with four important points in the Hockey East standings.
The top three shot blockers in Hockey East all reside on the Terrier blue line. Junior Dante Fabbro has a league-best 66 blocks while sophomores Kasper Kotkansalo and Cam Crotty rank second and third with 61 and 58 blocks, respectively. BU ranks seventh nationally in blocked shots per game at 15.0 and the next-highest Hockey East team is New Hampshire in 30th with 12.1. Fabbro is the only player in the country to have 25 or more points and 65 or more blocks.
Four Terriers - Curry, Farabee, Shane Bowers and Bobo Carpenter - have 10 or more goals this season. BU is one of 11 teams in the nation to have four scorers with 10 or more goals, joining Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Massachusetts, Notre Dame, Quinnipiac, St. Cloud State, Lake Superior State, Providence and Mercyhurst.
BU's penalty kill has successfully killed off 44 of its opponents' past 46 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 84.3 percent.
Since Nov. 3, Oettinger has a .935 save percentage, which ranks fourth nationally and first among Hockey East goalies during the span. Oettinger has recently passed Jim Craig, Jack Ferreira and Cleon Daskalaskis on BU's career win list and is now seventh all-time with 54. Oettinger is 4-2-2 all-time against Providence with a .938 save percentage and a 1.96 goals-against average.
