Boston University
Vermont
Men's Ice Hockey Closes January with Visit to Vermont on Friday
January 29, 2020 | Men's Ice Hockey
Coming off a strong weekend against UMass Lowell, the Terriers (9-8-6, 6-4-5 Hockey East) will look to keep their momentum going heading into the Beanpot. Vermont (3-16-4, 0-12-2 HE) will be looking to snap a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2).
BU is in the middle of an incredibly close race in the Hockey East standings, just three points back of first but only three points in front of ninth.
The Terriers and Catamounts met back in November for a weekend series at Agganis Arena with BU taking three of four points. The teams have played 84 times since the 1971-72 season, with BU holding a 50-24-10 (.655) advantage, including a 16-4-3 advantage in the past 23 meetings. The Terriers are 22-10-4 (.657 )in the 36 meetings that have taken place at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Vermont closed out 2019 by winning its own tournament, the Catamount Cup, with victories over Union and Lake Superior State but have been looking to get back in the win column ever since. Despite holding leads late in the third period in both games, the Catamounts left Merrimack with a tie and an overtime loss last weekend.
Freshman Jacques Bouquot has team highs in points (12) and assists (9) while classmate Andrew Lucas has 11 points (3g, 8a) from the blue line. Junior Ace Cowans has tallied 10 points, including a team-best six goals
Senior goaltender Stefanos Lekkas, a Hockey East Second Team All-Star last season, has a .910 save percentage and 2.94 goals-against average.
Since the start of December, the Terriers are 5-2-1 and their offense ranks fifth nationally during the span at 3.88.
The Terriers' power play has gone 6-for-14 (.429) over the past four games, which came immediately on the heels of an 0-for-19 skid.
BU has the top point-getters in Hockey East among rookies (Trevor Zegras, 7-18--25) and defensemen (David Farrance, 11-17--28).
Freshman goaltender Ashton Abel joined the team at the semester break and his undefeated in his three starts (2-0-1). He won his first collegiate start on Jan. 17 at Merrimack with a 27-save effort. In his first-ever home start, he stopped all 17 shots he faced to earn a 5-0 shutout win over then-No. 12 UMass Lowell last Friday. He currently boasts a 1.58 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage.
