2023 Desert Hockey Classic
#6 Boston University (12-5-0, 8-4-0 Hockey East) vs. Air Force (6-10-2, 2-7-1 AHA)
Date & Time: Friday, Jan. 6 - 5:30 p.m. ET

vs. Arizona State or #16 Michigan Tech
Saturday, Jan. 7 - 5:30 p.m. ET or 9 p.m. ET

Venue: Mullett Arena - Tempe, Ariz.
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierHockey

The No. 6 Boston University men's ice hockey team will begin the calendar year out west at the 2023 Desert Hockey Classic hosted by Arizona State. The Terriers will open the tournament against Air Force on Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET and then face either No. 16 Michigan Tech or the host Sun Devils on Saturday. If BU faces Michigan Tech, the game will be at 5:30 p.m. ET, with the Arizona State game scheduled for 9 p.m. ET regardless of Friday's results.

All four games will be streamed for free via Pac-12.com. The non-ASU games, including the BU-Air Force game, will be located here. Both of Arizona State's games will be streamed here. In addition, Bernie Corbett and Mark Linehan will be on site to provide audio commentary for both BU games; click here to listen.

TERRIER TIDBITS

• The Terriers have won each of their last two games, both of which have been against top-10 teams.
• BU earned a 3-2 road win at then-No. 8 UConn on Dec. 11 before defeating then-No. 9 Harvard in overtime, 2-1, at Walter Brown Arena on Dec. 30.
• Senior captain Domenick Fensore was the overtime hero against the Crimson en route to being named Hockey East Defender of the Week.
• The honors didn't stop there for Fensore, as he was also named Hockey East Defender of the Month on Wednesday after he led all league blue liners in goals (4) and points (7) and tallied a league-best three game-winning goals in December.
• He enters this weekend on a seven-game point streak.
• BU went 8-2-0 in November and December, with six of the eight wins coming against ranked foes.
• Senior Matt Brown leads BU in goals (8), assists (16) and points (24); he made a key defensive play in overtime to set up Fensore's winner, earning an assist on the play.
• Brown ranks fifth nationally and first in Hockey East with an average of 1.41 points per game.
• The Terriers average 3.82 goals per game, which is tops in Hockey East and fourth-most in the NCAA.
• BU also averages 36.2 shots on goal per game, which ranks second in the country and first in Hockey East.

HISTORY WITH THE THREE SCHOOLS

• Friday will be just the fourth all-time meeting between BU and Air Force and the first since Oct. 9, 1999 when the Terriers and Falcons met at the Johnson Nissan Classic in Anchorage, Alaska; BU won that contest, 8-3.
• The Terriers also earned an 8-7 win at Walter Brown Arena on Dec. 27, 1977, and a 10-4 victory in Duluth, Minnesota, on Nov. 23, 1972, though that win was later vacated.
• BU and Michigan Tech have met 14 times but this will be the first time the two schools have faced off since Nov. 26, 1988, when the Terriers earned a 6-4 win at Walter Brown Arena.
• Michigan Tech leads the all-time series at 9-5-0, including a 6-0-0 record at neutral sites.
• BU is 5-1-0 all-time against Arizona State, including a weekend sweep last year at Agganis Arena.
• The Terriers earned a 7-1 win the first day and a 5-2 win in the finale.
• BU has averaged 4.67 goals per game against the Sun Devils.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

• Air Force enters the weekend at 6-10-2 overall, with the Falcons having gone 0-5-1 in their last six games.
• They have not played since Dec. 3, as their series with Canisius scheduled for Dec. 30-31 was postponed.
• Junior Nate Horn is on a six-game point streak (3g, 3a) and is tied for the team lead in goals (6) and points (13) with classmate Will Gavin.
• Junior Luke Rowe, November's Atlantic Hockey Defender of the Month, is also tied for the team lead with 13 points.
• Sophomore goaltender Guy Blessing has started 15 straight games and owns a 3.23 goals-against average along with an .889 save percentage.