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UMass Heads To New Hampshire; Comes Home To Host Boston College
• After a tough tie and loss against Boston University last weekend, the UMass hockey team jumps back into Hockey East action this Friday at New Hampshire and Saturday against No. 1 Boston College at the Mullins Center.
• Friday will be UMass’ first meeting with UNH which won last season’s series 2-0-1 despite a trio of close games. The Eagles won the earlier meeting against UMass at Conte Forum just two weeks ago. That game also features a pair of Springfield natives going head-to-head as UMass co-captain T.J. Syner will square off against his cousin Barry Almeida and sophomore defenseman Colin Shea will face his brother - BC senior Edwin Shea.
Broadcast Information
• All games will be broadcast live on the Flagship Station of UMass Athletics, 100.9 FM WRNX, with John Hennessy calling the play-by-play and Brock Hines providing color commentary. The pregame show for both games will begin 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. Links for streaming video, audio, and live stats can be found at UMassAthletics.com.
• Selected home games throughout the season will be televised on CBS3 Now in Western Mass and WBIN in Boston. Streaming video is also available through UMass All-Access (www.umassathletics.com/allaccess). This is a for-fee service which works best on high-speed internet. All home games will be available through the package.
The Series With New Hampshire
• All-time, New Hampshire leads the series with UMass, 79-18-8, including wins in four of the last five games.
• Last season, the Wildcats won twice (3-0, 3-1), while the middle game in the series finished in a 3-3 tie.
The Series With Boston College
• Boston College won the earlier meeting this season, 4-2, at Conte Forum improving their win streak over the Minutemen to 12 games. All-time, the Eagles lead the series 50-10-3.
• Boston College was ranked No. 1 in the country each time the two teams met in the regular-season last year and was ranked No. 2 in the country during the Hockey East Quarterfinal playoff series. This will be the fifth consecutive game that UMass has played the Eagles when they are the top-ranked team in the country.
Last Time: Terriers Nip Minutemen
• UMass took a 2-0 lead to start the second period over No. 12/13 Boston University last Friday at the Mullins Center, but the Terriers responded by tying the game with just over five minutes left in the third period to force overtime and an eventual tie. T.J. Syner and Conor Sheary each scored their second goals of the season for UMass, while Kevin Boyle made 21 saves.
• Saturday’s rematch saw the Minutemen jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first period only to have the Terriers tie the game up midway through the third period. After BU went ahead 4-3 with eight minutes left in the game, Michael Pereira scored a power play goal to force overtime once again. This time, however, a Boston University power play goal at the 3:17 mark of OT gave the Terriers the win. Steven Guzzo, Troy Power, and Conor Sheary each potted goals along with Pereira’s tally.
Next Up: Holy Cross / Northeastern
• UMass will host a pair of games next weekend as Holy Cross visits the Mullins Center on Friday night followed by the second meeting of the year against Northeastern. The game against the Crusaders will start at 6 PM as part of a double-header with the basketball team. The Northeastern game is slated for a 7 PM start and will be televised live on CBS3 Now in Western Mass and WBIN-TV in Boston.
Story Lines: New Hampshire / Boston College
• 9 different skaters posted at least one point last weekend against Boston University
• Of UMass’ six games to start the season, four have been decided by one goal or have been ties (2) and three have gone into overtime
• UMass continues to be one of the top scoring teams in Hockey East averaging 3.33 goals per game, but is ranked 8th in team defense (3.83 goals/game) and 1st in penalty minutes (17.8/game)
• UMass was 3-of-12 (25%) on the power play last weekend and 8-of-9 (88.9%) on the penalty kill against Boston University
• Six of the last eight games with Boston University have resulted in one-goal games or ties: one 1-goal UMass win, two ties, three 1-goal Boston University wins.
• UMass’ had a steak of three games with at least one power play goal ended in the first meeting at Boston College as the Minutemen were 0-for-7
• UMass had a season-high 47 shots in the win over Bentley – its most since 48 against Providence on Oct. 31, 2009
• The line of T.J. Syner, Michael Pereira and Danny Hobbs combined for 10 points (4g, 6a) in the win over Bentley. All told for the Bentley/Providence weekend, the trio tallied 16 points (6g, 10a).
• Michael Marcou posted a four-game point streak to start the season with a goal and three assists.
• Colin Shea had a three-game point streak in place with a goal and two assists in the first three games of the season.
• Andrew Tegeler scored his first collegiate goal in the Boston College loss.
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