After bouncing back last weekend to split the series against Merrimack, the Huskies are set for a tall task in facing the No. 4 Boston College Eagles for a home-and-home series. They will begin up in Chestnut Hill, MA on Friday Nov. 17 and then travel back down to Storrs to play at Toscano Family Ice Forum on Saturday Nov. 18.
The Eagles are coming in with a 7-2-1 record and sit at No. 4 in the USCHO Division I Men’s Hockey power rankings. However, they did struggle against Maine last weekend as they dropped the series opener and tied the finale night. For the second time in three weekends, freshman Gabe Perreault was named the Pro Ambitions Hockey East Rookie of the Week. On both nights of the two game series against Maine, Perreault had multi-point performances and finished the weekend in Orono with four points, a goal and three assists. The freshman forward converted in a shootout on Saturday in a must-score situation for the Eagles, helping them to win in eight rounds and earn two points. Perreault leads Hockey East with 13 assists. His team-leading 15 points ranks at second in the league and second nationally among all rookies in college hockey. He has helped in eight of the Eagles last 10 goals, making him a threat on offense for the Huskies to look out for this weekend.
Boston College is second in Hockey East and ninth nationally in scoring offense with 3.6 goals per game. They are also ninth in the nation defensively with a 2.30 GAA as a team. The Eagles have excelled on the power play (2nd HEA, 13th NCAA) a nd they are ranked seventh nationally in scoring margin with +1.30.
“We know we have quite the task in front of us with Boston College,” said Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh. “I think they’re good in all aspects of the game. They’ve got great goaltending so far this year. They’ve got a very mobile defense. They have elite forwards up front, good special teams. They are well coached. It’s going to be a great opponent for us to play this weekend.”
As for the Huskies, they are entering this series with a 5-6-1 record and 3-3-0 in Hockey East action. They have seen some struggles on offense, but after last weekend’s series against Merrimack, there was a shift in their goal-scoring abilities as they scored seven over two games. Andrew Lucas scored the game winner for the Huskies last Saturday at Merrimack, where he found a gap and fired the shot over the Warriors goaltender in a high pressure situation, which is exactly what the Huskies need to capitalize on going forward. Having more consistency is key for this team to stay in the win column with a tough schedule filled with many talented Hockey East opponents.
“I think every weekend is a tough weeknd in this league and you just have to stay focused on that,” said Cavanaugh on facing BC this weekend. “It’s a league opponent that we have the utmost respect for and we are going to have to bring our A-game if we want to be successful.”
The Huskies will travel to Chestnut Hill, MA to open the series against Boston College at Conte Forum on Friday, Nov. 17, puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.. They will then wrap up the series back in Storrs, CT at Toscano Family Ice Forum. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and it is Disco Night in Storrs. Both games will be available to stream on UConn Plus.
