Michigan Tech Up First in Ice Vegas Invitational

BOSTON COLLEGE vs. MICHIGAN TECH
Boston College and Michigan Tech collide in the first Ice Vegas Invitational at T-Mobile Arena in the first game of the tournament on Friday afternoon. This marks the 11th time the Eagles and Huskies have squared off and first time in about six years. The last time these two clubs skated against one another was at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in the consolation contest where two guys named Chris Kreider and Brian Dumoulin scored for BC. Dumoulin broke a 1-1 tie with an unassisted goal at 10:40 of the third period to lead BC to a 2-1 win over Michigan Tech in the consolation game of the Great Lakes Invitational. Prior to that contests, BC hosted Michigan Tech on Nov. 22, 1988 abd skated to a 4-1 triumph. In all, Boston College holds the 7-3 head-to-head advantage and has outscored Michigan Tech, 46-31.

TALKIN' TECH
Michigan Tech headed straight for the desert after taking part in the 53rd Great Lakes Invitational where the Huskies had their four-game unbeaten streak come to an end with a 4-1 loss to Bowling Green at Little Caesars Arena. The Huskies skate into Friday's showdown against Boston College with a 10-8-5 record and a 7-6-5 record in league play. The Huskies are currently tied for third in the WCHA standings and are ranked 34th in the Pairwise rankings. Junior forward Jake Jackson leads Michigan Tech with 17 points (9-8-17) in 22 games and is tied for 79th nationally in goal scored with 0.41 goals per game. Second-year defenseman Mitch Reinke has been getting it done from the blue line, accounting for two goals and 14 assists (0.70 ppg), tied for 35th in the country for scoring amongst defensemen. Junior goaltender Patrick Munson has gotten the brunt of the work in between the pipes for the Huskies. His 7- 5-3 record and 56.7 wnning percentage ranks him 26th nationally. All in all, the Huskies' offense is averaging 3.04 goals per game, slotting MTU 22nd overall in the NCAA. On the flipside, Michigan Tech's defense ranks 18th, allowing just 2.70 goals per game.

SWEET AS AN ORANGE JULIUS
Sophomore forward Julius Mattila has been Boston College's mmost consistent offensive player since early November as the Tampere, Finland native led the Eagles with 15 points (5-10-15) through the first half of the season. The sophomore is currently on a career-best seven-game point streak having accrued 11 points (4-7-11) amidst that tear and notched at least one point in nine of his last 10 games.

BOLD MOVE COTTON...LET'S SEE IF IT PAYS OFF FOR HIM
Sophomore forward David Cotton got off to a slow start this season, but since scoring his first goal of the season at New Hampshire on Nov. 17, the flood gates have opened. The Parker, Texas native has scored at least one point in six of his last seven outings, including three multi-point performances in that run. The second-year winger is now tied for second on the team in scoring with 13 points (4-9-13) through 19 outings.

1 - 2 ROOKIE PUNCH
The freshman duo of Logan Hutsko and Christopher Grando has paid dividends for the Eagles in the first half of the season. The freshman pair has yielded 16.2 percent of BC's early offense, combining for eight goals and 15 assists. Hutsko is tied for second in points scored (3-9-12) and is tied for second in scoring while Grando, the Hockey East Rookie of the Month (November), is fourth with five goals and six assists. Hutsko ranks 34th in all of college hockey amongst freshmen scorers (0.67 ppg) and tied for seventh in Hockey East. Grando is 40th, averaging 0.61 points per game, which is 10th in the league.

YO ADRIAAAAAAN
Philadelphia native Ron Greco tallied his fifth goal of the season, seventh of his career, midway through the third period against UConn on Dec. 30. The sophomore has accounted for four goals in his last six appearances and tied for 32nd in Hockey East, averaging 0.26 goals per game.

EDDIE THE EAGLE
Sophomore goaltender Ryan Edquist secured his first-career shutout on Dec. 30 via 23 saves against UConn in his fourth start of the season, tenth of his career. The Lakeville, Minn. native's shutout marks BC's first shutout of the season and first shutout for the Eagles since Joseph Woll blanked Vermont on March 10, 2017. Edquist also stopped a career-best 42 shots at St. Cloud on Oct. 20. The Lakeville, Minn. native came in with 1.6 seconds left at Merrimack and made a game-tying save to preserve an Eagle victory.

DEFENDING THE NEST
Boston College's defense continues to limit the opposing lamp being lit as BC is now limiting its opponents to 2.74 goals per game. That number is 21st, nationally, and fourth overall in the conference. Over the course of the last 11 games, BC has given up four or more goals on only three occasions.

AMERICAN EAGLE
Former Boston College men's hockey captain and 2001 national champion Brian Gionta has been selected as the captain of the 2018 United States Men's Hockey Olympic Team. Gionta skated in 164 career games on The Heights and is Boston College's career leader in goals scored with 123 tallies and second in overall points scored with 232 (123-109-232) from 1997-2001. Gionta is one of 25 Eagles to have played for the U.S Men's Olympic Team and the second to ever be named captain (Brian Leetch - 1988). He is also one of six former members of the Boston College hockey program to be named to the team more than once.

REMEMBERING COACH CEGLARSKI
Legendary Boston College head hockey coach and athlete Len Ceglarski, winner of 419 games as head coach on The Heights and member of the 1949 national championship team, passed away on December 16, 2017. He was 91 years old. Ceglarski is the ninth-winningest coach in NCAA college hockey history, having amassed a career record of 673-339-38 (.659). Boston College's former skipper claimed the Eagles' head coaching position at the start of the 1972-73 season, taking over for John "Snooks" Kelley. Ceglarski went on to post an overall record of 419-272-27 (.602) in 20 seasons as head coach at Boston College. In his time behind BC's bench, Ceglarski led his teams to eight NCAA Frozen Fours, four NCAA title games, six Hockey East regular season championships (in eight years) and two Hockey East Tournament titles.

CAMPOLI LEAVES PROGRAM
Defenseman Michael Campoli has left the men's ice hockey program for other opportunities on Dec. 19, 2017. The Pointe-Claire, Quebec native was a sophomore this season and played in 12 career games for the maroon and gold, finishing with a +7 rating along with an assist.

LOOSE CHANGE
Sophomore goaltender Ryan Edquist secured his first-career shutout on Saturday afternoon via 23 saves against UConn in his fourth start of the season, tenth of his career. The Lakeville, Minn. native's shutout marks Boston College's first shutout of the season and first shutout for the Eagles since Joseph Woll blanked Vermont on March 10, 2017. David Cotton tallied his first power play goal of the season on Dec. 30 vs. UConn, fifth of his career, to tally at least one point in six of his last seven outings. Cotton is now second on the team in scoring, having posted four goals and nine assists in 19 outings. Cotton's goal also stood as the game-winning tally, marking his second of the season and team-best sixth-career game-winning goal

Michigan Tech Up First in Ice Vegas Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Michael Campoli

David Cotton

Ryan Edquist

Chris Grando

Ron Greco

Logan Hutsko

Julius Mattila

Joseph Woll