Playoff Hockey Heats Up on The Heights

WHEN: Friday, March 10, 2017 (7 p.m.) / Saturday, March 11, 2017 (7 p.m.) / Sunday, March 12, 2017 (5 p.m. - IF NECESSARY)

WHERE: Kelley Rink / Chestnut Hill, Mass.

GAME NOTES: PDF / WEB

HOW TO FOLLOW (Friday)
- WATCH LIVE (BCEagles.TV)
- RADIO: WEEI 850 AM -- Jon Rish (Play-by-Play) // Andy Powers (Color Commentary)
- LIVE STATS
- BUY TICKETS

HOW TO FOLLOW (Saturday)
- WATCH LIVE (BCEagles.TV)
- RADIO: WEEI 850 AM -- Jon Rish (Play-by-Play) // Andy Powers (Color Commentary)
- LIVE STATS
- BUY TICKETS

BOSTON COLLEGE IN THE HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT
Boston College owns an overall record of 65-30-2 (.680) in the Hockey East tournament with a record 11 Lamoriello Trophies (1987, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012) and the same number of tournament MVPs. BC's nine victories over Vermont marks the second-most wins against another school in the Hockey East Tournament (Merrimack - 10). Prior to the quarterfinals loss to Notre Dame in 2014, Boston College had an 18-game winning streak in the Hockey East quarterfinals series.

BOSTON COLLEGE IN THE HOCKEY EAST QUARTERFINALS
The Eagles got over the hump and made it back to the Hockey East semifinals last season after Ryan Fitzgerald sent Vermont packing with the Game 3 overtime winner in 2016. Boston College was bounced from the conference tournament both in 2014 (Notre Dame) and Vermont (2015). Dating back to 2004, the Eagles had not lost a Hockey East quarterfinal game until the series against the Irish. Boston College will take part in its 28th Hockey East quarterfinals series and has posted an overall record of 38-18-1 (.675) in that round of play.

JERRY YORK IN THE HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT
Jerry York's nine Hockey East tournament titles (1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012) are the gold standard in Hockey East. BU's Jack Parker is second with seven. York is 55-18-1 (.750) in 74 conference postseason contests. Boston College has advanced to the semifinal round of the league tournament in 11-of-17 seasons overall under York (York's first semifinal showing was in 1997). The Eagles also own the most Hockey East championship appearances in league history with 16 under York.

HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT SEEDING
The 2017 Hockey East Tournament marks the Eagles' fifth time they will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament. With the No. 3 seed, Boston College is 11 - 4 overall and advanced to the conference championship game three times with that ranking. The Eagles are 1 - 2 as the No. 3 seed in the conference championship, having defeated New Hampshire in overtime in 1999. As the No. 3 seed in the Hockey East quarterfinals, Boston College is 7 - 2, having won its first seven games as the No. 3 seed in that round of the tournament. The last time BC was the No. 3 seed, Vermont won games two and three in 2015.

HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
- Boston College held the record for most consecutive victories in the Hockey East tournament (12 wins | 2010 - 2013) before Notre Dame upended the Eagles in 2014

- Boston College has won the most Hockey East tournament titles in league history (11 | 1987, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012)

- Boston College owns the most Hockey East championship game appearances in conference history (16 | 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012)

BOSTON COLLEGE vs. VERMONT
It must be early March because the Catamounts are head back to Kelley Rink. For the fourth time in the last five years, Boston College and Vermont will square off in the Hockey East quarterfinals series starting Friday night. Over the course of that stretch, the Eagles are 5-3 against UVM. BC swept Vermont in the quarters in 2013, extending the Eagles' perfect stretch against Vermont in the playoffs to six games. The Eagles stretched it to a seven-game winning streak over the Catamounts in Game 1 of the 2015 HEA quarterfinals before Vermont rallied to oust Boston College from the conference tournament the next two meetings. In last year's three-game series, it took Ryan Fitzgerald's Game 3 overtime heroics to move onto TD Garden for the Hockey East semis. Friday marks the 11th quarterfinal meeting between the two clubs as BC possesses a 7-3 advantage in those games. In all, Boston College is 9-3 against UVM in the Hockey East Tournament. In the regular season meetings between BC and UVM, 130 minutes have gone by and still no victor has been determined as the two teams tied both times on The Heights on Feb. 17-18. Boston College still owns a 19-7 mark over the Catamounts at Kelley Rink since UVM joined the league. In the overall series, BC possesses a 41-16-7 mark with a 26-7-5 win-loss total in Hockey East play.

CALLING ON THE CATAMOUNTS
Since the two ties against Boston College at Kelley Rink on Feb. 17 - 18, Vermont has caught fire, going 3 - 1 and outscoring its opposition, 15 - 5. The Catamounts earned themselves the No. 6 seed and swept Maine (5 - 0, 5 - 1) in Burlington to advance to the quarterfinals against Boston College. Vermont's offense is in the upper tier of teams, ranked 11th overall, averaging 3.28 goals per game while the defense is listed 20th overall, surrendering goals at a rate of 2.56 per game. Senior Mario Puskarich and sophomore Brian Bowen both lead UVM's scoring efforts with 12 goals and 15 assists this far.

REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS . . . AGAIN (and again and again)
Boston College won its league-record 15th Hockey East regular season championship, claiming nearly half of the league's regular season crowns in its 33 years of existence. The Eagles joined UMass Lowell and Boston University as the league's first tri-Hockey East regular champion, all finishing with 29 points. The River Hawks won the overall No. 1 seed and the Terriers claimed the No. 2 spot by way of tiebreakers.

PARSING THE PAIRWISE
With only the conference playoffs left on the schedule, Boston College is fighting to get back into the NCAA Tournament picture. After Friday's loss to Lowell to close the regular season, the Eagles are currently tied for 18th in RPI ranking (.5345) and have the 19th-highest RPI overall. Heading into the UVM playoff series, UMass Lowell (sixth - .5618), Boston University (eighth - .5615), UMass Lowell (seventh - .5602), Providence (10th - .5552), Notre Dame (T-13th - .5453) and Vermont (15th - .5406) are the remaining teams above the Eagles in the Pairwise mix.

SPREADING OUT THE SCORING
Heading into the Hockey East quarterfinals against Vermont, the Boston College offense boasts EIGHT 20-point scorers, in addition to a pair of 30-point scorers. Only a couple other programs in all of college hockey can support that claim, as well. After going winless in the last seven outings, the Eagle offense has slid with 24th, nationally, and eighth in Hockey East. Boston College is averaging 3.11 goals per game.

HELP ME HELP YOU
Ryan Fitzgerald turned in the Eagles' EIGHTH playmaker (three assists in a game) against Merrimack on Feb. 10. Boston College is one of four teams to have had one individual obtain three assists in a game that many times. Northeastern (leads with 10), American International and Rober Morris are the others that have done so on eight occasions.

JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT
Boston College possesses the 13th-most points in all of college hockey (112-204-316) and is 15th in points per game (8.78 ppg). BC is tied for eighth with the most assists (204) in the game and is one of now 30 teams to have scored a 100 goals or more (112) on the season. Boston College's five-on-five game is currently tied for second best in the NCAA, having racked up 235 points when even. Boston College is also eighth in the nation in most road points scored with 156. BC is tied for fifth in the NCAA in plus/minus differential (+28).

LEADING THE WAY
Matthew Gaudreau became the first Eagle to crack the 30-point plateau (7-24-31) this season while Austin Cangelosi joined the club (17-13-30) with his 17th goal against Lowell on Feb. 23. Colin White (15-13-28), Ryan Fitzgerald (8-18-26) and David Cotton (10-13-23) round out Boston College's top-five scorers. Cangelosi's near half goal a game (0.49 gpg) rate has him ranked 43, nationally, while Gaudreau's 0.67 assists per game ranks him tied for 46th amongst all college skaters.

STARTING OFF STRONG
Despite a lapse against Merrimack on Feb. 10, BC's defense has been rock solid starting off games thus far. The Eagles' defensive unit has not allowed more than two goals in the first period of play the entire season until Feb. 10. At this point, BC is second in theleague in first-period goals given up, surrendering only 18 through 36 games.

PIPE CLEANERS
The freshmen goaltending tandem of Joseph Woll and Ryan Edquist have performed at a high level this season. In all, Woll has amassed a 14-12-3 (.534 - 31st in the NCAA) record, with a 2.66 goals against average (30th in the NCAA) and a .912 save percentage (32nd overall). Edquist picked up his fourth-career win (4-2-1 in all) after defeating UMass on Jan. 20. In all, Edquist owns a 1.82 goals against average with a .923 save percentage.

DID YOU GET A PLUS ONE?
Michael Kim is currently tied for 27th in the country and tied for ninth amongst all defensemen, with an overall plus / minus of +17. Offensively, forward Austin Cangelosi is tied for 18th overall in all of college hockey. Cangelosi is at +19 right now, just nine behind Union's Spencer Foo (+28).

DON'T GET ALL DEFENSIVE
Heading into the playoffs, BC has only surrendered four goals or more on 10 of 36 occasions. The Eagles have the seventh-stingiest defense in Hockey East and the 22nd toughest to score against in the NCAA, surrendering only 2.61 goals per game.

KILLING IN THE NAME OF
Boston College's penalty-killing unit has been sturdy as of late, allowing only one power play goal in its last six outings. The Eagles are 28th overall on the kill (83.0 percent).

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Players Mentioned

Austin Cangelosi

David Cotton

Ryan Edquist

Ryan Fitzgerald

Matthew Gaudreau

Michael Kim

Colin White

Joseph Woll