Boston College
Northern Michigan
Important Tilt on Tap Against Northern Michigan in the Desert
January 06, 2018 | Men's Hockey
No. 13 Boston College has a big showdown against a formidable Northern Michigan club with Pairwise implications on the line Saturday afternoon
BOSTON COLLEGE vs. NORTHERN MICHIGAN
Boston College and Northern Michigan lock up for the first time in about 18 years. The last time the Eagles and Wildcats met was the 1998-99 season. The two programs have skated against one another nine times from 1984-85 to 1998-98. The Eagles hold a 5-4 advantage in those nine games and have outscored the Wildcats, 35-31. Head coach Jerry York defeated NMU 12 times as head coach at Bowling Green and once behind Boston College's bench.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN SCOOP
Northern Michigan skates into Saturday's consolation meeting against BC with a 11-10-2 overall record. The Wildcats were taken out, 7-3, last night against Arizona State in the second game of the evening. Northern Michigan has lost its last two games as NMU dropped a 6-3 decision at Minnesota State on Dec. 30. Before Northern Michigan's two-game slide, the Wildcats went unbeaten in their last five games (3-0-2). Northern Michigan has four skaters with at last 20 points, including one of the nation's most prolific goal scorers in Robbie Payne. Payne is tied with Holy Cross's Scott Pooley with the most tallies in the nation (17). He is averaging 0.74 goals per game which ranks sixth in all of college hockey. Payne is also tied for 49th in scoring, nationally, averaging 1.00 points per game. Six of those 17 goals have come via the power play as Payne is one of 12 skaters in the NCAA with six or more power play markers. In all, Northern Michigan's offense (2.83 goals per game) ranks 34th in the game while the defense is giving up 2.91 goals per game, 28th in the nation. Northern's power play unit is operating at a clip of 15.3 percent (17-of-111), tied for 42nd in the land while the penalty kill is keeping opponents off the board 81.6 percent of the time (26th in NCAA).
BC HIGHLIGHTS & GAME NOTES FROM THE MICHIGAN TECH GAME
- Junior captain Casey Fitzgerald scored his first power play goal of the season and sixth of his career midway through the second period. For the captain, it marked his fourth goal of the season and 13th overall from the blue line in his 95th-career game in the maroon and gold.
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- Graham McPhee scored his third power play goal of the season and his team-leading sixth goal of the year. The Las Vegas native has netted two goals in his last four games and did so in front of his father, George McPhee, the general manager of the Golden Knights.
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- With Fitzgerald and McPhee accounting for power play goals in the second period, it marked the first time this season Boston College scored a pair of extra-man goals in a game.
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- Julius Mattila assisted on Fitzgerald's power play tally at 9:37 of the second period. With the helper, Mattila extended his point streak to eight-consecutive games with at least one point. The Finnish product leads the Eagles with 16 points (5-11-16) through the first half of the season. During his hot streak, Mattila has accrued 12 points (4-8-12) amidst that tear and notched at least one point in 10 of his last 11 games. Friday's game against Michigan Tech marked Mattila's 50th career game as Eagle.
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- Sophomore forward David Cotton continued his rabid scoring pace with an assist on Fitzgerald's power play goal, as well. The Parker, Texas native has scored at least one point in seven of his last eight outings, including four multi-point performances in that run. The second-year winger is now second on the team in scoring with 15 points (4-11-14) through 20 outings.
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- Luke McInnis and Jesper Mattila recorded their fifth and fourth assists of the season on McPhee's power play goal at 11:56 of the third period.
- Both Casey Fitzgerald (1-1-2) and David Cotton (0-2-2) tallied multi-point performances against Michigan Tech. For Fitzgerald, it was his second of the season since a two-goal outing against Providence while Cotton's two assists marked his fourth multi-point showing of the season.
