Friday, November 2
North Andover, Mass.
7:00 PM
Boston College
at
Merrimack
Photo by: Rich Gagnon
Eagles Begin League Play with Merrimack Home-and-Home
October 31, 2018 | Men's Hockey
BC and MC meet for the 99th and 100th times in series history this weekend
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College opens Hockey East play this weekend with a home-and-home series against the Merrimack Warriors. The series opens at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 2) at Lawler Arena in North Andover before returning to Kelley Rink on Saturday (Nov. 3) at 7 p.m. Both games will air on WEEI 850 AM and Saturday's home contest will be live on ESPN3.Â
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
• Merrimack earned its first shutout of Boston University in program history with a 4-0 victory on Oct. 20, but was swept by UMass last weekend in a home-and-home
• The Warriors dropped a 5-1 decision in Amherst on Friday night before falling 4-3 in overtime on Saturday as the series shifted to North Andover
• Junior Tyler Irvine leads the team with six points on two goals and four assists
• Senior Craig Pantano has started six of seven games in net with a 2-4-0 record, 2.43 goals against average, and .913 save percentage
• Through seven contests, the Warriors are 6-for-37 on the power play and 24-for-33 on the penalty kill to rank 51st nationally in combined special teams
• Last year, MC finished with a record of 12-21-4 and went 7-15-2 in Hockey East play
• The top three scorers from last year's squad were all seniors
• After spending 16 years as a Hockey East assistant coach with UNH and Providence, Scott Borek is in his first season as the head coach at Merrimack
SERIES HISTORY
• Friday night marks the 99th all-time meeting between the schools, setting the stage for the 100th matchup on Saturday night in Chestnut Hill
• The Eagles are looking for their fifth straight win over the Warriors after winning all four meetings with Merrimack last season by a combined five goals
• Five straight wins would be the third-longest winning streak for Boston College in the history of the series behind streaks of 11 (2005-07) and six (2013-16)
• BC edged MC 3-1 and 2-1 in a home-and-home regular season set in early November, then clipped the Warriors 1-0 and 4-3 (OT) in the Hockey East Quarterfinals in March
• Boston College has just one loss in its last 13 matchups in the series (10-1-2)
• The Eagles' last loss at Lawler Arena came on Feb. 15, 2013, which was a 2-1 defeat in overtime; BC's unbeaten streak in North Andover stands at six (4-0-2)
• Five of the last seven meetings have been decided by a goal or less, including three straight by just a single tally
QUARTERFINAL RECAP
• Boston College and Merrimack met in last year's Hockey East Quarterfinals at Kelley Rink as the top-seeded Eagles swept the No. 10 seed Warriors in a pair of tight one-goal games
• In Game 1, Joseph Woll stopped all 37 shots he faced and Connor Moore collected his first career game-winning goal late in the second period as BC took the series opener 1-0
• Game 2 went to overtime before Christopher Grando snuck a shot five-hole at 4:20 of the extra frame for a 4-3 win to send the Eagles back to TD Garden for their 24th Hockey East Semifinal appearance
GAME-WINNING GRANDO
• During his rookie campaign, Grando had two of his team-leading three game-winning goals vs. Merrimack
• His goal in the first period at Lawler Arena on Nov. 4, 2017 held up as the winner in the Eagles' 2-1 road win
• In Game 2 of the Hockey East Quarterfinal, the Islip, N.Y. native tipped a pass behind a Warrior defenseman and buried a low shot through the pads of Craig Pantano to clinch the series
YOU STAY CLASSY
• On Tuesday, Michael Kim was among 15 of the top Division I student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes achievements in community, classroom, character and competition
• A two-year captain for the Eagles, Kim led all Boston College defensemen in scoring last season with a career-high 20 points and earned Hockey East Third Team All-Star honors
• The Toronto native was named a 2017 and 2018 AHCA Division I All-American Scholar, is a three-time member of the Hockey East All-Academic Team, and was recognized on the 2017 Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team
• In the community, Kim has volunteered his time with Toys for Tots and the East Coast Jumbos (special needs)
WHO'S NEXT
• Next week, Vermont visits Chestnut Hill for a pair of Hockey East games on Thursday and Friday night at 7 p.m.
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SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
• Merrimack earned its first shutout of Boston University in program history with a 4-0 victory on Oct. 20, but was swept by UMass last weekend in a home-and-home
• The Warriors dropped a 5-1 decision in Amherst on Friday night before falling 4-3 in overtime on Saturday as the series shifted to North Andover
• Junior Tyler Irvine leads the team with six points on two goals and four assists
• Senior Craig Pantano has started six of seven games in net with a 2-4-0 record, 2.43 goals against average, and .913 save percentage
• Through seven contests, the Warriors are 6-for-37 on the power play and 24-for-33 on the penalty kill to rank 51st nationally in combined special teams
• Last year, MC finished with a record of 12-21-4 and went 7-15-2 in Hockey East play
• The top three scorers from last year's squad were all seniors
• After spending 16 years as a Hockey East assistant coach with UNH and Providence, Scott Borek is in his first season as the head coach at Merrimack
SERIES HISTORY
• Friday night marks the 99th all-time meeting between the schools, setting the stage for the 100th matchup on Saturday night in Chestnut Hill
• The Eagles are looking for their fifth straight win over the Warriors after winning all four meetings with Merrimack last season by a combined five goals
• Five straight wins would be the third-longest winning streak for Boston College in the history of the series behind streaks of 11 (2005-07) and six (2013-16)
• BC edged MC 3-1 and 2-1 in a home-and-home regular season set in early November, then clipped the Warriors 1-0 and 4-3 (OT) in the Hockey East Quarterfinals in March
• Boston College has just one loss in its last 13 matchups in the series (10-1-2)
• The Eagles' last loss at Lawler Arena came on Feb. 15, 2013, which was a 2-1 defeat in overtime; BC's unbeaten streak in North Andover stands at six (4-0-2)
• Five of the last seven meetings have been decided by a goal or less, including three straight by just a single tally
QUARTERFINAL RECAP
• Boston College and Merrimack met in last year's Hockey East Quarterfinals at Kelley Rink as the top-seeded Eagles swept the No. 10 seed Warriors in a pair of tight one-goal games
• In Game 1, Joseph Woll stopped all 37 shots he faced and Connor Moore collected his first career game-winning goal late in the second period as BC took the series opener 1-0
• Game 2 went to overtime before Christopher Grando snuck a shot five-hole at 4:20 of the extra frame for a 4-3 win to send the Eagles back to TD Garden for their 24th Hockey East Semifinal appearance
GAME-WINNING GRANDO
• During his rookie campaign, Grando had two of his team-leading three game-winning goals vs. Merrimack
• His goal in the first period at Lawler Arena on Nov. 4, 2017 held up as the winner in the Eagles' 2-1 road win
• In Game 2 of the Hockey East Quarterfinal, the Islip, N.Y. native tipped a pass behind a Warrior defenseman and buried a low shot through the pads of Craig Pantano to clinch the series
YOU STAY CLASSY
• On Tuesday, Michael Kim was among 15 of the top Division I student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes achievements in community, classroom, character and competition
• A two-year captain for the Eagles, Kim led all Boston College defensemen in scoring last season with a career-high 20 points and earned Hockey East Third Team All-Star honors
• The Toronto native was named a 2017 and 2018 AHCA Division I All-American Scholar, is a three-time member of the Hockey East All-Academic Team, and was recognized on the 2017 Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team
• In the community, Kim has volunteered his time with Toys for Tots and the East Coast Jumbos (special needs)
WHO'S NEXT
• Next week, Vermont visits Chestnut Hill for a pair of Hockey East games on Thursday and Friday night at 7 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
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