Eagles Host Maine in Wednesday Night Hockey East Tilt

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College opens a three-game homestand on Wednesday night (Jan. 16) as it welcomes Maine to Chestnut Hill for the first of three regular season meetings with the Black Bears and the 125th of the all-time series. The Eagles (7-2-2) are currently tied for third place in the league with Boston University (with three games in hand on the Terriers), one point behind Northeastern and two shy of UMass. Last season, the Eagles won all three meetings with the Black Bears in February by a combined score of 13-4, extending their winning streak against Maine to seven games. The game will air live on ESPN3 and WEEI 850 AM.

PROVIDENCE RECAP
• Julius Mattila's one-timer off a feed from his twin brother Jesper early in the third period proved to be the game-winner against Providence last Friday, snapping the Friars' eight-game unbeaten streak
• BC's penalty kill was 5-for-5, including a full two-minute 5-on-3 in the second period, and senior Michael Kim netted a shorthanded goal to tie the game at two early in the middle frame
• David Cotton (1 G, 1 A) and Mattila (1 G, 1 A) finished with multi-point nights on the top line
• Joseph Woll made 28 saves in net to collect his 40th career NCAA victory

UNH RECAP
• On Saturday, Boston College led 2-0 after the first period and held a 4-3 advantage in the second, but New Hampshire scored the game's final three goals to beat the Eagles 6-4 and clinch the regular season series 1-0-1
• Ara Nazarian's one-timer from the left circle midway through the third period proved to be the game-winner, and Chris Miller sealed the UNH victory with an empty-netter in the final 30 seconds
• Christopher Brown and Oliver Wahlstrom each collected a goal and an assist in the first period as 10 different Eagles registered points on the night
• New Hampshire native JD Dudek and Aapeli Räsänen netted the other BC goals

SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
• Maine enters the matchup tied for eighth in the Hockey East standings at 3-5-2
• The Black Bears were swept at home by Northeastern 3-2 and 4-0 last weekend at Alfond Arena and have now lost five of their last seven games
• Chase Pearson leads the team in goals (11) and points (18) and leads the league in faceoff wins (247); Mitchell Fossier paces the squad with 16 assists and ranks 15th nationally in assists per game (0.80)
• Bruins draft pick Jeremy Swayman has played nearly every minute in net and owns a 7-11-2 record, 3.00 goals against average, and .911 save percentage
• Maine has percentages of 14.1% on the power play and 85.4% on the kill, which is third in the league and 10th in the country this season
• Last year, Maine swept rival UNH at home in the Hockey East Opening Round before falling in two games at Providence in the quarterfinals

SERIES HISTORY
• The schools are meeting for the 125th time in the all-time series with Boston College holding a 69-46-9 overall advantage over the Black Bears
• BC has a seven-game winning streak against Maine and has won nine of the last 10
• Head coach Jerry York is 11-2-0 against sixth-year Maine head coach Red Gendron
• Maine's last win in the series was nearly four years ago in Orono on Jan. 18, 2015 and its most recent victory in Chestnut Hill was almost six years ago on Jan. 26, 2013

LAST YEAR AGAINST MAINE
• The Eagles played the Black Bears for three straight games in February, earning a 5-0 shutout at Alfond Arena before sweeping Maine 6-3 and 2-1 at home
• David Cotton registered at least one point in all three games (1-3-4), linemate Logan Hutsko posted two goals and three assists, and Michael Kim had four assists
• Joseph Woll went 3-0-0 with a .957 save percentage and a road shutout

#ORP1K
• Former Boston College defenseman Brooks Orpik played in his 1,000th NHL game on Monday night for the Washington Capitals in a 4-1 home loss to the St. Louis Blues
• Orpik became the fifth former Eagle to play 1,000 NHL games, joining Bill Guerin, Brian Leetch, Joe Mullen and the recently retired Brian Gionta
• The 38-year-old has won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 2009 and last year with Washington
• The Penguins originally drafted Orpik in the first round of the 2000 NHL Draft
• While an Eagle, Orpik posted 42 points in 119 games from the blue line and helped lead BC win the 2001 national championship, the school's first since 1949

UP NEXT
• BC hosts No. 10 Providence on Saturday (Jan. 19) at 7 p.m. before a home-and-home with UMass Lowell next weekend, beginning at Conte Forum on Friday, Jan. 25

Eagles Host Maine in Wednesday Night Hockey East Tilt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Christopher Brown

David Cotton

JD Dudek

Logan Hutsko

Michael Kim

Julius Mattila

Oliver Wahlstrom

Joseph Woll