Friday, January 22
Chestnut Hill, MA
4:00 p.m.
Boston College
vs
UConn
Photo by: John Quackenbos
No. 1 Boston College Set for Home-and-Home with UConn
January 21, 2021 | Men's Hockey
The Eagles (8-2-0) play their first series as the new top-ranked team in the country
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Ranked No. 1 nationally for the first time in more than five years, Boston College hosts UConn on Friday afternoon (Jan. 22) at Kelley Rink to begin a home-and-home series at 4 p.m. The teams close the weekend on Saturday (Jan. 23) at 4 p.m. at the Freitas Ice Forum. Both games will air live for free on SportsLive and WEEI 850 AM. Saturday's game will also be televised on CW20 in Connecticut.
BC (8-2-0) has won three games in a row and ranks third in the nation in scoring margin (+1.80). The Huskies (5-5-1) have played four straight games against New Hampshire, sweeping the Wildcats last weekend with 14 total goals, and are 4-1-0 in their last five overall. Connecticut picked up just its third all-time win against Boston College in Storrs on Dec. 12, 2020.
BACK AT THE TOP
• Boston College men's hockey is back atop the national rankings for the first time in five years
• The Eagles are ranked No. 1 in the country in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls following a weekend sweep in a home-and-home series with Merrimack
• BC last earned a No. 1 ranking in USCHO's preseason poll on Sept. 28, 2015
• The Eagles sit at 8-2-0 through 10 games for the best points percentage (.767) in Hockey East
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
• UConn enters the weekend at 5-5-1 overall, a winner in four of its last five games and receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll
• The Huskies erupted for 14 goals in a home-and-home sweep of UNH last weekend, winning 6-5 in overtime at home and 8-3 in Durham
• Junior Carter Turnbull netted a hat trick during the Friday victory in Storrs, including the game-winner 57 seconds into OT
• Junior Johnny Evans leads the team with six goals and 13 points, while classmate Jáchym Kondelík has a team-high 11 assists
• Junior Tomáš Vomáčka has started all 11 games between the pipes with a .913 save percentage and a 2.78 goals against average
• UConn clicks at 17% % on the power play and 76.5% on the kill after finishing with the third-worst combined special teams in the nation (42.5%) last season
• Mike Cavanaugh, who spent 18 years at Boston College as an assistant to Jerry York, is in his eighth season as the head coach in Storrs
THE LAST MEETING
• UConn took four of a possible six points from Boston College in a home-and-home series on Dec. 11-12, 2020 before the break
• Defenseman Marshall Warren capitalized on a rebound at the end of a shift lasting nearly two and a half minutes in 3-on-3 overtime, lifting then-No. 2 Boston College past UConn 4-3 at Kelley Rink to open the series
• Senior Logan Hutsko scored a pair of goals in the second period, while rookie Nikita Nesterenko assisted on both goals
• Freshman Henry Wilder made his collegiate debut between the pipes and picked up the win with 30 saves
• The following day, UConn scored three goals in a span of four and a half minutes in the second period and held off Boston College 3-1
• The Eagles saw their five-game winning streak come to an end, in addition to their six-game winning streak against the Huskies and a 14-game unbeaten run (13-0-1) dating back to last season
SERIES HISTORY
• Friday afternoon will mark the 17th all-time meeting in the series, which Boston College leads 12-3-1
• Prior to UConn's 3-1 victory in Storrs on Dec. 12, BC had won six straight meetings by the combined score of 27-9
• The Eagles are undefeated against UConn in Chestnut Hill (7-0-1), though the first six matchups at Conte Forum were decided by a total of six goals
• Saturday will mark BC's second-ever visit to the Freitas Ice Forum
NICE ONE NIKITA
• Nikita Nesterenko was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week on Monday
• The winger scored the Eagles' NCAA-leading fifth shorthanded goal of the year on Sunday against Merrimack at Lawler Arena, then assisted on Marc McLaughlin's game-winning goal late in the third period
• Nesterenko was plus-2 for the weekend and is averaging a point-per-game this season with five goals and five assists in his first 10 games
• The Brooklyn native leads Hockey East and ranks fifth nationally in scoring by a freshman
BALANCED ATTACK
• Boston College's balanced offensive attack features two players each with 11, 10, 9 and 8 points to represent the team's top-8 scorers through 10 games
• BC has four different players averaging at least a point-per-game, led by Matt Boldy and Logan Hutsko with 11 points in eight games
• 14 players have scored at least one goal and 22 players have at least one point, including assists for goaltenders Spencer Knight and Henry Wilder
• Seven Eagles have at least four goals as four players are tied for the team-lead with five
• Seven members of the rookie class have already posted their first NCAA point
YET ANOTHER MILESTONE
• With a win on Friday, Jerry York would reach 1,100 career victories in 49 years as a head coach
• The Hall of Famer has 632 wins during his 27-year tenture at his alma mater Boston College
• York was formally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 18, 2020 in Toronto, becoming the first to earn the honor among coaches who have coached exclusively in the NCAA
• York will also be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in December of 2021
A HUNDRED FOR HUTSKO
• With a primary assist on the game's opening goal last Saturday just 90 seconds into the first period, Logan Hutsko became the 83rd member of the program's 100-point club
• Hutsko is tied for the team-lead in scoring this year with 11 points, giving him 101 career points on 41 goals and 60 assists in 111 games
• The Tampa native is tied for fourth in Hockey East in points per game (1.38)
CAPTAIN CLUTCH
• Marc McLaughlin has scored a dramatic game-winner in two of the last three games
• The junior captain has already tied a career-high with five goals and is two points away from matching his career-best of 12, set last year as a sophomore
• McLaughlin leads Hockey East with three game-winning goals
• He already has four multi-point games after entering the year with two
WE WERE MERELY FRESHMEN
• BC's highly-touted freshman class has combined for 17 goals and 36 points to lead the team
• Nikita Nesterenko, Colby Ambrosio and Trevor Kuntar are all tied for second in Hockey East in goals scored by a freshman with five
• Nesterenko (T-1st), Ambrosio (5th) and Kuntar (9th) also rank top-10 in points per game
• Defenseman Eamon Powell (+10) leads Hockey East in plus-minus rating among rookies, while Nesterenko (+7), Kuntar (+6) and Ambrosio (+6) also rank top-5
• Three of the Eagles' top seven scorers are freshmen
THE DARK KNIGHT
• Spencer Knight owns a perfect 7-0-0 record in net this season and is unbeaten in his last 16 starts (15-0-1) dating back to last season
• The sophomore netminder ranks sixth in the country in save percentage (.948) and eighth in goals against average (1.71)
• Knight was named the Goaltender of the Month by Hockey East in a combined award for November and December, posting a 1.50 GAA and a .955 SV% in his first four starts
• In 40 career starts, Knight is 30-8-2 for a .775 winning percentage
YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT
• Hockey East announced earlier this week that previously released composite schedules for both the men's and women's leagues will be set aside and the remainder of the 2020-21 season will continue to be scheduled on a weekly basis
• The move comes with a stated goal to create as much variety and parity in the schedule as possible while adhering to all required health and safety protocols with a maximum of seven weeks remaining in the regular season
BC (8-2-0) has won three games in a row and ranks third in the nation in scoring margin (+1.80). The Huskies (5-5-1) have played four straight games against New Hampshire, sweeping the Wildcats last weekend with 14 total goals, and are 4-1-0 in their last five overall. Connecticut picked up just its third all-time win against Boston College in Storrs on Dec. 12, 2020.
BACK AT THE TOP
• Boston College men's hockey is back atop the national rankings for the first time in five years
• The Eagles are ranked No. 1 in the country in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls following a weekend sweep in a home-and-home series with Merrimack
• BC last earned a No. 1 ranking in USCHO's preseason poll on Sept. 28, 2015
• The Eagles sit at 8-2-0 through 10 games for the best points percentage (.767) in Hockey East
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
• UConn enters the weekend at 5-5-1 overall, a winner in four of its last five games and receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll
• The Huskies erupted for 14 goals in a home-and-home sweep of UNH last weekend, winning 6-5 in overtime at home and 8-3 in Durham
• Junior Carter Turnbull netted a hat trick during the Friday victory in Storrs, including the game-winner 57 seconds into OT
• Junior Johnny Evans leads the team with six goals and 13 points, while classmate Jáchym Kondelík has a team-high 11 assists
• Junior Tomáš Vomáčka has started all 11 games between the pipes with a .913 save percentage and a 2.78 goals against average
• UConn clicks at 17% % on the power play and 76.5% on the kill after finishing with the third-worst combined special teams in the nation (42.5%) last season
• Mike Cavanaugh, who spent 18 years at Boston College as an assistant to Jerry York, is in his eighth season as the head coach in Storrs
THE LAST MEETING
• UConn took four of a possible six points from Boston College in a home-and-home series on Dec. 11-12, 2020 before the break
• Defenseman Marshall Warren capitalized on a rebound at the end of a shift lasting nearly two and a half minutes in 3-on-3 overtime, lifting then-No. 2 Boston College past UConn 4-3 at Kelley Rink to open the series
• Senior Logan Hutsko scored a pair of goals in the second period, while rookie Nikita Nesterenko assisted on both goals
• Freshman Henry Wilder made his collegiate debut between the pipes and picked up the win with 30 saves
• The following day, UConn scored three goals in a span of four and a half minutes in the second period and held off Boston College 3-1
• The Eagles saw their five-game winning streak come to an end, in addition to their six-game winning streak against the Huskies and a 14-game unbeaten run (13-0-1) dating back to last season
SERIES HISTORY
• Friday afternoon will mark the 17th all-time meeting in the series, which Boston College leads 12-3-1
• Prior to UConn's 3-1 victory in Storrs on Dec. 12, BC had won six straight meetings by the combined score of 27-9
• The Eagles are undefeated against UConn in Chestnut Hill (7-0-1), though the first six matchups at Conte Forum were decided by a total of six goals
• Saturday will mark BC's second-ever visit to the Freitas Ice Forum
NICE ONE NIKITA
• Nikita Nesterenko was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week on Monday
• The winger scored the Eagles' NCAA-leading fifth shorthanded goal of the year on Sunday against Merrimack at Lawler Arena, then assisted on Marc McLaughlin's game-winning goal late in the third period
• Nesterenko was plus-2 for the weekend and is averaging a point-per-game this season with five goals and five assists in his first 10 games
• The Brooklyn native leads Hockey East and ranks fifth nationally in scoring by a freshman
BALANCED ATTACK
• Boston College's balanced offensive attack features two players each with 11, 10, 9 and 8 points to represent the team's top-8 scorers through 10 games
• BC has four different players averaging at least a point-per-game, led by Matt Boldy and Logan Hutsko with 11 points in eight games
• 14 players have scored at least one goal and 22 players have at least one point, including assists for goaltenders Spencer Knight and Henry Wilder
• Seven Eagles have at least four goals as four players are tied for the team-lead with five
• Seven members of the rookie class have already posted their first NCAA point
YET ANOTHER MILESTONE
• With a win on Friday, Jerry York would reach 1,100 career victories in 49 years as a head coach
• The Hall of Famer has 632 wins during his 27-year tenture at his alma mater Boston College
• York was formally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 18, 2020 in Toronto, becoming the first to earn the honor among coaches who have coached exclusively in the NCAA
• York will also be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in December of 2021
A HUNDRED FOR HUTSKO
• With a primary assist on the game's opening goal last Saturday just 90 seconds into the first period, Logan Hutsko became the 83rd member of the program's 100-point club
• Hutsko is tied for the team-lead in scoring this year with 11 points, giving him 101 career points on 41 goals and 60 assists in 111 games
• The Tampa native is tied for fourth in Hockey East in points per game (1.38)
CAPTAIN CLUTCH
• Marc McLaughlin has scored a dramatic game-winner in two of the last three games
• The junior captain has already tied a career-high with five goals and is two points away from matching his career-best of 12, set last year as a sophomore
• McLaughlin leads Hockey East with three game-winning goals
• He already has four multi-point games after entering the year with two
WE WERE MERELY FRESHMEN
• BC's highly-touted freshman class has combined for 17 goals and 36 points to lead the team
• Nikita Nesterenko, Colby Ambrosio and Trevor Kuntar are all tied for second in Hockey East in goals scored by a freshman with five
• Nesterenko (T-1st), Ambrosio (5th) and Kuntar (9th) also rank top-10 in points per game
• Defenseman Eamon Powell (+10) leads Hockey East in plus-minus rating among rookies, while Nesterenko (+7), Kuntar (+6) and Ambrosio (+6) also rank top-5
• Three of the Eagles' top seven scorers are freshmen
THE DARK KNIGHT
• Spencer Knight owns a perfect 7-0-0 record in net this season and is unbeaten in his last 16 starts (15-0-1) dating back to last season
• The sophomore netminder ranks sixth in the country in save percentage (.948) and eighth in goals against average (1.71)
• Knight was named the Goaltender of the Month by Hockey East in a combined award for November and December, posting a 1.50 GAA and a .955 SV% in his first four starts
• In 40 career starts, Knight is 30-8-2 for a .775 winning percentage
YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT
• Hockey East announced earlier this week that previously released composite schedules for both the men's and women's leagues will be set aside and the remainder of the 2020-21 season will continue to be scheduled on a weekly basis
• The move comes with a stated goal to create as much variety and parity in the schedule as possible while adhering to all required health and safety protocols with a maximum of seven weeks remaining in the regular season
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