No. 1 BC and No. 15 BU Square Off in Battle of Comm Ave

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Top-ranked Boston College and No. 15 Boston University renew their historic rivalry this weekend in the 283rd and 284th editions of the Battle of Comm Ave. The Eagles host the Terriers on Friday (Feb. 5) at 7 p.m. on NESN+ at Kelley Rink before the series concludes on Saturday (Feb. 6) at 7 p.m. in the teams' first meeting at Walter Brown Arena since 2004.

BC (5-0-1) owns the longest active unbeaten streak in the nation, while BU (5-0-0) is tied for the second-longest. Boston College is unbeaten (4-0-1) in its last five regular season meetings with Boston University, including a 4-1 road victory on Feb. 29, 2020 to clinch its league record 17th Hockey East regular season championship.

GET YOUR POPCORN READY
• This weekend features two of the top-3 offensive teams in college hockey
• Boston College is third overall with 4.08 goals per game through 13 contests while Boston University ranks second with 4.17 goals per game after just six contests
• The Eagles own a 53-29 goal differential (+24) this season, which is fourth in the nation
• BC has scored 18 times in its last four games for an average of 4.5 per outing

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
• No. 15/15 Boston University enters the weekend with a 5-1-0 record, having won five straight games overall
• The Terriers posted a weekend home sweep of Maine on Jan. 22-23 but haven't played since after a brief COVID pause for the BU athletic department
• Robert Mastrosimone's overtime winner on Jan. 22 gave the Terriers a 3-2 win over the Black Bears; BU followed up with a 5-1 win on Jan. 23
• National and Hockey East Player of the Month David Farrance leads the team with four goals, 10 assists and 14 points through the first six games
• Sophomores Jay O'Brien (3-3-6) and Domenick Fensore (1-5-6) are each averaging a point per game thus far
• Rookie netminder Drew Commesso has started every game in net with a 5-1-0 record, 3.08 GAA and .917 SV%
• BU is clicking at 19.4% on the power play thus far and 80.6% on the kill

SERIES HISTORY
• The Battle of Comm Ave began on Feb. 6, 1918 as part of Boston College's first varsity season of men's hockey
• Boston College is 4-0-1 in the last five regular season meetings between the schools and 5-2-2 in the last nine matchups overall
• Jerry York is 48-44-10 against Boston University as head coach at BC and will face Albie O'Connell for the sixth time on Friday with a 3-0-2 mark
• The Eagles' last game at Walter Brown Arena was a 3-2 loss on Dec. 3, 2004 prior to the opening of Agganis Arena the following season
• The programs have claimed 22 of the 36 previous Hockey East Tournament titles

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS
• The Eagles edged the Terriers 4-3 on Jan. 18, 2020 at Conte Forum as Julius Mattila netted the game-winner with 5:40 left in the third period
• BU stormed back from 3-1 down in the third period of the Beanpot Semifinal on Feb. 3, 2020 and beat the Eagles in double overtime to advance
• The game officially ended in a 4-4 tie following a five-minute first overtime
• Boston College earned a 4-1 victory at Agganis Arena on Feb. 29, 2020 to clinch its league record 17th regular season championship
• BC is 5-1-1 in its last seven road matchups with BU and has won each of its last three trips to Agganis by 4-1 final scores

TUESDAY AT MATTHEWS
• BC received six multi-point performances and goals from six different players in a 6-2 road victory over 14th-ranked Northeastern on Tuesday night at Matthews Arena
• Playing in his 120th career game, senior defenseman Michael Karow scored his first collegiate goal unassisted for an insurance tally and a 5-2 cushion in the third period
• Marc McLaughlin, Patrick Giles, Jack McBain, Marshall Warren and Nikita Nesterenko all had a goal and an assist for the Eagles, who improved to 7-1-1 in their last nine visits to Matthews
• Defenseman Eamon Powell posted a pair of assists for his second career multi-point game
• Spencer Knight remained unbeaten between the pipes at 9-0-1 with 26 saves

CAPTAIN CLUTCH
• With an early flare for the dramatic this season, captain Marc McLaughlin leads the entire country in both game-winning goals (5) and shorthanded goals (3)
• The junior has already surpassed his previous career-high in goals (5) with a team-leading eight as well as his career-high in points (12) with a team-high 14
• The North Billerica native is third in Hockey East in goals per game and is riding a career-best four-game goal scoring streak and four-game point streak
• He already has five multi-point games after entering the year with just two

WORTH THE WAIT
• Assistant captain Michael Karow became the 17th different Eagle to record a goal this season when he netted his first NCAA tally on Tuesday in his 120th career game
• Karow is tied for third in Hockey East this season in blocked shots with 24
• He is tied for fifth in the league with a +12 rating on the blue line

ALL I DO IS WIN
• Spencer Knight owns a near-perfect 9-0-1 record in net this season and leads the country in winning percentage (.950)
• Knight owns a personal unbeaten streak of 19 games (17-0-2) dating back to last year
• He ranks fifth nationally in save percentage (.944) and ninth in goals against average (1.88)
• In 43 career starts, Knight is 32-8-3 for a .779 winning percentage

NICE ONE NIKITA
• With 13 points in his first 13 collegiate games, Nikita Nesterenko leads Hockey East and ranks sixth nationally in scoring by a freshman
• Nesterenko is coming off his fourth multi-point game of the season with a goal and an assist on Tuesday against No. 14 Northeastern
• The Brooklyn native was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week on Jan. 18

EVEN STRENGTH
• BC leads the nation in even strength scoring this season with 3.31 goals per game
• Only four of Boston College's 53 total goals (7.5%) have been scored on the power play while six (11%) have come shorthanded
• Eight Eagles have a plus-minus of +10 or better on the year and 11 of the top-20 plus-minus ratings among Hockey East skaters belong to BC

ANOTHER ROUND NUMBER
• With a 4-2 win at UConn on Jan. 23, Schiller Family Head Coach Jerry York reached 1,100 career victories in his 49 years as a Division I head coach
• UConn women's basketball coaching legend Geno Auriemma, who collected his 1,100th career win just 48 hours prior, was in attendance at the Freitas Ice Forum
• York was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 18, 2020 and is scheduled to be enshrined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in December of this year

A HUNDRED FOR HUTSKO
• With a primary assist on the game's opening goal on Jan. 16 against Merrimack, Logan Hutsko became the 83rd member of the program's 100-point club
• He joins former linemates David Cotton and Julius Mattila, who both hit 100 last season
• The Tampa native is tied for ninth in Hockey East in points per game (1.00)

THEY SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY
• Sophomore Mike Hardman, whose grandfather Bob Sylvia captained BU during the 1964-65 season, celebrates his 22nd birthday in Friday's series opener
• Freshman Tim Lovell will turn 19 years old next Monday (Feb. 8), while senior Logan Hutsko turns 22 next Thursday (Feb. 11)
• Patrick Giles (Jan. 3), Jack McBain (Jan. 6) and Harrison Roy (Jan. 17) all turned 21 last month
• Jack Moffatt (Jan. 8) and Alex Newhook (Jan. 28) also celebrated their 20th birthdays

No. 1 BC and No. 15 BU Square Off in Battle of Comm Ave

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Players Mentioned

David Cotton

Patrick Giles

Mike Hardman

Logan Hutsko

Michael Karow

Spencer Knight

Tim Lovell

Julius Mattila

Jack McBain

Marc McLaughlin

Jack Moffatt

Nikita Nesterenko

Alex Newhook

Eamon Powell

Harrison Roy

Marshall Warren