BC and BU Renew Rivalry in Battle of Comm Ave

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College and No. 13/14 Boston University clash in the 286th Battle of Comm Ave on Friday night at Kelley Rink at 7 p.m. on NESN to open a home-and-home series. The schools close the series on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. on NESN at Agganis Arena. Fans outside New England can watch both games for free at Collegesportslive.com.

SETTING THE SCENE
• BC earned an extra Hockey East point in a shootout following a 3-3 tie in the first regular season meeting between the teams on Dec. 10, 2021 at Agganis to close the first half
• Boston College is 4-1-2 in the last seven regular season meetings between the teams and hasn't lost to the Terriers at Conte Forum in over four years
• Friday will be the first game with all three of the Eagles' top scorers active since New Year's Eve

PLAYOFF PICTURE
• Boston College has four games remaining and will close the regular season next weekend with a home-and-home series against first-place UMass
• The Eagles are ninth in the league standings, two points behind UNH with a game in hand
• If the season ended today, BC would travel to New Hampshire in the opening round
• BC can finish anywhere from fifth to 11th place in the final standings
• BU is currently tied for fifth with Northeastern for the last first round bye

SERIES HISTORY
• Friday night marks the 286th edition of the Battle of Comm Ave, which began on Feb. 6, 1918 as part of BC's first varsity season of men's hockey
• The Eagles are unbeaten in their last three meetings with the Terriers at Kelley Rink (2-0-1)
• Boston College has won the last two by 4-3 finals after a 0-0 tie during the 2018-19 season
• Boston University's last win at Conte Forum came back on Dec. 1, 2017
• BC is 5-1-2 in its last eight trips to Agganis Arena following the 3-3 tie on Dec. 10

THE LAST MEETING
• Trevor Kuntar ripped a shot off the left post to beat Drew Commesso in the fifth round of a shootout, securing an extra Hockey East point in the 285th Battle of Comm Ave on Dec. 10
• Boston College roared back from 2-0 down through 40 minutes to take its first lead of the night at 3-2 in the third period
• Marc McLaughlin ignited the comeback with his team-leading 12th goal of the year and added the primary assist on Patrick Giles' go-ahead goal
• Nikita Nesterenko netted his fifth goal of the season during the three-goal third, while Jack St. Ivany registered a pair of assists
• Eric Dop closed the night with 32 saves, including several highlight reel stops during 3-on-3 overtime, and denied BU on all five of its shootout attempts

BRING BACK BAINER
• Senior assistant captain Jack McBain has not played for the Eagles since New Year's Eve due to injury and his selection to Team Canada for the Olympic Games
• Prior to the injury, McBain posted 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points in 18 games and led Hockey East in points per game at the time
• The Toronto native has a point in 14 of his 18 games this season with eight multi-point games
• McBain has more than doubled his previous career-high in goals (6) with 13
• He was named the Hockey East Player of the Month for October and MVP of the Ledyard Classic

UP NEXT
• BC closes the regular season with a home-and-home against UMass next weekend (March 4-5)

BC and BU Renew Rivalry in Battle of Comm Ave

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Players Mentioned

Eric Dop

Patrick Giles

Trevor Kuntar

Jack McBain

Marc McLaughlin

Nikita Nesterenko

Jack St. Ivany