Boston College Athletics
Saturday, January 7
Boston, MA
6:00 PM
Boston College
vs
UMass
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Eagles and Minutemen Clash at Frozen Fenway on Saturday
January 05, 2023 | Men's Hockey
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College faces No. 15 UMass in Frozen Fenway 2023 presented by Moderna and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Saturday night at 6 p.m. on an outdoor rink at Fenway Park. The matchup will air live on NESN and radio coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on WEEI 850 AM and BCEagles.com.
SETTING THE SCENE
• The Eagles are 3-1-2 in their last six games as they enter the 2023 portion of the schedule one game above .500 at 7-6-4 overall and 5-3-3 in Hockey East
• The 15th-ranked Minutemen blanked Brown 3-0 in Amherst on Tuesday night behind 33 saves from Luke Pavicich and enter Frozen Fenway at 9-7-3 (3-6-1 HEA)
• Four of the last five matchups in the series have been decided by a single goal
FRIENDLY FENWAY
• BC is making its fifth all-time appearance at Fenway Park with a 3-1-0 record in the previous four games, including three straight wins
• The Eagles' four previous visits to Fenway Park have been decided by a total of five goals, with three one-goal games and a 3-1 win that included an empty-netter
• UMass will mark BC's fifth different opponent at America's Most Beloved Ballpark
SERIES HISTORY
• Boston College leads the series with UMass 70-17-3, including a 34-8-1 advantage dating back to 2008, heading into the 91st all-time meeting in series history
• The Eagles have won six of the last seven meetings, with the only UMass victory coming at Kelley Rink in overtime on Feb. 26, 2021
• That includes a pair of one-goal Boston College wins last season in early March to sweep the regular season series in a home-and-home
• The last neutral site meeting between the schools was a 3-0 BC shutout in the 2019 Hockey East Semifinal at TD Garden
NEW YEAR'S IN THE DESERT
• Boston College split a two-game series at Mullett Arena against Arizona State last weekend to close out 2022 in Tempe, Arizona
• The Eagles never trailed on Friday night in a 5-2 road win over the Sun Devils to begin the series
• Colby Ambrosio and Matt Argentina each had a goal and an assist in the victory, while Nikita Nesterenko collected two assists
• ASU edged Boston College 2-1 on New Year's Eve to salvage a split and snap BC's five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2)
• Ambrosio scored the lone Eagle goal in the second period for a three-point weekend
NASTY NESTY
• Nikita Nesterenko is currently riding a caeer-high seven-game point streak
• The junior has posted a 3-7-10 scoring line over the last seven games and has 12 points in his last nine contests overall
• Nesterenko is tied for the team lead in scoring with 16 points on the season
• He ranks 12th in Hockey East in points per game with a 4-12-16 line in 17 games
• The Coney Island native was named the runner-up for the Hockey East Player of the Month Award in December with six points in four games
KUNTAR'S CONTRIBUTIONS
• Trevor Kuntar is 14th in Hockey East in scoring by averaging nearly a point per game over his first 16 games of the season
• Kuntar had a career-high six-game point streak snapped on Dec. 2 vs. Providence
• The Buffalo native has at least one point in 11 of his last 15 games overall
• The junior is tied for third in Hockey East with four power play goals
• He leads the team with 65 shots on goal, which ranks sixth in Hockey East and is more than halfway to his sophomore season total (106)
CUTTER AT WORLD JUNIORS
• Freshman forward Cutter Gauthier is competing for the United States at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
• He helped lead the U.S. to the semifinal round before falling to Canada 6-2 on Wednesday night in Halifax
• Gauthier has posted eight points (2-6-8) in six games heading into Thursday's Bronze Medal Game against Sweden
• The Hockey East Rookie of the Month for November missed the Arizona State series due to World Juniors
• With 10 goals in his first 13 collegiate games, Gauthier leads Hockey East and sits second nationally in goals per game (0.77)
NHL NOTES
• Johnny Gaudreau (Columbus) had two assists in his 2022 finale to finish one shy of the most assists ever by a U.S.-born player in a calendar year
• His 81 assists in 2022 trailed only former Eagle Craig Janney's 82 assists in 1992
• Gaudreau's 119 points stand as the third-most in one year by a U.S.-born player
• Alex Tuch (Buffalo) ranks top-25 in the NHL with 18 goals; his career-high in goals is 20
• Spencer Knight (Florida) collected his first career point with an assist on Tuesday
UP NEXT
• Boston College travels to face Sacred Heart next Saturday night to open the Pioneers' brand new Martire Family Arena
SETTING THE SCENE
• The Eagles are 3-1-2 in their last six games as they enter the 2023 portion of the schedule one game above .500 at 7-6-4 overall and 5-3-3 in Hockey East
• The 15th-ranked Minutemen blanked Brown 3-0 in Amherst on Tuesday night behind 33 saves from Luke Pavicich and enter Frozen Fenway at 9-7-3 (3-6-1 HEA)
• Four of the last five matchups in the series have been decided by a single goal
FRIENDLY FENWAY
• BC is making its fifth all-time appearance at Fenway Park with a 3-1-0 record in the previous four games, including three straight wins
• The Eagles' four previous visits to Fenway Park have been decided by a total of five goals, with three one-goal games and a 3-1 win that included an empty-netter
• UMass will mark BC's fifth different opponent at America's Most Beloved Ballpark
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Score |
| Jan. 8, 2010 | Boston University | L | 2-3 |
| Jan. 14, 2012 | Northeastern | W | 2-1 |
| Jan. 4, 2014 | Notre Dame | W | 4-3 |
| Jan. 7, 2017 | Providence | W | 3-1 |
SERIES HISTORY
• Boston College leads the series with UMass 70-17-3, including a 34-8-1 advantage dating back to 2008, heading into the 91st all-time meeting in series history
• The Eagles have won six of the last seven meetings, with the only UMass victory coming at Kelley Rink in overtime on Feb. 26, 2021
• That includes a pair of one-goal Boston College wins last season in early March to sweep the regular season series in a home-and-home
• The last neutral site meeting between the schools was a 3-0 BC shutout in the 2019 Hockey East Semifinal at TD Garden
NEW YEAR'S IN THE DESERT
• Boston College split a two-game series at Mullett Arena against Arizona State last weekend to close out 2022 in Tempe, Arizona
• The Eagles never trailed on Friday night in a 5-2 road win over the Sun Devils to begin the series
• Colby Ambrosio and Matt Argentina each had a goal and an assist in the victory, while Nikita Nesterenko collected two assists
• ASU edged Boston College 2-1 on New Year's Eve to salvage a split and snap BC's five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2)
• Ambrosio scored the lone Eagle goal in the second period for a three-point weekend
NASTY NESTY
• Nikita Nesterenko is currently riding a caeer-high seven-game point streak
• The junior has posted a 3-7-10 scoring line over the last seven games and has 12 points in his last nine contests overall
• Nesterenko is tied for the team lead in scoring with 16 points on the season
• He ranks 12th in Hockey East in points per game with a 4-12-16 line in 17 games
• The Coney Island native was named the runner-up for the Hockey East Player of the Month Award in December with six points in four games
KUNTAR'S CONTRIBUTIONS
• Trevor Kuntar is 14th in Hockey East in scoring by averaging nearly a point per game over his first 16 games of the season
• Kuntar had a career-high six-game point streak snapped on Dec. 2 vs. Providence
• The Buffalo native has at least one point in 11 of his last 15 games overall
• The junior is tied for third in Hockey East with four power play goals
• He leads the team with 65 shots on goal, which ranks sixth in Hockey East and is more than halfway to his sophomore season total (106)
CUTTER AT WORLD JUNIORS
• Freshman forward Cutter Gauthier is competing for the United States at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
• He helped lead the U.S. to the semifinal round before falling to Canada 6-2 on Wednesday night in Halifax
• Gauthier has posted eight points (2-6-8) in six games heading into Thursday's Bronze Medal Game against Sweden
• The Hockey East Rookie of the Month for November missed the Arizona State series due to World Juniors
• With 10 goals in his first 13 collegiate games, Gauthier leads Hockey East and sits second nationally in goals per game (0.77)
NHL NOTES
• Johnny Gaudreau (Columbus) had two assists in his 2022 finale to finish one shy of the most assists ever by a U.S.-born player in a calendar year
• His 81 assists in 2022 trailed only former Eagle Craig Janney's 82 assists in 1992
• Gaudreau's 119 points stand as the third-most in one year by a U.S.-born player
• Alex Tuch (Buffalo) ranks top-25 in the NHL with 18 goals; his career-high in goals is 20
• Spencer Knight (Florida) collected his first career point with an assist on Tuesday
UP NEXT
• Boston College travels to face Sacred Heart next Saturday night to open the Pioneers' brand new Martire Family Arena
Players Mentioned
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