No. 1 Eagles Open Second Half Against No. 9 Providence

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – After more than a month since its last regular season game, No. 1 Boston College begins the second half on Friday night when it hosts No. 9 Providence at Kelley Rink at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and WEEI 850 AM. Limited tickets are available at BCEagles.com or by calling 617-552-GoBC. The home-and-home series heads to Schneider Arena on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

SETTING THE SCENE
• Boston College edged the Friars 5-4 to close the first half on the Heights back on Dec. 9
• Each of the previous three Hockey East meetings between the schools were ties
• The Eagles have won six of their last seven overall and closed the first half with 13 wins
• Providence beat Brown on the road 3-0 in the Mayor's Cup on Dec. 30, and both schools defeated Simon Fraser in exhibition action at home last weekend

PACK CONTE
• BC leads Hockey East and ranks fourth nationally in average home attendance with 62,576 total fans through nine games for an average of 6,953 per home date
• Conte Forum has seen five crowds of at least 7,300 fans, including four sellouts of 7,884 vs. Denver (Oct. 21), Michigan State (Oct. 27), Northeastern (Dec. 1) and Providence (Dec. 9)
• The game against Boston University on Jan. 26 has already been announced as a sellout
• Boston College is 7-2-0 through nine home games, out-scoring its opponents 40-27

PROVIDENCE RECAP
• Sophomore Oskar Jellvik scored twice in the span of 66 seconds late in the third period to break a 3-3 deadlock as Boston College closed the first semester with a 5-4 Hockey East victory over Providence on Dec. 9 in front of a sellout crowd at Kelley Rink
• The Eagles closed the first half with a record of 13-3-1 overall and 6-2-1 in Hockey East, winning six of their final seven games heading into the break
• Sophomore Cutter Gauthier registered a three-point game with a goal and two assists, tying his career-high with a seven-game point streak
• Freshmen Gabe Perreault and Will Smith each netted power play goals as BC went 3-for-5 on the man advantage against a stout Providence penalty kill

GOLDEN EAGLES
• Seven members of the Boston College men's hockey team won gold medals as the U.S. National Junior Team beat host Sweden 6-2 to win the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship
• Forwards Cutter Gauthier, Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault and Will Smith, defensemen Drew Fortescue and Aram Minnetian, and goaltender Jacob Fowler earned gold medals
• The U.S. claimed its sixth gold medal at the World Junior Championship and second in the last four years, following the 2021 title featuring Matt Boldy, Drew Helleson and Spencer Knight
• Boston College set a USA Hockey record with seven players from the same school on a World Junior Championship roster
• BC now has 17 players who have earned a total of 18 gold medals in the history of the tournament; 16 of those gold medals have been won by American skaters
• The U.S. finished the tournament with a 6-1-0-0 record and earned its 15th tournament medal

WORLD JUNIORS REWIND
• Gauthier was tied for the tournament lead in scoring with 12 points on two goals and 10 assists; he was named Best Forward of the World Junior Championship and scored the game-winning goal late in the third period of the Semifinal against Finland
• Perreault (3-7-10) was tied for sixth in scoring at the event, while Smith (4-5-9) ranked 13th overall in points; Leonard added six points on three goals and three assists
• As linemates, the trio combined for two goals and four assists in the Gold Medal Game
• Fortescue also collected an assist in gold medal victory over Sweden and closed the tournament with a plus-6 rating in seven games
• Fowler made three starts and went 3-0-0 with a 2.59 goals against average, beating Latvia in the Quarterfinal round

WORKHORSE IN NET
• Jacob Fowler posted his 13th win against Providence on Dec. 9 and improved to 13-3-1
• He is tied for third nationally in wins and second in winning percentage (.794)
• Fowler leads Hockey East and ranks fifth nationally with a .925 save percentage
• The rookie's 2.16 GAA ranks seventh among NCAA goalies with at least 14 appearances
• He has played the third-most minutes among Hockey East goalies (1028:24)

KILLER SPECIAL TEAMS
• Boston College's penalty kill is currently the top unit in the nation at 92.2%
• The Eagles had a streak of six consecutive games without allowing a power play goal snapped against Providence last time out on Dec. 9
• Boston College has been perfect on the kill in 10 of its last 12 games
• BC also leads Hockey East on the power play, clicking at 29%
• The PP ranks fifth nationally and has converted in all but three games this season
• BC has scored eight power play goals over its last five games, including a season-high three PPG against Providence last time out

UP NEXT
• BC faces Merrimack in a home-and-home series next weekend on Friday and Sunday

No. 1 Eagles Open Second Half Against No. 9 Providence

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Players Mentioned

Drew Fortescue

Jacob Fowler

Cutter Gauthier

Oskar Jellvik

Ryan Leonard

Aram Minnetian

Gabe Perreault

Will Smith