Latest / This Week in Hockey East / It's RIVALRY WEEK in Hockey East!

Transcript

It's RIVALRY WEEK in Hockey East! · This Week in Hockey East

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: On This Week in Hockey East, BCBU Week is here.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: We dive into the rivalry matchup, giving you everything you need to know for these two games, as well as recapping the Women's Beanpot Championship and looking at a host of other crucial games across Hockey East.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Come join us on This Week in Hockey East.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome into this episode of This Week in Hockey East.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Bridget Prue here with Eric Galante.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to start right off the top with a really great men's matchup that we have on Nesson tonight.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Eric, you're lucky enough.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to be broadcasting this game with Jim Connolly.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's between Boston College and Boston University, one of the most uh widely respected matchups in Beantown in terms of college hockey.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Every year they meet it, feels like it's a top 10 meeting.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's no different here again this year.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Two top 10 teams in the pairwise going against each other.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And oddly enough, you and I both broadcast a BC and a BU game last week.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So we both saw these teams really recently.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll throw it to you first.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: What stuck out from BC in this weekend series against Providence?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so excited to get to watch this matchup.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have Friday and Saturday for you on Nesson.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Friday, first at Againus Arena.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think the thing that, you know, stands out from a big picture sense is both teams have won four games in a row.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Both teams come in playing maybe as well as they have all year.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: I thought that Boston College's weekend last weekend against Providence was probably their most impressive victory of the season.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Not that they haven't had big wins for sure, but remember how many of those we talked about in comeback fashion?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: They really controlled those games from start to finish.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe Saturday, Providence in the first couple of periods, played pretty well.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: But for the most part, Boston College only allowed one goal all weekend.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the big thing, right?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: BU is winning with offense right now.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: And Boston College, not that they aren't scoring, but they're kind of winning with their defense right now.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's what really stands out.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: A couple of notes on it.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Over this four-game win streak, they haven't allowed a goal five on five.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's pretty crazy to think about.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Just three power play goals allowed in that stretch, but they have not allowed a goal five on five.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: The other thing that stands out, we talked about this a little bit last week, but it's really worth diving into more, is just how good BC's been at limiting shots, right?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: We've always talked about Providence and New Hampshire and Maine recently and out-of-hockeys, teams like Quinnipia that are so good at limiting the shots of their opponents.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Boston College has never really been one of the teams in that category, and it's not a critique of them, it's just how they've played.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: But you look at what they've done this year, I think it might be the X factor of the season.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: They've only allowed 26 shots on goal per game.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's the lowest recorded total of any BC team since the stat has been tracked going back to 2005.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Just by a means of comparison, last year they allowed 30 shots 20 times.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: This year they've only allowed 30 shots four times all year.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: So they've been really good at limiting those chances.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: And when you have Jacob Fowler behind you, who over his last four games on a win streak has a 970 save percentage, it becomes really difficult to score against this Boston College team.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's the big thing that stands out defensively.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: We'll talk plenty more about this BC team, but I'm not sure if that's something that you noticed last week watching them against Providence as well.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, yeah, they definitely limited the chances the Friars had, kept them to the outside quite a bit.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: It was frustrating.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you could tell that it was working to kind of get the Friars off their game a little bit.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: And but the most uh thing of note to me was that Stiga line.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Stega, Haggins, Perot were incredible uh in that Saturday game against Providence.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Since they've been put together, you just see them click so well.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: The chemistry is there.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: They seem to always know where each other is on the ice.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And without even looking, sometimes they set each other up.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: And Stega has been maybe the best player on that line, even if he doesn't find the score sheet as much.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: He's been just making really nice plays.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hagan's finishing uh pretty much everything he gets the chance to, Perot scoring as well against Providence.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, Ryan Leonard has really killed PC this year.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: So he found his way on the score sheet again in Saturday's game.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: And uh really, if you're BC, you have all the players clicking that you really want to see clicking right now.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: And this was against a team that was ranked number five in the pair wise heading into the weekend.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: They dropped a little bit after losing both games, but this was not an easy matchup.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: And you're able to have your best players look this good against a really good Providence team.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: It really is amazing sometimes that you the lines you think are gonna work, right?
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not that the the world junior line, right, the Haggins, Leonard, and Perot didn't work at times, but it's just amazing that they made this little adjustment before the Providence game, the same lines they used at the end of the first half, and that, you know, Stega, Higgins, and Perot group had 16 shots on goal on Friday alone, just as a group Leonard then plays with Gasso and Yelvik, and it seems to be working.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Teddy Stega, five points, as you said last week.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: He's our service credit unions union scoring leader for the week.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: He was the hockey's rookie of the week.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, it sort of translates to the power play too.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: And that's how we'll transition into BU because BC's power play right now is finally clicking, right?
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: They have goals in four games in a row and five of their last six.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: There's six for their last 14 on the power play after going through a one for 25 stretch.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: So the fact that their power play is going right now is becoming a real X factor because you look at BU, there's a lot of really positive things to talk about, but let's start with the special teams conversation because it transitions in, right?
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: BU's taken a lot of penalties this year.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Their penalty kill has not been great generally this year.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's below 80% on the season.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: We know they've taken more penalty minutes than any team in the country.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: However, Bridget, if you look at the last two couple of games, BU's been much better on the PK.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: They're 14 for their last 15 over their four-game winning streak.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: So that is going to be crucial against Boston College.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Just the special teams in general is going to be crucial.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: I can't believe how good BU's power play has been recently.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they only scored one power play goal on Saturday against UNH, which snapped a streak of five straight games where they scored two power play goals in every game.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's been amazing to watch how good this power play has been.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and when we talked to Jay Pandoffel this week, he said his penalty kill is something that he wanted to spend a lot of time on working on this second half of the season.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Defense and penalty kill is something that BU really needed to work on.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Their offense was great in the first half.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: It continues to be great.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: But the big game changer will be if they're able to be that way on the PK and defensively too.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: And you're starting to see it.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And against UNH, the big thing was they just kept adding on.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: But there was a point in time in Friday's game where UNH had caught up and tied the game three to three, but then next three goals right back to BU.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: They just never let up on the offensive side of things.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been really impressed with watching Ryan Green.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: He had three goals in the weekend series.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: He just continues to roll.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: He's on a five-game goal streak.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: He's a captain on that team, and he's just been leading them in the right direction offensively.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: I also think he's a good 200-foot player as well, a good center.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: So he's been leading them in terms of maturity and how to handle the second half of the season.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it really is amazing when this BU team's going right.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: They score, right?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: They've scored four goals in nine of their last 11 games.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: They just score so much.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: And the thing with the power play is they get so many chances at it, right?
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: They're averaging 4.6 power play attempts per game over the six-game stretch.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: So uh the special teams is going to be crucial this weekend.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Matthew Karan might have had his best weekend of the season, right when we're starting to have this Yagorov conversation.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: And can that be a factor, maybe?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Karan was really good season I 39 saves on Friday, then 34 on Saturday.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: So there is a lot to watch with Boston College and Boston University starting Friday night at Againis Arena and then Saturday at Conte Forum, all on Nesson.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: That is not the only big games, though, this weekend.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll talk a little bit more about that when we come back, as well as recapping the women's beanpot final, which is Northeastern winning again.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's all coming up on this week in Hockey East.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to this week in Hockey East.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go back to Tuesday.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: Another wonderful crowd at TD Garden to watch the women's beanpot final, which saw Northeastern win again over Boston University.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Bridget, you were there on the call for Nesson.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Let's just dive in.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: I think the first point, and then I'll leave it to you and tell us what you thought is boy, championship experience still matters.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: And Northeastern, in their two games in the beanpot, felt like they put those games away early.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: And that's really, I think, the defining thing of this beanpot championship that once again goes to Northeastern.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a three-peat for them, and they really brought it right out of the gate.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like you mentioned, both rounds.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: They scored first and they were able to just keep on the gas.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: And for Northeastern, they also got a really great goaltending effort from the freshman Lisa Jensen.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: She had a bounce back game.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: She lost against Providence right in between the two rounds of the bean pot.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Then she came back, gets a shutout, 30 saves.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it's a 4-0 win for Northeastern.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: And you saw that they got production from a few different places in the lineup.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: They end up scoring an empty net goal that makes it look maybe a little bit more lopsided than it really was.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: But Boston University really was just never able to solve Lisa Junsen.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then you look back at the first game of the day, which was Boston College, Harvard, and BC, similar thing.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: They got on the board, they held on to the lead.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they were able to hold off Harvard and not make it a really close game either, which is different than last year's Beanpot.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: We had the first game go to a shootout, the second game was ended in overtime.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: And this year we had two bigger wins for BC and Northeastern, who really brought their A game to TV Garden.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you mentioned the crowd, over 13,000 people showed up for this year's Beanpot at TD Garden to support the women.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: It was absolutely full.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, last year's attendance was just over 10,000.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we're up another 3,000 uh people that showed up to the game, which was awesome to see and uh to hear all of the students that were there and their bands.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I know the men's hockey team for both BU and Northeastern were there to watch and support.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And it made it the fifth largest women's college hockey crowd ever, and the biggest in New England.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, and definitely the biggest that any of these four teams had played in a building with.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: So uh it was just nice to see.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then when we got to talk to some of the players after the game, Lily Ovetich, who was one of the scorers for Northeastern, said this is what happens when you have a program like Northeastern that invests in its women's sports and its women's hockey and makes a big deal of it.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: And you see how it pays off with them being able to win three in a row and now they've won 20 beanpot titles overall, and they've also had so much success in the Hockey East tournaments recently.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: You see that winning mentality, and it's because they have this confidence that Northeastern is behind them, backing them and supporting them.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it really is amazing and it stands out in a big way.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: And even as you mentioned, the fact that they bounce back so well after a tough weekend in between this beanpot and the schedule can be odd in that way sometimes.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, it's just the fact that it felt like they put those games away so early.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: And there was maybe a little bit of a chance for BC in the semis, or maybe some moments for BU, but it just felt like Northeastern had that game.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: And again, when you have Lisa Yunson in goal, who, by the way, not only was the goalie of the tournament, but also was the beanpot MVP.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: And that also makes her her hour Jersey Mike's a sub-above player of the week.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: 67 saves on 69 shots in the tournament.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: Pretty remarkable.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Congratulations to Northeastern.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, now we'll get to see how these four teams fare in the going forward.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: And the three hockey teams uh are all gonna be right in a tight race atop the hockey standings, which we'll obviously talk a lot about as the year goes on.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: But Northeastern wins another beanpot to kick off their trophy season.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we have more huge games coming up this weekend.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: We'll talk about that when we come back.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to this week in Hockey East.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: Saturday is gonna be really fun because we have an awesome doubleheader of games, concluding with BCBU at Conti, but starting at 4 30 when UMass Lowell goes to Providence.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Still teams inside the NCAA tournament picture right now, but both teams looking to bounce back, Bridget.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about the BC side of it earlier.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about the Providence side of it after a couple of losses last weekend.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, lucky listeners are gonna have to watch me first, then they have to watch you on Saturday because I'll be doing the UMass Lowell Providence game.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And to go into the Providence side, like we mentioned, we referenced it a little bit earlier with the Boston College stuff because they played last weekend and Providence got swept, but there were positives to take out of it.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: And uh when we talked to Nate Lehman, he said the first two periods Saturday, he didn't think the team played bad.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll add that I thought Philip Spedback looked good the whole weekend.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: I thought he had a really great series, but wasn't supported with offense the other way for the Friars.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: It was really finishing that was the issue.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: It was getting grade A opportunities.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: There's stuff on the other side of the ice than Philip Spedbeck.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: He looked good.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a positive to take away.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then Will Elger had the power play goal for the Friars on Saturday.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: He almost scored a few times in that game.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and so he was able to generate, but what they're gonna need to do better this week.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: The Friars are gonna have to try to get more odd man chances.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: They're gonna have to get to the net better.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: After the first period, that was one thing that the coaching staff said, and the player said was we need to get bodies to the net in order to beat this BC team.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because you're trying to beat a goalie like Jake Fowler, you need to take away his eyes, and it's gonna be a similar thing against you, Mass Lowell.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they just it kept feeling like Nate Lee Moon was saying, we just we have to get to our game.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: We have to get to our game.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: And it took them a little while to get to their game, it felt like uh we'll see if they bounce back, and they're gonna play a Lowell team looking to bounce back as well.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: Now Lowell all of a sudden has dropped three in a row, as we said, Stonehill last weekend, and then the two games at May against Maine.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think the thing that stands out is, you know, when we were talking about Lowell early in the season and what was making them go, it was hey, the offense has been pretty good here, and that was sustaining.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: And that's maybe been the one thing the last couple of games.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: And it's pretty crazy the demarcation line here.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: When Lowell scored three goals this year, Bridget, they have not lost.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: They're 9-0-2 when they've scored three goals.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: When they've scored less than that, they're three and seven.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: And we saw them the last couple of games, uh, just four goals total on this three-game stretch.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: So can they find their offense again?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: They did score a power play goal on Saturday.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: That was so big early in the season.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see if they can do that, which should be a really good matchup this weekend.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Providence and Lowell.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: One other one to talk about on the men's side as we go around Hockey East here, presented by the Boston Harbor Hotel.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yukon, I mean, it's just amazing how good Yukon's been here.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: So impressive to start 2025.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: 4-0-1, 3-0-1 in Hockey East play.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: They go up to Maine, they get a win and a tie.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: They are the first team in the last two years to go to Maine and prevent Maine from getting a win on home ice.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: It had not happened since March of 2023, so that's pretty amazing.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Joey Muldowney was outstanding.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: He's our night shift all-academic standout.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: He had all four goals in the game on Friday.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: The first Hockey East player to score four goals in the game since Will Smith did it in the Hockey East final last year.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: We keep mentioning to you big weekend for UConn, big weekend for UConn.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: We keep saying it.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: The reason this one is so big as they play the CT Ice tournament down at Sacred Heart this year, is because it's the non-conference.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: And we've told you how important the non-conference games are in that pairwise picture.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: So this is their last big chance to get a big non-conference win, and they get Quinnipiac in the first round.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: They may even get Sacred Heart, who's now a top 30 pairwise team, potentially in a final.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I also just think it's big for them to want to win this tournament.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: They haven't done it yet as the flagship school of the state of Connecticut.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: So a really interesting weekend for UConn.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see how they do against Quinnipiac, but really impressive what they've done so far in 2025.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to this week in Hockey East.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Bridget Prue with Eric Galanti.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to go around Hockey East, brought to you by Boston Children's Hospital, official children's hospital of Hockey East.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to take a look at some of the women's games coming up this weekend.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: We have a series between Providence and the Boston College women.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to start out with talking about the PC side of things.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: They had an amazing weekend.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: They actually got the sweep, the season sweep, all three wins against Northeastern.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Not an easy team to beat, but Providence seems to have their number over the past few seasons.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: So they get the two wins this weekend, tried to slow Northeastern down, but they bounce back for the beanpot.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And some of the players that were key in that game, Rikin Kirchmeyer, she ends up being the hockey East player of the week, had two goals, one assist, seven shots in those two games.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: And Hope Wolinski has been someone that has led the Friars for most of the season.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: She's the goalie.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Her second half stats are just amazing.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: She's got a 954 save percentage over the last five games.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: And she, I thought from the beginning of the season, pass the eye test of having that kind of quick reaction time where she could get to any puck and that she can slide across her crease.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: And she is somebody that instills confidence in this Ryers team when she's playing at her best.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I think she's been there for most of the year.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: So she's one of the reasons why they get both wins this weekend, and she's gonna have to be important again against Boston College, who are coming off their own high of winning the third place game at the beanpot.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Providence has been really good at home this year.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: They're 9-3-2, but they've now won three straight road games as well.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: So uh it'll be interesting to see against a Boston College team that's really going well offensively right now.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and by the way, by the way, Providence.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're we've been talking this whole season about the top four teams on the women's side.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a tight race.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, guess what?
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: They started to really gain ground, and they're only three points behind Northeastern right now for that in that fifth spot.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: So they're knocking right on the door for that top group.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and they have some great opportunities coming up to get in there.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, really fun matchup to look at this weekend to see if they can do it again against Boston College.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the other big one that stands out is how about U and H going up to Maine for two?
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: These two teams are sixth and seventh in the standings.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: This weekend could go a long way to determining who avoids that opening round, right?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: In the Hockeys tournament.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, both goalies are going really well right now.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: Sedona Blair, 26 save shutout last week in the win against BU.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: She was the hockey's goaltender of the week for the fourth time already this year.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that was UNH's first shutout against BU since the 2008 hockey semifinals.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: And then Maine, who had a shootout win against UConn on Friday.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: They dropped the game Saturday, but all of a sudden here, Julia Bacchetti's played really well.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: 60 saves in two games against UConn.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: She started three games in a row after coming into that Boston College game.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe Maine's found something in goal here.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: So these should likely be a couple of low-scoring games, but uh could have really big implications on the hockey standings come the end of the year.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: So U and H going up to Alphonse 4-2.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: We will take some short shifts and wrap things up when we come back.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Time to take some short shifts presented by the shift group, helping former athletes and veterans become elite business professionals.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the big matchup of the weekend, as we talked about BC and BU.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to go back to that for our short shifts.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's pretty amazing sometimes.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to be prisoners of the moment and forget about the past.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, I want to shout out to our contributor quite a bit last year on This Week in Hockey East at BU Hockey Stats on Twitter.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: This is he found this note, the fifth and sixth consecutive meeting in this BC and BU men's rivalry that they meet as both top 10 teams.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: That is the longest stretch in the history of the rivalry tied with um January 2016 to February 2017 that they've met as top 10 opponents.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: So uh another golden age of this rivalry.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: So we're really lucky to be able to watch it once again Friday and Saturday here on Nesson.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it is pretty crazy to think about that.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and we're not just being prisoners of the moment that this is uh as much talent on these two teams as we've ever seen.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that game's coming up right after this, so definitely stay tuned for that.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: And hey, maybe these two teams will meet in the Hockey East Championship as well.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to remind you that tickets are on sale for the men's and women's hockey east championship.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Get them while they last.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Women's final is Saturday, March 8th at Toscano Family Ice Forum at UConn, and the men play the championship against uh on March 20th and March 21st at TD Garden.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: I want to leave you with this one highlight from Cole Hudson.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: This is the kind of thing you could see.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you get tickets, you go to the Hockey East Championship.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: It was BCBU last year for the men's final.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Cole Hudson, what a dirty play this was.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: He drags it between the defenders' legs and just rips it in.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna see NHL draft picks in this championship weekend.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: So get your tickets now.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Should be fun.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Can't wait for it.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: BCBU is up next.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining us on this week in Hockeys.