Boston College Hockey vs. Northeastern: Final Thoughts and Predictions

Back to the grind! After a successful three-game spell of non-conference play, with wins over Michigan, Brown, and Dartmouth, BC resumes Hockey East action tonight against Northeastern, kicking off a home-and-home series. BC and NU have played a lot of entertaining games in recent years, and with the Huskies hot too, this should be no exception.

BC Roster Notes

Still sans Santini.

Projected Lines

Destry Straight - Ryan Fitzgerald - Austin Cangelosi
Zach Sanford - Adam Gilmour - Alex Tuch
Cam Spiro - Matt Gaudreau - Brendan Silk
Quinn Smith - Michael Sit - Chris Calnan

Defensive Pairs

Teddy Doherty - Michael Matheson
Scott Savage - Danny Linell
Ian McCoshen - Noah Hanifin

Goaltender:

Thatcher Demko

GAME FACTS

Game Time: 7:00 PM Friday, 4:00 PM Saturday
TV: The very excellent GONUXStream.com will have live HD video of tonight's game. NESN will broadcast tomorrow's game on TV.
Radio: WEEI 850 AM, BCEagles.com

Record: Boston College 11-7-1 (4-4-1 HEA), Northeastern 7-10-2 (3-6-1 HEA)

Goal Differentials:
BC: 59 GF, 46 GA - +13 GD
NU: 46 GF, 59 GA - -13 GD

Team Rankings (Nationally):

Team Offense: BC #18 (3.11 G/GM)...NU #40 (2.42 G/GM)
Team Defense: BC #25 (2.42 GA/GM), NU #43 (3.11 GA/GM)
Shot Differential Per Game: BC #31 (+0.80 shots/gm), NU #41 (-2.47 shots/gm)
Power Play:BC #48 (9-for-77), NU #10 (19-for-88)
Penalty Kill: BC #9 (75-for-85), NU #55 (66-for-89)

Pairwise: BC #19...NU #29
KRACH: BC #18...NU #28

Last Time Out: NU played Yale this past Tuesday night, winning 3-2 at home over the Bulldogs.

Common Foes: In out-of-conference play, both BC and NU have played Minnesota; one night after hammering BC, the Gophers lost to the Huskies at Matthews Arena.

Players to watch: Star goalie Clay Witt is The Man #1 for Northeastern, followed closely by The Man #1-A, Kevin Roy, a high-skill forward who feels like he's been at NU forever but is just a junior. Mike Szmatula is another outstanding forward for NU; he's in his sophomore season.

Blast from the Not-Too-Distant Past

Lots to choose from. Many great recent games between these two. Let's pick a blowout, though. BC 7, Northeastern 1 at the 2012 Beanpot semifinal.

The Pre-Game Watering Hole

I'm being lame tonight and going to Pizzeria Uno because it's right around the corner from the rink (read: short walk in the cold). But the best option is Conor Larkin's, a bit up Huntington Ave. Good spot, classic Boston Irish pub with good food and (when there's no game) good service. When there is a game it gets a little too crazy and packed with students for me to feel like braving unless I'm with my Northeastern friends.

Sadly, there aren't a whole lot of other great dinner-and-drink options within a short walk of the arena in spite of the fact that NU is in the heart of downtown Boston. This is a perennial complaint from me and one I hope will be resolved soon. Symphony 8 around the corner near Symphony Hall was a good (if kind of weird) spot that has been closed for a few years now, and is supposedly in progress toward becoming something new.

Scoreboard Watching: Out-Of-Town Notes

The biggest game of the weekend in college hockey is probably Harvard-Yale at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night. Keep an eye also on BU traveling to Wisconsin; the Terriers are likely to put a hurt on the struggling Badgers. Brown takes on PC tomorrow night in the Mayor's Cup; #pray4newguy.

Predictions

Joe Gravellese:

Friday - BC 2 Northeastern 2
Saturday - BC 5, Northeastern 2

With how well NU is playing, I just can't pick BC to sweep all four points. But I'm feeling good about the Eagles and think they'll do better than the split, picking up the tie on Friday night. I expect a bit more of a conservative effort on the road but the games at home vs. NU tend to open up a little more, if memory serves me right.

NU has weaknesses at the back end that BC can exploit if they're playing at their best. They also suck on the penalty kill AND manage to take even more penalties than BC does. So there will be opportunities there to keep trying this new "score power play goals" thing.

Brian Favat:

BC 5, NU 3
BC 3, NU 1

New "Dan Rubin" Guy:

Grant Salzano:

BC 4 NU 2
BC 4 NU 2

AJ Black:

BC 3 NU 0
BC 4 NU 1

BCI Prediction Standings

Brian wins again for being the only person to pick a BC sweep last weekend up at the Ledyard Bank tournament. Good job, BF.

STANDINGS

AJ 3
Brian 3
New Guy 1
Grant 1
BCJacket5 1
Joe Grav 0.83
Airforce987 0.5
Enzo 0.33
Beerfart 0.33

Will BC find a way to win tonight at Matthews Arena, one of the league's toughest road venues? How will Thatcher Demko look in his return from World Juniors? Will BC continue to play lock down defense this weekend even in Santini's continued absence? Leave your thoughts on the weekend series below.