Boston College Men’s Hockey vs. Maine: Game Preview

After an absolute heartbreaker at the Beanpot semifinals this past Monday, the Eagles return to take on the Maine Black Bears for the first time this season in an effort to get back in the winning column after a winless couple of weeks.

WHO:

Boston College Eagles (9-11-6, 5-7-5 HEA) vs Maine Black Bears (12-13-2, 6-9-1 HEA)

WHERE:

Kelley Rink, Chestnut Hill, MA

WHEN:

Friday, February 10. Puck drops at 7PM.

HOW TO WATCH:

The game will be live on NESN, and should also be available to stream on ESPN+.

FOLLOW ALONG:

@bcinterruption and @bc_mhockey on Twitter.

PREVIEW:

The Black Bears are having a fairly mediocre season so far, and have gone 6-4 since the beginning of 2023. While they’ve had some lopsided losses this season, they’re also entering this matchup against the Eagles after sweeping Providence and earning a hard fought OT win against Merrimack.

Maine is led on offense by junior Lynden Breen, who has 24 points in 27 games, followed by senior Ben Poisson, who has 22 points in 27 games. In net, junior Victor Ostman has assumed starting duties, and is boasting a .918 save percentage and has a 2.26 GAA in 24 games. In the second game against Providence, Ostman made 52 saves to earn the shutout win and clinch the weekend sweep.

Last time out, the Eagles stormed back from a 3-1 deficit against #10 Harvard at the Beanpot semifinal on Monday with four minutes remaining in the game, with Cutter Gauthier eventually netting the game-tying goal with 90 seconds to go in regulation. Unfortunately, BC fell in overtime with 1.5 seconds left, but the effort to tie the game is a third period performance the Eagles should aim to do more consistently. They peppered Harvard goalie Mitchell Gibson with 22 shots in just the third, and allowed only two shots against. Although the game ended in heartbreak, it’s a good sign that the Eagles never fell apart and fought back after being down two goals.

Of course, the Eagles will have to get past Maine, and this could be a good game to get things back on track after a rocky start to the calendar year (and before they take on BU in the consolation game next Monday).