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After Friday night's college hockey results, Hockey East opened up a 13-7 lead over the Big Ten in the inaugural Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge with four games left to play.
On Friday, Michigan earned two points for the Big Ten with a 2-1 victory over the drop-kick dogs, while UMass Lowell earned three for Hockey East with a 4-1 victory over Michigan State. Boston College and Minnesota each earned a point for their respective conferences after skating to a 3-3 tie.
Just four games remain in this year's Challenge: Penn State vs. Vermont in Philadelphia, Boston University at Michigan State, UMass Lowell at Michigan on Saturday, and Boston College at Minnesota on Sunday.
The conference that records the most points from a total of 13 games will be declared the winner. Points are awarded as follows: two points for a win, one point for a tie and a bonus point for a road win. Should the two conferences end up with the same number of points, the result of the Penn State-Vermont snooze fest will be used as the tiebreaker.
Since three of the four remaining games have Hockey East teams playing on the road (the fourth is a neutral site game), the conference needs just one more W to take the inaugural Challenge. Hockey East should come away with the Challenge Cup well before BC's Sunday matinee with the Golden Gophers.
Go Hockey East!
| Date | Matchup | Hockey East | Big Ten |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-Oct | Boston College def. Wisconsin, 9-2 | 2 | 0 |
| 18-Oct | Massachusetts def. Michigan State, 3-1 | 2 | 0 |
| 18-Oct | Michigan ties New Hampshire, 1-1 | 1 | 1 |
| 19-Oct | Boston University def. Wisconsin, 7-3 | 2 | 0 |
| 19-Oct | Massachusetts def. Michigan State, 5-2 | 2 | 0 |
| 19-Oct | Michigan def. New Hampshire, 3-2 (OT) | 0 | 3 |
| 25-Oct | Michigan def. Boston University, 2-1 | 0 | 2 |
| 25-Oct | UMass Lowell def. Michigan State, 4-1 | 3 | 0 |
| 25-Oct | Minnesota ties Boston College, 3-3 | 1 | 1 |
| 26-Oct | Penn State vs. Vermont (Philadelphia, Pa.) | ||
| 26-Oct | Boston University at Michigan State | ||
| 26-Oct | Umass Lowell at Michigan | ||
| 27-Oct | Boston College at Minnesota | ||
| Totals | 13 | 7 |