BC Hockey vs. Providence: Final Thoughts and Predictions

The calendar turns soon to February and the action at Conte Forum is heating up. For the second straight week, a near-sellout crowd is expected to be in attendance as Boston College hockey takes to the ice. This week, it's a tilt against Providence College, one of the league's hottest teams, which currently sits at #9 in the pairwise. Can the Eagles shut them down?

BC Roster Notes

Danny Linell is injured.

Projected Lines

Ryan Fitzgerald - Destry Straight - 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 - Ian McCoshen
Steve Santini - Noah Hanifin

Goaltender:

Thatcher Demko

GAME FACTS

Game Time: 7:30 PM
TV: BCEagles.com
Radio: WEEI 850 AM, BCEagles.com

Record: Boston College 15-8-2 (8-5-2 HEA), Providence 16-8-1 (8-5-0 HEA)

Goal Differentials:
BC: 75 GF, 58 GA - +17 GD
PC: 69 GF, 51 GA - +18 GD

Team Rankings (Nationally):

Team Offense: BC #16 (3.00 G/GM)...PC #27 (2.76 G/GM)
Team Defense: BC #20 (2.32 GA/GM), PC #6 (2.04 GA/GM)
Shot Differential Per Game: BC #28 (+2.00 shots/gm), PC #25 (+2.80 shots/gm)
Power Play:BC #49 (14-for-105), PC #37 (19-for-123)
Penalty Kill: BC #11 (94-for-108), PC #17 (95-for-111)

Pairwise: BC #13...PC #9
KRACH: BC #14...PC #11

Last Time Out: Providence is coming off a weekend sweep of UMass-Lowell last weekend.

Common Foes: BC faced Providence down at Schneider Arena in November, losing 1-0.

Players to watch: Netminder Jon Gillies is the star of the show for PC, but they have a number of offensive weapons as well. Noel Acciari is the hottest scorer for PC since Christmas. It's also worth keeping an eye on ross Mauermann as well.

Blast from the Not-Too-Distant Past

The Eagles defeated the Friars 4-2 in the Hockey East semifinal in 2012 en route to BC's Hockey East title that year.

The Pre-Game Watering Hole

For a game against Providence College I would recommend taking the long T ride necessary to travel from the North End, since the North End > Federal Hill.

Scoreboard Watching: Out-Of-Town Notes

Lowell and Merrimack renew Merrimack Valley hostilities for the first time since the two met in the Mariucci Classic championship game (which, lol). Both teams could really use a win. Tonight's game is in North Andover; the teams make the quick  trip over to Lowell tomorrow night.

Predictions

Joe Gravellese:

BC 2, Providence 2: I was sort of leaning toward predicting a narrow 2-1 Providence victory, with how good PC looked last weekend against Lowell. But I feel like I can't pick BC to lose at home right now. Things have gone very well for the Eagles at Conte, going undefeated since the loss to Minnesota on Black Friday. I expect a defensive chess match and it's likely that half of the goals in this game (if not more) come from special teams.

Brian Favat:

BC 4, Providence 2 - Brian seems to be in the habit of picking 4-2 lately.

New Guy:

Grant Salzano:

BC 1, Providence 1

AJ Black:

not yet given

BCI Prediction Standings

(pats self on back) I said 3-2 BC last week and that's what it was.

STANDINGS

Brian 3.33
AJ 3
Joe Grav 2.83
BCMike22 1.33
New Guy 1.33
Grant 1

BCJacket5 1
Airforce987 0.5
Enzo 0.33
Beerfart 0.33

Can BC finally score against Gillies for the first time this season? Can they close out a big month of January with another huge victory? Leave your thoughts below.