Boston College Hockey vs. Merrimack: Final Thoughts and Predictions

After a thrilling Beanpot final, Hockey East play resumes for BC with a home and home series against Merrimack.

atFriday, February 12, 2016; 7:00 PM; Kelley Rink at Conte Forum; Boston, Mass.
atSaturday, February 13, 2016; 7:00 PM; J. Thom Lawler Arena; North Andover, Mass. (WBIN/FCS/ESPN3)

THE MATCHUP

Record	20-4-4 (11-1-4 HEA)	8-14-6 (2-8-6 HEA)
Pairwise	4th	40th
KRACH	4th	37th
Team Offense	#4 (4.00 G/GM)	#46 (2.36 G/GM)
Team Defense	#4 (1.79 GA/GM)	#33 (2.79 GA/GM)
Streak	W4	T1

Storylines

• Beanpot hangover?: Monday's game was exhausting just to watch. I imagine the team is also feeling some wear and tear following such a grueling game. We'll see if the Beanpot hangover impacts tonight's game, especially early on.
• Lines without Wood: Once again, BC will be short of a full lineup. Miles Wood will be out due to a one game suspension for his hit on BU's Ahti Oksanen. Chris Calnan is also questionable with a nagging injury. Expect BC to roll 3 lines again. When they've done that in recent games they've gotten gassed down the stretch, so we'll see how it looks tonight.
• Scoreboard watching: It's scoreboard-watching season. We're finally to the point where it's all league games and the races are starting to firm up. BC is currently tied with Notre Dame for first place in the league; the Irish open up a two-game set at home against Maine tonight. UML and BU have a home-and-home that will be crucial as well.

For the first game, Mission and Grady joined together to pick BC for the win. They're predicting a 6-0 BC victory.

For the second game, Grady picked BC and Mission picked Merrimack. The guys are predicting a 4-4 tie.

Also - thanks to everyone that donated to Gifford for #MeowsternBias! If you pledges but haven't donated yet, you can make your donation at Giffordcatshelter.org :)

You can visit these guys and other adoptable cats at the Gifford Cat Shelter on Undine Road in Brighton, right down the street from BC. Founded in 1884, it's the nation's oldest cageless and no-kill shelter.

Predictions Contest

JPDot 35 points
bostoncollegenyr 32 points

princisb 31 points
airforce987 32 points
pjpj23 31 points
cam_dezak 26 points
seobe 8 points
mig1168 8 points
95dougie95 11 points
we are bc 5 points
bcmike22 24 points
b0mberman 4 point
bcmurt09 7 points
tommykay 4 points
totheheights 2 points
bceagles66 2 points
rmbc81 1 point
spillerhighlife 1 point
eagles2015 22 points
eagleeye9184 2 point
bceaglekeepr 1 pint
suckstobu 1 point