Red-Hot BC Faces Hockey East Foes

Ranked No. 1 in the nation and coming off its second consecutive weekend sweep, the Boston College men's hockey team delves even deeper into its Hockey East schedule this weekend.

The Eagles have exploded out of the gates this year, boasting a 7-1 overall record and a perfect 5-0 record in the league.

This weekend, BC will welcome the No. 20 Maine Black Bears to Kelley Rink on Friday night, before traveling to Amherst to play the UMass Minutemen in the second showdown of the season between the teams.

Both upcoming foes have been playing well of late, as Maine is coming off a sweep over Providence, while UMass nearly beat Boston University in back-to-back games. And while neither team is currently ranked in the top 15, head coach Jerry York was quick to praise both opponents, starting with the Black Bears.

"We've had kind of a historic rivalry with Maine over the last couple of decades," he said. "So it excites us to play those types of teams. They swept last weekend, so they'll feel very good about their game. They've always been a team that is exceptional on special teams and this year is no different. Their power play and penalty kill are certainly among the best in our league, so we've definitely got to be concerned about that.

"We've done something a bit different this week where we've started to highlight some of their players that we're concerned with. We've highlighted Matt Mangene as a catalyst for this year's team. He looks really good on tape. It's been exciting at practice because we're coming off of back-to-back wins and they are as well. It makes for a good collision on Friday night."

The Eagles will then turn their attention to UMass, a team they defeated on Oct. 21, 4-2. The Eagles dominated much of their first meeting, but York expects a different team on Saturday night.

"Looking at their recent scores, they tied BU and lost in overtime, so it looks like they're improving," he said. "They're a young team, and they are starting to mature some more as they play more games. It's a different mixture, too, because last time we played them, it was here at Kelley Rink. Now we have to go on the road and anything can happen."

One thing that the Eagles have to square away quickly is the issue of their sixth defenseman. With Patrick Wey out for the foreseeable future, BC has been searching for someone to play meaningful minutes on the blue line. Freshman Mark Begert originally filled the role on the depth chart, but York inserted junior Brooks Dyroff at defense on Saturday and admits that the issue has still not been closed.

"We're trying to find the best fit for that position," York said. "Mark Begert is still involved, Brooks is involved, and we tried Tommy Atkinson there yesterday. We're experimenting there still and we haven't decided who we're going to play there yet. We're hoping to get Pat Wey back by Christmas, but we're just guessing at that."

Having started the year on fire, the Eagles can expect to get every team's best shot from here on out. While they are certainly in the driver's seat early on, the Hockey East season is far from over and there are a number of great opponents still on the schedule. However, York keeps his team focused by not looking past the next opponent, a fact that he has stressed for his entire time at BC.

"We've had such a great rivalry with Maine over the last few decades," he said. "It's really been them, BU, and New Hampshire who have been our big three, so they've definitely got our attention. Then we go on the road against UMass and it's a whole new ballgame. We're not looking past the two games we've got this week, that's for sure."