Boston College head coach Jerry York goes for history tonight as his No. 2 Eagles make a Friday trip south to Providence's Schneider Arena to face the Friars with hopes of their fifth victory in as many games against them. With a victory, York would surpass the legendary Ron Mason for first all-time with 925 wins as a Division I coach.
The Eagles dominated the series between the teams last season, outscoring the Friars, 18-3, including a victory in the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden. However, BC has yet to face stellar freshman Jon Gillies, who has started every game thus far for Providence. He and fellow Hockey East foe Brody Hoffman of Vermont are the lone rookie stoppers in all of college hockey to have started every game for his team so far this season.
The Harvard men's and women's squads have enjoyed solid starts near the head of the ECAC Hockey standings as both teams enter a weekend which features a slew of Hockey East opponents. The Crimson men are ranked 20th in the nation and trek to Merrimack on Friday for the first time ever.
MC is 1-0-1 against teams from the ECAC this year and look to ride the hot goaltending of sophomore Rasmus Tirronen, who has made a 1.56 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in his last five starts. The Warriors will also host the U.S. Under-18 Team on Saturday and Army on Tuesday before the holiday break concludes.
The Crimson, which are in action for the first time since Nov. 17, also take on UMass-Lowell on Monday night at Bright Hockey Center. Rookie Jimmy Vesey, a North Reading, Mass. native led the team with three goals and five points to earn ECAC Rookie of the Month honors for November.
On the women's side, the Crimson host Providence on Friday in Cambridge before the second half of their weekend (to be televised on Fox Sports Atlantic) at New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon. Each of Harvard's opponents hold a healthy advantage in the all-time series, but the 8-1-0 Crimson look to lengthen their unbeaten streak, which currently sits at five games.
After a crucial win on Thursday at New Hampshire, their second against a top-ranked team in seven days, No. 7 Boston University welcomes a reeling Maine squad to Agganis Arena on Saturday for a nationally televised contest. Junior Sahir Gill scored a goal and an assist, while senior Wade Megan and freshman Sam Kurker also scored last night in support of rookie Matt O'Connor's latest victory. Maine enters the weekend at 2-10-2 overall with junior Martin Ouellette playing solid goal with starts in seven games thus far.
Saturday's contest between Northeastern and UMass-Lowell at the Tsongas Center will be extremely crucial, pitting the eighth and ninth teams in the Hockey East league standings against one another for the first time this season. UML won the season series between the teams last season with two wins in a home-and-home series as current junior Derek Arnold scored the overtime winner last Jan. 21.
UMass faces ECAC foe Colgate in a pair of weekend contests at Mullins Center, looking for a winning streak after beating Northeastern last Saturday in Boston.Sophomore Kevin Boyle has made the start in four straight games for the Minutemen, having posted a league-best 1.67 goals-against average.
Joshua Kummins is the Hockey East beat writer and a weekend editor for SB Nation Boston. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.