The No. 16 Massachusetts hockey team will face off against No. 1 Boston College this weekend in two matchups crucial for its rankings as the season draws to a close. The contests are set for Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15.
“Playing desperate, that’s what coach [Carvel has] always been preaching the past couple weeks,” sophomore Cam O’Neill said. “[We’ve] just got to play desperate and play hungry and play hard and I think we have a good chance.”
From the beginning of the season, the Eagles (21-5-1, 13-3-1 Hockey East) have proven their dominance on the ice.
A loss to Boston University in the Beanpot Championship ended BC’s nine-game win streak, eight against HEA opponents. Since the Eagles are ranked first in both the conference and the nation, a win for the Minutemen (15-11-2, 6-8-2 HEA) this weekend could bump them up in the rankings.
“This is just another weekend, you know,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “BC is the first-place team in our league, but I tell you what: it doesn’t matter what team you’re playing in this league. You’ve [got to] have your A-plus game or you’re not [going to] win and it’s no different this weekend.”
Last weekend UMass earned a 5-4 victory to upset No. 11 UConn. Jack Musa led the team in the comeback win with a hat trick. For his efforts, the sophomore earned HEA player of the week. Both accomplishments were career firsts for the Florida native.
Talent is just as evident on the Eagles’ forward lines.
The No. 1 team’s roster boasts two of the top three HEA point leaders, sophomores Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault. The pair have combined for 27 points in their last eight games from 14 goals and 13 assists. Hailing from Amherst, Leonard was selected eighth overall in the 2023 NHL draft and currently sits at the top of the NCAA goal-scoring chart.
“[BC is] able to create a lot of offense on entries if they can come through with speed and possession,” Carvel said. “So that’ll probably be a major focus for us.”
Out of the last fourteen meetings between the teams, the Minutemen have only won one, back in February of 2021. The most recent matchup, last March, resulted in an 8-1 loss for UMass.
In last Friday’s game against UConn, forward O’Neill returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 10 after being injured.
While O’Neill is back, one of the Minutemen’s top forwards, Aydar Suniev, is still out with a lower-body injury. Without his offensive presence, the rest of the team has had to step up and produce goals.
“When bad things happen, we teach our guys to say ‘good’,” Carvel said. “… Somebody else can step up and be a better player and that’s how it’s played out so far.”
Recently, Kenny Connors has been an offensive spark for UMass. After a slow first half of the season, the junior put up six tallies in the past five games, his longest career goal streak.
Goaltending will carry a lot of weight for both teams this weekend and will likely be a deciding factor. First-string goaltenders Michael Hrabal for the Minutemen and Jacob Fowler for the Eagles both rank in the top three for HEA save percentage, with a .922 and .936, respectively.
The first matchup will be hosted at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass. For the second game of the home-and-home series, UMass will return to its home ice at the Mullins Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. both nights. The games can be streamed on ESPN+.
“We’re ready to go,” O’Neill said. “Obviously, last time we played them it wasn’t pretty, eight to one in TD Garden, so we want revenge. We’re hungry to beat them.”
Caroline Burge can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge
