The Eagles stay at home this weekend for a one game Beanpot tune-up against the good ol' state university. Gametime is 7pm on Friday night. BC is riding a 3 game winning streak and as of today, are the #1 team in the nation. The Minutemen come into town off a one point weekend series with Northeastern and are currently in seventh place in Hockey East.
Its hard to get a good read on this game. The Beanpot, and a rematch with BU stand on the horizon, and this could be a trap game. UMass has never really given BC trouble, and they lost a lot of talent from last years team that wasn't any good either. But, if any team can get up for a chance to catch BC napping, its UMass. They average a mere 2.7 goals per game, however, so it could be tough sledding against a team that can match you goal for goal like no other (except maybe Yale). I expect that BC will remain focused, though, and get the job done.
Prediction: BC 4 UMass 2
Also, it is worth noting that in the latest PWR, BC is currently tied for #3. This puts them in line for a #1 seed in the NCAAs. This happened due to Robert Morris falling out of the TUC (TUC = team under consideration, which is any team with an RPI above .500) list, giving BC the edge over North Dakota. (NoDak won two against RMU, who lost this week) In order to move up any further, however, BC is going to have to work on their RPI and TUC record. Their closest competition for the #1 seeds are Denver and North Dakota, both of whom have played waaaay more TUCs due to their membership in the WCHA. With Hockey East having a down year as far as parity goes, and BC's less than stellar record against Merrimack this year, it is critical that BC win their remaining TUC games : the Beanpot vs BU, and a home and home vs UNH in March. If they can sweep or go 2-1 in these games, combined with a strong showing in the HE tournament, the Eagles should grab a #1 seed. They are very close to Denver in RPI.
Enough math... They play the games for a reason! We will be back Sunday/Monday for a Beanpot preview!
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