Game Day: Hockey East semifinal--BU vs Maine

Returning to TD Garden for the Hockey East semifinals after a one year absence, the #5 Terriers will be looking to punch their ticket to Saturday’s championship game. To get there, BU must get past #10//11 Maine, a team that dealt the Terriers back-to-back losses in January in a pair of close games.

BU-Maine is the second semifinal on today's TD Garden menu, with gametime scheduled for 8 p.m. NESN and NBC Sports Network are televising both semifinals.

Terriers will be facing the league’s third-best offense and second-best power play, led by the Abbott-Flynn-Diamond line, which has produced 42 % of the Black Bears’ offense.

That trio comprises the top three scorers in Hockey East, followed by BU's Alex Chiasson, Chris Connolly and Matt Nieto.

►Connolly has 128 career points, which ties him for 36th on the all-time Terrier list with Joe Sacco, current head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. Fifteen of those points have come against Maine. His 89 career assists are the most by Terrier since Chris Drury's 101.

►In past 21 games, BU’s blueliners have contributed 69 points (23-46)

BU Lineup
Megan-Connolly-Chiasson
Nieto-Gill-Rodrigues
Gaudet-Rosen-Santana
Courtnall-Hohmann-Gilroy
Escobedo-Clendening
Noonan-MacGregor
Privitera-Ruikka
Millan

● GoTerriers.com preview, game notes, Live Stats
● WWZN Radio Webcast
● HockeyEastOnline live scoreboard
● Boston Hockey Blog preview, in-game live blog
● Boston Globe preview
● BU Today preview
● Bangor Daily News preview
● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape

All-star recognition
Sophomore defenseman Adam Clendening (photo)was named to the Hockey East All Star first team announced today by the conference. Connolly and sophomore Garrett Noonan were second-team selections while senior Kieran Millan, Chiasson and Nieto earned honorable mention.
● GoTerriers.com report
● Boston Hockey Blog report

Looking ahead
2012 recruit Matt Lane scored the NTDP U18s’ only goal in a 4-1 loss to Dubuque. 2013 recruit Danny O’Regan, in his third start for the U18s, centered the team’s top line.