#7 Terriers begin the final regular season weekend as they host Providence on Senior Night at Agganis Arena in the front end of a home-and-home series. Puck drop at 7 p.m. will follow ceremonies recognizing the team’s ten seniors and one grad student. (See below)
What’s at stake for BU, currently in first place? With a one-point lead over Merrimack and a two-point lead over Northeastern, the Terriers control their own destiny. Earning five points in the two games would assure the conference regular-season title.
In another scenario: One regulation BU win and one Northeastern loss of any kind will also guarantee the Terriers the conference crown.
“I think we’ve obviously put ourselves in pretty good position here to have a chance to win the regular season title,” said head coach Jay Pandolfo. “It was obviously nice for us last week to get back on the winning track.”
“We need to continue to play the way we did [against Vermont],” he continued. “We’ve got to keep building our game, get back to being consistent every night. That’s the big thing, consistency. If you have that, we have enough talent and skill to have a good team, but we have to make sure we’re playing consistent hockey.”
BU will be playing the always-tough Friars for the first time since taking a 4-1 win last February between the two Beanpot victories. Providence has, for many years, been a hard-checking team with a reputation of playing “heavy.”
But it has been a tale of two seasons for Coach Nate Leaman’s Friars. Through the first three months, they had an 11-4-5 record and were ranked #11 in the USCHO poll. Since then, Providence has just three wins along with two ties and seven losses. PC
Senior Parker Ford leads the Friars in goals (11) and points. Junior Brett Berard has 22 points while junior Nick Poisson, sophomore Riley Duran and freshman Bennett Schimek each have 19 points. Senior Max Crozier (22) and sophomore Taige Harding anchor a veteran defense corps. Freshman netminder Philip Svedeback had made 30 starts in goal and has a 2.23 GAA and a .907 save percentage.
Providence hasn’t played since splitting a series with Lowell two weeks ago and trails the fifth place River Hawks by four points. The Friars need wins and Lowell losses if they’re to avoid the opening round of the playoffs.
“They’re going to be fresh. They’re going to be hungry,” Pandolfo said. We have to match that. This is playoff time now.”
► The 10 seniors and one grad student who will be honored pre-game, L-R: Wilmer Skoog, Sean Driscoll, Ethan Phillips, Jamie Armstrong, Sam Stevens, Case McCarthy, Dom Fensore, Jay O’Brien, Matt Brown and John Copeland. Grad student Patrick Schena in front.
TONIGHT’S TERRIER LINE-UP
BU will skate the same lines as last week in Vermont.
Brown-Skoog-Kaplan
Tuch-Greene-O'Brien
Wilmer-Zabaneh-Peterson
Phillips-Stevens-Q. Hutson
Armstrong
Fensore-Gallagher
L.Hutson-McCarthy
Webber-Copeland
Commesso
Duplessis
Schena● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Men’s Hockey Twitter
● Live Stream ESPN+ , International Stream
● Boston Hockey Blog preview
● WTBU Sports preview
● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape
►Junior forward Nick Zabaneh joined the Daily Free Press hockey reporters for a new episode of Terriers Hockey Talk. Zabaneh, who has moved into the #3 center spot, has nine points on five goals and four assists and is one point shy of his career best total.
Looking back
Nick Bonino is headed back to Pittsburgh, where he won two Stanley Cup, and a reunion with Head Coach Mike Sullivan. Acquired from San Jose in a three-team trade also involving Montreal early this morning, the 34-year-old veteran has 10 and nine assists this season.
The Connecticut native played an important role in the Penguins’ back-to-back Cup wins in 2016 and 2017. Since then, he has played for Nashville, Minnesota and, for the last two seasons, the Sharks.
He’s the second Terrier dealt by San Jose GM Mike Grier. Last month, he traded Matt Nieto to Colorado.
Bonino is one of four Terriers to win the Cup twice, along with Sullivan, Scott Young and Jay Pandolfo. And he is one of four Terriers to win both the Stanley Cup (2009) and an NCAA Championship, along with Chris Drury, Kevin Shattenkirk and Pandolfo.
● NHL.com Penguins acquire Bonino in three-team trade
● Pittsburgh Trib Live Penguins to bring back forward Nick Bonino
● Bonino highlights from prior time in Pittsburgh
tw-align-centerNick Bonino back in Pittsburgh means it’s time to bring back this legendary goal call 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/A33oqBF5bJ
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 3, 2023
And let's bring back another legendary call on a Bonino goal.
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