Men’s Hockey: Terriers to settle season series against UMass Amherst on Tuesday
By Owen Gund
The Boston University Terriers (11-10-3, 7-6-3 HEA) will head west on the Mass Pike for a Tuesday night matchup against the defending national champion UMass Minutemen (12-6-2, 9-2-2 HEA). The two teams have split their first two games, with both contests going beyond regulation time.
On Nov. 12, the teams skated to a 2-2 tie at Agganis Arena, but the Minutemen picked up the extra point in the standings by winning the shootout. The following night, in front of a packed house at Mullins Center, BU freshman defenseman Ty Gallagher introduced himself to the Hockey East with his first career goal in conference play. The goal tied the game 3-3 and forced overtime for the second straight night. In the extra session, junior defenseman Case McCarthy netted the overtime winner with 1:31 remaining for his second goal of the weekend.
Speaking of McCarthy, there’s a good chance that the Terriers will be without him once again, as he has been unavailable for BU’s last four contests. If McCarthy can’t play, junior defenseman John Copeland might have to keep playing top-four minutes if sophomore defenseman Cade Webber continues to miss time. Webber missed the Terriers’ weekend series against the University of Vermont.
Copeland, to his credit, has made the most of his opportunity, and BU head coach Albie O’Connell made sure to acknowledge that in his weekly media call last Thursday.
“On balance, he’s given us good minutes. He’s a plus player. He’s big, and he’s strong. He knows what he’s doing from a defensive standpoint, and he’s played pretty fast and smart with the puck”, O’Connell said on Thursday.
In the November series against UMass, Copeland suited up and was plus-one. He will likely play a big role on BU’s second defense pair alongside junior defenseman Alex Vlasic.
The Terriers are 4-1-1 in their last six games against UMass, but they trail the Minutemen by seven points in the Hockey East standings. BU is currently in sixth place with 23 points.
UMass is currently in second place, and they are coming off of a series sweep over a Northeastern team that beat BU twice. On Saturday night, the Minutemen won 6-0 at Matthews Arena. Leading UMass in scoring is senior captain Bobby Trivigno. The 5-foot-8 forward has 22 points on the season, and he has points in each of his last five games. Goaltender Matt Murray has played every minute between the pipes for UMass and holds a very respectable .931 save percentage.
If the Terriers can hold Trivingo in check and get some quality chances against Murray, they have a good shot at leaving Mullins Center with another victory. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Featured Image by Patrick Donnelly