So much for appetizers.
The top two teams in Hockey East’s preseason poll will meet Friday and Saturday when No. 2 Boston College and No. 7 UMass face off in a home-and-home series. They weren’t scheduled to play each other until the middle of January, but the conference’s flexible schedule delivered a main-course worth matchup after COVID-19 postponements and return-to-play delays opened the dates for both teams early in the season.
“I like to feel there’s a bit of a rivalry forming. I think the last two or three years we’ve been preseason number one and two,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “Not unexpected for BC. Maybe a little unexpected for UMass, which means we’ve got to hold up our end of the bargain here and act like a top team in the league.”
Between them, they’ve won the past three Hockey East regular season titles. BC was picked first in the preseason, while the Minutemen were second. Both have been ranked in the top 10 for a majority of the previous two seasons. They split six meetings over that same time frame.
“Being the top two teams in Hockey East, every time we play it’s going to bring the best out of both teams,” UMass junior forward Bobby Trivigno said. “We want to prove some people wrong here.”
The Eagles were supposed to open against New Hampshire on Nov. 20, but that contest was postponed. The Minutemen (1-0-1) split its opening weekend series with UConn. They opened with a comfortable 5-1 win last Friday before losing a two-goal lead on Saturday and falling in a shootout.
“It will be good for our league and good for our guys to play a top team. You find out what you’ve got and what you’re made of,” Carvel said. “The way we lost the lead on Saturday at UConn was a wake-up call for our group. BC will give us a wake-up call if we’re not ready for them.”
BC is a young team. The Eagles only feature seven upperclassmen, two of whom are seniors. Their top scorer, however, is sophomore Alex Newhook, who had a 42-point freshman year.
“Against BC it’s always about you need to be very disciplined. You can’t let them get on the power play, or they’ll torch ya. You can’t give them transition offense, they’re gonna torch ya. You can’t give them high-end scoring chances, they’re gonna torch ya,” Carvel said. “It’s up to us, that’s all in our hands, right? We’ve got to not give those opportunities, and if we can do that gives us a chance.”
The Minutemen were effective on special teams in their opening series. They converted 3 of 11 power-play opportunities and didn’t allow a goal down a man. UMass even fought off a 5-on-3 situation late Saturday against the Huskies.
“We’re not gonna be a high-scoring team. We’re gonna be a good 5-on-5 team and need our special teams to be the difference,” Carvel said. “After having an atrocious power play last year, what I’ve seen through two games and a lot of practice I’m hoping our power play will be better for us.”
Though their opponents have shuffled throughout the early part of the season, UMass has managed the uncertainty by focusing on its own development.
“We don’t know how many games we’re playing here, every game is huge,” Trivigno said.