Feb. 29, 2008

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The 16th-ranked Boston University men's ice hockey team (14-14-4, 12-8-3 Hockey East) aims for a perfect February in Hockey East play with the opener of a home-and-home series with Massachusetts (11-13-6, 6-12-5 HEA) at Agganis Arena on Friday (Feb. 29). Game time is set for 7 p.m. The Terriers are 6-0-0 against league opponents this month and enter the weekend on a nation-best six-game win streak.

BU is now tied with Vermont for second in the Hockey East standings, but only three points separate them from sixth place. The Terriers are 9-2-2 in its last 13 Hockey East games with the only losses coming against league leader New Hampshire.

Half of the Terriers' 14 wins this season have come in February, as the team is 7-1-0 this month. BU has outscored its opponents 31-18 in February and three Terriers (Matt Gilroy, Colin Wilson, Brandon Yip) have +9 ratings during the month.

The Terriers and Minutemen have met 51 times prior to tonight, with BU holding a commanding 42-6-3 (.853) advantage in the series. In the last 14 meetings, the Terriers are 10-2-2, including a 5-1-1 mark in Agganis Arena.

UMass, which was ranked fifth in the nation after closing out December with wins over New Hampshire, Colorado College and Notre Dame, has since gone 2-10-1 and is now eighth in the Hockey East standings. Last weekend, the Minutemen were swept at Maine, including a 5-4 overtime loss on Sunday. Freshman James Marcou has a team-best 27 points and shares the team lead in goals (8) with senior P.J. Fenton and junior Cory Quirk, who have put up 23 and 22 points, respectively.

Despite two goals and an assist from senior Pete MacArthur, Boston University fell to then-No. 20 Massachusetts, 5-3, on Nov. 9 at Agganis Arena. The Minutemen broke a 3-3 tie with under seven minutes left and added a late empty-netter for their first win at Agganis in seven tries.

The Terriers have the top two scorers in Hockey East play, as seniors Bryan Ewing and MacArthur have 32 points (13g, 19a) and 30 points (11g, 19a), respectively. Freshman Colin Wilson is tied for sixth with 26 points (9g, 17a), which also is tied for the league high amongst rookies.