March 14, 2008

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After surging to a second-place finish in the Hockey East standings, the Boston University men's ice hockey team (17-15-4, 15-9-3 HEA) takes on seventh-seeded UMass Lowell (15-15-4, 10-13-4 HEA) in a best-of-three league quarterfinal series at Agganis Arena. The series opens on Friday (March 14) at 7:30 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast live by NESN. The Terriers, who are hosting a quarterfinal match-up for the fourth straight year, posted a 2-1 record against the River Hawks this season.

No team in the country has a better winning percentage over its last 10 games than BU (9-1-0, .900). During the 10 games, the Terriers have scored twice as many goals as their opponents (36-18).

Following a 4-3 road loss to UMass Lowell on Dec. 7, the Terriers were tied for last in the Hockey East standings as they entered the holiday break. BU then went 12-3-2 in its 17 Hockey East games after the break with two of the losses coming against regular-season champion New Hampshire.

The Terriers have won their last six home contests -- an Agganis Arena record. BU last won six straight home games during the 1999-00 season (Jan. 29-March 11). The Terriers will be aiming for seven in a row, something that hasn't been done since stringing together 10 straight wins at Walter Brown Arena spanning two seasons in 1997 (Feb. 28-Nov. 29).

After posting shutouts in four of its last seven games, BU has a team goals against average of lower than 3.00 for the first time this season. The Terrier defense enters the series with UMass Lowell on a shutout skein of 122:46 and the team's goaltenders have not allowed a goal in 136:18.

The Terriers have won at least one game in the Hockey East playoffs in each of the last 15 years, the longest streak of its kind in league history. The last time BU exited without a win was 1992, when Boston College posted a 5-2 victory over the Terriers in a single-game quarterfinal.

This will be the first time that BU and UMass Lowell will be meeting in the Hockey East quarterfinals. The Terriers have faced all of the league's other eight teams at least once in the quarterfinals.

The Terriers and River Hawks head into the weekend having played each other 80 times since first meeting in the 1983-84 season. Over that period, BU holds a commanding 56-16-8 (.750) advantage. In the Hockey East playoffs, the Terriers are a perfect 5-0 against the River Hawks, including the 1994 championship game, two semifinal match-ups (1995, 1997) and two consolation games (1985, 1996).

Once a strong candidate for a top-four finish in the league standings, UMass Lowell went 2-5 in its last seven games to come in seventh. The River Hawks were swept last weekend at Maine, including a 2-1 overtime loss on Saturday that prevented them from moving up to the sixth seed.

Sophomore Kory Falite has had a standout season with team highs in points (29) and goals (16), while classmate Ben Holmstrom has put up 25 points on the strength of a team-best 19 assists. Falite's 14 goals in league play was tops in the conference. Junior Mark Roebothan (13g, 9a) and sophomore defenseman Barry Goers (4g, 18a) have each chipped in with 22 points. Sophomore goaltenders Carter Hutton and Nevin Hamilton have split time this year, each appearing 17 contests. Hutton has the edge in goals against average (2.38/2.56) while Hamilton has a slight advantage in save percentage (.911/.909).

Nationally, only Dartmouth (10.3) has averaged fewer penalty minutes per game this year than UMass Lowell (10.8). Former BU assistant coach Blaise MacDonald is seventh season at the helm of the River Hawks' program and is currently assisted by former Terrier Kenny Rausch `05.

BU went 2-1 against UMass Lowell in the teams' regular-season series, including a 6-2 road triumph in their most recent meeting on Feb. 8. The Terriers earned a thrilling 7-4 come-from-behind home victory over the River Hawks on Nov. 3 before falling, 4-3, at Tsongas Arena just over a month later. Freshman Colin Wilson recorded five points (2g, 3a) in the three games, scoring at least one point per game, and classmate Nick Bonino had four points, including three goals. Four of senior Ryan Weston's seven points this season came against the River Hawks.

Senior Pete MacArthur has played 12 games against UMass Lowell, scoring 11 points (5g, 6a). Juniors Chris Higgins and Brandon Yip each have three goals and three assists against the River Hawks; Higgins in nine games and Yip in only four.

The Terriers earned home ice for the Hockey East quarterfinals for the fourth straight year, but enter the tournament as the second seed for just the third time in the last 14 years and the sixth time since the league formed prior to the 1984-85 season.

Overall, the Terriers are 32-15-1 (.677) in quarterfinal action, including a 26-9-1 (.736) record at home (6-2-0 at Agganis, 20-7-1 at Walter Brown). BU has won its quarterfinal series the last six years, with a 12-3 record. This is the 19th time in 24 years that the Terriers will be hosting the quarterfinal series of the league tournament. Of the 18 home series, BU has won 14 times, with the last home series loss coming in 1998 to Merrimack. The Terriers have an overall Hockey East Tournament record of 48-25-1 (.655).

Thirteen of the 15 Terriers who have appeared in the Hockey East tournament have scored at least one point. MacArthur has 11 points (3g, 8a) in 12 games, while Ewing has nine points (5g, 4a) in those dozen contests. Yip (3g, 2a) and fellow junior Matt Gilroy (1g, 4a) each have five points in eight tournament games. None of the current BU goaltenders have made a start in the league playoffs.