BC Men’s Hockey: Weekend Series Preview
The Eagles Take on Merrimack After Beanpot Success
By Luke Ballard
After a humbling 6–1 defeat to the Vermont Catamounts at Conte Forum last week, the Boston College Eagles are poised to rebound as they take on the Merrimack Warriors in a high-stakes home-and-away series this weekend. Riding the confidence of their recent Beanpot victory, BC will look to regain control and secure a decisive weekend sweep over the formidable Merrimack Warriors. Meanwhile, Merrimack enters on a surge, boasting four wins in their last five, with only a narrow shootout loss to UNH interrupting their momentum.
Merrimack, sitting in a joint sixth place position with Maine and Northeastern, has 23 points and a 7–9–1 conference record (14–12–1 overall), while they sit only three points off fifth-place BU. The Warriors will certainly have something to play for come Friday, as the top five seeds in the Hockey East postseason tournament do not have to participate in the opening play-in round that seeds six through 11 play for. The top four seeds also receive home games in the quarterfinals, which is something that is very much still up in the air. The fifth seed, although they do not get a home game, as they visit the fourth seed, gets to skip the opening play-in round. Playing one less game can be huge for teams, as it allows them more time to rest and rehab tired skaters, and gameplan for their next opponents.
The Eagles should watch out for stand-out sophomore forward Trevor Hoskin, who has five goals and 11 assists for a total of 16 points in 17 games of Hockey East play. The Niagara transfer recorded 39 points on 12 goals and 27 assists in his freshman year. Hoskin, in his most recent contest, recorded four points, including two goals and two assists, versus Stonehill College last Tuesday, helping the Warriors secure a 9–5 win. Sophomore goaltender Max Lundgren has been solid all year for the Warriors, despite not recording a shutout thus far. Starting every game, Lundgren has recorded a .918 save percentage with a 2.54 GAA, while recording a .537 win percentage. There is no doubt Lundgren will be solid in the net this weekend, but BC should look to prey on Merrimack’s undisciplined defensive unit, which has averaged 12.11 penalty minutes per game this year.
As for the Boston College Eagles, they should look to not change much from their recent performance against Boston University on Monday night. BC, who went 3-of-4 on the power play against BU, will hope to draw Merrimack into the box all night, as their man-up unit has been extraordinarily efficient as of late. BC is second in Hockey East with a 23.4 percent power play conversion rate, only behind their weekend opponent, which has converted 23.7 percent of its power plays. Therefore, it will also be critical for the Eagles to be wary of taking unnecessary penalties, which they took many of against BU. Perhaps it can be chalked up to a heated rivalry with much to play for at stake, but regardless, this seems to be a trend BC has followed for most of the year, and one they need to avoid come this weekend.
The first line for Boston College is expected to continue its dominant presence on the ice, as it provided five points in the two Beanpot games. I expect Ryan Conmy to continue being more comfortable with the puck at his stick, and coming off his four-assist game in the Beanpot final, the expectations have started to rise for the junior. If he can continue his uptempo play, as he now has 19 points on the season, he will continue prove why he deserved to be drafted by the L.A Kings in 2023.
Finally, James Hagens will look to continue his point streak, which has now been extended to four games, where he has provided eight points (4G, 4A) for the Eagles. Hagens has been living up to the hype and silencing all the criticism against himself and the Boston Bruins organization, as he continues to look like one of the best, if not the best, college hockey player in the nation.
“You get drafted that high for a reason,” Head Coach Greg Brown stated after the Beanpot final. “He’s been huge and will be huge going forward for us.”
The Eagles will travel to North Andover on Friday, playing at seven, before returning to Conte Forum for their second game Saturday, also at seven.