UMass Round Two

Tomorrow night,  BU heads to Amherst for a one game trip with the Minutemen. I alluded to this earlier in the week, but the game between Beanpot games has been a historically strong game for the Terriers. Dating back to 2000, BU is 9-3-0 in games between the semis and the final of the Beanpot. 

From The Vault
Jordan Greenway leads a rush up ice vs UMass back on
January 9th.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

BU and UMass squared off a little less than a month ago at Agganis and BU took them to the woodshed, winning 7-2. In fact, BU has steamrolled the Minutemen the last three times the two teams have met. BU has outscored UMass 24-8 in those three games. 

UMass has really had a tough go of it recently. Since losing to BU on January 9th, they have yet to win a game and have struggled to find offense. In their last six game, UMass was out scored 33-11. The low point of the season (and some have even called it the low point of the program's history) came on January 22nd at home to Boston College. They were shutout 8-0 and BC's Jerry York won his 1000th game in the process. Last weekend, the Minutemen were swept at home by the last place Maine. 

The Black Bears had the worst statistical offense in the conference, but still managed to score 10 goals in two games. 

UMass sits in last place in Hockey East with just 8 points.  

Scouting the Minutemen
Shane Walsh and Ray Pigozzi both come into Friday's game with 23 points. Walsh leads the team in goals scored with 15 and has added 8 assists. Piggozzi has amassed 7 goals and 16 assists. Other players to watch include: Dennis Kravchenko, Steven Iacobellis and Austin Plevy. 

In goal, BU saw Alex Wakaluk and posted a touchdown on him. Overall, he has a .855 save percentage on the year and a 4.29 goals against average. Nic Renyard has seen the majority of the time in net. In 20 games, the freshman has posted an .897 SVP  and a 3.70 GAA. 

BU Notes
- According to the Boston Hockey Blog, Coach Quinn said Nik Olsson is out for the remainder of the year with an upper body injury.