This is the only series of the weekend in Hockey East in which fans have more than a one game sample size to look to as a barometer for the game. In addition to Northeastern's 1-0 victory at Matthews in early November, the budding rivals met up on the first Monday of February in the Beanpot semis in an instant classic.
BU got the win to advance to the Beanpot Final in one of the most fast-paced and intense hockey games you will see. If this weekend's games are anything like the Beanpot, we're in for a treat.
Unfortunately, The Terriers' play has gone down a notch since that Beanpot game. They've gone from tough and inspired to weak and lifeless in the matter of a month, while the Huskies have managed to make themselves somewhat relevant once again.
Neither team will be making the NCAA tournament without first making a run through the Hockey East playoffs, so winning the right to play on home ice is absolutely vital.
This is Pretty Much Still What Matthews Looks Like
It's been a tale of three seasons for the Terriers in 2009-10. They started out the year with expectations far too high for a team ravaged by NHL departures as the pre-season #2 seed. However, they quickly slipped out of the top five, ten and eventually off of the national radar entirely. From October to December, BU looked awful. They couldn't score, and they certainly couldn't stop anyone else from scoring.
However, the new year brought a new Terriers team to the ice, as Parker's boys showed up with a vengeance in 2010. They started the second half with a 9-3 mark, including a rousing win over Boston College at Fenway Park, another exciting win on the road over the Eagles in overtime, an excellent performance to beat Northeastern in the first round of the Beanpot, and a near miss in the final against BC. The new look team also saw often-heckled defenseman Colby Cohen come into his own as a star offensive player.
Chiasson's Beanpot Winner Was A Highlight For BU
After a sweep of Maine, BU even moved all the way back up to #18 in the national polls. With a push up the PairWise rankings as well, it seemed as if BU just may make a run at an at-large bid.
However, the good quickly became bad, as a third split of this season arrived two weeks ago at Providence. The Terriers, victims to 12 penalties, were knocked off balance by awkward officiating that helped nudge them to a loss to the lowly Friars. They squeaked out a win the next night at home, but there was no denying that this was not the same team that had gone on a tear back into the top 20.
Last weekend, BU went up to Vermont for a pivotal two game series. They were thumped by the Cats 7-3 in one of their most lifeless efforts all year long before blowing a lead in the second game last sunday to fall 3-2. The chances of an at-large bid had evaporated, and the Terriers no longer controlled their own destiny to earn a home playoff series.
That being said, they can still salvage the season. Winning the weekend and getting a little bit of help from the likes of UML would allow the Terriers to sneak back into the #4 seed, setting up more hockey at Agganis next weekend. It's nut up or shut up time for the Terriers.
2010 also provided a re-birth for the Huskies of Northeastern. After an underwhelming 6-8-1 first half, the Huskies and their ridiculously talented freshman goalie Chris Rawlings began to make some noise.
Rawlings Has Shown Flashes Of Brilliance for the Huskies
They proceded to go 10-5-1 in 2010 to climb back into relevance in Hockey East and beyond.
However, they had the bad luck of running into a buzzsaw two weeks in a row. Whoever made the schedule must not be a Northeastern fan, as they have been forced to end their season with consecutive two-game sets against the likes of BC, UNH and BU. They survived the first four games, going 1-2-1 against the top two teams in the conference.
Now they look to finish strong and host a playoff series for the second straight year. And for Northeastern, nothing would be sweeter than winning at the expense of the Terriers.
These games will get physical, and they could get downright nasty. BU and NU don't like each other to begin with, and with so much on the line for two straight nights, I find it hard to believe these boys will play nice. Eric Gryba very well could have a 30-PIM weekend.
THE PICK: This may sound like a cop-out, but there's no way these teams don't split. They play each other way too close, even when both teams suck, for either one of them to earn a sweep. However, in the spirit of making things interesting, I'm picking Northeastern to spoil BU's senior night, and BU to do the same to the Huskies on Saturday. That's just the type of series this "rivalry" is used to seeing.
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