College Hockey Series of the Week: No. 2 Boston College vs. No. 10 St. Cloud State

The college hockey series of the week sees the No. 2 ranked Boston College Eagles travel to St. Cloud, Minnesota to play No. 10 St. Cloud State Huskies for a highly-anticipated two-game series.

Both teams are off to hot starts this season as the Eagles hold a 3-1-0 record and the Huskies are 6-1-0 to start the season.

Boston College’s last game saw them matched up against Western Michigan. They defeated the Broncos 4-2.

St. Cloud State played Augustana last. They got away with a narrow 2-1 victory against the Vikings.

The Huskies have dominated the Eagles in their all-time match-up. All though they have only faced each other five times the Huskies have won four of those meetings.

The Eagles lost some massive contributors to the NHL this year. Cutter Gauthier joined the Anaheim Ducks this year and Will Smith joined the San Jose Sharks this season.

Replacing this talent has not been difficult for BC. It helps when you get the projected No.1 pick to join your team.

James Hagens has stepped in his freshman year and filled the hole left by Will Smith. He has taken the center role on a line with Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard and ran with it.

As expected with this talent BC’s power play has been great. They are 25% on the power play so far this season.

The faceoff dot has been a struggle for the Eagles. Out of 228 faceoffs they have won 102, while opponents have won 126.

Boston College’s only loss of the season came to the Michigan State Spartans. In a tight-fought game, they lost by a score of 4-3.

St. Cloud State also only has one loss on the season. Michigan teams seem to be taking down these two as they lost 3-0 to the Michigan Wolverines.

Austin Burnevik and Barrett Hall have been the Huskies' best players this season. They are tied for the team lead in points with seven.

St. Cloud State’s power play has not been as good as BC’s. They have converted on only 15% of their power play chances.

One of the Huskies' strong points has been in goal. Isak Posch has started all seven games for them this year and has won six.

His stats have been very impressive posting a .946 save percentage and a 1.58 GAA.

The Huskies will need him to hold off the firepower of Boston College.

Jacob Fowler has started all four games for the Eagles this season. The Montreal Canadians' prospect has posted a .937 save percentage and 1.51 GAA

While still early in the season both of these teams have a chance to make the Frozen Four. The series could be a prequel to a more important game later in the season.

The puck will drop at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at 8:30 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday. The matchup will feature players who will become well-known names when they make it to the NHL.

Andrew Matz is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email atm5759@psu.edu.