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NCAA

NCAA Game(s) of the Week: 4/5 BC vs. 6/8 Northeastern

A classic Beantown match-up between Boston College and Northeastern is our Game of the Week!

This week’s Game of the Week match-up sees a two-game series between two Hockey East — and Boston-based — rivals.

You can watch both games of the series for free on CollegeSportsLive.

6/8 Northeastern (5-2-0) at 4/5 Boston College (6-0-0) | Friday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. ET | Saturday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. ET

The last time these two teams met was in December of 2020, and each team skated back to their respective Boston-area campus with a win. The Huskies took game one of last season’s series with a dominant 4-1 win, while the Eagles were victorious by a slightly narrower 2-1 margin.

This season, things have definitely been looking bright for BC. Despite losing their star defender and captain Cayla Barnes to Olympic centralization, the Eagles’ blue line has been strong, allowing just eight goals against through their first six games. Freshman Abby Newhook and junior Hannah Bilka have been leading the offense with four and three goals, respectively, but BC’s forward depth is more obvious than ever with all but six players already on the score sheet.

Meanwhile, Northeastern hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations set upon them after last season’s national championship appearance.

Players to Watch

Northeastern: Maureen Murphy

Murphy is currently the Huskies’ leading scorer, with a team-leading seven goals throughout the first seven games of Northeastern’s season. She’s been an absolute menace on the squad’s powerplay, with more than half of her goals coming with the skater advantage, and has one game winner thus far. The Huskies will need Murphy and teammates Chloé Aurard, Maddie Mills, and Katy Knoll to show up against BC if they want to stand a chance.

Boston College: Abby Newhook

The Eagles rookies are heating up, led by Newhook. The freshman has four goals through the first six games of the season, including two game winners and an overtime tally. She’s shooting at a .308 success rate and has yet to take a penalty so far in her collegiate career. It’s going to take more than just the likes of Newhook to beat Aerin Frankel, but there’s no doubt that the freshman forward is going to be one of the most dominant aspects of the Eagles’ offense heading into the series against Northeastern.

Our Thoughts

Anne Tokarski: Okay, well, Gabs and I have been wrong in almost every Game of the Week preview up until this point (except last week! Go me!), but I have to go the boring route and say I expect a series split. I think BC will take the first game and Northeastern’s third loss will serve as a bit of a wake-up call for them and they’ll come roaring back for the second game. I guess the specifics give me more opportunity to be wrong, but I am resolute in that BC will win one game and Northeastern will win one. While the two squads haven’t really played any of the same Hockey East teams, I think my guess is a relatively safe one.

Gabs Fundaro: Because I’ve been wrong every single week in my predictions, I want to focus less on results for this one and more on the hockey we might actually see unfold. We highlighted some stellar players to watch above, but looking beyond that, the goaltending matchup will be key. Abigail Levy has been great in net so far for BC, posting a 6-0-0 record, 1.50 goals-against average, and .953 save percentage. Aerin Frankel has been even better numbers wise (0.83 GAA, .963 save percentage) but has one blip on her resume this year: three goals given up in a loss against Providence. I think Northeastern has an edge in terms of possession, but if these games end up being tight goaltending battles, a player like Abby Newhook could make all the difference for the Eagles.

Around the (rest of) the NCAA:

Friday, October 29:

Saturday, October 30:

  • St. Thomas at RIT at 1 PM ET (Stretch Internet)
  • St. Cloud State at Ohio State at 2 PM ET (B1G+)
  • Penn State at Mercyhurst at 2 PM ET (Stretch Internet)
  • Saint Michael’s at Long Island at 2 PM ET (Not streamed)
  • Saint Anselm at Franklin Pierce at 3 PM ET (Stretch Internet)
  • Princeton at Brown at 3 PM ET (ESPN+)
  • St. Lawrence at Union at 3 PM ET (ESPN+)
  • Quinnipiac at Yale at 3 PM ET (ESPN+)
  • Clarkson at RPI at 3 PM ET (ESPN+)
  • Cornell at Dartmouth at 3 PM ET (ESPN+)
  • Colgate at Harvard at 3 PM ET (ESPN+)
  • Minnesota at Bemidji State at 3 PM ET (B1G+)
  • Wisconsin at Minnesota State at 3 PM ET (B1G+)
  • Vermont at UConn at 4 PM ET (College Sports Live)
  • Maine at Merrimack at 4 PM ET (College Sports Live)
  • Post at Sacred Heart at 8:30 PM ET (NEC Front Row)/

Sunday, October 31:

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