Such is the life of college hockey fans in October — wait all summer for the season to start, only to have to wait even longer for conference play to get going in earnest.
Ten of Hockey East’s 11 teams (all but Maine) will be in action this weekend, playing 16 total games, but only one contest — Northeastern (2-1) at Boston College (1-0-1) on Friday night (7 p.m.) — will count in the league standings.
Both teams took part in the IceBreaker Tournament in Worcester, Mass., last weekend.
“Hockey East is a whole different animal for us,” BC coach Jerry York said. “Of course, to start right at home with Northeastern, a good rival of ours, I think it’s the perfect setting for us.”
York had high praise for the Huskies’ defense, especially goaltender Devon Levi, who missed all of last season due to injury, and senior captain Jordan Harris.
“He’s certainly a barrier for the teams that play Northeastern,” York said of Levi. “In Harris, they have one of the best defensemen in the country. They pose, from the blue line back, some real strengths, something we’ll have to try to break down a little bit.”
Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe said avoiding turnovers will be key.
“They’re a team that can turn a mistake into offense really quick,” Keefe said about BC. “That’s something we need to make sure that we’re smart with the puck and we’re good in transition on both sides of the puck.”
Levi has allowed just three goals in three games so far for the Huskies.
“He’s an elite goaltender,” Keefe said. “We’re thrilled to have him back. Our guys have a ton of confidence in him.”
BC plays at Bentley (Atlantic) at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, while Northeastern is idle.
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Four of the top 10 programs in the USCHO.com poll will all skate on the same sheet this weekend, including No. 10 Providence (3-0, 2-1). The Friars will take on No. 1 Minnesota State (NCHC) Friday (5 p.m. Eastern) in Duluth, Minn., in the first round of the IceBreaker Tournament (not to be confused with the aforementioned IceBreaker in Worcester, won by BC).
On Saturday, Providence will take on either No. 3 Michigan (Big Ten) or tourney host No. 5 Minnesota Duluth (NCHC).
“You love those opportunities with your team early in the season to see what they are about, see what they are made of,” Friars coach Nate Leaman told television station WPRI. “But for us, it’s about using our strengths and getting out and playing our strengths.”
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Two league teams will take their only scheduled trips out of New England this weekend. New Hampshire travels to Arizona State for a pair of games Friday (9 p.m. Eastern) and Saturday (6 p.m. Eastern), while UConn plays two at Ohio State of the Big Ten (7 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday).
Barring an NCAA tournament appearance by either team, the weekend trips will presumably be the only one the Wildcats take by airplane.
“The interesting thing about Hockey East is we don’t necessarily travel by plane very often,” UNH coach Mike Souza said. “Our operations director, Colin Shank, does such an incredible job. We’ll make sure we’re doing all the necessary things to prepare ourselves to be competitive when we go out there.”
Souza said traveling to a far-off locale is “kind of fun.”
“To take UNH out of New England is always something that I take with a lot of pride,” Souza said. “I’m certainly excited to take our team out to Arizona.”
UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh said the weekend venture to Columbus will be a good test for the Huskies.
“(Road trips) are always beneficial for your team to be able to go out and test yourself against great competition from the Big Ten, (or) whatever league you may be playing,” Cavanaugh said.
