It was a busy Friday night in Hockey East, with every team but the Northeastern Huskies in action. Boston University needed extra time to settle things with UMass Lowell, while UNH's trip to Wisconsin got off to a rocky start.
Boston University 5, UMass Lowell 4 (OT)
A rematch of last year's Hockey East finals, this game lived up to the hype.
The fourth-ranked Terriers held off the eighth-ranked River Hawks with a 5-4 overtime victory in Lowell. Colby Cohen took a give-and-go from Kevin Shattenkirk 3:54 into the overtime period to give BU its second win on the season.
Sophomore goaltender Kieran Millan stopped 32 shots, while Lowell's Carter Hutton made 23 saves.
The teams will square off on Saturday night at BU.
Boston College 4, Merrimack 3
BC celebrated its home opener in style with a 4-3 win over Merrimack. The game opened with a frenzied first period, with six goals on the board before the first intermission.
After Jimmy Hayes and Paul Carey got the Eagles out to a 2-0 lead, Jeff Velleca, Kyle Bigos and Brandon Brodhag gave Merrimack a 3-2 lead. But BC answered when Carl Sneep scored in the final minute to even the score.
The game-winning goal came midway through the second, when Ben Smith beat Joe Cannata, who made 32 saves in the losing effort.
The two teams will face each other on Sunday afternoon at Merrimack.
UMass Amherst 5, Providence 3
The Minutemen rallied from a 3-2 deficit early in the third period to earn a win in Providence against the Friars.
Both goaltenders collected more than 30 saves, with UMass' Paul Dainton stopping 35 shots and Providence's Alex Beaudny making 31 saves.
Trailing by a goal in the game's final minutes, Providence pulled Beaudny, but James Marcou scored an empty-net goal for UMass to seal the win.
These two teams meet again on Saturday night at UMass.
In other Hockey East action, UNH was on the wrong end of a 4-1 decision in Wisconsin, despite senior goaltender Brian Foster stopping a career-high 47 shots. The Maine Black Bears also picked up a win, getting a pair of goals from Adam Shemansky in a 4-1 victory over Vermont.
