Boston College at UMass

Hockey
Joe Meloni

UMass and BC just skated off the ice after the pre-game shoot around. Operation 8K looks like a moderate success. The student section is basically full and the general admission half of the Mullins Center is scattered with youth groups and families.

For the Minutemen, sophomore defenseman Martin Nolet is out of the lineup for his third consecutive game; freshman Doug Kublin will skate alongside captain Mike Kostka on UMass's first defensive pair.

UMass top line is unchanged from last weekend, but - as it's been all season - the other three lines are different from the games with Boston University and UMass Lowell.

UMass:
LW - P.J. Fenton C - Cory Quirk RW - Chris Davis
James Marcou - Michael Lecomte - Alex Berry
Shawn Saunders - Brett Watson - Will Ortiz
Matt Burto - Jordan Virtue - Scott Crowder
LD - Kublin RD - Kostka
David Leaderer - Justin Braun
Topher Bevis - John Wessbecker

Paul Dainton looks like the option in net, but all three goaltenders on the roster were in pads during the warmup.

The Eagles are part of the five-way tie atop Hockey East with UMass, New Hampshire, Northeastern and Providence.

Junior winger Nathan Gerbe is back from a one-game mandated Hockey East suspension and is paired with center Ben Smith and right wing Dan Bertram. In Gerbe's absence, BC dropped a 5-2 decision at UNH to continue a three-game winless streak after starting conference play with two wins and a draw.

Hockey East points leader Joe Whitney is on the left side of BC's top line. The 5-foot-6 freshman has 12 points - three goals, nine assists - in his first nine college hockey games.

The big news out of Chestnut Hill this week was the departure of Brett Motherwell for the American Hockey League. He was one of BC's top defenders and his exit left the Eagles without one of the top defenders in the country.

More From the Press Box after the first period...