BC at Providence: The Beanpot warm-up

One could argue that the finals matchup isn’t as exciting as the semifinal, but #1 Boston College will be facing Northeastern at the Garden on Monday night. Before that, however, they will get one more chance to tune up on the road in Providence.

So far has been so good for the Eagles, as BC is 2-0-0 against the Friars to this point, sweeping a home-and-home a month ago. In fact, the Eagles have won seven in a row against Providence, dating back to the 2008-2009 season; their last defeat to the Friars was on Feb. 29, 2008. Taking a look at the standings, one would think that the Friars won’t be much of a threat this time, either. They are 3-11-5 in the conference, good for 9th place, and 7-13-6 overall. Providence’s last two wins — and only two wins of 2011 so far — were exhibitions against New Brunswick and the US Under-18 Team. They have otherwise not won a game since December 11 against Quinnipiac.

The Eagles, on the other hand, are on a hot streak going into tonight’s game. BC has won five in a row, and outside of their Maine loss on January 16, they have won 12 of their last 13 games. BC is riding the high of having just beaten BU for the fourth time this season, as well as riding on the second-best offense in the nation and the best penalty kill.

It’s pretty hard to get worked up for this one; the only shock would be a BC loss. The Eagles are rolling like a freight train right now, just like last year at about this time, and it’s hard to imagine how Providence has the firepower to stop it (short of an off night by BC). As you might expect, this game will not be televised in Boston. Full recap tonight.