If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, and that’s exactly what the No. 16 UMass hockey team hopes to do in a home-and-home with top-ranked Boston College this weekend.

The Minutemen earned a statement 5-4 road win over UConn last Friday in their only outing of the week. UMass overcame a 2-0 first period deficit, plus a 3-1 Huskies lead in the second to claim their 15th win of the year.

The Eagles on the other hand, got their feathers ruffled in the Beanpot championship game on Monday to arch-rival Boston University, falling 4-1, for just their fifth loss this season. BC has struggled of late during the historic February tournament as it hasn’t won the Beanpot since 2016.

As if it wasn’t already enough of a challenge, UMass will be squaring off with an angry Eagles squad, beginning Friday in Chestnut Hill.

“This is just another weekend,” Minutemen head coach Greg Carvel said. “BC is the first-place team in our league but I’ll tell you what, it doesn’t matter what team you’re playing in this league. You got to have you A-plus game or you’re not going to win. It’s no different this weekend.”

BC has a plethora of high-end talent, as evidenced by the 12 NHL draft picks throughout its roster. Chief among them is Amherst native Ryan Leonard, who leads the country in goals with 23 in 27 games played.

Leonard – the younger brother of former Minuteman John Leonard – is one point behind Gabe Perreault (36) for the team lead. Those two sophomores are supplemented by a couple freshmen in future top-five pick James Hagens (29 points) and Nashville Predators second-rounder Teddy Stiga (23 points), as their four best scorers.

Sophomore goalie Jacob Fowler is just as dangerous for BC as the netminder has garnered the fifth-best goals-against average (1.72) and save-percentage (.936) in the nation.

Fowler has helped the Eagles allow just 48 goals this season, which is fourth-least out of all the 64 programs. Similarly, BC has been very good on the penalty-kill all year and currently hold a 90.8 kill-percentage, good for second in the country.

One statistic UMass has the advantage in is the power play as its 27.7 percent success rate trumps the Eagles’ considerably as they’re converting at a clip of 16.7 percent.

Most of those numbers probably don’t mean all that much to Carvel though. The ninth-year Minutemen coach, who also earned win No. 250 of his career in the hard-fought victory over UConn, feels the difference in this series will be what it usually is: compete-level.

“It’s simple. It’s just competing, it’s being ready to compete at the level that you’re capable of,” Carvel said. 

“It’s compete and goaltending,” Carvel added. “Your goalie’s got to make saves. [UConn’s] goalie allowed a couple in that maybe he shouldn’t have, that’s the difference. You got to compete to create chances and then your goalie has got to make the difference.”

While Michael Hrabal (2.46 GAA, .922 SV%) might not have as attractive numbers as his counterpart this weekend, UMass’ starting goalie is currently in one of his better stretches since taking over the Minutemen net last season. Hrabal has won four of his last five starts and has allowed an average of 2.8 goals in that time.

Perhaps more importantly for UMass, Hrabal has lost consecutive games just once this season. As a freshman, the netminder from Czechia dropped back-to-back games thrice, albeit all toward the end of the season.

“To me it’s the consistency, we need the same goaltender every night,” Carvel said. “It can’t be shutout tonight, six goals against the next night, and so I’ve seen the growth there. Then I start getting into the more specific parts of his game. For me, as big as he is, he’s extremely mobile which is a huge asset, to be that big and be that quick and skate that well. It’s to me, now it’s rebound control. Pucks have to die in his body and to me, he’s not ready for the next level until he gets past that hurdle. Pucks can’t hit him and there be another shot.”

Up front, the Minutemen will look to counter BC’s high-flying offense with four players who are red hot in Jack Musa, Cole O’Hara, Lucas Mercuri and Kenny Connors.

Musa’s first-career hat trick powered UMass against UConn, while Connors has scored in five straight, which ties the program record for consecutive games with a goal. All four of them also have registered points in six in a row.

For Musa specifically, Carvel said some simple instruction during a recent practice has coincided with the sophomore’s scoring surge.

“I was watching him in practice and everything he shot was going off the glass and I came over and I said, ‘when are you going to decide to hit the net?’” Carvel said. “Why don’t you shoot low this week and see what happens, just shoot low in practice and he’s been on a tear.”

Musa has worked his way up to the third on UMass’ points list with Dans Locmelis (25 points), which trails Aydar Suniev’s 27 points and O’Hara’s 39 points.

Puck drop for both game’s is set for 7 p.m.