BOSTON, Mass.--#5/5 UMass Boston men's hockey is looking to earn their third Codfish Bowl Title in four years, as the Beacons get set to host the 51^st Annual Codfish Bowl on Saturday and Sunday. After falling short in the 50^th edition of the tournament, the Beacons will host Westfield State University, Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) and first-timers SUNY Brockport at the Beacons Ice Arena this weekend.

Last season, Connecticut College upset #5/7 UMass Boston 4-1 and defeated #14 Lake Forest College in a shootout, to earn their first-ever Codfish Bowl Title.

All four games in the tournament will have live stats and video, with play-by-play available for the two UMass Boston games. 

Links for the live stats and video webcasts can be found at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/umb/

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Saturday, January 2

UMass Boston vs. SUNY Brockport, 1:00 p.m.

Johnson & Wales University (road) vs. Westfield State University (home), 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 3 

Consolation Game, 1:00 p.m.

Championship Game, 4:00 p.m.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY 

This year's tournament marks the 51st Annual Tournament for the nation's second-longest running college hockey tournament. UMass Boston is looking for their third title in four years and sixth overall, after winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.

Westfield State University is making their ninth appearance and has threes titles to date, with their last one coming in 2008. Johnson & Wales is making their first appearance in the Codfish Bowl since 2012, when they fell 6-3 to UMass Boston in the championship game. SUNY Brockport is the lone first-time entrant, as the Golden Eagles and Beacons will meet for the first time since January 18, 1993.

UMass Boston

Location: Boston, Mass.

Conference: New England Hockey Conference

Head Coach: Peter Belisle (10th season) 

Tournament Appearances/Record: 34th/30-33-3

Overall Record: 9-1-1

#5/5 UMass Boston is looking to build off their remarkable first half, when they return to action for the first time since December 11. The Beacons opened the year 6-0 and after an 0-1-1 weekend at the Bowdoin-Colby Classic, UMass Boston finished the first half with a three-game winning streak, including a 4-3 overtime win over #5/7 Norwich University. The Beacons' number five ranking in the D3Hockey.com poll marks a new program-best, while their number five mark in the USCHO.com poll ties their program-record. 

The Beacons have been extremely balanced thus far, as they rank in the top-10 in the nation in scoring offense (t-7^th, 4.36), scoring margin (6^th, 2.36), penalty kill conversion rate (t-5^th, 92.9%) and combined special teams (t-4^th, 57.8%). Senior forward Matt Lemire (Townsend, Mass.) leads the Beacons with seven goals, 10 assists and 17 points, while 13 other Beacons have at least five points apiece. In net, seniors Billy Faust (Alta Loma, Calif.) and Zach Andrews (Coral Springs, Fla.) have combined for a 1.97 goals against average and .924 save percentage through the first 10 games.

SUNY Brockport

Location: Brockport, N.Y.

Conference: State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) 

Head Coach: Brian Dickinson (18th Season)

Tournament Appearances/Record: 1st/0-0

Overall Record: 4-5-2 

Conference Record: 3-4-2

SUNY Brockport is preparing for their second holiday tournament of the season this weekend, after falling 4-3 to Tufts University in the Rutland Herald Invitational Champonship Game over Thanksgiving weekend. The Golden Eagles are making their first-ever appearance in the Codfish Bowl and just their second trip to the Beacons Ice Arena, after dropping a 7-6 contest on January 18, 1993. After opening the season 3-3-0, SUNY Brockport is riding their longest winless streak of the season (three games), after falling to Tufts and then tying #1 SUNY Plattsburgh 1-1 and SUNY Potsdam 6-6.

While the Golden Eagles have struggled defensively, allowing 3.73 goals per game (62^nd out of 76 teams), they've partially made up for it by ranking tied for third in the nation with just 6.8 penalty minutes per game. Chase Nieuwendyk enters the weekend as the second-leading scorer amongst all players (Lemire) and 13^th in the nation with his 16 points. The senior forward paces SUNY Brockport with his nine goals, while sophomores Ryan Kangas and Aidan Verbeke are tied for first with their eight assists. SUNY Brockport's three goalies have combined for an .875 save percentage and 3.73 goals against average thus far.

Johnson & Wales University (R.I.)

Location: Providence, R.I.

Conference: ECAC Northeast

Head Coach: Erik Noack (12th Season)

Tournament Appearances/Record: 4th/3-3

Overall Record: 5-3-3

Conference Record: 3-1-2 

Johnson & Wales is looking for their first Codfish Bowl Championship this weekend, in their fourth all-time appearance. In their last appearance, Johnson & Wales defeated Fitchburg State University 4-1, but couldn't overcome UMass Boston's four-goal second period, in a 6-3 championship loss in 2012. This year's squad have been road warriors, with a 4-2-3 mark in true road games. The Wildcats have played just two home games thus far (1-1) and are finishing off a season-high eight-game road trip this weekend.

Johnson & Wales ranks in the top-10 in the country in power-play conversion rate (t-7^th, 26.3%) and penalty minutes (4^th, 17.0) and sit at tied for 19^th in the nation with their 2.18 goals against average. A big part of their defensive success has been junior goalie Joey Ballmer, who ranks tied for first in the nation with his three shutouts. Ballmer has played 89.9 percent of the minutes thus far this season and leads the team with his .930 save percentage and 1.88 goals against average. Offensively, Connor Bates is the player to watch, as he's recorded a team-high nine goals and 11 points. Bates is tied for fourth in the nation with his five power-play goals and as a team the Wildcats have scored 15 overall power-play goals in 11 games.

Westfield State University

Location: Westfield, Mass.

Conference: Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference 

Head Coach: Bob Miele (6th Season)

Tournament Appearances/Record: 9th/9-6

Overall Record: 7-3-0 

Conference Record: 4-2-0

After an eight-year hiatus, Westfield State University returns to the Beacons Ice Arena, in an effort to earn their fourth Codfish Bowl Title. This year's teams is tied for second in the MASCAC and comes into the tournament with the second-most wins, even after dropping back-to-back road games to close out first semester. After winning six-straight games to end November and begin December, the Owls dropped a 4-2 contest to MASCAC Preseason favorite Plymouth State University and then a 6-3 game at Becker College.

Westfield State comes into this weekend with the second-best team statistics behind only UMass Boston. The Owls rank tied for 14^th in scoring offense (3.80), tied for 17^th in scoring margin (1.20), fourth in power-play conversion rate (28.6%) and 11^th in combined special teams (55.9%). Senior defenseman Kyllian Kirkwood is one of, if not the most talented defenseman in the tournament, as he leads all defenseman in Division III with his 1.20 points per game. The senior captain leads the Owls with his 11 assists and 12 points, while fellow senior captain Dalton Jay paces the team with his seven goals. Junior Jonathan LoParco is the only goalie to have seen action for Westfield State this season. He owns a .923 save percentage, 2.61 goals against average and one shutout.