AMHERST - With the Hockey East Tournament looming over a month away, the University of Massachusetts hockey team heads back on the road as it tries to stay in the conference's top four.

The Minutemen are at Boston University tonight and at Providence on Saturday. Both games are at 7 p.m.

No. 15 UMass (15-9, 10-7 Hockey East) enters the weekend action tied for second place with No. 14 Boston College, five points behind first-place and 13th-ranked New Hampshire, two points ahead of fourth-place and 16th-ranked UMass-Lowell and three points ahead of fifth-place and 19th-ranked Maine.

The Eagles have just one game this weekend - hosting Providence tonight at 7 - because they play Harvard in the Beanpot Tournament Monday night.

The River Hawks also play just once this weekend, at Northeastern tonight at 7.

The Black Bears are at Vermont for games tonight and Saturday.

Minuteman coach Don "Toot" Cahoon said two road games against two different foes is not easy.

"It's definitely tougher than going and playing the same team twice," he said. "It's difficult. It's a real challenge."

After opening the season 3-7, the defending national champion Terriers appear to have righted their ship. They are now 8-11-3 (6-9-2 Hockey East) and have won four of their six games in January, including a 7-3 victory over UMass on Jan. 2.

"They're playing more intense and more physical," Cahoon said. "When they play intense and play physical, they take a lot of teams out of their game."

Still Boston University lags in the back of Hockey East in many statistical categories, most notably scoring offense (3.05 goals per game, eighth in the conference) and scoring defense (3.45 goals allowed per game, ninth).

The Terriers are the conference's most penalized team at 15.9 per game.

Sophomore goalie Kieran Millan, who helped backbone last year's championship run, has faltered a bit at 3.39 goals against (ninth in Hockey East) and an .874 save percentage (10th).

Junior defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk leads BU in scoring with 19 points (three goals, 16 assists), while junior Nick Bonino, who missed five games with an injury earlier this year, is next with six goals and 12 assists.

The Minutemen and Terriers split their two previous meetings this season, with UMass winning 3-2 on Oct. 16 at the Mullins Center.

The Minutemen also split an earlier weekend series the Friars, with visiting team winning both games. Providence (9-13-1, 4-11-1 Hockey East) enters the game in 10th place in the conference, four points out of the final playoff spot in eighth place.

The Friars have struggled despite being second in the conference in goals allowed at 2.65 per game. But they are also dead last in scoring at 2.26 goals per game and have lost eight of their last 10.

Goalie Alex Beaudry has been a bright spot for providence. His 2.40 goals against average is second in Hockey East and his .927 save percentage leads the league.

Sophomore Matt Bergland leads the Friars in scoring with nine goals and nine assists.

INJURY UPDATES - Chase Langeraap is expected back in the UMass lineup this weekend, but Danny Hobbs will be out with an undisclosed injury that he suffered in Tuesday's practice.

Marc Concannon's status is uncertain after he suffered an injury in the first game against Vermont last weekend.

"He's day-to-day," Cahoon said. "I'm thinking he's probable."

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.