AMHERST - With just over a month left in the regular season, goaltender Paul Dainton and most of his University of Massachusetts teammates are in new territory as the Minutemen compete for a top-four berth in the Hockey East Tournament.

No. 15 UMass and No. 14 Boston College, who are tied for second place in the conference with 22 points each, will play at 7:30 tonight at the Mullins Center. The game will be televised on NESN,

Dainton knows how he plays could go a long way in deciding the tournament fate of the Minutemen (16-10, 11-8 Hockey East).

"This game is huge and every game we play from here on out is big," said Dainton, a junior who enters the game with a 2.68 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. "I definitely feel confident. I feel dialed up. I feel fast. I'm looking forward to Friday,

"You live for these types of games," he added. "Since I've been here we haven't been tied for second and going for home-ice advantage. It's always been a last-minute push. This hasn't guaranteed us anything, but its given us some breathing room. We're in control of our own fate."

The top four teams will host the quarterfinal series in the Hockey East Tournament.

UMass coach Don "Toot" Cahoon said he is pleased with the play of both of his goalies, as senior Dan Meyers performed well in a rare start in Saturday's 4-1 win over Providence.

"The goaltending is the foundation of the team. You'll go as far as your goaltender will take you," Cahoon said. "There are other aspects of the game that are critical, but none more than the goaltending. We need our goaltending to be real solid. I think it's in pretty good shape right now."

The Eagles (14-8-2, 10-6-2 Hockey East) always draw extra fan interest at UMass, but the game has added significance for Dainton because of his friendship with Eagle keeper John Muse.

"I look forward to playing against Muse," Dainton said. "I train with him in the summertime, so it's a little extra special."

Boston College won the first meeting this season 3-1 on Dec. 4, also at the Mullins Center. The teams will conclude their season series Feb. 26 at Boston College.

Junior forward Brian Gibbons leads the Eagles in scoring with 10 goals and 20 assists. Boston College is tied with Maine for the Hockey East's scoring lead at 3.67 goals per game and is second in goals allowed with 2.62 per game.

Muse is second in the conference in goals-against average at 2.47.

Cahoon played down the importance of tonight's game.

"We're at the point in the season where the season is so short that every game is huge," he said.

"But I'm trying not to oversell the game and just look at it as this is the next kick of the can and we better make it a good one. We're trying to focus on the path to success and not the destination."

IN AND OUT - Danny Hobbs will be a game-time decision for UMass after being injured last weekend. Michael Lecomte and Doug Kublin are both out of the Minuteman lineup.

HOCKEY EAST - Also this weekend, first-place New Hampshire travels to fourth-place Maine for games tonight and Saturday. With 27 points, UNH is five points ahead of UMass and the Eagles and seven points ahead of the Black Bears.

Fifth-place UMass-Lowell (18 points) and sixth-place Boston University (16) are also tangling tonight at Tsongas Arena, while the River Hawks are at Merrimack on Saturday.

The Warriors host Northeastern tonight in a matchup of teams fighting to make the tournament. The Huskies are tied for seventh place with Vermont. Both teams have 15 points. Merrimack is in ninth with 12 points.

Vermont plays both nights at last-place Providence. The Friars, who have nine points, are just trying to stay in contention for a Hockey East Tournament berth.

MARCOU, WELLMAN SEMIFINALISTS - Minuteman forwards James Marcou and Casey Wellman are among the 16 semifinalists for the Walter Brown Award given annually to the best American-born college hockey player.

Marcou leads the nation with 40 points and 32 assists, while Wellman leads Hockey East and is second in the nation in goals with 19 and is tied for 10th in the nation in points with 35.

They are among 11 semifinalists from Hockey East.

Also, UMass senior center Brett Watson is one of 18 nominees for the Hockey Humanitarian Award given annually to a Division I or III male or female player who demonstrates outstanding community service.

OPERATION 8K ROUND 2 - The game is Operation 8K Part II at UMass, a promotion to sell out the Mullins Center. 8K Part I was the Minutemen's Dec. 4 game against Boston College which drew 8,100 fans to the Mullins Center.

Tonight is also Big Y Night. Anyone with a Big Y card can get a general admission ticket for $5.

ALL-DECADE TEAMS - The conference is offering all-decade fan voting at HockeyEastOnline.com. Fans can vote for all-decade teams for each individual school as well as the conference as a whole.

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.