AMHERST - There won't likely be as much attention on this hockey matchup between the Universities of Massachusetts and Vermont as there was on the last one.

But in terms of the Hockey East standings, Friday's 7 p.m. game at the Mullins Center means every bit as much as it would if the game was being played outside at a historic ballpark.

The Minutemen are coming off back-to-back big wins over Vermont at Fenway Park and Boston College at the Mullins Center. UMass coach Toot Cahoon hopes the team's improved play continues.

"We don't have a body of work that says that we've figured it out, but we've definitely made progress," he said. "The sustainability is up to our ability to prepare and our ability to have a will strong enough to compete and get the job done."

The Minutemen (8-8-5, 4-6-4) are in seventh place in Hockey East with 12 points. While Cahoon says he's only casually scoreboard watching around the conference, his team and the standings could be affected by the home-and-home weekend series between UMass-Lowell and Northeastern. The Riverhawks (12-6-0, 7-5-0), who have played two fewer games than the Minutemen, are two points ahead in sixth.

The ninth-place Huskies (8-9-3, 4-9-2), who have played one more game than UMass, are two points behind the Minutemen with 10 points.

New Hampshire, which is eighth with 11 points, has a home-and-home series with Merrimack.

Vermont (5-16-1, 2-12-1) desperately needs a win. Only eight Hockey East teams earn a spot in the conference tournament and the Catamounts are in 10th place with five points, five points behind Northeastern.

Vermont erased a two-goal deficit to upset Lowell on Friday, but then fell to Providence on Sunday.

UMass and Vermont split their two previous games this season. The Minutemen, who clinched the season series with Boston College Friday, will try to clinch another tonight.

"We have a chance to win the series," Cahoon said. "That should be motivation enough, not to mention climbing the Hockey East ladder."

NOTES - The Minutemen will try to remain the last team in Division I without a home loss. UMass is 6-0-3 at the Mullins Center.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.