Tonight on NBCSN: College doubleheader — The battle of Boston and a WCHA showdown

It’ll be a night filled with college hockey action on NBCSN with a doubleheader that starts off with a classic rivalry out of Hockey East and winds up with a pair of classic programs in the WCHA facing off.

No. 1 Boston College (10-1-0) @ No. 9 Boston University (7-4-0) — 7:30 p.m. ET

One thing you can count on when these Commonwealth Avenue rivals face off is a game you won’t forget. With these two meeting each other in a home-and-home battle this weekend, it’s BU’s chance to defend home ice.

One other thing they’ll be trying to do is prevent BC coach Jerry York from breaking Ron Mason’s all-time wins record against them. York is two wins away from surpassing Mason’s record of 924 and BU’s Jack Parker would love to keep him from it. BC comes into tonight’s game winners of 10 straight.

Who to watch: There’s plenty in this game. BC brings a pair of highly-touted Calgary prospects in leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau and forward Bill Arnold. Also look out for forward Kevin Hayes (Chicago) and defenseman Patrick Wey (Washington). Undrafted seniors Pat Mullane and Steven Whitney will be factors as well. Goalie Parker Milner has been very good this season.

BU has firepower of their own in Panthers prospect Wade Megan (pictured) as well as defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (Boston). Undrafted sophomore Cason Hohmann has been a nice surprise. A pair of freshmen have been holding it down in goal with Matt O’Connor getting more work than Sean Maguire (Pittsburgh) and playing much stronger as well.

University of Wisconsin (1-7-2) @ No. 5 Denver University (9-3-0) — 10:05 p.m. ET

Things haven’t exactly gone Wisconsin’s way this season. Winning just one out of your first 10 games isn’t the way any coach, much less Mike Eaves, wants to start a season. Injuries, NCAA distractions, and coaches taking a leave of absence have all contributed to their turmoil this year.

As for Denver, things were going smoothly until their hot run of five straight wins was interrupted last weekend getting swept by New Hampshire and Yale. They’ll have to put that behind them in their weekend battle with the Badgers lest they want to give a conference rival new life.

Who to watch: For Denver, the man to watch is Kings prospect Nick Shore. He’s the Pioneers’ leading point man with 17 (6g, 11a) and feeding undrafted senior Chris Knowlton, team goal leader with eight, seems to be his thing.

A lot of their production comes on defense with Joey LaLeggia (Edmonton), David Makowski, and Nolan Zajac leading the charge there. Goaltending has been curious for DU with Sam Brittain (Florida), Juho Olkinuora, and Adam Murray all seeing time in net.

Wisconsin will get freshman stud Nic Kerdiles (pictured) back from his NCAA suspension tonight. The Anaheim Ducks prospect comes in highly touted and should help spark a team that desperately needs a pick-me-up.

Kings prospect Michael Mersch will be worth watching as he has eight points this year, all goals. Sabres fans will want to keep their eyes on defenseman Jake McCabe and forward Brad Navin. Goalies Joel Rumpel and London Peterson have split time this year with Rumpel edging him out in play.