DURHAM -- Blame it on a bit of a quirky schedule.

And blame it on an unusual year for the University of New Hampshire hockey team.

But, in all likelihood, this weekend is it for the Wildcats at the Whittemore Center.

The University of Vermont comes to town for games tonight and Saturday, games in which UNH needs desperately to pile up some points. After that, unless something strange happens, the Wildcats — who will honor Stevie Moses and the rest of their seniors on Saturday — will be on the road for the rest of the season.

“Sad to say, this might be our last weekend here,” said UNH men's coach Dick Umile. “There's still an outside shot . . . But it doesn't look very promising.”

The outside shot would be that somehow UNH manages to continue its Hockey East-best string of top four results in the league. In each of the last 15 seasons, UNH has finished in the top four and thus earned home-ice advantage for the Hockey East quarterfinals.

It appears likely that streak will end this season and the Wildcats, if they get into the tournament, will play their games away from home.

They sit in seventh place in the league this morning, just a point behind sixth-place Providence, but six points behind Merrimack and Maine, who are tied for fourth place.

UNH, 12-14-3 overall and 9-11-2 in Hockey East and unbeaten in its last four games, has five games left in the regular season. The Wildcats are at Massachusetts for two home games next weekend and close out with a game at Maine on March 3.

The top priority now is to get points and try to move closer to locking down a spot in the league tournament.

“The most important thing is to get into the tournament,” Umile said. “This weekend will be a very important determining factor on whether we're going to get in.”

Vermont is even more desperate than UNH.

The Catamounts, 5-22-1 overall and 2-18-1 in the league, bring up the rear in Hockey East and another loss will eliminate them from any chance of making the playoffs.

The Wildcats are in no position to take Vermont lightly.

“It's a huge weekend for us, to make sure we get four points,” said senior captain Mike Borisenok.

The way the Wildcats see it, Vermont stole a point from them earlier this season in Burlington.

The Catamounts pulled their goalie and scored with a minute and 20 seconds left to earn a 4-4 tie on Nov. 12.

More painfully, the Catamounts, as the No. 8 seed, came to Durham and eliminated No. 1 UNH from the Hockey East tournament in a quarterfinal round series two years ago.

The Wildcats ran goalie Rob Madore, then a sophomore, out of the first game of the series and won, 7-4. Madore rebounded with a pair of 1-0 shutouts to bounce the Wildcats.

Madore's statistics as a senior have not been great, but the Wildcats take no solace in that.

“We know what he's capable of doing,” Umile said.

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PROVIDENCE COLLEGE pulled a point in front of UNH in the standings last weekend thanks to wins at home against Maine (4-3) and at Massachusetts (5-4).

Friar forward Tim Schaller, a junior out of Merrimack, had a goal and an assist in each of the wins.

Schaller has three goals and two assists in his four games since returning from mononucleosis and 13 goals and six assists for 19 points for the season. No other Friar has more than eight goals.

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THE ST. ANSELM MEN, 11-8-3, take a four-game winning streak into a game against the University of New England, 3-17-2, in Biddeford, Maine, tonight. The Hawks are at the University of Southern Maine, 9-10-4, on Saturday at 4 and close out the regular season at Stonehill, 8-11-2, on Tuesday night.

The St. Anselm women, 17-6-0 and riding a five-game winning streak, wrap up the regular season with home games against Castleton, 9-12-1, tonight at 7 and on Saturday against New England College, 9-12-2, at 3.

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THE DARTMOUTH MEN, 9-12-4 overall and 6-9-3 in the ECAC, take to the road looking to get back on track with four games left in the regular season.

The Big Green are at Yale, 10-13-2 and 7-10-1, tonight at 7:30 and at Brown, 8-14-3 and 5-11-2, on Saturday at 7.

Dartmouth lost both of its games last weekend and is 0-4-2 in its last six. The Big Green and Yale are tied for eighth place in the ECAC, two points behind St. Lawrence.

The Dartmouth women, 16-8-2 and 12-6-2, close out the regular season with home games against Yale tonight at 7 and Brown on Saturday at 4. Yale is 1-25-1 and 1-18-1 and Brown is 8-12-7 and 5-11-4.

Dartmouth is in fifth place, two points out of fourth place and a home ice berth for the playoffs that start next weekend.

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THE UNH WOMEN, 10-19-3 overall and 4-13-2 in Hockey East, will try to hold onto the sixth and final playoff spot in the league as they head to Maine for the last weekend of the regular season.

The Wildcats, who have lost their last five games, are one point ahead of Connecticut and two in front of Vermont. They hold the tiebreaker over UConn and Vermont holds it over them.

UNH plays fifth-place Maine, 15-10-6 and 9-8-2, on Saturday at 1 and on Sunday at 3 in Alfond Arena.

Vermont plays at second-place Boston College tonight and Saturday and UConn plays a home and home series with third-place Boston University on Saturday and Sunday.

Allen Lessels covers college hockey for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. He may be reached at alessels@unionleader.com.