Momentum has been wearing a Blue Jays jersey in this series. Johns Hopkins owns the annual rivalry by the tune of 36-3 and has won the last 16 meetings. But Friday night’s contest at Homewood Field is the season opener for the No. 4 Blue Jays, while the Tigers have worked out some of the kinks with their 12-10 decision over Jacksonville last Saturday. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome.

1) Who has the advantage at faceoffs? Towson won just 45.5 percent of its faceoffs last season, and that trend rose just slightly to 45.8 percent in the team’s win against the Dolphins. Sophomore Warren Kalkenstein paced the team with a 5-of-10 showing. On the flipside, Johns Hopkins is trying to find a faceoff specialist from a group that includes junior Mike Poppleton, sophomore Mike Faby and freshman Drew Kennedy to replace Matt Dolente (66.7 percent), who has since graduated. Gaining an edge here could allow one side to take an edge on the scoreboard.

2) Can the Tigers find the net? The offense was woeful in terms of shooting percentage last season, scoring just 102 goals on 430 shots and placing just 56.7 percent of those attempt on-goal. Towson fared much better against Jacksonville, converting 12 of 27 shots. But the Dolphins defense may not compare to the Blue Jays’ unit, which is headed by junior goalie Pierce Bassett and a trio of starting defensemen in juniors Tucker Durkin.

3) Will history repeat itself? As mentioned above, Johns Hopkins has dominated this series, and playing at Homewood Field is a daunting proposition. The history is omnipresent, the crowds are very close to the action, and coach Dave Pietramala has a knack for getting his point across to officials. Tigers coach Shawn Nadelen, who was a four-year starting midfielder and defenseman for the Blue Jays and played under Pietramala in 2001, is well aware of those circumstances and will do his best to help his players weather the storm.