Monday, February 03, 2025

Terriers Host Harvard in 72nd Beanpot Semifinal; Women win fourth straight

The season-within-the-season begins today as the #10 Terriers take on Harvard in the semifinal of the 72nd Dunkin’ Men’s Beanpot. BU and the Crimson play the early game, beginning at 5 p.m., to be followed by BC vs. Northeastern.  NESN will broadcast the games while ESPN+ and TSN+ will provide live-streams.

BU will be the home team. 

►CLICK HERE for details on the pre-game party in Boston and Beanpot Watch Parties throughout the nation.

The teams met for an exhibition game back on October 19 and played for a 2-2 overtime tie before BU won the shootout on a Jack Harvey goal.

Matt Copponi playing hockey against Harvard  

                 Photo credit Kaeli Talora

BU Hockey Stats reports: "BU is 20-4 all-time vs. Harvard in Beanpot semifinals, 7-1 when playing in semifinal one against the Crimson. The last time the two teams faced off in a Beanpot semifinal was 2022, BU won 4-3 en route to their 31st Beanpot title."

Here’s a look at some memorable Terrier goals in previous Beanpot matchups with the Crimson.
▪ 1998 Championship Game: Nick Gillis redirects a Tom Poti shot in overtime for a 2-1 overtime win.

  

2006 Semifinal: Chris Higgins’ highlight reel goal wows the crowd and his teammates.

  

2015 Semifinal: Danny O’Regan redirects Evan Rodrigues’ centering pass in the second overtime for a 4-3 victory.

  

2022 Semifinal: Ethan Phillips scores the game winner as BU holds off Harvard, 4-3.

  

“We’ve just got to make sure we come out tomorrow and play similar to the way we did on Friday against UNH,” Coach Jay Pandolfo said on Sunday. “Pretty good outing for 60 minutes and we got to make sure we’re ready to have that same type of effort.” He also revealed that Mikhail "Mike" Yegorov will be in goal Monday for the third straight game.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Crimson (7-11-2), whose head coach Ted Donato is in his 20th season. They went 4-6-0 in January, most recently losing to Princeton in overtime, defeating Colgate and falling to Cornell.

The offense is led by junior Joe Miller with 15 points (4G,11A) and freshman Mick Thompson with 14 points (6G,8A). Junior Casey Servo (13 points) is the top goal-scorer with eight.

The Harvard netminding duties have been shared by Junior Aku Koskenvuo (2.80 GAA, .903 save percentage) and freshman Ben Charette (2.40 GAA, .920 save percentage).

CHECK BACK FOR TONIGHT'S BU LINEUP

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Men's Hockey Twitter
● Live Stream ESPN+
● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape
● Boston Hockey Blog game BU prepares to battle Harvard in pressure-packed Beanpot semifinal
● Stats Sheets Dreaming of Beans (Beanpot Semifinal preview)

►BU Hockey Writer Scott Weighart previews the Beanpot:  Resilient Terriers Primed for Beanpot Opportunity

►BU produced this special video tribute to Terrier play-by-play announcer Bernie Corbett, the Voice of Terrier Hockey for four decades.

Friday Night Leftovers    

In conference-game scoring, five Terriers are in the top eight, with Quinn Hutson and Ryan Greene tied for third with 18 points.  

In addition, Quinn Hutson now has 48 career goals and needs two more tallies to join the 50-goal club in the BU record book. The most recent Terrier to reach that milestone is Bobo Carpenter (2015-2019) with 56 career goals.

Looking  ahead
NeutralZone posted a review of 2025 recruit Callum Hughes following a recent OHL game. Hughes, a cousin of current Terrier Jack Hughes, joined Erie in November and has 13 points in 25 games for the Otters.

Callum Hughes (C, L, 6’1″, 186, Erie Otters, 01/22/2006, Boston University)
Grade: B
Comments: Hughes is a well-rounded forward who blends skill and grit, leading to a responsible game at both ends of the ice. His grit doesn’t come from big hits but from his willingness to get into the corners, support puck battles, and battle hard on his stick. Hughes is a smart passer on the breakout, making clean, accurate passes to transition the puck up ice. His speed allows him to be a constant threat on the rush, using his quickness to create scoring chances.

An OHL Beyond the Bench feature on 2025 recruit Jack Pridham.

2026 recruit Tynan Lawrence scored his 15th goal, unassisted (video), in Muskegon’s 3-2 overtime loss to Green Bay.

Looking back

Jack Eichel's 17th and 18th goals gave Vegas a 2-1 lead after two, but the Rangers rallied with three in the third period for a 4-2 win.

Evan Rodrigues scored his 13th goal (video) as the Panthers doubled up the Islanders, 6-3.

Women’s Team

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With goals in each period, Terriers skated to a 4-1 win over Vermont on Saturday, extending their latest winning streak to four games. 

BU improves to 18-8-1 overall and 15-4-1 in the conference and remains in first place in Hockey East, two points ahead of UConn and four points ahead of Northeastern.

Midway through the first period, Sydney Healy’s initial shot hit iron, but she collected the rebound and slipped the puck home for a 1-0 lead.

Late in the second period after Vermont had tied the score on a short-handed goal, BU regained the lead during a two-man advantage. Julia Shaunessy connected on a one-timer from the top of the left circle.  

Luisa Welcke added a second power-play goal in the third period, stretching the lead to 3-1.

Sydney Healy closed out the scoring with an empty net goal.

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score

● Highlights 

● Post-game Coach Rust/Healy 

● Boston Hockey Blog recap

 

 

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Saturday, February 01, 2025

UPDATED: Quinn Hutson tricks Wildcats; Women edge BC

 

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After not scoring a 5-on-5 goal for three games, the #10 Terriers put a smile on Coach Jay Pandolfo’s face by producing six of them en route to a 7-2 thumping of #18/16 New Hampshire before 4,433 at Agganis Arena. The Terriers top line was on fire, led by Quinn Hutson’s hat trick and three-point nights from Jack Harvey and Shane Lachance.

Mikhail “Big Mike” Yegorov was solid in his first home start, turning aside 19 of 21 Wildcat shots. 

Scroll down for the Terrier Takeaway

“I thought we were skating right from the start,” Pandolfo said after the victory. “Big win for us, coming off getting swept by BC. Good response from our group.”  

He added, “Our guys buy into playing a certain way,” Pandolfo said. “Sometimes they have to be reminded, but tonight they executed what we wanted to as a team.”

Terriers were fast out of the gate all night, scoring in the opening minutes of each period. The first came came 1:16 into the contest on the rush. Harvey stickhandled through center and slid a pass to Ryan Greene on the left side. The co-captain quickly found Quinn Hutson alone between the circles and he wristed a shot over Joshua Whale’s shoulder on the glove side for his 13th goal. 

The visitors got one back when the Terriers were whistled for too many men on the ice. During the ensuing power play, Yegorov lost his goal stick trying to smother a loose puck. The disc came out to Robert Cronin in the slot who quickly deposited the puck in the net on what would’ve been the goalie’s stick side.

 

Just minutes later BU regained the lead, again with the first-line trio on the rush. Quinn Hutson raced into the offensive zone and fired a shot from the left circle. The puck went off Whale’s glove to the slot where Greene dished to Harvey for a finish at the right post.  It was the sixth goal for the sophomore from Minnesota. First period shots were 12-8 BU. 

BU needed only 28 seconds into the middle period to score the eventual game-winner. After Tom Willander kept a puck in the offensive zone at the right point, Kamil Bednarik carried it inside the blue line and passed to Lachance. A defender forced the sophomore co-captain wide, but he fired a shot from a sharp angle that appeared to catch Whale unprepared and found the net on the short side for Lachance’s eighth goal and a 3-1 lead. 

Back-to-back penalties to Jack Page and Willander gave UNH four minutes of man-advantage to try to cut into the lead, but the Terriers killed both penalties allowing just one shot.

BU nearly added a fourth goal when Greene set up Harvey at the goalmouth, but Whale blocked the attempt. Second period shots favored BU 13-7.

The score-‘em-early scenario was repeated in the third period with the Hutson Brothers combining at 1:17.  Quinn sent a pass from the right corner to Cole above the left circle, then made a bee-line to the UNH cage in time to redirect a return pass over Whale’s glove. His 14th goal made the score 4-1.

With the win, BU sweeps the season series from UNH, outscoring the Wildcats 15-9 in the three games, and has a a 19-1-2 record in the last 22 meetings.  In games with UNH at Agganis, Terriers are 17-8-4. 

The three-goal margin was cut to two when Sasha Boumedienne fanned on a one-time attempt, leading to a 2-on-1 rush that JP Turner finished. It was the first even-strength goal allowed by Yegorov, who would then make a pair of sparkling saves after BU turned pucks over in the defensive zone. 

A double minor on Cronin gave BU four minutes of power play and they converted at 15:38. Willander set up Cole Eiserman for a one time blast that was blocked, but went right back to the freshman. He waited for Devin Kaplan to screen goalie Rico DiMatteo (who had relieved Whale) and whipped a hard wrister home for his 15th goal to extend the lead to 5-2. Jack Hughes had the second assist.

With two minutes remaining and the UNH cage empty for an extra-skater, Quinn Hutson completed his hat trick with an empty-netter. But BU wasn’t done. Nick Roukanakis harassed a Wildcat defenseman into a turnover in the UNH zone and pushed the puck ahead to Brandon Svoboda, who closed to the goal and rapped home his fourth goal to close out the scoring. Jack Page also assisted. 

Quinn Hutson leads BU in scoring with 30 points and is tied with Eiserman for the team goal-scoring leads with 15. 

Harvey has 11 points (3G,8A) in his last seven games and now has 20 points. Commenting on his line's success, Harvey explained, “I think we just found some good chemistry this week, getting the puck to each other and obviously putting it in the net.”

Svoboda had another standout night at the face off dot, winning eight of 10 draws, while classmate Bednarik won nine of 14.

For Page and Roukounakis, their assists on Svoboda’s goal were their first collegiate points. 

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score
● Highlights & Post-game Pandolfo
● Boston Hockey Blog recap

►BU OldTimer's Terrier Takeaway

1. After the heat of last week's rivalry series with BC, a cool breeze in the form of UNH arrived at Agganis Arena last night. What a difference a softer opponent makes.

2. Twelve different Terriers could read the scoresheet and smile. After failing to score 5-on-5 for three games, BU scored 6 even-strength goals, including an ENG.

3. BU played well in all three zones. They were especially effective in the neutral zone shutting down UNH rushes and turning the play around.

4. BU was able to get the puck to the front of the UNH net all evening. BU scored four of its goals from the area around the crease.

5. The BU defense corps had a solid evening. Sascha Boumedienne had a very good night, aside from his whiff on a shot which led to UNH's second goal.

6. Mikhail Yegorov had a solid, if unspectacular, game. While the score was 4-2, he stopped UNH shots after two 3rd period turnovers (McCarthy, Harvey).

7. As others have mentioned, Nick Roukounakis has been effective on the fourth line, adding to the physical presence of that unit and retrieving pucks.
 
8. Kamil Bednarik's line reads 1-12-13. Classic line for a center. He has had a solid, unheralded freshman season.

 

►Fans at the game received a Agganis Arena 20th Anniversary poster and a special video marking the anniversary was presented. 

Looking ahead 

2025 recruit Jack Pridham scored the shootout game-winner in Kitchener’s 3-2 win over Flint. He added an assist and earned the game’s second star. Pridham has a 15-16-31 line in 29 games. (Highlights)

2025 recruit John McNelis scored his 13th goal in Sioux Falls 5-4 loss to Sioux City. 

2026 recruit Tynan Lawrence scored his 13th goal—unassisted and shorthanded—in Muskegon’s 5-3 loss to Green Bay. 

Women’s Team

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Riley Walsh’s goal midway through the third period broke a 2-2 tie and sent BU to a 3-2 win over BC at Walter Brown Arena. Mari Pietersen stopped 24 shots to gain her third consecutive win.

After the Eagles took an early lead, Lilli Welcke’s unassisted goal brought BU even after one period. Kaileigh Quigg scored a 4-on-4 goal in the middle period to give the Terriers their first lead.

BC tied the score 3:40 into the third period, before Walsh’s seventh goal exactly seven minutes later proved to be the game-winner.

With the win, BU takes the regular-season series with BC, two games to one. It also keeps the Terriers tied with UConn for first place in Hockey East, although BU has a game in hand on the Huskies.

BU outshot the Eagles 34-26.

Terriers will be back on the ice Saturday to take on Vermont in a 4 p.m. start at WBA. Game Day links are in the GoTerriers.com recap.

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score
● Highlights
● Post-game Coach Tara Watchorn and Maggie Hanzel
● Boston Hockey Blog recap

 

 

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Friday, January 31, 2025

UPDATED Game Day BU vs. UNH round 3; Inside BU Hockey; Women take on BC

 Game day graphic featuring posed photo of Doug Grimes. #10 BU vs. #16 UNH, Jan. 31, 7 PM at Agganis Arena on ESPN+.

# 10 Terriers will look to put last weekend in the rear-view mirror as they meet up with New Hampshire for a third time. Game time tonight at Agganis Arena is 7 p.m. with ESPN+ providing the live stream. Two weeks ago BU defeated the Wildcats, 6-3, at the Whit, and then 2-1 in overtime at home.

Terrier Head Coach Jay Pandolfo had been seeking "some consistency" in his forward lines. However after putting up big numbers against Vermont and in the UNH game in Durham, BU has gone three straight games without a five-on-five goal. That prompted the third-year coach to "mix it up a little bit, more than anything else."

Practice lines this week have been:
Harvey-Greene-Q. Hutson 
Eiserman-Hughes-Kaplan 
Lachance-Bednarik-Copponi 
Svoboda-Amonte/Zetterberg-Roukounakis
 
Commenting on last Saturday's 2-0 loss, he explained, “We competed a lot harder. We had our chances. We just couldn’t find a way to beat Fowler. He’s a good goalie, but I learned we can play with anyone  if we play a certain way.”

Pandolfo also revealed during his media call that Mikhail "Mike" Yegorov's strong performance against BC Saturday had earned him the start against the Wildcats.

Defenseman Aiden Celebrini remains out of the line-up with an upper-body injury, but, Pandolfo reported, his recovery is ahead of schedule and hopes he'll return for the Providence series following the Beanpot.
 
Terriers' top three overall scorers are Quinn Hutson (12-14-26), Ryan Greene (11-13-24) and Cole Eiserman (14-7-21). Green, Eiserman and Cole Hutson are tied for third in conference scoring.
 
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BU has a 16-8-4 record in games against the Wildcats at Agganis Arena and has an 18-1-2 in the last 21 meetings between the teams. 
 
Last weekend UNH split a home series against Vermont, losing, 3-2, in overtime and winning, 5-2, to end a five-game skid. Sophomore Ryan Conmy continues to lead the Wildcats’ attack with 12 goals and 23 points, followed by Robert Cronin (20 points), Liam Devlin (19), Cy Leclerc (18) and Nick Ring (15). Colton Huard anchors the defense while Alaska-Anchorage transfer Jared Whale has a 2.39 GAA.

There will be an Agganis Arena 20th Anniversary Poster Giveaway at tonight's game.

  

                     Photo credit Emaline Malkin

TONIGHT'S BU LINE-UP

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● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Men's Hockey Twitter
● Live Stream ESPN+
● Pandolfo Media Call
● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape

● Boston Hockey Blog Men’s hockey moves on from rivalry series sweep with UNH rematch

● Stats Sheets Week 17 Preview Calm before the storm 

On this week's edition of Inside BU Hockey, Bernie Corbett interviews head coach Jay Pandolfo and junior Quinn Hutson while Allison DeWitt chats with head coach Tara Watchorn and graduate student Julia Shaunessy.
 

►The Boston Hockey Blog has posted a new Boston Hockey Talk podcast, reviewing last week's men's and women's games and previewing this week's contests.

►NHL.com's Mark Divver wrote about sons of NHL players and executives now in college hockey, including Sascha Boumedienne, whose father, Josef, is an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets; Jack Hughes, whose father, Kent, is general manager of the Montreal Canadians; and Shane Lachance, whose father, Scott Lachance, is head of U.S. Scouting for the New Jersey Devils.

Not in the article, but also on the BU roster are: Tristan Amonte, who father is NHL standout Tony Amonte; Max Lacroix, whose dad, Eric, played eight seasons in the NHL; and Jack Gorton, whose father, Jeff, is executive VP of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens.

Looking ahead

2026 recruit Rian Chudzinski, in a performance the New England Hockey Journal called “dominant,” scored a hat trick and also hit a crossbar as #3 Dexter routed #8 St. George’s, 9-1. He’s the leading scorer for Dan Donato’s team with a 15-20-35 scoring line. 

Looking back

Episode 2 of Amazon Prime's  Faceoff--Inside the NHL, “As Tough as it Gets,” focuses on Jack Eichel and Filip Forsberg.  The Eichel section goes from his time in Buffalo, his neck injury, his trade to Vegas and Stanley Cup win, followed by last Spring’s disappointment. 

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New Papa Charlie McAvoy has been named assistant captain for Team USA in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.  

Joel Farabee, the 14th overall draft pick in 2018, has been traded from Philadelphia to Calgary as part of a 4-player deal.  Farabee, who was Hockey East's Rookie of the Year in 2018-19, had an 8-11-19 line in 50 games for the Flyers.

Women ‘s Team

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Terriers will host #11/12 BC at Walter Brown Arena tonight in a 6 p.m. start that ESPN+ will live stream. The Terriers and Eagles split a home and home series in November with each team winning on the other’s home ice, with BU winning at Conte, 3-1, and BC winning at Agganis, 3-2 OT.

Though currently unranked, BU is tied for first in Hockey East with UConn, three points ahead of BC.

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Women's Hockey Twitter
● Live Stream ESPN+
● Coach Watchorn Media Call
● Boston Hockey Blog A daunting stretch begins against BC  

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Tuesday, January 28, 2025

UPDATED Protocol penalty update; Poll Story; P-O-W for Pietersen

The controversial protocol penalty at the start of Saturday's BU-BC games remains a hot topic. 

The Boston Hockey Blog's Mitch Fink spoke with Hockey East Supervisor of Men’s Officials Brian Murphy and Associate Commissioner Brian Smith about the ruling.

“The BU goalkeeper came on the ice before the officials came on the ice and certainly before Boston College came on the ice. And as you’ll see in the timeline, the visiting team comes on last,” said Murphy, who was an NHL referee for 32 years before joining Hockey East in 2020. 

Yegorov took the ice, alone, with around 39:30 on the game clock. According to the rulebook, officials must take the ice at 39:00, followed by the home team at 38:00 and the visiting team at 37:50

● Boston Hockey Blog Hockey East clarifies procedural penalty in BU men’s hockey’s loss at Boston College on Saturday

● Boston Hockey Blog Analysis: BU men’s hockey avoids harsh reality against Boston College  

Yegorov was the only Terrier named to Hockey East's Weekly Top Performers list.

Mikhail Yegorov, BU (Fr., G; St. Petersburg, Russia) Stopped 23 of 24 shots in his NCAA debut at No. 1 Boston College, allowing just one power-play goal in a 2-0 defeat. He made several timely stops to keep the Terriers in the game.

► Boston Hockey Blog Week 16 Recap Happy Homecoming and Game 1 Advanced Stats  

Poll Story

Terriers slipped two slots to #10 in the USCHO Division 1 Poll. They’re one of six Hockey East schools in the top 10, along with #1 BC, #6 Maine, #7 Providence, #8 Lowell and #9 UConn. BU’s next opponent, New Hampshire is #18.

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The Hockey East teams are in the same spots in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live Poll, except for New Hampshire, which is #16. UMass is #20, giving the conference eight ranked teams.

John Buccigross’ rankings slot the Terriers at #8, while Everything College Hockey ranks BU #12.  BU fell to #10 in Pairwise which also has six Hockey East teams in the top 10.

                        The Dunkin Men's Beanpot Tickets Feb 03, 2025 Boston, MA ...

►The Beanpot is less than a week away. Whether you’re planning to attend or watch on TV, here is information about the Pre-Game Party on Causeway Street and 17 Beanpot Watch Parties across the country. And check out the Top Dog Challenge.  

SNL (Saturday Night Leftovers)

It’s hard to find silver linings when you’re swept by your arch-rivals, including a shutout, but there certainly were a few. First, of course, is the performance of Mikhail “Mike” Yegorov in his first NCAA start, shaking off the early power-play goal, then making big-time stops throughout the game. He finished with 23 saves on 24 shots. (Thanks to @kinch8837 for this reel of Yegorov saves.)

 
   

Another was the Terriers’ compete level for 60 minutes against the #1 team with possibly the top collegiate goalie. “We were pretty good around our net,” Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “We didn’t give up much in the slot.” He added, “If we play that way, we’re going to win a lot of games down the stretch. That’s what we can take out of this.” 

A third positive from the weekend was the continued strong play on penalty kills, yielding just that one power-play at the start of Saturday’s game—more on that below—out of four chances for the Eagles. In the last seven conference games, BU has yielded just two goals on 22 man-advantages for opponents, largely attributable to the more aggressive kill the coaches have instituted.

As for the opening-minute goal Saturday, the NESN analyst describing the goal on replay notes that the BU bench was calling for a pick call. And BU’s sharp-eyed webcast analyst Mark Linehan called it out, too. If you watch the play at half speed, you’ll see James Hagens get on Brehdan Engum’s outside shoulder and angle him toward the middle of the ice as Leonard races by along the boards. Judge for yourself. Sure looks like a pick and sure had the intended effect.

The losses leave BU in second place in Hockey East, two points ahead of Maine (who has two games in hand) and four ahead of surging UConn.

Looking ahead
A Neutral Zone scout, after viewing a recent NTDP U18 game offered thoughts on 2025 recruit Jack Murtagh.

Jack Murtagh (LW, L, 6’1″, 200, NTDP U18, 08/22/2007, Boston University)
Grade: A-
Comments: With a goal and two assists, Murtagh had himself an offensive night. He was able to open the scoring for Team USA tonight at a much-needed time. Murtagh was able to show tonight that he can beat you in a straight line with the puck on his stick, skate his way into space with good separation and win a lot of battles that require him to race onto loose pucks. He is technically sound he still however needs to build more strength through his core and legs to make him a bit more sturdy on his skates as he got bumped off the puck a couple times. That added strength will help with more explosiveness, balance and also will allow for him to be more confident on wall battles and battles below the goal line.

Looking back

Macklin Celebrini's 16th goal proved decisive in the Sharks' 2-1 win over the Penguins. It was the fourth game-winner for the 2024 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner. With 36 points, Celebrini is second in the rookie scoring race, three points behind Lane Hutson. Matt Grzelcyk picked up his 25th assist for Pittsburgh.

Jack Eichel scored his 15th goal in the Golden Knights’ 4-1 win against Florida. He has a team-high 62 points and is +28. He ranks 8th in the NHL in points and fourth (47) in assists.  

Brady Tkachuk scored his 19th goal in Ottawa’s 3-1 win over Utah. Clayton Keller’s 18th was the sole UHC tally. 

Congratulations to BU All-American and Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and his wife, Kiley Sullivan, on the birth of their son, Rhys Michael McAvoy. Kiley is the daughter of former Terrier captain and current Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.

 Women's Team

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Sophomore goalie Mari Pietersen earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors after shutting out Holy Cross in both ends of a home-and-home series. The Goodwood, Ont., native  stopped 25 shots in Friday’s 2-0 road win and then 15 attempts in Saturday’s 3-0 victory at newly re-opened Walter Brown Arena. She has a 1.94 GAA and a .904 save percentage in seven games.

● GoTerriers.com Pietersen Tabbed Hockey East Player of the Week  

● The Hockey News Long List Of Accolades Has Followed Mari Pietersen On Her Journey

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