#11 Terriers continue their stretch of seven conference games in January with a home-and-home series against #19/18 New Hampshire. Tonight’s game is at the Whittemore Center with puck drop set for 7 p.m. NESN will air the game, which also will be live-streamed on ESPN+.
BU (11-7-1) has won five of its last six conference games—going back to Nov. 22—and sits in second place in Hockey East, one point behind Maine and three points ahead of BC and UConn. Once again, six critical conference points will be at stake.
Several Terriers are coming off strong weekends against Vermont. Quinn Hutson, who scored three times and assisted twice, earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors and leads the team with 23 points. With goals in each of the last four games, Hutson owns the second longest goal-scoring streak in D1.
Cole Eiserman with his hat trick is the nation’s top goal-scoring freshman with 12. Co-captain Ryan Greene with a goal and three helpers in the first game and an assist the next night has 20 points. Jack Hughes, now centering for Hutson and Eiserman, added two goals and two assists.
Photo credit Matt Woolverton
Coach Jay Pandolfo told the media, “I’d like to keep the same lines. This [past] weekend it was pretty consistent, so I’d like to go into this weekend with the same sort of consistency.”
He added that he wanted to see the team do more of what “has made us successful as a team—transitioning well, creating second and third chances in the offensive zone.
“[Puck retrieval] was so much better. Our sticks were better. We were reloading above the puck, creating second chances because of that. Our forecheck was better.
There will be a change on the blueline due to an upper-body injury that will sideline Aiden Celebrini. Either Jack Page or Mick Frechette will draw in to his spot alongside Brehdan Engum.
The WIldcats (10-6-3) were swept by UConn last weekend but went 6-0-1 in the previous seven games, mostly non-conference contests. They own a pair of wins over Northeastern and are currently #13 in the Pairwise Ranking.
“UNH is a really good team,” Pandolfo pointed out. “We know we’re going to get UNH’s best. We had a tough time against them last year up at UNH…They’re going to be hungry.”
Terriers have won 16 of the last 19 games--with two ties--against the Wildcats, although most of those wins came in some down campaigns for UNH, which has been much more competitive in recent seasons.
Last season, BU dropped a 6-4 decision at the Whitt in its second game. Later in the season, BU won twice at Agganis, both hard fought games.
Sophomore Ryan Conmy leads UNH in both goals with 10 and points with 20, while senior Liam Devlin, who scored twice against the Terriers a year ago, is second with 18 points (7G,11A). Junior Cy Leclerc, one the conference’s best at the face off dot, has 17 (5G,12A).
Seniors Alex Gagne and Colton Huard anchor the defense. Goalie Jared Whale, a transfer from Alaska Anchorage has a 2.21 GAA and a .905 save percentage.
BU Hockey Stats' statistical comparison:
TONIGHT’S BU LINE-UP
● 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 BU looks to keep rolling against New Hampshire
● BU Hockey Stats Week 15 Preview Wildcats Everywhere
● Hockey East Friday game day links
►NY Post: Cole Eiserman looks poised to be everything Islanders bet on with polarizing first-round pick
His shot is among the best of any prospect drafted last summer, but at 6-foot, 200 pounds, the 18-year-old Eiserman could round out his game more.
“I think a lot of it is battles in front of the net,” he said. “Not letting defenders push you around, separating guys from pucks in the corners, getting a bump whenever you have a chance. That split, separation, really matters, especially when guys are so strong and fast now.”
Despite the production, Eiserman is still adjusting to the college level. With an August birthday, he’s one of the youngest prospects in his class, and likely has at least another year at BU — if not two — before signing his entry-level deal with the Islanders.
More rankings
The Athletic continues to post various rankings. Cory Pronman offers his list of the top 50 NHL players and prospects drafted after the first round. Terriers on the list are #3 Lane Hutson, #11 Cole Hutson and #31 Mikhail Yegorov.
Looking ahead
2025 recruits Jack Murtagh and Charlie Trethewey played for Team White in Thursday's All-American Prospect Game. Team Blue won, 3-2, and while neither figured in the scoring they made their presence felt. In a between the periods video, TSN scout Craig Button featured the two future Terriers as among the top draft prospects in the game. He compared defenseman Trethewey's game to Washington Caps' John Carlson.
Looking back
Evan Rodrigues scored his ninth goal in Florida's 5-2 loss to Detroit.
tw-align-centerLane Hutson assisted on the Canadians' game-winner in their 3-1 win over the Stars. It was his 33rd helper, With 36 points in 44 games, he leads all rookies in points and has points in the last six games. Jake Oettinger turned aside 21 of 23 shots for Dallas.RODDY PICKED HIS CORNER!! pic.twitter.com/gAvQfFbFPB
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) January 17, 2025
tw-align-center10e point en 6 matchs pour Hutson
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 17, 2025
shot for the stars, landed in the net#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/cS6EMm8XZN