Monday, October 19, 2026

UPDATED Poll story; SNL; Yegorov's hot start


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The weekend split in Vermont proved costly to BU at least in the weekly polls. In the USCHO Division 1 Poll, Terriers fell from #11 to #15, just behind Cornell and just ahead of Thursday’s opponent, Connecticut. The last six teams in the top 20 are all Hockey East schools.

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In the USA Hockey D1 Poll, BU slipped to #11. Providence (#9) is the only Hockey East team in the top 10. Michigan, Michigan State and North Dakota occupy the top three spots with defending champion Denver falling to #4. 

ESPN's John Buccigross slotted BU at #11 in his Cawlidge Hawkey Top 16, while Everything College Hockey's ranking has the Terriers at #14.

UPDATE: Three Terriers were named to Hockey East's Weekly Top Performers List:

Ryder Ritchie, BU (So., F; Kelowna, B.C.) On Saturday, he tied the game with 56.3 seconds remaining in regulation before scoring 56 seconds into overtime to deliver a 2-1 win at Vermont.

Xavier Villeneuve, BU (Fr., D; Les Cedres, Que.) Recorded the first two points of his collegiate career on Saturday, collecting the primary assist on both of Ryder Ritchie’s goals in a 2-1 overtime win at Vermont. He first set up the game-tying goal with 56.3 seconds remaining in regulation before dishing out the helper that delivered a 2-1 win just 56 seconds into overtime.

Mikhail Yegorov, BU (Jr., G; St. Petersburg, Russia) Allowed just three goals and made 46 saves across a two-game split at Vermont. His overtime stop on Saturday directly led to Ryder Ritchie’s game-winning goal.

  

● BU Hockey Stats Week 3 recap: Midnight Ryder  

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● Boston Hockey Blog From Win No. 1 to 100: The Biggest Victories of Jay Pandolfo’s BU Tenure

 
 

►Mikhail Yegorov, whose outstretched leg save triggered the game-winning sequence in overtime, has authored a .956 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average through four starts this season. 

 ● Daily Faceoff Prospect Round: Early NCAA Standouts

Mikhail Yegorov, G, 20, Boston University (New Jersey Devils)

Boston University is a stronger team this year, meaning Yegorov doesn’t have to do everything himself anymore. The 6-foot-5 keeper had an excellent 25-save effort against Alaska-Fairbanks in BU’s season opener before shutting them out the following night. He currently boasts a 3-1 record with just four goals allowed – pretty nuts. Yegorov is one of the most athletic goalie prospects in the world right now, often making highlight-reel saves feel routine. Yegorov doesn’t waste much movement, but he has the flexibility and speed to make massive saves on a second’s notice. It still feels like traffic can be a bit of a problem for him (which isn’t ideal for a goalie his size), but the raw talent and skating make me think he’s bound to become an NHL starting goalie one day.

NJ Hockey Now's ranking of Devils' prospects has Yegorov #2, Conrad Fondrk #9 and Shane Lachance #11. 

SNL (Saturday Night Leftovers)

►There’s no photo of Ryder Ritchie in the player-of-the-game jacket, so we’ll go with his on-ice celly instead.

  

That clip is from the brief highlights reel UVM posted on YouTube, although puzzlingly, they neglected to include the game-tying goal.

►Ritchie led BU in shots on Saturday with six and won two of four draws when called upon. Caleb Malhotra set up Ritchie for a Grade A chance in the second period, but his one-timer from just inside the circle went off goalie Jacob Oster’s pad. He scored in overtime last February 6 to deliver a 3-2 victory over Maine at Agganis Arena.

Here’s a look back at that Lane Hutson game-winner.

►If you thought BU was spending considerable time in the offensive zone Saturday night, you're right. BU Hockey Stats' comparison show the Terriers with more than double the O-zone time of the Cats. 

 

   

 

►The shot chart shows that BU had significant numbers of shots from the circles, high slot and close to the net. UVM's Jacob Oster stopped 32 of 34 shots on Saturday and 56 of 59 for the series, which earned him Hockey East Player of the Week honors. 

The rest of BU Hockey Stats' Advanced Analytics for Saturday's win are here.  

►Four games into the season, Malhotra surprisingly has just one point on an empty-net goal, although his overall performance has been positive. Our resident game analyst, defkit, offers a discerning observation about the #3 pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Click here to see defkit’s full Takeaway.   

Lawrence is clearly the best forward on the team at this point, not a surprise. Malhotra will get going after around 10 games in my opinion. You can see that he has the tools. But similar to Lawrence last season, most good players need an adjustment period. We've been spoiled with guys like Eichel, Celebrini, and Lane H. that just step in and look like the best players right away. But D-1 is a big step up. And while the ceiling may not be as high for guys like Aaram-Olsen and Norringer, I think we'll see them adjust as well. 

►Jay Pandolfo on Carter Amico "I thought he was excellent tonight. He was on top of the other team, keeping plays alive.Great play in the second period where he almost scored. I just thought he was on his toes all night and that's when he's at his best."

►While BU’s power play remains a work in progress (0 for 11), the penalty kill has been nearly perfect, stymieing 10 of 11 man-advantages, including the last nine and all the four power plays they faced in Burlington. 

►Puck Preps Ryan Sikes' game analysis rated Xavier Villeneuve, Ritchie and Lawrence as BU's top three skaters. He also posted a graphic of xGF vs. xGA for all D1 schools. With nine goals scored (2 ENG) vs. four allowed, Terriers are in the "good defense, weak offense" quadrant. For now.

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Looking ahead

►2027 recruits Carter Meyer and James Scantlebury victimized future teammate Andrei Nikolayev in Quebec’s 8-3 thumping of Victoriaville. Both scored a goal and added an assist. Meyer’s third tally was followed by Scantlebury’s ninth, assisted by Meyer.

►2027 recruit Braidy Wassilyn recorded four assists over two games to reach 21 points (10G,11A), second best in the OHL. On Saturday he had three helpers in Saginaw’s 7-4 win against Sarnia. On Sunday, he assisted on the Spirit’s only goal in a 2-1 loss to Owen Sound. Brady Knowling stopped 21 shots for Saginaw.  

►Elite Prospects’ scouts projected a CHL lineup for the early December CHL-USA Top Prospects Games that includes Meyer, Scantlebury and Jamie Glance, who played in last year’s prospects event for the USNTDP U18s. He scored in each of the two games, including this power-play tally.    

Knowling was lights out in game one, stopping 42 of 44 shots in a 4-2 win. The CHL claimed the second game with Villeneuve providing the game-winner.

In the 4-3 CHL victory, Malhotra scored a short-hander and 2027 recruit Alessandro Di Iorio also found the back of the net for Canada. Our coverage of those games.

● NHL.com 2025 Prospects Challenge: 4 things learned in Game 2 

Looking back

Back-to-back natural hat tricks are virtually certain to earn First Start of the Week recognition, which is exactly what Brady Tkachuk earned. In four games, he had a 6-4-10 scoring line.  

Trevor Zegras assisted on all three Flyers goals in a 3-2 win against the Avalanche. 

AJ Greer scored his first goal as a Duck in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers. 

Clayton Keller scored his fourth goal and assisted on another tally to lead the Mammoth past the Penguins, 5-4. 

● NHLPA.com Heritage Classic has Lane Hutson feeling like a kid again

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Women's Team

● Boston Hockey Blog “We’ll take the wins where we can get them.” BU falls short in 1-0 loss to Colgate

 

 

 

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