#13 Terriers face their biggest challenge with a two-game road series against #3 Michigan State. Tonight’s game at Munn Arena has a 7:00 p.m. ET start, while Saturday’s rematch is set for 4:30 p.m. BTN (Big Ten Network) streams tonight’s game; BTN+ streams tomorrow’s.
A special streaming package offers both games for $8.99.
As noted by CHN's Mike McMahon, the marquis match-up of the weekend, "will feature as many as 35 drafted players (18 for BU and 17 for Michigan State). Twenty-two were drafted in the first two rounds, including 11 first-rounders, nine of them on Michigan State’s roster."
Last season the Spartans charged into Agganis Arena and dealt BU its first two losses of the season by scores of 4-2 and 5-4 in OT after the Terriers rallied from two down late in the third. [More on the BU-MSU all-time series below.]
BU (6-2-0, 4-2-0 HEA) brings a three-game winning streak into the contest and, after early offensive challenges, turned that around with 20 goals in the last four contests. The previously moribund power play connected for five goals in those four games.
Tynan Lawrence paces the offense with 10 points (7G,3A) and has found the net in six of the eight games. Jack Murtagh and Xavier Villeneuve each have six points. In the Maine series, three freshmen—Villeneuve, Niklas Aaram-Olsen and Viktor Norringer—each scored their first collegiate goals, while Caleb Malhotra notched his first, non-ENG tally.
Photo by Jacob Halsema
Junior Mikhail Yegorov (1.98/.928) earned HEA Defender of the Week honors, stopping 62 of 66 shots against the Black Bears. Ten stops on Maine power plays in the first period last Saturday kept BU in the game.
Michigan State is 5-1-0 in six non-conference games. Last weekend, the Spartans scored twice in the final minutes of a heavyweight match with North Dakota to claim a 5-3 win. The only blemish on their record is a 1-0 loss at New Hampshire.
While MSU's roster boasts nine first-round draft picks, sophomore Anthony Romani, a sixth round choice, is atop their scoring chart with 7-3-10 (identical to Lawrence). Freshman D Chase Reid has seven points as does sophomore forward Ryker Lee. Sophomore Eric Nilson has six.
BU Coach Jay Pandolfo pointed out during his media call that Reid and fellow freshman Tommy Bleyl are "dynamic additions" to the Spartan D-corps.
In goal, Trey Augustine has departed and San Jose draft pick Joshua Ravensbergen (1.62/.947) has taken over between the pipes.
BU will need to keep penalties to a minimum as the MSU power play is clicking at 36%
►BU Hockey Stat’s preview of the series features a graphic comparing the teams and one listing Average Game Score of skaters. Game Score is essentially a metric to quantify player performance. The second chart is the average score per game of Terriers and Spartans. BU Hockey Stats has provided an explainer for various hockey metrics.
CHECK BACK FOR TONIGHT'S TERRIER LINEUP
● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Men’s Hockey Twitter
● Livestream BTN/BTN+
● Boston Hockey Blog Terrier Hockey Talk (includes game preview)
● College Hockey News game preview, Tale of the Tape
BU-MSU Series History
Despite their long histories as college hockey blue bloods, the Terriers and Spartans have met only 19 times previously, including six times in the NCAA tournament and once each in the Great Lakes Invitational and the Ice Breaker. MSU holds a 10-9-0 edge and the teams have split eight games at Munn Arena.
BU’s first win in the series was a 4-2 victory in the 1967 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal; that sent Jack Kelley’s squad to the title game where they were derailed by Ken Dryden and Cornell, 4-1.
BU won twice at Munn in 1977-78 and 11 years later lost twice in East Lansing. But the games that many Terrier fans will remember came in 1990’s best-of three NCAA quarterfinals, played at Munn.
MSU was college hockey’s highest scoring team, ranked #1, and they took it to BU in a contentious first game, 6-3. Post-game, Jack Parker let the refs know how he felt about a 5-minute major and DQ for Dave "Sniper" Tomlinson. The next night, third-period goals by current NY Rangers coach Mike Sullivan and Tony Amonte secured a 3-2 win. YouTube highlights.
In the deciding game, BU trailed 3-1 in the second period before Petteri Koskimaki cut the deficit to one. In the final period, Ed Ronan tied the score at 3-3 before Amonte ripped one home from the slot to give BU the lead. Minutes later, Rob Regan converted a Sullivan rebound for a 5-3 final. YouTube highlights
In the 2008-09 Ice Breaker, BU edged MSU, 2-1, behind goalie Grant Rollheiser. The Terriers' last visit to Munn was a 3-1 loss in 2013-14. The next season, Terriers blanked the Spartans, 1-0, at Agganis behind an Ahti Oksanen goal and 29 Matt O’Connor saves.
►While no Terriers won Hockey East Monthly Awards for October, Villeneuve, with 1-6-7 in eight games, was runner-up for Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month, edged out by Vermont goalie Jacob Oster.
World Juniors
The Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis has projected Team USA’s lineup for the upcoming World Junior Championships in Alberta beginning December 26. It includes two Terriers: defenseman Carter Amico, who impressed in the World Junior Summer Showcase, and 2027 recruit Brady Knowling, now skating for OHL Saginaw. Ellis indicated that he had considered Murtagh at forward.
Ellis’s recent projection for Team Canada includes Lawrence, Malhotra and Villeneuve.
Aaram-Olsen is expected to be rostered for Team Norway, which earned a spot in the WJC top division by winning last year’s Division 1A title. NAO, who was just 17 at the time, emerged as Norway’s top forward with six goals and points in his first four games.
►Check out this informative piece from Boston Hockey Blog’s Hannah Connors on how BU made its decision to join the settlement which allows college athletic departments to directly share revenue with their athletes.
● Boston Hockey Blog BU opts into House vs. NCAA Settlement
Looking ahead
Terriers have received another commitment for the 2028 recruit class: 4-⭐️Soo Greyhounds left wing Ryan Kaczynski. A 2009 birthdate, he is eligible for the 2027 NHL Entry draft. First reported by CollegePuckNXT.
The 6'3" Syosset, N.Y., native, now in his second OHL season, has an 8-1-9 line in ten games, including a hat trick in the Soo's second game. Since mid-October, he has missed eight games with an injury.
Kaczynski, the Greyhounds' first-round draft pick in 2025, recorded just 10 points in his rookie season. Previously, he skated for the Mid-Fairfield Rangers organization for three seasons, culminating in a 118-point (57G,61A) 15U AAA 60-game season, more than doubling the next teammate in scoring.
The Athletic's Scott Wheeler has ranked him #64 for the 2027 Entry Draft:
Kaczynski has taken a big step so far this season in the Soo, scoring at a torrid pace. The Hlinka would have been a great opportunity for him to break out, but he broke his hand and was unable to play for Team USA. He can attack one-on-one in several ways, with the hands and deception to beat defenders. He can play on the outside a little but is learning to go inside, which he has the tools for and has produced the gaudy goal-scoring results early this season from things like tips instead of just his individual tools. His skating stride and posture look a little unorthodox but should straighten out. He’s also a July birthday, so this rapid progression should be cause for immediate movement in the way he’s viewed.
Kaczynski was a consistent point producer in USA Hockey Select 15, 16 and 17 tournaments.
● McKeen's Hockey Early Season Favourites – 2027 Draft Eligibles (with video)
● The Hockey News Greyhounds NHL Draft Eligible Standout Ryan Kaczynski Announces NCAA Commitment To Boston University
►2028 recruit Christian Semetesis, who committed last week, assisted on a pair of goals for the NTDP U18s who defeated Czechia, 4-1, in the Five Nations Tournament in Kloten, Switzerland.
Looking back
Lane Hutson assisted on a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, as Montreal edged Utah, 5-4. Clayton Keller had a helper for the Mammoth.
Women's Team
Terriers look to get back on the winning side of the puck, hosting a pair of games against Maine at Walter Brown Arena. Tonight's game starts at 7 p.m. and Saturday's rematch has a 4:30 p.m. puck drop. ESPN+ will stream both games.
● GoTerriers.com preview and game day links
● BU Hockey Stats preview
● GoTerriers.com Seven Terriers to Represent BU at 2026 Women's World Championships
