Sunday, October 25, 2026

UPDATEDTerriers double up Huskies, 6-3; Women edge RMU

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In their 2026-27 home opener, #15/14 Terriers received goals from six different skaters as they dominated UConn for a 6-3 win before an enthusiastic Agganis Arena crowd. The victory gave BU four points out of possible six in the home-and-home series and clinches the season series against the Huskies.

BU scored twice in each period and ran up a 4-0 lead before the visitors ended Mikhail Yegorov's shutout bid late in the second period.

SCROLL DOWN FOR BU OLDTIMER'S TERRIER TAKEAWAY

The balanced scoring was led by three two-point scorers: Tynan Lawrence (G,A), Conrad Fondrk (G,A) and Caleb Malhotra (2A); and Xavier Villeneuve with three helpers. Charlie Trethewey, Ben Merrill, Jack Harvey and Brandon Svoboda were the other goal scorers.

After totaling just nine goals in their first four outings, the Terriers cranked out 10 in the two-game series. 

"I really liked our effort overall," said Coach Jay Pandolfo, who has now won all five home openers as BU head coach (H/T @BUHockeyStats). "There were times we were playing really well as a group (but) in the first-period we got a little loose defensively… I liked the response from our group after a tough loss on Thursday to come to our first home game and get the result we were looking to get.

"Yegorov had a great response (to the major penalty). I thought he played very well tonight," he continued. "We had a lot of guys who played very well. A lot of guys had their best games. Caleb Malhotra was outstanding tonight. Villeneuve excellent tonight. Benny Merrill was excellent. There was countless other guys I could talk about who had very good games."

More comments from Pandolfo and from Jack Harvey and Xavier Villeneuve are linked below. 

It was a breakout game for Villeneuve who put his skating, elusiveness and passing skills on display at both ends of the ice. 

Lawrence set the tone in the first minute with a big O-zone hit and the Terriers had their skating game and dogged puck retrieval going throughout the contest. They opened the scoring just two minutes in on a blast from Charlie Trethewey.

Villeneuve carried the puck into the zone handing it off to Malhotra who took a hit but managed to zip a pass to Trethewey at the right point. He closed toward the net and wristed a 40-footer past UConn goalie Veeti Louhivaara. 

Five minutes later, BU doubled the lead. Aiden Celebrini skated to the top of the right circle and fired the puck off the end boards. It rebounded into the crease where Niklas Aaram-Olsen knocked it away from Louhivaara and Merrill rapped the disc past his stick side.

BU pressed the attack with Malhotra creating several scoring chances. Jack Murtagh had a clear path to the net only to see his shot smothered. Yegorov, who had stopped five shots during a UConn power play, made one of his best saves at the 15-minute mark on an odd-man rush.  

Early in the middle period, after Haoxi Wang and fellow freshman D-man Villeneuve saw their scoring chances denied, Carter Sprowl pilfered a puck in BU zone and was alone at the net front, only to be robbed by Big Mike. 

Following a BU penalty kill, Sprowl was called for hooking giving the Terriers their first man-advantage. displaying the crisp puck movement that was missing in earlier games, Ryder Ritchie passed to Villeneuve who had crept in from center point. He one-timed it to Lawrence in the right circle for a rip past Louihivaara's glove. 

More polished passing led to BU's fourth goal. Villeneuve kept a puck in the zone, eluded a defender and passed to Bednarik with his back to the goalie. The junior center dished the puck to Fondrk driving in from the left circle for a bang-bang finish.

Late in the period, UConn put together some attack time forcing a big-time save by Yegorov at 17:25. On the ensuing rush, Jeremy Loranger took a shot from the right circle that hit a defender's stick, then went off Big Mike's pad and through his legs for a fluky goal.  4-1 after two.

BU restored its four-goal margin just minutes into the third period. Harvey, who had been denied twice on grade A chances set up by Malhotra, notched his first of the season on the rush. Fondrk carried the puck into the zone and slid the puck to the Terrier captain in the left circle. He fought off a UConn defender and quickly roofed a backhander over Louihivaara's glove. Malhotra had the second assist.

At 6:45, UConn's Kaden Shahan rocketed a shot that beat Yegorov high to the stick side, narrowing the lead to 5-2.

With nine minutes remaining and BU on a power play, Bednarik was sent off for spearing, resulting in a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

On the extended man-advantage, Yegorov stopped Mike Murtagh's shot from the slot but Shahan pounced on the rebound to draw the Huskies to within two goals at 5-3. 

BU killed off the rest of the major penalty and with less than a minute remaining in the period, Svoboda hit the empty net, assisted by Lawrence and Wang. 

Celebrini led BU with four blocks while Bednarik was 8 of 13 on draws with the teams splitting 56 draws evenly. 

Yegorov finished with 33 saves, including 14 in the final period.

BU OLDTIMER'S TERRIER TAKEAWAY 

1. Aside from instances of weak play behind the BU net during the first 8 - 10 minutes of the game, this was another strong effort from BU.

2. BU did a solid job on breakouts and entries during Thursday night's game; it did an even better job last night. To a large extent, BU had UConn chasing them through center ice and in the offensive zone all night.

3. While BU did good work along the boards and behind the UConn net, they created numerous scoring opportunities by disrupting UConn breakout attempts and making quick passes from the resulting turnovers.

4. All four lines and the three defense pairings had good nights. The forward lines displayed solid chemistry throughout the game.

5. While the season is still young, Aiden Celebrini is a strong candidate for the team's Most Improved Player. [Editor's Note: Celebrini's firing the puck off the end-boards leading to Merrill's goal gave the appearance of a planned play that he'd practiced.]

6. Wang and Amico continue to improve. I'm eager to see how they'll play as the season progresses.

 ● GoTerriers.com recap and box score

 ● Highlights and Postgame: Pandolfo, Harvey Villeneuve 

 ● Boston Hockey Blog BU offense highlights 6-3 response win against UConn

Looking ahead

2027 recruit Braidy Wassilyn scored his 12th goal--tied for the league lead--in Saginaw's 6-2 loss to Flint. The 6'1" left wing has found the net in 10 of 13 games and also is tied for the OHL points lead with 24. Spirit Goalie Brady Knowling entered the game in a relief role and stopped 11 of 13 shots over 40 minutes.

2027 recruit Shawn Carrier assisted on four goals for Halifax as the Mooseheads doubled up Charlottetown, 6-3. Carrier, a fourth-year left wing has a 6-6-12 scoring line in eight games. 

2027 recruit Will Prowse turned aside 24 of 26 shots in Lincoln's 4-0 loss to Muskegon. Lumberjacks had two ENGs. Prowse's league best GAA is 1.58.

Looking back

AJ Greer scored his second goal for the Ducks in a 5-4 win over the Flyers.  

Joel Farabee scored his second goal and assisted on two others to lead Calgary to a 4-1 win against Detroit.  

Women's Team 
 
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Terriers rebounded from Friday night's loss to take a 2-1 decision over Robert Morris in the Ice Breaker consolation game at Walter Brown Arena.

Keira Healy's goal 15 seconds into the middle period gave BU a 2-0 lead.  Kaleigh Quigg had opened the scoring late in the opening period.

The Colonials cut the lead in half seven minutes into the third period and poured 24 shots on the BU goal over last two periods.

Goalie Mari Pietersen stopped 28 shots overall and BU killed off seven power plays.

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score
● Tournament Home Page 
●  Boston Hockey Blog BU takes third place in Ice Breaker Tournament after a 2-1 win over RMU



 

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