Year 3 of the Jay Pandolfo era begins tonight as the Terriers host Holy Cross at Agganis Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. with the live stream on ESPN+.
Following consecutive trips to the Frozen Four, BU has reloaded for another pursuit of hockey titles with 16 returnees, seven freshmen and three transfers.
Both preseason polls slotted the
Terriers at #3, while CHN’s Power Ranking has BU at #8. The Hockey East preseason coaches' poll landed BU at #2.
With leading scorers Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hutson now in the pros, Coach Jay Pandolfo explained during his media call that he'll look for scoring by committee and for returning forwards to take it up a notch. Co-captain Ryan Greene (12g,24a) and newly-named assistant captain Quinn Hughes (18g,18a) are the top returnees, along with co-captain Shane Lachance (13g,14a), assistant captain Devin Kaplan (5g,18a), Jack Hughes (7g,11a) and Jack Harvey (7g,8a). Transfer Matt Copponi led Merrimack in scoring last year with 32 points (7g,25a).
In earlier comments, Pandolfo indicated he expects freshmen Cole Eiserman and Kamil Bednarik, both standouts with the NTDP U18s, and Swedish waterbug Alexander Zetterberg to be early contributors.
Pandolfo says he's excited to coach NTDP goal-scoring record holder Eiserman. "He has a gift to score goals, so we certainly want to put him in a situation where he can take advantage, put him in spots where he’s going to score goals. People always talk about how he’s got work on other parts of his game, but I think he has. We just want to continue to develop him as a good 200-foot winger."
The defense features senior Jack Page, grad transfer Brehdan Engum, four sophomores (Tom Willander, Gavin McCarthy, Aiden Celebrini and Mick Frechette) and highly regarded freshmen Cole Hutson and Sascha Boumedienne.
"No question, our D core is on the younger side. We still have some experience with Gavin and Tom [who] played big minutes for us last year. Engum played four full seasons in Hockey East....Early on, we're going to have some growing pains, we're anticipating that a little bit. We've seen them make strides since we've started...We've got a young D core, but a very talented D core."
Regarding the third Hutson brother to skate for BU, Pandolfo recently said, "Sad to see (Lane) go, but we’re very fortunate to have Cole coming in. We’re pretty confident he’s going to come in and fill Lane’s shoes. I think that’s what Cole expects. He wants that challenge. He’s the same as Lane. Really competitive."
Mathieu Caron (2.35 GAA, .915 save %) returns for his senior year after making all 40 starts in an iron man season. His numbers in conference games were even better: 2.14, .924.
New England Hockey Journal writes: "Caron got even better as the Terriers rolled deep along their run to a second consecutive Frozen Four," adding that his "7-0-1 run late in the season helped his team reach the TD Garden stage in March and he allow two or fewer goals in nine of his last 14 starts."
Max Lacroix impressed during his two opportunities last season and could see more game action in 2024-25. Billy Girard IV, a grad transfer from University of New England where he set multiple school records, provides depth.
The Crusaders were 21-14-4 last season and finished at second in Atlantic Hockey and #28 in Pairwise. Graduation and transfers took away four of its top eight scorers and three regular defensemen. However, CHN’s Mike McMahon points out:
Despite that, Liam McLinskey is back for his senior year. He’s not only the best player on the team, he’s arguably the top player in Atlantic Hockey. Last season he had 47 points (19g-28a) in 39 games and led the Crusaders with 113 shots on goal.
The Crusaders can’t take anyone older than a sophomore because of graduation rules (students need to be enrolled for two years to get a degree at Holy Cross). They added three sophomore transfers: forwards Michael Abrall (Omaha), and Tim Heinke (Quinnipiac) will slot up front and defenseman Lachlan Getz (Michigan Tech) should be an every-night player on the blue line.
Goaltender Thomas Gale emerged as a quality starter (2.41/.917), and he’s also back for his senior year. McMahon calls Gale “arguably the best goalie in the AHA.”
Getz, you may recall, was a Terrier two seasons ago. Other impact Crusaders are sophomore F Jack Stockfish (25 points), senior D Matt Shatsky (21) and junior Matt DeBoer (19), brother of former Terrier Jack DeBoer.
TONIGHT'S BU LINEUP
● GoTerriers.com preview, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Men’s Hockey Twitter
● Live Stream ESPN+ , International stream
● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape
● Boston Hockey Blog game preview
● College Hockey News Hockey East Team Capsules, Watch List
● HockeyEastOnline Saturday game links
►Congratulations to Bernie Corbett, who begins his 40th season as the Voice of Terrier Hockey. Corbett, who also hosts Inside BU Hockey and SiriusXM's Hockey on Campus, is joined once again in the broadcast booth by analyst Mark Linehan.
►FloHockey.tv's Chris Peters' preseason 2024-25 Power Rankings have the Terriers in the #7 slot. Peters' top 5 are: Denver, BC, Michigan State, Minnesota and North Dakota, whom the Terriers will face on the road later this month.
7. Boston University
The Terriers are dealing with a few key losses including Hobey Baker winner Macklin Celebrini (SJS) and top defenseman Lane Hutson (MTL). There’s a solid recruiting class entering, but those outgoing players are irreplaceable. Goals should be in plentiful supply, however, with the addition of first-round pick Cole Eiserman (NYI), the NTDP’s all-time leading goal scorer, who will be looking to make an immediate impact.
Looking ahead
2026 recruit Jay Feldberg scored his fourth goal in the Jr. Canadian's 3-2 win over Stouffville.
Women's Team
Senior goalie Callie Shanahan turned aside 40 Minnesota shots but the Golden Gophers finally scored on a power play with 1:20 left in the third period to give the home team a 1-0 win at Ridder Arena.
Shanahan was under intense pressure all through the game, especially in the second and third periods when Minnesota fired 17 and 19 shots.
The Terriers blocked 23 shots, led by senior captain Tamara Giaquinto with five of her own.Terriers were limited to 11 shots on goal.
The teams will complete the series on Sunday with puck drop at 1 p.m. CT.
● GoTerriers.com recap and box score
●Post-game comments: Coach Tara Watchorn
● Boston Hockey Blog recap
● Boston Hockey Blog: Historic upgrades coming to Walter Brown Arena
● Boston Hockey Blog BU proves its got plenty of places to find goals.
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