Friday, January 30, 2026

Battle of Comm Ave renewed; Hutson's loose laces;

 Owen McLaughlin shooting a puck  

                Credit Eliza Nuestro 

Tonight the Terriers host #13 BC at sold out Agganis Arena in the 299th meeting of the Commonwealth Avenue rivals. Puck drop for the game, which will air on NESN and will be live-streamed on ESPN+, is at 7 p.m. ET.

The game is the first of three match-ups between the ancient rivals in the next 29 days—four if they meet in the Beanpot final. The all-time series, which began in 1918, stands are 141-136-21 in favor of BU. (More details in the GameNotes).   

Right now, the teams appear headed in opposite directions. The Eagles have won five of their last eight, which includes being swept by Providence. BC rebounded last weekend, taking a pair from New Hampshire. The Terriers have dropped four of their last six—also including being swept by the Friars. That followed a stretch with four wins out of five games for BU.

Addressing this weekend’s only game ahead of Beanpot Monday, Coach Jay Pandolfo said, "We didn't get the job done [against Providence], so it's another opportunity, against a rival. It usually brings out the best in both teams and that's what we are looking for."

"It's pretty discouraging when you get swept—doesn't matter by who—especially when you're having the year we've had...but our guys have responded well this week in practice, the mood feels good." 

Regarded the team's recent scoring issues, Pandolfo said, "We are not generating enough second and third chances. That's a big issue. We didn’t get inside enough. Saturday was better [than Friday] but not enough quality chances around the net.

“We have way too many shot attempts blocked and/or miss the net.” He acknowledged that part of it is because “many of the players are squeezing the stick or pressing and that’s not working for them.”

Pandolfo said that a goal going forward is getting “more shot volume [on goal] and having guys around the net for second and third chances. I don’t know how many rebound goals we’ve had. We haven’t had enough.”

“Our team defense is not an issue right now,” he pointed out. “ Zero issue with our defensive zone structure."

In Thursday’s practice, Sacha Boisvert, back from a two-game suspension, centered the top line with Cole Eiserman and Conrad Fondrk. He also skated with the second power-play unit. 6’4” Ben Merrill joins the first unit to provide a net-front presence and to help with puck recovery.

Pandolfo explained, “Ben Merrill is very good at recovering pucks.  He’s good around the net. He’s a big body. In practice the last couple days, he's kept a lot of plays alive on the power play because he's long, he's got a good stick, he wins pucks. You have to have that on the power play. You can’t have just one shot and the puck’s down the other end."

Sophomore Dean Letourneau leads BC in goals with 13 and is tied for the points lead (23) with classmate James Hagens. A third sophomore, Jake Sondreal has 20 points, while Ryan Conmy, a transfer from UNH has 14 points.

Veterans Drew Fortescue and Aram Minnetian anchor the defense along with freshman Luke Radivojevic and senior Lukas Gustafsson.

Freshman Louka Cloutier has taken over in goal replacing Fowler. He brings a 2.22 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

 

  

                Graphic courtesy of BU Hockey Stats 

CHECK BACK FOR TONIGHT'S BU LINEUP 

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Men's Hockey Twitter

● Live stream ESPN+ , TSN+

● Pandolfo Media Call

● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape

● BU Hockey Stats Week 16 Preview Holy Hate Week

● Boston Hockey Blog NOTEBOOK: How is BU preparing for a must-win Battle of Comm Ave?

►►This week’s episode of BHB’s Terrier Hockey Talk also includes a chat with Bernie Corbett about the BU-BC rivalry and the Beanpot.

Boston Hockey Blog’s Eli Cloutier takes a deep dive into the Terriers’ leading scoring, Cole Hutson, including the secret behind his and his brothers’ ankle-breaking skating ability.   

USCHO’s John Doyle looks at the midseason addition of likely first-round draft picks for both the Terriers and Eagles.

● USCHO.com Midseason adds for BC, BU having an impact ahead of 1st meeting

Looking ahead

2027 recruit Jamie Glance assisted on a pair of goals for the NTDP U18s in a 5-4 win over Youngstown. Glance, a 5-10 right wing, is tied for the team’s scoring lead with 29 points and is second in goals with 14. Fellow recruit Brady Knowling stopped 24 shots to gain his sixth win in his last eight starts.

Looking back

AJ Greer scored his 11th goal in the Panthers’ 5-4 loss to St. Louis.

Lane Hutson assisted on a pair of goals in Montreal's 7-3 rout of Colorado. He has a 9-46-55 line in 56 games. 

On Tuesday, Macklin Celebrini scored his 27th goal and assisted on three other tallies in the Sharks’ 5-2 win over Vancouver. Tom Willander notched his third goal for the Canucks.   

Jake Oettinger stopped 23 of 26 shots in the Stars’ 4-3 win against St. Louis. 

Women’s Team

Terriers begin a home-and-home series with Merrimack, starting with a visit to Lawler Rink today. Puck drop is at 2 p.m ET. Tomorrow’s rematch at Walter Brown Arena starts at 4 p.m. ET

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Women's Hockey Twitter

● Live stream ESPN+

 

 

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