Boston University

10/03/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/03/2024 18:38

Men’s Hockey Opens at Home Saturday against Holy Cross

Men's Hockey Opens at Home Saturday against Holy Cross

After two consecutive Frozen Four appearances, Terriers are focused on winning a national championship

BU men's hockey players practicing ahead of Saturday's home opener. The Terriers are ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll and are looking to return to their third-straight Frozen Four. Photos by Kaeli Talora

Varsity Sports

Men's Hockey Opens at Home Saturday against Holy Cross

After two consecutive Frozen Four appearances, Terriers are focused on winning a national championship

October 3, 2024
0
TwitterFacebook

With back-to-back trips to the Frozen Four, this year's BU men's hockey team wants more this season-a national championship.

"It was disappointing last year. It was great to get to the Frozen Four, but we still felt like we came up short," says head coach Jay Pandolfo (CAS'96). "No question, the end goal every year is to win a national championship, so that is our expectation."

This season, the Terriers face the challenge of replacing last year's two best players-Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Macklin Celebrini, who signed with the San Jose Sharks, and Lane Hutson, who signed with the Montreal Canadiens. That duo accounted for 113 points last season, over a quarter of the team's offense.

The good news is the strong Terrier freshmen roster, led by forward Cole Eiserman (CAS'28) and defenseman Cole Hutson (CAS'28) (brother of Lane), as well as the crop of returning veterans ready to step up.

The road to the BU team's third-straight Frozen Four kicks off this Saturday in the season home opener against Holy Cross at Agganis Arena, with the puck drop at 7 pm. BU, ranked No. 3 in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll, is motivated by last season's disappointing end.

"It makes us more hungry. It really does suck, being there twice now and falling short. It's something you dream of-winning a national championship-so it leaves a bad taste in your mouth," cocaptain Ryan Greene (COM'26) says. "I've never seen a group as fired up as we are right now."

Shane Lachance (SHA'27), this year's other cocaptain, is the first-ever sophomore captain in BU men's hockey history. "It's an honor, obviously, that my teammates and coaches believe that I can help lead this team," Lachance says, "and we got a bunch of good leaders in that room, so it's not going to be just on me."

Forward Devin Kaplan (SHA'26) is assistant captain of the 2024-2025 Terrier team.

Last season, the Terriers had an elite offense, generating the fourth-most goals in the NCAA. The Terriers are returning forwards Quinn Hutson (SHA'26) (another Hutson brother) and Greene, who each recorded 36 points last season. Lachance and Jack Harvey (CAS'27) are expected to be key contributors to this season's offense.

Eiserman, who broke the USA Hockey National Team Development Program goals record, enters BU with a lethal shot. Fellow incoming forwards Kamil Bednarik (CAS'28) and Brandon Svoboda (SHA'28) are two additional players to watch this season.

On the defensive end, Tom Willander (CAS'27) was the lone Terrier selected for the Media Preseason All-Hockey East team. Entering freshmen Cole Hutson, and Sascha Boumedienne (CAS'28) are expected to bring high scoring to the program as well.

"We did lose a lot of players, obviously, [when] you look on paper, but we bring back a lot of great players," says assistant coach Joe Pereira (MET'11). "If you start going through the roster, like, hey, we got a lot of good players still coming in that have played a lot, and then you surround them with Eiserman and Bednarik, Svoboda…that group of forwards, they could be pretty special."

Mathieu Caron (CAS'25) will be back in the net following impressive goaltending play down the stretch last season, including a near-impossible save in the Frozen Four. Caron, who transferred to BU from Brown, started every game last season and will likely do the same this year. He says he's starting this season with much more confidence in the net.

"It's a whole new environment. There's definitely a lot of different factors that probably aren't as apparent, just from the fan viewpoint, so there's a lot to get used to," Caron says. "I'm just excited. I feel real comfortable now this year, that's probably the biggest difference mentality-wise. I feel confident, comfortable, and excited to get back at it."

After Saturday's home opener against Holy Cross, the team hosts Union on October 12. BU will face early challenges against North Dakota and Michigan before going to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the Friendship Four tournament over Thanksgiving weekend.

It is no surprise that the Terriers' second-semester meeting against Boston College will once again earn top billing-their storied rivalry is decades-long. Until then, however, Pandolfo is focused on the small things.

"It's just the little things over the course of one big game that really can make a difference," the coach says. "You just have to keep sending the message to your players: we're back practicing, so you've got to start with the right habits and doing the things right, right now."

The BU men's hockey team hosts Holy Cross in its regular season opener Saturday, October 5, at 7 pm at Agganis Arena. Tickets range from $19 to $25. Admission is free for students with a BU Sports Pass. The game will stream live on ESPN+.

Explore Related Topics:

  • Share this story
  • 0CommentsAdd

Share

Men's Hockey Opens at Home Saturday against Holy Cross

Copy URL:Copy

  • Brendan Nordstrom (COM'25)

    Brendan Nordstrom (COM'25) Profile

Comments & Discussion

Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.

Post a comment. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *

Comment*view guidelines
Name *
Email *
Submit Comment

Latest from BU Today