Men's hockey opens Saturday at home against Holy Cross | BU Today

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

“Last year was disappointing. It was great to get to the Frozen Four, but we still felt like we came up short,” said head coach Jay Pandolfo (CAS’96). “No question, the end goal every year is to win a national championship, so that’s 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 . This duo scored 113 points last season, more than a quarter of the team's offense.

The good news is the Terriers' strong freshman squad, led by forward Cole Eiserman (CAS'28) and defenseman Cole Hutson (CAS'28) (Lane's brother), as well as the bevy of returning veterans ready to step up.

The BU team's road to its third consecutive Frozen Four begins this Saturday with its season home opener against Holy Cross at Agganis Arena, with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. BU, ranked No. 3 in the U.S. College Hockey Online Poll, is motivated by last season's disappointing finish.

“It makes us hungrier. It really sucks to be there twice now and not make it. It’s something you dream about – winning a national championship – and that’s why it leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” said co-captain Ryan Greene (COM’26). “I’ve never seen a group as excited as we are right now.”

Shane Lachance (SHA'27), this year's other co-captain, is the first sophomore captain in BU men's hockey history. “It's obviously an honor that my teammates and coaches believe I can help lead this team,” Lachance said, “and we have a lot of good leaders in this room, so it won't just be up to me.”

Last season, the Terriers had a top-notch offense and scored the fourth-most goals in the NCAA. The Terriers return forwards Quinn Hutson (SHA'26) (another Hutson brother) and Greene, who each scored 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 scoring record, comes to BU with a lethal shot. Fellow new forwards Kamil Bednarik (CAS'28) and Brandon Svoboda (SHA'28) are two other players to keep an eye on this season.

Defensively, Tom Willander (CAS'27) was the only Terrier selected to the Media Preseason All-Hockey East team. Incoming freshmen Cole Hutson and Sascha Boumedienne (CAS'28) are also expected to bring high scores to the program.

“On paper, of course, we lost a lot of players, but we are bringing back a lot of great players,” said assistant coach Joe Pereira (MET’11). “When you start going through the roster, we say, hey, there are still a lot of good players coming in who have played a lot, and then you surround them with Eiserman and Bednarik, Svoboda… that group of forwards, they could be pretty.” particularly.”

Mathieu Caron (CAS'25) will be back in goal after an impressive goalkeeping performance last season, including a near-impossible save in the Frozen Four. Caron, who transferred to BU from Brown, was a starter last season and will likely do the same this year. He says he starts this season with a lot more confidence in net.

“It’s a completely new environment. “There’s definitely a lot of different factors that probably aren’t that obvious just from a fan perspective, so there’s a lot to get used to,” Caron says. “I'm just excited. I feel really comfortable this year, that's probably the biggest difference in mentality. 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 12th. BU will first play North Dakota and Michigan before heading to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the Friendship Four tournament on Thanksgiving weekend.

It's no surprise that the Terriers' second-semester clash against Boston College will once again garner top honors – their storied rivalry has been going on for decades. Until then, however, Pandolfo is focusing on the little things.

“It's just the little things over the course of a big game that can really make a difference,” says the coach. “You just have to continue to get the message across to your players: We’re training again, so you need to start getting the right habits right away and doing things the right way.”

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