Men’s Hockey: Terriers to Play Minnesota State Next Season

By: Dan Shulman

For the first time under Coach David Quinn, it looks as if the Boston University Terriers will face an opponent from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in the regular season.

According to Coach Quinn, Boston University will be taking on Minnesota State University-Mankato at Agganis Arena next season.

BU would host the Mavericks next season and would travel out to Mankato for a series the following year as part of a two-year scheduling deal between the schools.

Minnesota State has been one of the top teams in the WCHA over the past five seasons. The Mavericks earned the number one overall seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The team became the first top seed to lose in the opening round of the tournament, falling to Rochester Institute of Technology, 2-1.

This past season, Minnesota State fell in the WCHA Semifinals to Michigan Tech, narrowly missing out on an NCAA Tournament bid. The Mavericks finished the season are ranked 28th in the PairWise rankings, holding a record of 22-13-4 (15-9-4-2 WCHA) good enough for third place in their conference.

The last time BU played against a WCHA opponent came in December 2012 against the University of Denver. That year marked the Pioneers final season playing in the WCHA before the most recent conference realignment. BU fell in that game, 6-0.

Minnesota State last played a Hockey East opponent in the opening round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, losing 2-1 to UMass-Lowell at the DCU Center in Worcester.

The Terriers and Mavericks have never met before, meaning the inaugural game between the two schools will likely come at Agganis Arena during the 2017-18 season. Exact dates and times remain undetermined.