Men’s Hockey: Terriers set for two-game home stand with Sacred Heart

By Stevie Potter

The Boston University Terriers (1-1-0, 1-1-0 HE) are set to play the Sacred Heart Pioneers (0-2-0) at 7:30 pm tonight at Agganis Arena.  These two teams have only met twice in the past, both shutouts at Agganis (7-0 BU in 2016 and 4-0 Pioneers in 2019). 

In their last two games, the Terriers were able to beat UConn in their season opener 2-1, but then fell to the Huskies 5-1 at home last Saturday.

BU junior forward Matt Brown scored the lone goal for the Terriers, preventing a UConn shutout. The 5-1 loss wasn’t surprising to anyone in attendance at Agganis last week. Terrier head coach Albie O’Connell echoed the words that most fans were thinking.

“We played like a bunch of boys,” he said. “[UConn] played like a bunch of men.” 

The game was sloppy on the Terriers’ part and despite having a better record than Sacred Heart, that is something that will have to be improved upon tonight if they intend to put another tally in the win column. 

Sacred Heart has had a rough start to the season, losing to both UConn and Merrimack (6-3 and 4-2 respectively), but don’t count them out so soon. While the Terriers have nine players with one point each, Sacred Heart has five players with two points each. While they may not be winning contests, they’ve scored five goals so far this season compared to BU’s three. 

This week’s contest may look a little different on the Terrier bench.

“We’ll have some fluctuation,” O’Connell said this week. “We’ll have some guys out of the lineup, due to some being a little bit dinged up, so it’s really going to challenge our depth.

“It’s a chance for some guys to get more ice time and to really step up and show what they can do. I don’t think we’re gonna have a ton of extra options.” 

For those planning on attending Friday’s game, Agganis Arena has implemented new COVID-19 policies that will require fans to show proof of vaccination, or a qualifying negative Covid test upon entry. 

The Terriers will play Sacred Heart in a second game on Saturday at 7 p.m.