Men’s Hockey: Terriers and Eagles to renew rivalry in Battle of Comm. Ave.

By Patrick Donnelly

The Boston University Terriers will host the Boston College Eagles at Agganis Arena in the 285th edition of the Battle of Comm. Ave.

Both programs are celebrating their 100th seasons. BU will also wear special edition throwback jerseys for the game.

Terrier head coach Albie O’Connell said the team is looking forward to the rivalry game.

“We’re really excited to get the opportunity to play them in front of fans and at home,” O’Connell said. “It should be a pretty special night.”

The Terriers (6-9-2, 5-5-2 HE) are coming off a sweep of UNH. Four different BU skaters registered multi-point weekends in the series: junior forward Matt Brown (1g, 1a), graduate assistant captain Max Kaufman (2g), junior defenseman Dom Fensore (2a) and junior defenseman Case McCarthy (3a). McCarthy was named Hockey East Defender of the Week, after he was Defender of the Month for November.

Fensore (2g, 11a) and junior forward Wilmer Skoog (6g, 7a) lead the Terriers with 13 points each. Skoog and sophomore forward Dylan Peterson share the team lead in goals with six apiece.

In goal, sophomore Drew Commesso is 6-7-2 with a .900 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average (GAA). He saved 57 of 59 shots in the two games against UNH last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Eagles (8-5-2, 5-3-1 HE) are coming off a 5-2 win against Brown University at Conte Forum on Tuesday. Senior assistant captain Patrick Giles had a goal and two assists, and senior captain Marc McLaughlin had two goals.

McLaughlin leads BC in goals with 11, and senior forward Jack McBain has nine goals and 11 assists on the season, leading the way in points.

Between the pipes, senior netminder Eric Dop is 7-4-2 with a .900 save percentage and 2.82 GAA.

“Anytime you play BC, they’re usually pretty dangerous, especially from a transition standpoint,” O’Connell said. “Puck management is going to be important. … It’s definitely very important to make sure we’re not losing guys and giving up odd-man rushes, because they do a good job of that.

“We’re going to have our hands full, but we’ve been prepping for games like this all year.”

Last season, the Terriers and Eagles split the season series, with BC winning 4-3 in overtime before BU took the rematch 3-1 at Walter Brown Arena. It will be the first meeting in front of fans since a 4-1 win for the Eagles at Agganis Arena on Feb. 29, 2020.

O’Connell said the Terriers will “definitely have enthusiasm” to renew the rivalry in front of a home crowd.

“It should be a very good crowd,” he said. “It was nice to play [Cornell] at Madison Square Garden, and play in front of a crowd like that to prepare for a game like this. So that was a big build up. This week is a little bit similar, but obviously more of a rival with BC and a league game.

“We want to make sure we’re disciplined. … Guys can get a little rambunctious in big games and maybe take it a little too far with the physicality, instead of playing hard.”

Both teams made the NCAA tournament last season with BU losing to St. Cloud State in the Northeast Regional semifinal and BC falling to St. Cloud in the Northeast Regional final.

BU will pay tribute to legendary player and coach Jack Kelley prior to the game. Kelley passed away in September 2020 at the age of 92. He led the Terriers to their first two national titles in 1971 and 1972 during his 10-year run as coach.

The Terriers will also honor members of the 1971 and 1972 championship teams to celebrate their 50th anniversaries  during the first intermission.

BU will also host the U.S. under-18 team for an exhibition matchup on Saturday at 3 p.m. The U-18’s are loaded with college commits, including Terrier commits 2004 forward Devin Kaplan and 2004 defenseman Lane Hutson.

“I think we have a pretty good feel for what [our recruits] can do,” O’Connell said. “When we played against [Clayton] Keller and then Commesso, they put on a show. It’s always good to see what those guys look like against you, but when they come in we have a pretty good beat on what they can do.

“For us, it’s an opportunity to play some guys that haven’t played that much. Give some guys some minutes and see what they can do verses live competition, goaltending wise and even throughout the lineup.”

Puck drop for Friday is set for 7:30 p.m. Owen Gund and James Garrison will have the call for WTBU Sports.

Featured Image by Carolyn Mooney