Men’s Hockey: Terriers open Hockey East slate vs. UConn

By Gracie Davenport

After splitting a pair of games last weekend against No. 5 Michigan, No. 9/No. 11 Boston University Men’s Hockey  (2-1-0, 0-0-0 HE) will return to Agganis Arena this weekend for a pair of home games against the University of Connecticut Huskies (5-0-1, 2-0-0 HE) in their first Hockey East matchup of the season.

Following a 9-2 blowout loss last week, BU won 3-2 over the Wolverines Sunday. This turnaround was made possible by strong goaltending, experience at the dot and a physical presence.

“I just liked our compete,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “We still weren’t perfect. You’re never going to be perfect, but the efforts from our guys to block shots and keep the puck away from our net was great, so it’s just that commitment to the team. [It] was really promising to our group and a testament to them the way they kind of bounced back.”

The last time the Terriers and Huskies met was in the 2022 Hockey East Quarterfinals, where UConn eliminated BU with a 3-1 victory. UConn is coming off a 6-1 win against Ohio State and has yet to lose a game this season – its best start in program history.

One key to UConn’s success has been its special teams. Through 23 attempts, the Huskies remain just one of two teams in the nation to maintain a perfect penalty kill.

“I think it’s going to be a shot volume thing against these guys,” Pandolfo said. “They also don’t take a ton of penalties, so we have to make sure when we do have a power play, even if we don’t score, that [we] gain some momentum off of it.”

BU will face off against a familiar face in UConn graduate forward Ty Amonte. The Massachusetts native wore the Terrier crest for five seasons, as well as a letter in the final two. Capped off by last game’s two-goal effort, including the game-winner, Amonte will be a player to watch this weekend.

On the flip side, BU will have associate coach Joe Pereira on their side for the first time in this Hockey East rivalry. Pereira joined the Terriers this season following a nine-year stint as the Huskies’ associate coach. Pereira is a BU alumnus himself and was a member of the Terriers’ last NCAA Championship in 2009.

“I told Joe it’s all on him. He’s doing it all,” Pandolfo said. “He obviously knows how they play. He’s just trying to help out with any little adjustments we could make against some of the things they do. They’re a very structured team. They really do that with how they play.”

Junior goaltender Drew Commesso remains day-to-day with a hamstring injury and is unlikely to play this weekend. Junior goaltender Vinny Duplessis came in relief of Commesso on Friday and stopped 31 of 33 shots in the win Sunday.

Both Friday and Saturday’s games will take place at Agganis Arena with puck drops set for 7 p.m.