Men’s Hockey: No. 7/6 Terriers Face Off Against Rival Boston College
By Miranda Lemus
Fresh off a clean sweep over the University of New Hampshire, No. 7/6 Boston University Men’s Hockey (10-4-0, 7-3-0 HE) will head to Chestnut Hill for their first meeting of the season against rival Boston College (5-5-4, 4-3-3 HE).
“We’re worried about how we play rather than who we’re playing, so that’s usually the focus for us,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said in his mid-week press conference.
As the new year approaches, the Terriers will close out the first half of Hockey East competition this weekend, beginning with this highly anticipated match-up.
Unlike the No. 7/6 Terriers, Boston College has yet to make the NCAA Top 20 rankings this season. While BC is only two spots behind BU in Hockey East, the Terries have the upper hand this Friday.
With the help of freshman Lane Hutson — the back-to-back Hockey East Defender of the Month — the Terriers feel more than prepared going into this weekend.
“[Hutson] studies the game very closely, so I think that helps,” Pandolfo said. “That’s a reason why I think he’s one or two or three steps ahead of guys he plays against.”
However, Boston College has no shortage of young talent on the team this year either. Similar to Hutson, BC freshman forward Cutter Gauthier was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Month after earning eight points in his last seven games.
Another Terrier also earned league honors last week, as senior captain Domenick Fensore was awarded Hockey East Defender of the Week after a four-point weekend against UNH. The defenseman has scored five goals over his last four games.
Notably absent from this weekend’s lineup is freshman forward Ryan Greene. Greene was recently selected to attend Canada’s National Junior selection camp and is away this weekend hoping to be selected for the upcoming World Juniors. Junior forward Nick Zabaneh will fill in for Greene in his absence.
“You know we’re gonna miss Ryan Greene,” Pandolfo said. “He’s had a heck of a first half of his freshman season. … But we’re fortunate that we have a lot of depth up front. We have 15 forwards that we trust every single one of them.”
To add to the absences for this weekend, junior goaltender Drew Commesso remains day-to-day with an illness, according to Pandolfo. Junior goaltender Vinny Duplessis has proven he can step up for the Terriers. He has a 4-2-0 record, a .909 save percentage and a 2.44 goals against average.
The Terriers will take on BC in the Battle of Comm. Ave at the Conte Forum on Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.