Men’s Hockey: No. 1 Terriers gear up for No. 2 Eagles in a must-see weekend series
Featured image: Jessica Lam
By Justin Davids
Weekends like this one are why you play college hockey.
Seeking to establish dominance on Commonwealth Ave, Boston University men’s hockey (16-4-1, 11-1-1 HEA) is set to engage in a home-and-home weekend series with the Boston College Eagles (16-4-1, 9-3-1 HEA). This marks the initial face-off between the two teams this season, building anticipation for an eagerly awaited showdown.
“Regardless of the one and two [ranking], this rivalry is always fun to be a part of,” said coach Jay Pandolfo.
The Terriers are currently on a seven game win streak, boasting a 22 goal differential during that span. BC has won 5 of its last 6, looking to build on an impressive 2023-2024 campaign following disappointing seasons in recent years.
In the history of the Boston College vs. Boston University rivalry, spanning 291 games, there has never been a matchup where both teams were simultaneously ranked as the No.1 and No.2 teams in the polls. Per @BUHockeyStats on X, there have been a whopping 26 top-10 meetings since the ’96-’97 season, which BC leads 13-11-2. BU boasts the edge in top-5 Battles of Comm. Ave., 3-1-0. The most recent of these in 2017, as third-ranked BU took down No. 7 BC, 3-1 in the Beanpot semifinal.
If the Terriers want to end up victorious against the Eagles, they’ll need to stop an offensive that averages 4.14 goals per game, good for fourth among all teams in the NCAA.
BC’s young freshmen, Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Gabriel Perrault have been a big cause for their success this season.
On pace to reach a career high in points this season, BU senior forward Dylan Peterson looks forward to the highly anticipated battle. “We circled this one, this is the game you come to BU for,” said Peterson.
BU Captain Case McCarthy also shared insight on expectations for these significant games.“You don’t know until you get into those first five minutes. The crowd is obviously going to be loud, just keep it simple early and really try to take it in and enjoy because you only get so many of them,” said McCarthy.
“I think you have a lot of players on these rosters that are high-end talent that are going to have long careers after playing at these schools, so I think that amplifies [the game] more. It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Pandolfo.
With a sold-out crowd for both nights, make sure you’re watching these two games from near or far.
No. 1 Boston University Men’s Hockey begin their home-and-home against No.2 Boston College this Friday Night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm both nights and will be available to stream on ESPN +.