Men’s Hockey: Terriers look to start the season 2-0 against Union on Saturday

Featured image by Spirit Veron

By Claire Smieszny

Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey (1-0-0, 0-0-0 HEA) are slated to take on the Union College Garnet Chargers (1-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) this Saturday, Oct. 12. This game marks the first meeting of these two teams in over five years.

The game follows BU’s first matchup at home, a resounding 5-2 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders. Goals came from four different players, including two from newly appointed captain Ryan Greene.

“Maturity, I think goes a long way, and that’s what Ryan’s all about,” coach Jay Pandolfo said. “He’s enjoyed his time here, and he’s had a lot of success here, and I think that’s a big reason why he was named captain… he’s looked excellent since we started the preseason.”

The whole team is off to a strong start, including goaltender Mathieu Caron. Allowing two goals on 31 shots, he boasts a .935 save percentage to open the season.

Caron will face his biggest challenge in Union’s John Prokop. Despite his position, Prokop led his team in points last season with 35 and earned ECAC hockey first-team honors. His overtime goal put the Garnet Chargers over Army last weekend in a 4-3 win.

It will be difficult for Union to combat the Terriers’ offensive prowess with so many skilled players. Last week’s scoring was contributed by eight different players, with three freshmen scoring goals. Defenseman Cole Hutson and forward Cole Eiserman got one apiece.

“Both Coles and Kamil [Bednarik], they have a lot of experience playing against college teams,” Pandolfo said of the former USNTDP crew. “They’re comfortable playing in this environment playing against older players… they’ve been top players for a long time, so I think they feel like they fit very nicely.”

The Terriers look to build on their success before starting Hockey East competition next weekend with a home series against the UConn Huskies.

Union and BU will faceoff Saturday night with puck drop set for 7 p.m. and streaming available on ESPN+.