Men’s Hockey: Terriers search for a Hockey East conference win against Merrimack

Featured image by Joe Eachus

By Ryan Owens

No. 13 Boston University Men’s Hockey (5-5-1, 2-2-1 HE) will face the Merrimack Warriors (3-6-1, 2-3-1 HE) in Hockey East play on Friday.

BU will be looking for three points after failing to register an official win in their series at No. 6 Maine last weekend, which resulted in a 5-2 defeat and a 2-2 tie in the standings, and their first win at home since defeating the UConn Huskies on Oct. 18.

The Terriers currently ride a four-game win streak against Merrimack, including a 7-1 victory in their most recent matchup last season. BU leads the all-time head-to-head 56-21-8.

The Terriers are looking to take away positivity from their series against Maine.

“I do like the fact that Saturday night we showed that we can play against a very good team in a very tough building to play in,” coach Jay Pandolfo said of the team’s effort on Saturday night. “For us to withstand that…that’s credit to our leadership group.”

Many eyes are on Cole Eiserman, who was once again named Hockey East Freshman of the Week after being named the conference’s Freshman of the Month for October. He netted a goal and an assist in the team’s two games against Maine.

Also notable for the Terriers is senior Matt Copponi, who previously played for Merrimack.

“He’s really coming along,” Pandolfo said of Copponi. “I love his energy, he’s a great kid. He really cares, and we’re really happy to have him.”

Starting in net for the Terriers will be senior Mathieu Caron, who will be looking to build on his most recent performance, turning aside 30 of 32 shots against Maine last Saturday.

“[Caron’s] our starter,” Pandolfo said, dispelling any notion of a goalie controversy after Caron and sophomore Max Lacroix each saw a start in Orono.

Part of Caron’s work will likely be trying to stop Warriors junior Zach Bookman, who leads his team in scoring despite being a defenseman.

The goaltending situation could be a question mark for the Warriors, as Merrimack has played four goaltenders thus far this season. Leading the Warriors in starts has been sophomore Max Lundgren, who currently has a 2.92 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage.

The Terriers are eager to return home for a chance to claim another victory.

“I think our guys are excited to get back at Agganis,” Pandolfo said. “We’ve had a good week of practice…it needs to carry over into our game tomorrow night.”

BU and Merrimack will drop the puck at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.