Men’s Hockey: Terriers to host UNH for the third time this month

Featured image by Holly Gustavsen

By Mel Mastela

After being swept in the weekend series against Boston College last week, No. 10 Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey (13-9-1, 9-5-1 HE) will face off against Hockey East opponents, the No. 18 University of New Hampshire Wildcats (11-9-3, 3-8-2 HE) this Friday. 

“We still had some puck management issues on Saturday,” Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “That’s something we have to continue to learn from, but I thought overall, you know, we competed a lot harder, we had our chances, we just couldn’t find a way to beat [Jacob] Fowler.” 

Quinn Hutson continues to be phenomenal for the Terriers, leading the team with 26 points (12 G, 14 A). Brother Cole Hutson has been dominant on the back end, leading all NCAA freshmen defensemen and Hockey East defensemen in points with 21 and assists with 16. The Hutson brothers, along with co-captain Ryan Greene, were the three Terriers nominated for the Hobey Baker Award. 

BU boasts a 51-21-13 all-time record against the Wildcats. Since their first meeting in Feb. of 1925, BU has put up 309 goals and has gone 9-1 in their last ten meetings. 

UNH’s Robert Cronin put in two of the five goals from their win last week over Vermont, pushing him up to 20 points for the season. 

Jared Whale will likely be between the pipes for the Wildcats after starting in all 23 games thus far this season. Whale holds a .899 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average. 

For the Terriers, Mikhail Yegorov will start in net for his home debut. 

“I thought he played well on Saturday, and I want to put him back in there,” Pandolfo said of his decision to start Yegorov.  

With their last two meetups only a few short weeks ago, BU knows what to expect from the UNH team. 

“I think we have an understanding of how they play,” Pandolfo said. “They’re very good defensively, they don’t give up a lot, [and] they played us very well the last time at Agganis.”

The Terriers will host the Wildcats in Agganis Arena on Friday, Jan. 31, with a 7 p.m. start time. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.