Men’s Hockey: No. 9 Terriers set for home-and-home series against No. 7 Providence College

Featured image by Holly Gustavsen

By Mel Mastela

After securing the Beanpot Trophy on Monday night, the No. 9 Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey team (16-10-1, 10-6-1 HE) are set to take on the No. 7 Providence College Friars (16-7-5, 6-6-5 HE) in a home-and-home weekend series.

The last time the Terriers faced the Friars was last year in Providence, where BU doubled their score and won the game 4-2. Historically, BU has boasted a 118-59-20 all-time record against Providence, currently holding a two-game win streak against them and an average of 3.44 goals per game.

Beanpot Tournament MVP Cole Hutson continues his dominant play, currently riding a four-game point streak and leading all NCAA freshmen defensemen and Hockey East defensemen in goals, assists, and points (8 G, 20 A). Brother Quinn Hutson sits at the top of the leaderboard, potting 33 points on the season (16 G, 17 A). Q. Hutson is tied for fourth place in goal-scoring leaders in Hockey East and is one goal shy of hitting 50 career goals.

Mikhail Yegorov’s stellar performance in the Beanpot makes him a shoe-in for the net this weekend, making 43 saves in his last game adding to his .951 save percentage.

“I expect [Yegorov] to be solid,” Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said, “The last two days of practice, I think he’s moved past what we just accomplished and that’s the right mindset to have, you know, what’s the next challenge and that’s how he’s kinda wired and it’s great to see that. I expect him to go out there and compete like he does every game.”

Unlike the Terriers, Providence is coming off an upsetting weekend series against Maine, where they tied the first game and were shutout in the second.

Strong offensive players like Logan Will, who leads the Friars with 20 points (8 G, 12 A), and Tanner Adams, who has 10 goals on the season, will be two players to watch.

Having started most games this season and holding a .916 save percentage, Philip Svedebäck is likely to get the nod in net for the weekend.

“They [have] a real solid defensive team, really good in the neutral zone, [and] they clog it up [so] it’s tough to get through there,” Pandolfo said. “It’s gonna be a tough challenge, always a tough challenge against Providence…we gotta make sure we’re willing to be ready to battle.”

This series will start in Schneider Arena on Friday, and end at Agganis Arena on Saturday. Puck drop for both games is set to be at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.