Men’s Hockey: National title in sights for the Terriers as they prepare for a semifinal face off against Penn State

Featured image by Holly Gustavsen

By Hannah Connors

For the third year in a row, the Terriers are heading to the Frozen Four. 

The Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey Team (23-13-2, 14-8-2 HE) will face the Penn State Nittany Lions (22-13-4, 9-11-4 Big 10) this Thursday at 8:30 ET in the first round of the Frozen Four tournament at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

The winner will go up against either Western Michigan or Denver for the chance to take home the coveted NCAA title.

This marks the Terriers’ 25th appearance at the Frozen Four, with their last two visits ending in consecutive semi-final losses. No doubt, BU is looking for revenge, with the possibility of facing Denver, the team that knocked them out last year in overtime. 

“Last year I thought we had a team to win the whole thing,” coach Jay Pandolfo said. “The game against Denver was a one shot game…they found a way to score and we didn’t.”

With an inconsistent up-and-down season, the team has taken an unconventional route to make it back to the tournament. However, this season, it is clear BU plays their best hockey when their backs are turned against the wall.

In the first two rounds of the playoffs against Ohio State and Cornell, the Terriers came into the third period tied but managed to stage comebacks with strong pushes towards the end, securing their spot in the Frozen Four.

Penn State enters the tournament with an underdog story. The 13-year-old program entered 2025 with nine losses in the Big Ten, earning only one conference point by the new year. The Lions, however, turned things around, going 16-2-2 in their last 20 games of the season, which allowed them to scrape into the tournament.

“Because we were so far back no one really said if we get this many number of wins we have a chance to be an at-large team in the NCAA tournament. It wasn’t that,” Penn State Head Coach Guy Gadowsky said of the team’s mentality the second half of the season. “It was every week, let’s take whatever we did the past weekend, learn what we can from it, work at it, move on, and do it again.”

Penn State will undoubtedly come out strong, using momentum from their domination against the University of Maine and overtime win over UConn in the regional finals.

Forward Aiden Fink is a player to watch for Nittany Nation, leading the team with 23 goals and 30 assists for 53 points on the season.

Arsenii Sergeev will likely get the nod in net for Penn State, holding a .918 save percentage. Sergeev made a combined 68 saves in the first two rounds of playoffs, including 46 against his former team, UConn, to propel the Lions to the tournament. 

On the Terrier side, coach Pandolfo boasts an impressive record with seven Frozen Four appearances—four as a player and three as a coach. With two trophies this season, the Belfast Cup and the Beanpot, his coaching aptitude in high-stakes games is undeniable.

Having tallied the overtime winner against Cornell, Quin Hutson will be a force to reckon with.
Scoring goals in both regional games, he is no stranger to contributing offensively, sitting second in the nation for points this season. 

“He can really shoot. He can put the puck in the net,” Pandolfo said. “But he’s rounded out the rest of his game… he’s come a long way as a player.

Goaltender Mikhail Yegorov is set to start in net for the Terriers. Since joining halfway through the season, Yegorov has proven to be one of the team’s most valuable assets, boasting a .931 save percentage and keeping BU in crucial games.

“We have had a lot of lessons as a team on how we need to play,” Pandolfo said. “Now, there are no more lessons.”

Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. ET in ST. Louis with streaming available on ESPN+. Radio coverage for WTBU Sports can be found on Mixlr.