Men’s Hockey: Huskies Host Terriers In Historic Matthews Arena Send-Off

By Claire Smieszny

Boston University men’s ice hockey (8-8-1, 5-5-0 HEA) will face off against the Northeastern Huskies (10-5-0, 5-3-0 HEA) on Saturday night for one last matchup in their historic home, Matthews Arena.

“It’s a fun place to play… that’s the biggest attachment for me, I just enjoyed it,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said about Matthews. “It was also Boston University’s home rink too, it was our home rink for a long time, so I think that’s a big reason why we’re closing it out with Northeastern.”

The arena, formerly known as Boston Arena, has been a cornerstone for ice hockey in Boston for 115 years. The original home of the Boston Bruins will be torn down this spring, with plans for a new multi-purpose facility to be built on the same lot.

BU is matching up against a Northeastern squad far more formidable than in years past. The Huskies are currently tied for third in Hockey East alongside Maine and sit at No. 11 in the national poll, miles ahead of where they were at this time last year.

The two teams have already met twice this season in a home-and-home series, which they split, as the Terriers pulled out an overtime win in game two. Top performers in that set included Northeastern’s leading scorer, junior forward Dylan Hryckowian, who scored twice, as well as BU sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson, who posted two goals and an assist.

Hutson leads the Terriers in scoring this season with seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points through 17 games. Joining him at the top of the stat sheet are senior forward Owen McLaughlin with 13 points in 15 games and sophomore forward Cole Eiserman with 11 points in 13 games.

The primary challenge BU must solve is in goal. Junior goaltender Lawton Zacher, a transfer from Brown, owns the second-highest save percentage in NCAA Division I at .944 and carries a 1.59 goals-against average, making him one of the toughest netminders in the country to beat.

As BU’s final game before the holiday break, the matchup is crucial for banking conference points and reestablishing the Terriers as a team firmly in the championship hunt. Better performances will be required, particularly from sophomore goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, who posted save percentages of .880 and .885 in the previous two games against Northeastern and will need to elevate his play for BU to come out on top.

Complicating matters, the Terriers have been plagued by injuries, with several key contributors remaining out of the lineup in recent weeks. Even so, the staff views the situation as a chance for others to seize important minutes and responsibility.

“It’s not easy when you have this many injuries, this is the first time that we’ve gone through this in my four years here,” Pandolfo said. “It’s a bit of a challenge, but it’s an opportunity for someone else, and that’s how we’re trying to approach it.”

The last dance at Matthews is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12, with streaming available on NESN and ESPN+.