Men’s Hockey: Terriers Look to Bear Down Against Maine at Home

By Zach Kaplan

Boston University men’s hockey (12-13-2, 8-10-1 HEA) will host the Maine Black Bears (14-10-2, 8-8-0 HEA) Friday night at Agganis Arena in a rematch of their early-season series. The Terriers dropped both games on the road in Orono on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

In that series, BU fell 8-5 in the finale, with Maine sealing the win on an empty-net goal at 17:17 of the third period. Friday’s game marks the Black Bears’ first trip to Agganis since Nov. 17–18, 2023.

BU has found consistent success against Maine, holding a 47-39-13 all-time record. The Terriers are 27-12-5 at home in the series and have won seven straight against Maine at Agganis, dating back to Nov. 17, 2018.

Friday’s matchup follows BU’s shootout win over Northeastern in the semifinal of the 73rd Men’s Beanpot at TD Garden. The Terriers will face Boston College for the Beanpot Championship next Monday in a rematch of the 2025 title game.

“It’s exciting every time you’re playing in the Beanpot,” head coach Jay Pandolfo said. “I think these guys have a very good understanding of how important tomorrow night’s game is, and we don’t want to pass that just because of where we’re at in the standings.”

Sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) netted the shootout winner, with the puck deflecting off Northeastern goalie Lawton Zacher to lift BU to the final.

Sophomore forward Nick Roukounakis and freshman forward Jonathan Morello (Boston Bruins) scored in regulation. Morello, who tallied his sixth goal of the season on a feed from freshman defenseman Charlie Trethewey, leads all Terrier freshmen in scoring.

“[Morello] has definitely been one of our three most consistent forwards,” Pandolfo said. “We have a lot of trust in him, and we know what we’re going to get from him each night. He’s producing a little more than maybe he thought, with six goals now, which is pretty good for a freshman not in the top six.”

Maine enters the weekend following a 3-2 overtime loss to Providence—their third defeat to the Friars in the past five games. The Black Bears are 3-3-1 since the start of the second half, with all three losses coming against Providence.

Freshman forward Justin Poirier leads Maine in goals (18) and points (29). His 18 goals rank fifth nationally and first in Hockey East. Poirier tallied five points (three goals, two assists) in the Black Bears’ earlier series with BU but has only one goal in his last seven games.

Senior defenseman and co-captain Brandon Holt, who assisted on three of Maine’s eight goals against BU in October, leads Maine with 17 assists and ranks second on the team with 22 points.

In net, junior Albin Boija is 10-6-2 with a 2.56 goals-against average in 18 games, sharing duties with freshman Mathis Rousseau. Rousseau allowed five goals on 31 shots in the teams’ previous meeting and most recently started against Providence, stopping 20 of 23 shots in his first appearance in three weeks.

Barring a postseason matchup in the Hockey East tournament, this will be the final meeting between BU and Maine this season. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on NESN+ and ESPN+.