Men’s Hockey: Terriers Seeking Beanpot Revenge Against Boston College Eagles at Agganis Arena

By Zach Kaplan

Boston University Men’s Hockey (14-15-2, 10-11 HEA) will play host at Agganis Arena on Friday, Feb. 27, for a rematch with Commonwealth Avenue rival Boston College (19-10-1, 13-7 HEA) in their first duel since the Beanpot.

In their last meeting, the Terriers lost to the Eagles 6-2, which included two goals by BC’s Will Vote and Andre Gasseau. Friday’s tilt will be the Terriers’ first game since Feb. 14, a 5-3 win against the University of New Hampshire.

Friday’s game will be the 301st iteration of the Battle of Commonwealth Avenue. The series is largely deadlocked, with BU leading the all-time matchup 141-138-21. The Terriers have an all-time record of 44-38-8 against BC on home ice, but the Eagles have taken both games in this season’s rivalry, including a 4-1 win at Agganis on Jan. 30.

“We started turning pucks over in both games, we gave them a little bit of life, and they found their game,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “They’re a good team; you can’t get away from your game just because things aren’t going your way the first shift or two.”

Junior forward Jack Harvey became the second Terrier to reach double digits in goals with his 10th of the year against UNH — a wrister on a feed from winger Cole Eiserman, who pulled the puck between his skates for a play that has since made the rounds on social media.

Sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson, sophomore forward Brandon Svoboda and freshman forward Jack Murtagh also scored for BU, while Eiserman netted his 13th goal of the season on an empty net with 18 seconds left in the game.

“We’ve now had two full weeks of practice — this is our 10th practice since,” Pandolfo said. “We’ve had a lot of time to work on things.”

The Eagles enter the rematch on a three-game win streak that included a home-and-away sweep against UConn in a potential Hockey East championship preview. BC is currently ranked No. 10 in the country.

In addition to Vote and Gasseau, the Eagles’ offense is fueled by Bruins prospects James Hagens and Dean Letourneau. Hagens, fresh off a hat trick in last Friday’s 5-2 win over UConn, leads BC in goals (20), assists (18) and points (38), while Letourneau follows with 18 goals and 15 assists.

Hagens has four points (one goal, three assists) against the Terriers this season, while Letourneau has found the net in each of BC’s two games against BU this year.

The Eagles have also gotten standout goaltending from freshman Louka Cloutier, who is 18-8-1 with a 2.26 goals-against average in 27 appearances. Cloutier won the Eberly Award for best goaltender at the Beanpot, with his .950 save percentage leading BC to its first Beanpot title since 2016.

Friday’s puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+, with Saturday’s finale from Conte Forum scheduled to be broadcast on both ESPN+ and NESN.