{"id":52799,"date":"2026-02-14T23:42:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T04:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=52799"},"modified":"2026-02-14T23:42:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T04:42:00","slug":"mens-hockey-terriers-take-home-a-valentines-day-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2026\/02\/14\/mens-hockey-terriers-take-home-a-valentines-day-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Men\u2019s Hockey: Terriers Take Home A Valentine’s Day Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured Image by Jenny Chen <\/p>\n

By Ethan Pott<\/p>\n

Boston University Men\u2019s Hockey (14-15-2, 10-11-0 HE) defeated the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (12-15-1, 6-11-1 HE) Saturday night at Agganis Arena, salvaging the back half of a home-and-home series.
\n\u200b
\nThe final score was 5-3, BU \u2013 the first time the Terriers scored five in a regular-season game since Nov. 8 at Merrimack. BU outshot UNH 34-27.<\/p>\n

BU junior goaltender Max Lacroix got his first start of the season, a decision BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said was to give the usual starter, sophomore Mikhail Yegorov, \u201ca chance to reset.\u201d Lacroix ended the night with 24 saves.
\n\u200b
\n\u201cReally happy for Max Lacroix,\u201d Pandolfo said. \u201cGood for him, gets an opportunity tonight, does a heck of a job for us.\u201d
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\nUNH had most of the pressure in the opening minutes, but the Terriers struck first. Sophomore forward Brandon Svoboda sniped a one-timer from junior defenseman Gavin McCarthy, and Wildcat senior goaltender Kyle Chauvette had no answer. BU led, 1-0.<\/p>\n

After a barrage of Terrier shot attempts, a stoppage, and a short period of pressure by UNH, Lacroix gave up his seventh goal of the season to Wildcat sophomore forward Cam MacDonald, knotting the score at 1-1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the first period was really good,\u201d Pandolfo said. \u201cThey really only had one chance.\u201d
\n\u200b
\nLacroix came up with several memorable saves in the second, including on a high-danger chance where he saved a UNH short-range shot and rebound and on a breakaway the Terrier defense allowed to Wildcat freshman forward Felix Gagnon later in the period.
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\nLess than three minutes into the second, BU sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson \u2013 the Terriers\u2019 Hobey Baker award nominee \u2013 made it 2-1, BU, off a quick zone entry for his ninth goal and team-leading 26th point of the season.
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\nRe-energized by solid offensive and defensive play, the Terriers poured it on as freshman forward Jack Murtagh put them up 3-1 with his fifth goal of the season.
\n\u200b<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the second, we got away from it a little bit at times, but our effort was still there,\u201d Pandolfo said.
\n\u200b
\nBU came into the third swinging. After a wide-open look at the UNH net was denied, the Terriers re-entered the zone, and junior forward Jack Harvey charged in to light the lamp, placing the puck perfectly over Chauvette\u2019s left shoulder to make it 4-1, BU. Harvey ranks second on the team in goals, with 10 on the year.<\/p>\n

Terrier sophomore center Kamil Bednarik won the ensuing faceoff. Seconds later, sophomore forward Cole Eiserman sniped one past Chauvette, collecting what appeared to be his team-leading 13th goal of the season.<\/p>\n

UNH head coach Mike Souza challenged for offside, and after a lengthy review, the officials waved off the goal. The score remained 4-1.
\n\u200b
\nThe game\u2019s first penalty came halfway through the third as Gagnon was called for slashing. The Terriers got nothing going save for a lone shot on goal from Hutson, even as Lacroix tapped his stick menacingly on the ice as he watched the action.<\/p>\n

The Wildcats fought valiantly in the waning minutes. Sophomore forward Ryan MacPherson got them within two with five minutes to go with his first goal of the season, setting the score at 4-2.<\/p>\n

Svoboda took a hooking penalty just past the four-minute mark. UNH did not let go of the puck off the faceoff and junior forward Nick Ring converted almost immediately. Ring, who scored his 20th point of the year, is placed second in that category for the Wildcats.
\n\u200b
\n\u201cIn the third, we came out really good,\u201d Pandolfo said. \u201cWe go up, we think we\u2019re up 5-1. I think that really hurt our momentum as a group. It just seemed like we weren\u2019t as sharp after that for some reason.\u201d
\n\u200b
\nSouza pulled Chauvette just before the one-minute mark, and UNH surrounded the Terriers\u2019 goal. When it gave up the puck, however, Eiserman grabbed it, outpaced the Wildcats\u2019 defenders, and guided the puck into the empty net to make it 5-3.<\/p>\n

Eiserman said it \u201cfelt pretty nice to get one back\u201d after having his initial goal waved off, adding he had not scored an empty-netter in \u201cprobably eight years.\u201d
\n\u200b
\nTime expired without further action, and the Terriers claimed their first win in three games.<\/p>\n

Pandolfo said BU will use the upcoming week-long break ahead of its next matchup against the Boston College Eagles to identify and improve its weaknesses.
\n\u200b
\n\u201cWe have a lot of time to do it, so we\u2019ll take advantage of that,\u201d Pandolfo said.
\n\u200b
\nDue to their inconsistency and underwhelming record this season, the Terriers find themselves with their backs against the wall, their only chance at making the NCAA college hockey tournament being a victory in the Hockey East Tournament.
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\n\u201cWe could be a really good hockey team,\u201d Pandolfo said. \u201cCan we do that consistently down the stretch here? We have to, if we want a chance to continue playing meaningful hockey.\u201d
\n\u200b
\nBU will march one step closer to the end of Hockey East regular-season play with a home-and-away back-to-back against the archrival Boston College Eagles, set to begin at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27. Streaming will be available on ESPN+ for both games, and on NESN for the following game on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Featured Image by Jenny Chen By Ethan Pott Boston University Men\u2019s Hockey (14-15-2, 10-11-0 HE) defeated the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (12-15-1, 6-11-1 HE) Saturday night at Agganis Arena, salvaging the back half of a home-and-home series. \u200b The final score was 5-3, BU \u2013 the first time the Terriers scored five in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24794,"featured_media":52327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1026,1028,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24794"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52800,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52799\/revisions\/52800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}