#20 Terriers take on #11 Northeastern as college hockey says farewell to Matthews Arena, formerly Boston Arena, the home of BU Hockey from 1918 to 1971. Tonight's game will be the 543rd game for the Terriers at the "old Barn," where their overall record stands at 346-177-19.
The game, which will be the 257th meeting between the longtime rivals, is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on NESN in New England as well as live-streamed on ESPN+.
Pregame ceremonies will include a puck drop with legendary BU Coach and captain Jack Parker and former Huskies captain and longtime Nashville Predators' General Manager Dave Poile. Players from many schools who skated at The Arena are expected to participate in the ceremonies.
For those listening to the BU All-Access broadcast [I always synch it to the video for away games], Bernie Corbett will present a tribute to the late Tom Ryan during the first intermission and then will explore BU's history at The Arena during the second break. For more on BU and The Arena, please visit yesterday's blogpost.
Last month, the teams split a weekend series with the Huskies winning, 3-2, at Matthews and the Terriers claiming a 4-3 overtime win at Agganis on a Cole Hutson goal. BU currently stands at 8-8-1 (5-5-0 In HE) and a victory tonight would send them into the break on the plus side both overall and in the conference.
Credit Eliza Nuestro
BU very likely will be shorthanded again tonight. When asked on Thursday's media call about the availability of forwards Owen McLaughlin, Jack Murtagh, Ben Merrill and Conrad Fondrk, Coach Jay Pandolfo said, "We won't honestly know until Saturday."
He also hinted about a possible injury in the defense corps, but offered no specifics.
Since last month's home-and-home, both teams have won two out of three games. NU defeated Brown and then split a series with UMass. BU edged Cornell in Red Hot Hockey and then split a pair of games with Vermont.
Junior Dylan Hryckowian leads NU in goals (9) and points (18), while freshman Jacob Mathieu has 17 points and sophomore Joe Connor has 12. Standout defenseman Vinny Borgesi also has a dozen points.
The Huskies' top goalie, Lawton Zacher, returned last week after missing games--including the BU series--with an injury. He brings a 1.97 GAA and a .938 save percentage.
TONIGHT'S BU LINEUP
Owen McLaughlin and Jack Murtagh return, but Aiden Celebrini and Sascha Boumedienne are sidelined.
● GoTerriers.com preview, GameNotes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Men's Hockey Twitter
● College Hockey News Tale of theTape
● BU Hockey Stats Week 11 preview
● Boston Hockey Blog
Episode 11 of Inside BU Hockey features Bernie Corbett's interviews with Coach Pandolfo and freshman center Jonathan Morello who anchors the fourth line and has become a primary penalty-killer.
● Listen at: GoTerriers or Spotify
Looking ahead
A pair of 2027 Terrier recruits led the NTDP U18 to their first win over an NCAA team as Team USA edged St. Lawrence, 3-2, in Canton, N.Y. Jamie Glance scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, while netminder Brady Knowling stopped 37 shots.
Glance, a 5’10” right wing, has been on a heater the past few weeks. He has nine goals and nine assists in the U18s’ last 10 games. His 24 points in 26 games is second on the team.
Knowling collected his third consecutive win, including a 42-save win at the CHL USA Prospect Challenge. On Monday, he’ll head to Duluth to join the Junior National Team preliminary camp.
Please note that the sound on these highlights is not synced well to the video.
tw-align-centerBUT GLANCER TIES THINGS UP MOMENTS LATER!#USAvsSLU pic.twitter.com/3Jfd2Uykwe
— USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) December 12, 2025
tw-align-centerKNOWLING KEEPS US AHEAD!#USAvsSLU pic.twitter.com/VMVmsXmPnD
— USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) December 13, 2025
tw-align-centerThat’s now six goals in five games for Glancer... oh, and it puts us ahead 🔥#USAvsSLU pic.twitter.com/S6lRP4PcpG
— USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) December 13, 2025
2028 recruit Andrei Nikolaev stopped 21 of 23 shots in the New Jersey Titans’ 3-2 shootout win against the Philadelphia Rebels. The 6’4” Moscow native improved his record to 11-5-0 with three shutouts and lowered his GAA to 2.439.
In his new NHL Draft Diary entry, 2026 recruit Tynan Lawrence discusses his return from injury and his plans for the holiday break. Recently ranked #1 for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft by The Athletic's Cory Pronman, the 6'0" center from Fredericton, New Brunswick, has an 8-5-13 line in eight games.
