Friday, December 05, 2025

Game Day: A few good men take on Vermont; Women face UConn

 

Jonathan Morello sprays snow as he stops on the blue line after being introduced before a BU hockey game 

        Photo credit Eliza Nuestro 

#18 Terriers host Vermont for a pair of games in the final home games of first semester. Puck drop tonight is at 7 p.m. ET with ESPN+ providing the live-stream. 

With six conference points at stake, BU will look to build off a pair off wins. 

As was the case at Red Hot Hockey, BU will be shorthanded at forward. Sasha Boisvert returns to the line-up after missing three games. Conrad Fondrk remains out and joining him on the sidelines are Ben Merrill and Owen McLaughlin who was injured early in the win against Cornell.

The Boston Hockey Blog reported these forward lines at Thursday’s practice:

Eiserman-Boisvert-Ritchie

Harvey-Svoboda-Bednarik

Roukounakis-Morello-Murtagh/Fondrk

McNelis-Kim-Feldberg

The name on fourth line that may not look familiar is Kyle Kim, a freshman defenseman who has yet see any game action.

Asked if he might skate just 10 forwards during the games as was the case for much of the Cornell game, Coach Jay Pandolfo replied, “It depends on how the game is going. We’ll use the lines, the forwards we have available. It’ll be fluid throughout the game."

Things look more well-defined and stable on the blueline

“I thought [in] the game against Cornell, all three pairs seemed to gel very well,” Pandolfo said. “Sascha and Trethewey are starting to develop some chemistry. He’s been helping Charlie. Those two guys had some confidence playing together.”

Trethewey saw nearly 17 minutes of ice time at MSG, easily his most of the season. In the third period, his strong entry pass to Cole Eiserman set up the game-winner.

He added, “I thought Frechette and Celebrini were really good together against Cornell. Cornell’s a big, heavy team. Those guys, both juniors, were not intimidated by the moment, not intimidated by the size of Cornell and the physicality. They handled it very well.

“I thought it was the most consistent game by our D corps against a big, strong Cornell team.”

Even with the strong play of the second and third pairs, BU continues to heavily its the top tandem. Cole Hutson, named as November’s Hockey East Player of the Month, is logging 28:26 of ice time per game, while Captain Gavin McCarthy isn’t far behind at 25:22.

The two games with the Catamounts will be the 99th and 100th in the series that began in 1972. BU holds a 63-25-10 advantage, including wins in the past 10 meetings.

Vermont (4-8-0) had a rough November, going 2-5-0; however the two wins came on the road against New Hampshire and Maine. Last weekend, the Cats lost to Harvard and at Dartmouth, currently the top team in the new NPI ratings.

All four of Vermont’s wins have been by a 2-1 score and they have yet to score more than twice in a game. 

To say goal-scoring has been challenging for Vermont is an understatement. They’ve tallied just 16 goals in 12 overall games; seven in six conference games. Colin Kessler is the top point-scorer with seven assists. Caeden Herrington, Sebastian Tornqvist and Jonah Aegerter all have four points. The latter two each have a pair of goals.

On the other side of the puck, Vermont is yielding 3.6 goals per game with its lead goalie, freshman Aiden Wright bringing a 3.53 GAA and an .894 save percentage. Senior Philip Tornqvist, Sebastian’s brother, heads up the defense along with grad student Dylan Gratton, a transfer from Omaha.

 

   

        Graphic credit BU Hockey Stats 

CHECK BACK FOR TONIGHT’S BU LINEUP

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Men's Hockey Twitter

● Live stream ESPN+

●  Pandolfo Media Call 

● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape

● BU Hockey Stats Week 10 preview: Before the Holidays 

● Boston Hockey Blog

Episode 10 of Inside BU Hockey features Bernie Corbett's interviews with Jay Pandolfo and Aiden Celebrini, along with a look at former Terriers lighting it up in the NHL. Kat Cornetta talks with Tara Watchorn and Lilli Welcke.  (Link to be added).

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►Friday's game will also feature the annual Teddy Bear Toss in benefit of the Boston Medical Center Pediatric Unit. Fans can purchase teddy bears for $10 outside of Section 110 during the game, or bring their own pre-purchased bears with the tags on.

 

 2025 NHL Draft's Sascha Boumedienne breaks record for most points by a defenseman at a U-18 World Championship tournament  

►As expected, Sascha Boumedienne will don the Tre Kroner for Sweden in the World Junior Championships, which begin Dec. 26 in St. Paul and Minneapolis. The Winnipeg Jets' first-round draft pick in 2025 set a record for most points by a defenseman (17) in last Spring's IIHF World U18 Championship.

 

Looking ahead

2026 recruit Caleb Malhotra's 12th goal was the game-winner in first-place Brantford's 4-2 win against Kingston. Malhotra also added an assist and was the game's first star. With 34 points, the 6'2" center from Toronto is tied for most points among OHL rookies.  

Looking back

Quinn Hutson scored his 11th and 12th goals to lead Bakersfield past Tucson, 5-1, in AHL action. He leads the Condors with 21 points and is ninth in the league in points.

Women''s Team

Terriers will close out first semester with a home-and-home series against #7 UConn.  Tonight's game at the Toscano Family Forum in Storrs begins at 6 p.m. and will be live-streamed on ESPN+.     

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU Women's Hockey Twitter

● Live stream ESPN+

 

 

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