BU hadn’t played a hockey game in 13 days.
Before the break, the Terriers had put together one of their first full 60-minute efforts in a win over New Hampshire. A layoff that long could have easily stalled their momentum — but it didn’t.
The Terriers took down archrival Boston College, 3-1, their first win in the Battle of Comm Ave this season.
“It was great to see us play that way,” head coach Jay Pandolfo said. “Hopefully our guys understand that we play a certain way, what we’re capable of.”
Ahead of the game against BC, Pandolfo explained that BU had worked on its transition game in practice, and it showed.
“Their [defense] joined so well on the rush,” BC head coach Greg Brown said, “and if our forwards aren’t ready to track, then you saw those outcome situations that are really dangerous.”
BU inserted itself into every puck battle and clogged up lanes with their sticks. This type of play permitted BC from capitalizing on breakouts, which BU struggled to contain in earlier season matchups against the Eagles.
The Terriers dominated the first period and had something to show for it by the end of the 20‑minute frame. Two goals. That’s more than they managed to scrape together in their previous two meetings with the Eagles, despite strong starts in both matchups.
“To go in the locker room with a lead, it was huge for our group,” head coach Jay Pandolfo said. “And because of the way we played to get rewarded and score it was huge for us.”
BU’s first goal came courtesy of freshman forward Ryder Ritchie. Tynan Lawrence broke the puck out of the BC offensive zone and sent a pass down ice to Jack Murtagh, springing him on a breakaway. As BC defender Lukas Gustafsson closed in, Murtagh fed the puck back to Ritchie, who wristed it past Eagles’ goaltender Louka Cloutier.
The Murtagh–Lawrence–Ritchie line piled up scoring chances Friday, fueled by the defensive plays that jump‑started their shifts. They excelled at breaking out of the neutral zone and converted puck battles into offensive zone time.
“When they support each other really well and win pucks, then their offensive ability takes over,” Pandolfo said.
The second goal of the game came after BU hammered Cloutier with a flurry of rebound chances. Sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson recovered a rebound and turned an awkward pass into a beautiful assist, finding assistant captain Cole Eiserman, who ripped his signature one-timer from the left circle past a sprawling Cloutier.
“He just has a knack for making plays like that,” Pandolfo said of Hutson. “He knows where everyone is at all times. He sees the ice. He knows where guys are gonna be.”
The Eagles were able to respond with one power play opportunity in the second period. It mirrored an extremely similar collapse in the penalty kill that was present for BU in the Beanpot championship.
Six seconds after a faceoff, BC gained possession. Senior captain Andrew Gasseau moved the puck to sophomore Dean Letourneau, who fired a shot from the blue line cleanly past Mikhail Yegorov.
This was the lone goal Yegorov allowed. He steadied BU throughout the Eagles’s two other power plays making crucial saves, and ended the game with 24 total saves.
Though the rest of the matchup was filled with back-and-forth, the Terriers didn’t crumple — like they so often have this season.
“That’s what you’re gonna get in a tight game like that,” Pandolfo said. “They’re gonna push.”
As time wound down on the clock, BC pulled Cloutier. The Terriers were able to gain possession of the puck, bringing it into BU’s offensive zone, and Jack Harvey secured the win with an empty-netter.
It wasn’t a perfect performance — BU couldn’t generate on any of its three power play attempts — but it was still good. That’s what you need to see from BU at this point in the season.
“We’re trying to take just one game at a time,” Yegorov said. “That’s our goal.”
With just two regular-season games left, BU must continue to chip away at getting better as a team. Pandolfo said it himself: the Terriers just need to put together another “solid effort,” the result doesn’t technically matter.
“We can’t have any letdown tomorrow night,” Pandolfo said. “No letdown whatsoever.”