Previewing The 2024-25 Season
A look at the upcoming BU Men's and Women's Hockey season
Men’s
Where We Left Off
The Boston University Terriers enter the 2024-25 season fresh off back-to-back Frozen Four appearances for the first time since 1996 and 1997. The Scarlet and White ended the season with a 28-10-2 record, their least number of losses since 2014-15. It was a season in which they were National Runners-Up on the back of Hobey Baker Award Winner and BU Freshman Scoring Record Holder, Jack Eichel. Head Coach Jay Pandolfo enters his third season behind the bench, accumulating a 57-21-2 record through 80 career games.
Departures
After a stellar freshman season, 17-year-old phenom Macklin Celebrini won the Tim Taylor (National Rookie of the Year) Award, earned a First Team All-American honor, and was named the Youngest Hobey Baker Memorial Award Winner in the history of the honor. Celebrini was selected by the San Jose Sharks with the 1st Overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, becoming the second Terrier to do so (Rick DiPietro), and signed with the Sharks in July.
Days after BU’s season ended, Lane Hutson signed with the Montreal Canadiens, recording a point in each of his first two games with the Habs.
Sophomore forward Jeremy Wilmer (6-30—36, 2023-24) transferred to Quinnipiac and junior defenseman Ty Gallagher (8-34—42, career) transferred to Colorado College.
Returners
Despite the departures of three of their top five scorers, the Terriers are still returning 43.87% of their scoring for the 2024-25 season. Quinn Hutson, whose 18 goals last season, was second only to Macklin Celebrini (32), returns for his junior year looking to boost his points per game which jumped from 0.72 as a freshman to .9 as a sophomore. Junior forward Ryan Greene was named co-captain of the Terriers alongside sophomore forward Shane Lachance, who is the first sophomore in program history to wear the “C”. Rounding out the leadership group for the Terriers is junior forward Devin Kaplan, who put up back-to-back 23 point seasons in his first two seasons on Comm Ave and was named an assistant captain. Mathieu Caron is back between the pipes for the Scarlet and White. The Brown transfer took some time to adjust to his new team but finished the season with the second-best GAA (2.14) and save percentage (.925) in conference play.
Newcomers
The 2024-25 edition of the Terriers includes ten newcomers, including three transfers and seven freshmen.
Transfers
Matt Copponi joins the Terriers from the Merrimack Warriors. Copponi recorded a goal and an assist in his three games at Agganis Arena with Merrimack. He is also best remembered for scoring the game-winning 2OT goal to send the Warriors to the 2023 Hockey East Tournament Championship game, where they ultimately lost to the Terriers.
Former UMass-Lowell River Hawk defenseman Brehdan Engum also joins BU after having struggled a bit in his past two seasons with -7 and -8 +/- ratings. He will look to return to the form he showed in his sophomore year when he was a two-time Hockey East Defender of the Week.
Finally, Billy Girard IV comes to Comm Ave from the DIII program University of New England, the alma mater of former Terrier Pat Schena. Girard left UNE as the program record leader in wins, saves, and GAA.
Freshman
Leading the group is a trio of USNTDP products: Kamil Bednarik (F), Cole Eiserman (F), and defenseman Cole Hutson (brother of Quinn and Lane). Last season, in their exhibition game vs. BU, the three future Terriers combined for 5 goals and 10 points.
Next up, two Swedes, Sascha Boumedienne (D) and Alex Zetterberg (F), whose addition to the team, which already includes fellow countryman Tom Willander, means that BU will have three Swedes on their roster for the first time in school history.
Nick Roukounakis, the Pembroke, MA native, scored 2 goals and 4 assists in 19 games for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL in the 2023-24 season. Brandon Svoboda was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 2023 NHL Draft and back-to-back Clark Cups in the USHL—with Youngstown Phantoms and Fargo Force—the first of which also featured co-captain Shane Lachance.
Non-Conference Slate
Holy Cross (Oct. 5th, Agganis Arena)
2023-24: 21-14-4 (2nd Atlantic Hockey, 28th PWR)
First visit by Holy Cross to Agganis Arena in over 10 years (last game, 10/12/13, 3-2 W)
Union (Oct. 12th, Agganis Arena)
2023-24: 16-18-3 (6th ECAC, 38th PWR)
BU holds a 3-2-1 record vs. the Garnet Chargers, with both losses coming away from home
North Dakota (Oct. 25-26, Ralph Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks, ND)
2023-24: 26-11-2 (1st NCHC, 6th PWR)
Terriers make their first trip to The Ralph since 11/3/12, however, it’s not their most recent matchup with Fighting Hawks in their home state, which would be the 2017 Fargo Regional Semifinal in which the Terriers won on a 2OT goal
Michigan (Nov. 1-2, Agganis Arena)
2023-24: 21-14-3 (4th Big Ten, 10th PWR, Big Ten Tournament Champion, Frozen Four Appearance)
BU and Michigan have faced off 6 times since the Wolverines’ last visit to Boston (11/21/15) including a meeting in the 2018 Worcester Regional Final
Friendship Four (Nov. 29-30, SSE Arena Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland)
Merrimack and Notre Dame/Harvard
BU makes their second trip to Belfast in the quest to win their first Belpot
Yale (Dec. 29, Ingalls Rink, New Haven, CT)
2023-24: 10-18-2 (T-9th ECAC, 51st PWR)
BU plays Yale on December 29th which is exactly one year to the day of their last game at Yale this past season
Beanpot (Feb. 3/Feb 10, TD Garden)
Harvard, Boston College/Northeastern
When BU takes on Harvard in the first round of the Beanpot, it will potentially be their third game against the Crimson of the season, which is an exhibition in October and a potential game vs. them in Friendship Four
Stats To Follow
In the 2022-23 season, Lane Hutson broke the program’s freshman defenseman scoring record (48 pts), previously held by Alex Legault since 1990, brother Cole stands a chance to break the record having previously set scoring records in the USNTDP.
Only three freshmen have scored 30 or more goals in program history, and no one has scored 35 since Dave Silk in 1976-77. Cole Eiserman currently holds the USNTDP record for career goals (127) and recorded two of the top three goal-scoring seasons in the program’s history. Eiserman has the chance and ability to set a new program record for goals by a freshman.
Ryan Greene (67 career points) and Quinn Hutson (64) both have a chance to become the first Terriers to reach the 100-point milestone since Patrick Harper in 2019-20.
Women’s
Where We Left Off
Tara Watchorn’s first season (14-18-3) with the Terriers was an up-and-down season with 4 games in which the Terriers scored 5+ goals as well as 2 shutouts, including a 3-0 shutout of Boston College at Conte Forum. However, they also had 3 games in which they allowed 5+ goals, as well as 4 games in which they were shut out. The Terriers played their first game ever at TD Garden after a shootout win in the first round of the Beanpot sent them to the Championship game. The Scarlet and White ended the season with a heartbreaking loss to Holy Cross at Walter Brown Arena.
The Terriers will open the season at Agganis Arena, playing eight games there while Walter Brown is renovated. Walter Brown is scheduled to re-open to host the first round of the Beanpot on January 14th. BU holds a 7-2-2 record at Agganis in 11 games played at the arena.
Departures
A trio of freshman forwards entered the transfer portal after the season: Jackson Kinsler (26 GP, 1-1—2), who is heading to Syracuse, Mikayla Blomquist (15 GP, 0-0—0) who is heading to Union, and Ella Huntley (22 GP, 1-4—5) who is joining the Stoney Creek Sabres, a Canadian Junior team. Sophomore defender Brooke Disher, who scored 10 goals and recorded 18 assists in her two seasons with the Terriers, is trading in her scarlet and white for the scarlet and gray of Ohio State University.
Returners
Defenders Julia Shaunessy and Tamara Giaquinto return for a fifth season with the Terriers, with Giaquinto being named captain. Giaquinto will serve as the third consecutive defender captain for the Terriers, matching a similar span from 2007-10. Shanuessy will serve as an assistant captain alongside seniors Maggie Hanzel (D) and Callie Shanahan. Shanahan is the first goalie in the leadership group since Erin O’Neil in the 2017-18 season.
BU returns 57.9% of their scoring, including junior Clara Yuhn who scored all 9 of her goals last season in Hockey East play. Goaltender Callie Shanahan ended last season with a .911 save percentage in her 13 games played after having a late start to her season due to injury. Her 1.95 GAA in conference play was good enough for 2nd among goalies returning for the 2024-25 season.
Newcomers
BU welcomes eight new Terriers for the 2024-25 season, including three transfers and five freshmen.
Transfers
Former Friar forward Lindsay Bochna joins the Terriers. Bochna totaled 30 goals and 32 assists in her four years in Providence. In her sophomore year, she recorded 19 points, which was second most on the team.
Defender Maeve Carey joins BU from the Stonehill Skyhawks. The junior helped the Skyhawks defense to be ranked 14th in penalty kill (.861) and 20th in goals allowed per game (2.59). Carey helped the Skyhawks to their first NEWHA Conference Tournament title and their first NCAA Tournament appearance. She was coached by Tara Watchorn during her freshman year, who previously served as the Head Coach of Stonehill.
Junior forward Riley Walsh (F) joins the Terriers from Union. Walsh’s 27 points (11g-16a) set the single-season program record last season. She is the first player in Union’s DI history to record multiple 20-point seasons. On Oct 6th, 2023 Walsh scored Union’s first hat trick in almost 10 years.
Freshmen
Tessa Demain (D), the Wolfeboro, NH native, joins from St. Paul’s School. Kiera Healey (D) joins her sister, Sydney, giving the women’s program two pairs of sisters on their roster for the first time in its history. Healey recorded 4 goals and 19 assists for the Etobicoke Dolphins last season. The third defender in the class is Kate Meinert, who hails from Moon Township, PA, the home of Robert Morris University. Canadian forward Kaileigh Quigg recorded 59 pts in two seasons with the Durham West Lightning including an Esso Cup (Canadian National Women’s U18 Club Championship) win in 2022. Finally, Lola Reid (F) recorded back-to-back 47-point seasons for Shattuck-St. Mary's en route to back-to-back National Championships. Reid is also the first player in program history from Nebraska.
Non-Conference Slate
Minnesota (Oct. 4/6, Ridder Arena, Minneapolis, MN)
2023-24: 27-10-2 (3rd WCHA, 5th PWR)
Terriers make their first trip to Ridder since 2014, an arena where they have never beaten the Gophers
Syracuse (Oct. 25-26, Tennity Ice Pavilion, Syracuse, NY)
2023-24: 7-24-3 (6th (Last) CHA, 40th PWR)
BU travels to Syracuse for the first time, they hold a 1-0-2 record over the Orange
Princeton (Nov. 27, Agganis Arena)
2023-24: 14-12-6 (7th ECAC, 12th Pairwise)
Princeton returns to Agganis exactly 14 years to the day of their last visit which resulted in a 2-1 Terrier win on Nov. 27th, 2010
Beanpot (Jan. 14/21, Walter Brown Arena/TD Garden)
Harvard, Boston College/Northeastern
The Beanpot Tournament returns to Walter Brown for the first time since 2020, a tournament in which the Terriers shutout the Eagles of Boston College 4-0 before falling to Northeastern in 2OT in the Championship Game
Stats To Follow
Clara Yuhn continues to improve offensively going from 13 pts in her freshman year to 22 this past season as a sophomore. In her 13 games played in 2023-24, Callie Shanahan had 4 wins, two of which were shutouts. All 4 of her wins came in games when she allowed 1 or fewer goals and she only recorded one loss when allowing 1 goal. Look for the Terriers to put their trust in Shanahan to keep them in games this season.