Currently ranked 20th, the Terriers cannot afford to lose any more games to teams far below them, and that can be said about this weekend’s home-and-home series against UMass Lowell, which is ranked 46th in the NPI.
During his weekly media call Thursday, head coach Jay Pandolfo said BU can’t afford to look too far ahead at this point in the season, adding that the group’s mentality is “to get better every day.”
“It seems like they believe in that,” he said.
Fortunately for the No. 20 Terriers (11-9-1, 7-6-0 Hockey East), they have never been healthier, and players like freshman forward Conrad Fondrk, who scored in Monday’s 4-1 win over Harvard, are finally feeling like themselves again.
“He’s in a much better place than he was in the first half. He’s feeling a lot better,” Pandolfo said of Fondrk. “We say that from the first training session, when he came out of the break, he seems to be getting better every game and every day.”
Sophomore netminder Mikhail Yegorov, who was crucial for BU last season, also seemed to find his form again as he had a .924 save percentage in his last five games.
“He’s got his confidence back, and you can just see it when he’s in the net. It seems like he’s got that presence again. He’s calm and feels good about himself,” Pandolfo said.
Now for the Terriers it’s about stringing together wins, and a weekend series against the River Hawks – Friday at Agganis Arena and Saturday at the Tsongas Center – provides the perfect opportunity to get started.
Offensive misery diminishing?
The Terriers’ offensive struggles are well documented and perplexing given the sheer amount of talent in their forward group. In fact, BU scores three goals per game, which ranks 30th nationally.
In the three most recent games, Pandolfo has liked what he has seen from the attack in two of them, which he believes is a step in the right direction.
“I thought it was fair against Harvard. I thought we came in a lot more than we did against UMass on Saturday,” Pandolfo said. “I think at some point the pucks will come in a little easier for us.”
He added: “I think some of our guys, who may not have scored as much as they’re used to, may be grabbing the stick a little bit. I think that’s part of it. But I expect the puck to go in the net for a while.” them a little bit more, and that will help our offense.
Team defense is suddenly a force
Over the past ten games, the Terriers have allowed just 2.3 goals per game, compared to a season average of 3.1. That’s a total of 23 goals conceded in BU’s last ten games; in the five previous games they allowed 25.
“I just think it’s becoming more involved as a group — I think that’s part of it,” Pandolfo said. “Many new players in our team are getting used to the system.”
The Terriers do not employ a man-to-man defense system; instead, their schedule requires players to make reads. Pandolfo believes that BU gained crucial experience during the first semester and that the team defense has been “so much better” as a result.
“Compared to Harvard, I don’t know if they had a good chance in that game. So that tells you we’re playing pretty good team defense. We’ve got to keep doing that – it’s very important,” he added.
Exploring the River Hawks
It’s been a chaotic 2025-2026 season so far for UMass Lowell. The River Hawks are 8-13-0 overall and ninth in Hockey East with a 4-7-0 conference record, but they have several quality wins. UMass Lowell is coming off a series split against No. 11 UConn and also has wins over No. 14 Providence and No. 17 Minnesota State this season.
Senior forward Dillan Bentley leads the way against the River Hawks with 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in 19 games played. Bentley has scored five goals in his last five games.
UMass Lowell has two first-year NCAA goaltenders on its roster. Freshman Austin Elliott has started 14 games this season and has a save percentage of .896. Senior Samuel Richard, who spent the past three seasons at U Sports in New Brunswick, has a .910 save percentage in seven starts.
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