Before halftime, the Terriers earned a 4-3 victory over Northeastern thanks to a late push, with sophomore forwards Kamil Bednarik and Brandon Svoboda scoring in the final minutes of the third period.
It was perhaps one of the Terriers’ most convincing performances, especially considering BU’s short bench. With junior defenseman Aiden Celebrini and sophomore defenseman Sascha Boumedienne sidelined, freshman blueliners Carter Amico and Malte Vass were tasked with filling big minutes — which they largely did.
“We made some mistakes, but our guys didn’t go down,” head coach Jay Pandolfo said of the game.
Given BU’s difficult first half, ending the semester with momentum was important for the team to make a similar effort for the second semester.
Ten Terriers have missed at least one game this season due to various injuries. The break gave BU a chance to get healthy.
In his midweek media call, Pandolfo explained that many of the forwards, including second-year transfer Sacha Boisvert, had returned to full health.
Boisvert, who struggled to bounce back from injury after a difficult goal in the second game of the season, is in a “much better place” according to Pandolfo.
“We saw a much better match for him against Simon Fraser,” Pandolfo said.
While many players used the break to reset, several other Terriers spent it competing on the international stage. Captain Gavin McCarthy competed in the Spengler Cup, and Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson, Kamil Bednarik and Boumedienne represented the US and Sweden at the World Juniors.
McCarthy reached the final of the Spengler Cup with Team USA, but the Americans were eliminated by host HC Davos.
For the underclassmen on the international stage, a major shock came when Cole Hutson took a puck in the neck and was carried off the ice, leaving the hockey world holding its breath.
Hutson returned after a two-game absence and contributed to two of the USA’s three goals while leading the team in ice time. But it still wasn’t enough to propel the Americans to a third straight gold medal.
“I rushed myself back and didn’t do enough to help the team win,” Hutson told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale after the game.
On the health front, Pandolfo said Hutson was “feeling good going into this weekend” and is expected to play.
Although the players representing the USA did not see their three-peat, Sascha Boumedienne helped Team Sweden to a gold medal. Boumedienne scored the eventual match winner in Sweden’s 4–2 victory over the Czech Republic, securing the country’s first gold medal at the tournament since 2012.
“He’ll definitely be confident coming out of that tournament, especially if you come home with the championship and win gold,” Pandolfo said.
Perhaps the biggest development since the Terriers last played a regular season game is the addition of forward Tynan Lawrence.
The 6-foot-1 center led the Muskegon Lumberjacks to their first Clark Cup in 2025, where he was named MVP for his playoff performance.
Lawrence played 13 games for the Lumberjacks this season after suffering a lower-body injury during training camp. Lawrence scored ten goals and seven assists in those thirteen games.
In October, Lawrence received an ‘A’ rating from NHL Central Scouting, indicating he was placed on the preliminary Players to Watch list in the first round.
“He’s very good offensively, but he doesn’t cheat,” Pandolfo said of Lawrence.
This is exactly the type of play Pandolfo has emphasized all season. During BU’s inconsistent first half, he repeatedly pointed to “cheating” as a recurring problem within the group. Adding a player who avoids these habits might be exactly what the Terriers need.
“I see a lot of Macklin [Celebrini] in Tynan, like similar qualities to their games,” Pandolfo said. “When I say that, I don’t want to compare him, but that’s the way Tynan plays the game.”
BU has every opportunity to reshape the stretch, and with the second half underway, the Terriers appear much better equipped to make a push toward their preseason expectations.
Exploring the Minutemen and the Crimson
The Minutemen have a record of 9-9-0 and are 2-6-0 in Hockey East, which currently sits at the bottom of the league.
Junior forward Jack Musa leads UMass Amherst with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists).
Michael Hrabal is expected to start in net for the Minutemen. The 6-foot-2 netminder has an .897 save percentage.
“He’s a very good goalie. You know, for him, you’re not going to beat him on the first shot very often, especially if he sees it,” Pandolfo said. “So for us, we’ve done a better job lately of getting guys to the net more.”
As for the Crimson, they have a record of 7-5-1 and 5-3 in the ECAC. Harvard is currently ranked No. 17 in the NPI, so a win over them would be a valuable boost for the Terriers – especially considering the weight of an out-of-conference opponent.
Sophomore goalie Ben Charette will likely start in net for Harvard. He has a save percentage of .901.
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