#19 Terriers kick off the second half with a home-and-home series with conference rival UMass. Game time for the game at the Mullins Center in Amherst is 7:00 PM ET. ESPN+ will provide the livestream. Saturday’s rematch at Agganis Arena starts at 6:00 PM ET. With a road game at Harvard on Monday, BU plays three games in four days.
Currently in third place in Hockey Eastfive points behind UConn and four points behind BC, BU will look to build on its four-wins-in-five-games finish for the first semester.
The Terriers are 10-1-2 over their last 13 games against UMass. Last season, the teams shared a home-and-home series. Then BU defeated the Minutemen in overtime in the conference quarterfinals at a Cole Eiserman laser.
With the return of five skaters from holiday tournaments and the return to health of several others, BU will finally have all hands available – and more – for the first time since the season started. Sacha Boisvert And Conrad Fondrk showed in last Saturday’s practice match that they are 100% with two goals and four assists respectively. Freshman
Ben Merrillout due to injury since the Nov. 29 Cornell game, has returned and will be in the lineup, according to Coach Jay Parolfo.
Photo credit Eliza Nuestro
Kamil Bednarik, Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson and gold medal winner Sascha Boumedienne are back from the WJC’s, just like captain Gavin McCarthy who won silver at the Davos Cup in Switzerland. Pandolfo will be looking for a “post-tournament bubble” and better performances from all five.
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First steps in Amherst✅ pic.twitter.com/tkfTIdzbci
— BU Men’s Hockey (@TerrierHockey) January 9, 2026
Newly laid out Tynan Lawrence skated in practice Thursday and his availability for tonight’s game will be determined after a morning skate. If the 6’0″, 185 lb., left shot from Fredericton, New Brunswick, is in the lineup, he will most likely fill in as the No. 2 center behind Boisvert. (For more on Lawrence, see Monday and Wednesday’s blog posts)
Hutson is BU’s points leader with 20 (7G,13A), while Eiserman is the top scorer with eight. Owen McLaughlin has now yielded 14 points Ryder Ritchie and Boisvert each have 11. McCarthy checks in with 10 points.
UMass, which has played the fewest conference games to date, is in last place with a 2-6-0 record, including an overtime win and an OT loss. The Minutemen got off to a fast start in October, winning six of eight games – all non-conference wins, including a 2-1 victory over Cornell. Since then, they are 3-7-0, most recently split in series with Maine and Providence, swept by BC and losing to Army. Like the Terriers, UMass played an exhibition game against Simon Fraser last weekend and won 7-0.
Junior Jac Musa is the Minutemen’s leading scorer with 21 points while being a 6-foot-1 freshman Václav Nestrašilwho played for the Czech Republic against Sweden in the WJC gold medal match, is the top scorer with ten to go and ten assists. They are supported by first-year students by Jack Galan (13 points), junior Nick VanTassell (10) and sophomores Daniel Jencko (10).
Sophomore Francesco Dell’Elce (13), a Hockey East All-Rookie last season, anchors the defense along with a sophomore Larry Keenan
and oldest Lucas Olvestad.
Back for his third season is the 6-foot-1 Czech goalkeeper Michael Hrabelanother WJC veteran, who has a 3.00 GAA and .897 save percentage in 11 games. Fellow junior Jackson Irving has made seven starts and brings a save percentage of 2.75 GAA and .934.
Graphic courtesy of BU Hockey Stats
TONIGHT’S BU LINEUP
● GoTerriers.com example, Game notes, Live stats, BU full access (audio), BU Men’s Hockey Twitter
● ESPN+ live stream
● Pandolfo Media Call
● GoTerriers.com Three keys can unlock success in the second half of Terriers
● BU Hockey Stats Back in the Swing of Things (Week 13 example)
● Boston Hockey Blog BU men’s hockey returns after the break recharged, strengthened and ready for a second half
►► As a top prospect for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, Lawrence has written a Draft Diary for NHL.com (as Macklin Celebrini did while at BU). He found time before this weekend’s games to write a post about his departure from Muskegon and his arrival at Comm. Avg.
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2026 NHL Draft Diary: Latest @TerrierHockey center Tynan Lawrence, a projected top 5 pick in the draft, turns in his January draft diary, discussed move to Boston, grateful for everyone @MuskegonJacks did for his developmenthttps://t.co/KlM0kPhJWn
— Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL) January 9, 2026
Episode 12 of Within BU Hockey
functions Bernie Corbett‘s interviews with Coach Pandolfo and Conrad Fondrk. The freshman from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, who assisted on four goals in last weekend’s exhibition game, says he has now fully recovered from a leg injury he suffered last season. Kat Cornetta talks to coach Tara Watchorn about the trip to Belfast and Lilli Welcke, recently named to the German Olympic team. (Links will be added soon)
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We had a great time playing in the @GoTeamIMPACT BeanPong Tournament last night with our teammate Logan! pic.twitter.com/tRQQdv1sb1
— BU Men’s Hockey (@TerrierHockey) January 8, 2026
Looking ahead
2026 recruit Haoxi Wang assisted on a pair of goals and was +3 when Oshawa turned a double against Sudbury, 6-3. The 6’5″ blueliner has a 2-11-13 scoring line in 28 games for the Generals.
2026 Winter Olympics
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With the Welckes joining Oettinger, McAvoy, Eichel, Tkachuk, Keller, Celebrini, BU sets a new school record for most Terriers at a single Winter Olympics with 8
— BU Hockey Stats (@BUHockeyStats) January 7, 2026
The six men who went to the Winter Olympics in Cortina Milano equaled the record for Terrier men in a single Olympiad in both 1980 and 1992. In 1980, along with the gold medal Terrier Four –Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione, Jack O’Callahan And David Silk—Herb Wakabayashi skated for Japan and Dick Decloe for the Netherlands. The 1992 group consisted entirely of US: Clark Donatelli, Scott Lachance, Shawn McEachern, Joe Sacco, Keith Tkachuk And Scott Young. David Quinn skated for the ’92 team during pre-Olympic exhibitions, but was dropped before the Games started.
Looking back
Jack Eichel‘s 13th goal was the game-winner in the Golden Knights’ 4-2 victory over Columbus. He also added his 32nd assist.
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what a SNIPE 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/MceloKWiY0
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) January 9, 2026
Brady Tkachuk scored his eighth goal in the Senators’ 8–2 loss to the Avalanche.
1980 Olympic captain Mike Eruzione recently joined the university president Melissa Gilliam does her Leaders Among Us Conversations podcast.
This week Eruzione was a guest at Brady Tkachuk and his brother, Matthew, on their ‘Wingmen’ podcast, revealing the untold story of Miracle on Ice.
Women’s team
Terriers resume Hockey East play Saturday in New Hampshire. Watch this video about their journey to Belfast and a pair of Friendship Series victories to claim the Belpot Trophy.
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