No. 3 men’s hockey opens season with 5-2 win over Holy Cross

BOSTON- Junior co-captain Ryan Greene As a freshman, he scored two goals and assisted on a third goal Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson And Alex Zetterberg All scored their first collegiate goals as the No. 3 Boston University men’s hockey team defeated Holy Cross 5-2 in front of a sellout crowd at Agganis Arena on Saturday night.

BU (1-0-0) and Holy Cross (0-1-0) were scoreless after 20 minutes, but Greene lit the lamp just 39 seconds into the middle stanza to get the Terriers on the field. Eiserman struck on the power play at 3:56 of the period before Hutson extended the lead to 3-0 at 8:30 of the second period. Zetterberg then responded to a Crusader goal with one of his own, increasing the lead to 4-1 after two periods. Greene scored his second goal of the night with 13:10 left in regulation, restoring the Terriers’ three-goal lead.

Sophomore co-captain Shane Lachance and Junior Quinn Hutson recorded three assists each, which is a career high for both skaters. Second semester Tom Willander and senior Jack Hughes both assisted on Zetterberg’s shot. Senior goalkeeper Mathieu Caron made several sensational stops as part of a 29-save performance.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nine of Caron’s 29 stops came in the first frame, including a great left pad stop on a close-range chance.
• Greene got the Terriers on the field on the first shift of the second period. After that, Thomas Gale (32 saves) stopped the shots Quinn Hutson and Lachance missed Greene’s third chance with a backhander at the left post.
• Eiserman doubled the lead with a bar-down shot from the right circle off a pass from Greene.
• Cole Hutson made it 3-0 when he took a pass from Lachance and ran right past his defender before beating Gale by five.
• Jack Stockfish scored the goal at 11:27 of the second minute, but just 2:16 later Zetterberg scored a rebound off a Willander shot into the goal to make it 4-1.
• A power play goal from Jack Seymour made it a two-goal game with just 1:11 left in the third, but Greene tied the game at 7:50. F. Hutson forced a turnover at the Holy Cross blue line, and after two defenders moved toward him, he pushed the puck to a wide-open Greene in the slot.

GAME NOTES

• This is the third year in a row that at least one rookie saw the light of day in the Terriers’ season opener.
• Both Cole and Quinn Hutson have now scored in their collegiate debuts.
• Eight players made their Terriers debut Saturday night: C. Hutson, Eiserman, Zetterberg, freshman Brandon SvobodaPhD student Brehdan EngumFreshmen Kamil Bednariksenior Matt Copponi and freshmen Sascha Boumedienne.
• Greene has scored a total of five goals in all three regular season opening games he has appeared in during his time at BU.
• Most recently, he scored two goals in a 4-1 win over Maine in the 2024 Hockey East semifinals.
• The lead group of Greene, Lachance and Q. Hutson combined for nine points and a plus-9 rating on Saturday.
• The win earned BU its second Turnpike Trophy point of the weekend against Holy Cross, as the field hockey team defeated the Crusaders on Friday in the first game of the annual series between the two schools.

NEXT

• BU will continue its four-game homestand with a non-conference clash against Union on Saturday, October 12 at Agganis Arena.
• The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., following the women’s hockey team’s game against Northeastern at 3 p.m