Boston University
Minnesota State
No. 8/9 Terriers Visit No. 11 Minnesota State to Kick Off O'Connell Era
October 11, 2018 | Men's Ice Hockey
| #8/9 Boston University (0-0-0) at #11 Minnesota State (0-0-0) | |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | Friday, Oct. 12 & Saturday, Oct. 13 | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| Venue | Verizon Center | Mankato, Minn. |
| Watch | FloHockey ($) - Friday | Saturday |
| Listen | TSRN |
| Live Stats | MSUMavericks.com |
| Game Notes | BU | MSU |
| Preseason Info | 2018-19 Prospectus | Season Preview |
| Podcast | Inside BU Hockey |
| @BUGameDay | @TerrierHockey | |
MANKATO, Minn. - Making its first-ever visit to Mankato, the No. 8/9 Boston University men's ice hockey team opens its 2018-19 season with a weekend series at No. 11 Minnesota State on Oct. 12-13. Both games will start at 8 p.m.
This will mark the beginning of a new era for BU hockey as Albie O'Connell begins his first season as head coach of the Terriers. He was promoted from associate head coach in June, becoming the 12th person to lead the storied program.
The two schools faced off for the first time last season with Minnesota State earning a sweep of BU at Agganis Arena by scores of 6-3 and 3-0. These will be BU's first regular-season contests in the Land of 10,000 Lakes since a series at Minnesota on Jan. 2-3, 2004.
Minnesota State was picked to repeat as WCHA regular-season champion following a 2017-18 campaign that saw it post a 29-10-1 record and reach the NCAA tournament.
Junior forward Marc Michaelis was named to the Preseason All-WCHA Team and is the team's leading returner in both points (40) and goals (18). Sophomore Jake Jaremko, the 2017-18 WCHA Rookie of the Year, is back after an impressive freshman season in which he tallied 39 points (15g, 24a). Jaremko and two defensemen - classmate Connor Mackey (4-8--12) and junior Ian Scheid (9-17--26) - all earned votes for the Preseason All-WCHA Team.
In goal, MSU will turn to heralded freshman Dryden McKay and graduate transfer Mathias Israelsson, who is a veteran of 16 starts over three seasons at Northern Michigan.
Mike Hastings is in his seventh year at the helm of the Mavericks' program and has guided them to six consecutive 20-win seasons.
The Terriers were picked third in the Hockey East Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving one first place vote and 84 total points. Boston College edged Providence for the top spot with 93 points to the Friars' 92. The Eagles had five first-place votes while the Friars received four.
BU returns six of its top eight scorers from last season, including senior Bobo Carpenter, who scored a team-best 20 goals and shared the lead in points with 35. Sophomore Shane Bowers finished third on the team in points as a rookie with a 17-15--32 line. They are the top two returning goal scorers in all of Hockey East.
Junior blueliners Dante Fabbro (9-20--29) and Chad Krys (7-20--27) combined for 56 points as sophomores and classmate Patrick Harper had a team-best 21 points (8g, 13a) at the break last year before missing the second half of the season due to illness.
Sophomore Logan Cockerill came on strong at the end of his rookie campaign and finished with 20 points on eight goals and 12 assists.
Over BU's final nine games last season, goaltender Jake Oettinger posted a 1.70 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage. Now a junior, Oettinger enters the year with nine career shutouts, just four off the school record.
