2024 Friendship Four
#13 Boston University (6-5-1, 3-2-1 HE) vs. Merrimack (3-7-1, 2-4-1 HE)
Harvard (2-3-1) vs. Notre Dame (5-9-0)
Date & Time: Friday, Nov. 29 - 2 p.m. GMT/9 a.m. ET
Saturday, Nov. 30 - Consolation (3 p.m./10 a.m.) or Championship (7 p.m./2 p.m.)
Venue: SSE Arena - Belfast, Northern Ireland
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierHockey

The No. 13 Boston University men's ice hockey team will take part in the 2024 Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with the Terriers set to face Merrimack on Friday in a Hockey East matchup. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. local time and 9 a.m. ET. The winner will advance to Saturday's championship game against the winner of Friday's second semifinal between Harvard and Notre Dame.

All four games will be streamed on ESPN+ and TSN+, with an audio-only broadcast of both BU games located here. Friday's contests will be televised on NESN while Saturday's games will be shown on NESN+

TERRIER TIDBITS

• This is the second time that BU has played in the Friendship Four, having finished runner-up in 2018.
• It's also the second time that graduate student Brehdan Engum has skated in Belfast, as he played for UMass Lowell in 2022.
• BU and Merrimack will open the tournament one week after facing off at Agganis Arena.
• The Terriers scored four third-period goals to rally for a 6-3 victory over the Warriors.
• Freshman Cole Eiserman tied the game at 3-3 before scoring the game-winning goal.
• He leads all NCAA rookies and is tied for fourth among all skaters with nine goals.
• Senior Matt Copponi matched his career high with three points last Friday against his former team, scoring the final two goals of the game and assisting on Eiserman's winner.
• Copponi has recorded seven points over his last four games
• Senior goaltender Mathieu Caron became just the second active goalie to play in 100 career games when he made 36 saves in Friday's victory over Merrimack.
• Freshman Brandon Svoboda returned to the lineup last Friday for the first time since Nov. 8 and made an immediate impact, scoring a career-high two goals.
• Thirteen different Terriers have lit the lamp this season, led by Eiserman's nine goals.

SERIES HISTORY WITH MERRIMACK

• BU and Merrimack have played 130 times since first meeting on Dec. 11, 1964, and the Terriers hold a commanding 97-25-8 (.777) advantage.
• The Terriers recorded the first 14 shutouts in the series until the Warriors blanked BU for the first time ever during the 2018-19 season.
• BU won all three games against Merrimack last season by a combined score of 16-4.
• The Terriers have won five straight games against Merrimack dating back to the 2023 Hockey East title game, which was also the last time these two teams met at a neutral site.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS

• Merrimack enters the weekend having lost two straight games, including a 6-3 loss to BU on Nov. 22.
• After being shutout in three of four games from Oct. 18-Nov. 2, the Warriors have averaged 3.75 goals per game over their last four tilts.
• Junior defenseman Zach Bookman leads the Warriors in assists (4) and is tied for the team lead in points (5) with sophomore Ethan Bono.
• Bono, freshman Caelan Fitzpatrick and graduate student Antonio Venuto are all tied for the team lead in goals with three.
• Four different netminders have started a game this season, with freshman Max Lundgren starting six of his team-high seven appearances, including last Friday's game.
• Lundgren is 2-3-0 with a 3.49 goals-against average and an .879 save percentage.
• Sophomore Nils Wallström, a transfer from AIC, is 1-2-0 this season with a 3.69 GAA and an .868 save percentage.

• After this weekend's games in Belfast, the Terriers will return home to host UMass on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Agganis Arena.
• Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m.