#8/7 Boston University (21-12-2, 14-8-2 HE) vs. #7/8 UConn (21-10-4, 12-8-4 HE)
Date & Time: Thursday, March 20 - 4 p.m.
Venue: TD Garden - Boston, Mass.
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierHockey

The No. 8/7 Boston University men's ice hockey team will continue its quest for the program's 11th Hockey East title when the third-seeded Terriers face No. 7/8 and fourth-seeded UConn for a league semifinal game at TD Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Thursday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ and televised on NESN+, with an audio-only broadcast located here.

HOCKEY EAST QUICK FACTS

• BU is 82-44-1 all-time in the Hockey East Tournament, having qualified for all 40 editions of the league's postseason.
• The Terriers are playing in the Hockey East semifinals for a record 28th time.
• No other team has won more Hockey East tournament games than BU.
• BU has won 18 conference tournaments during its 103-season history.
• The Terriers won their 10th Hockey East tournament in 2023 after defeating Merrimack, 3-2, in overtime of the title tilt.
• BU has won 14 of its past 20 Hockey East tournament games and has 20 wins in the league playoffs over the past 10 tournaments.

TERRIER TIDBITS

• Freshman Cole Eiserman scored 2:59 into overtime to help BU advance to the semifinals for a third straight season with a 3-2 overtime win over sixth-seeded and 14th-ranked UMass on Saturday at Agganis Arena.
• Freshman Sascha Boumedienne assisted on Eiserman's winner and also lit the lamp while Eiserman also had a two-point night as he assisted on sophomore Shane Lachance's first-period goal.
• Freshman Mikhail Yegorov made 36 saves, with his second stop of overtime helping to set up Eiserman's winner, while senior Jack Hughes, junior Ryan Greene and sophomore Tom Willander each had one assist.
• Freshman Cole Hutson was named Hockey East Rookie of the Year on Wednesday.
• He is the third straight Terrier to win the award, following Macklin Celebrini (2024) and Lane Hutson (2023), the two favorites for this year's Calder Trophy.
• Hutson is tied for first among NCAA rookies in both points (39) and assists (27), and he leads all rookie defensemen as well as all Hockey East blue liners, regardless of class, in goals (12), assists (27) and points (39)
• C. Hutson (first team), junior Quinn Hutson (second team), Willander (second team) and Greene (third team) were all selected as Hockey East All-Stars.
• This is the third straight year that four Terriers have been named league all-stars.
• C. Hutson and  Eiserman were also named to the league's All-Rookie Team.
• Eiserman leads all NCAA rookies with 21 goals, four clear of the next closest freshman, and is tied for ninth among all first-year players with 31 points. 
• Q. Hutson enters Thursday ranked second in the NCAA with 1.39 points per game. 
• He is one of just six skaters to have notched 20+ goals and 25+ assists this season, having done so in the fewest amount of games (32) than the other five men to accomplish that feat.
• Willander, a two-time Hockey East Second Team All-Star, is one of just nine defensemen in the NCAA and the only Hockey East blue liner to have at least 22 points and be a plus-17 or better this season.
• Yegorov enters Thursday ranked fourth in the nation in save percentage (.937) and sixth in the NCAA in goals-against average (1.82).
• He has been outstanding in his last five starts, going 4-0-1 with a .954 save percentage and a 1.39 GAA.
• Greene joined Q. Hutson in the 100-point club on Saturday with his first-period assist.
• He enters Thursday having scored 34 goals and 66 assists in 113 career games.

HISTORY WITH UCONN

• BU is 17-9-3 (.638) all-time against UConn, having gone 5-0-1 in its last six meetings with the Huskies.
• That includes a 4-2 home win at Agganis Arena back in October and a 2-2 road tie on Feb. 25.
• Last year, the Terriers earned a 6-1 win in Storrs on Feb. 23 before shutting out the Huskies, 6-0, at Agganis the next night.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE HUSKIES

• Freshmen Sascha Boumedienne and Cole Hutson both lit the lamp in regulation to erase one-goal deficits and force a 2-2 tie at UConn on Feb. 25.
• After an entertaining 3-on-3 overtime period, junior Quinn Hutson and freshman Cole Eiserman each scored in the shootout while freshman Mikhail Yegorov stopped both chances he faced to secure the extra point in the league standings.
• Junior Ryan Greene and Q. Hutson assisted on Boumedienne's first-period strike while junior Devin Kaplan and sophomore Tom Willander had the helpers on Hutson's tying goal midway through the third period.
• Yegorov was excellent all night and finished regulation and overtime with 25 saves, including a sensational stop late in overtime when he cleared the puck off the goal line.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

• UConn making its second appearance in the Hockey East semifinals after a 3-1 win over fifth-seeded Providence on Friday night at Toscano Family Ice Forum.
• The Huskies are 7-0-1 in their last eight games, with the one tie coming against BU on Feb. 25.
• UConn has not allowed more than two goals in each of the last seven games.
• Sophomore Joey Muldowney, a Hockey East Second Team All-Star, scored the final two goals against Providence and leads UConn with 24 goals and 42 points.
• Graduate student Hudson Schandor, also a Hockey East Second Team All-Star and the league's Best Defensive Forward, leads UConn with 30 assists and is second on the squad with 40 points.
• Junior goaltender Tyler Muszelik made 32 saves in the quarterfinal win over Providence to improve to 12-5-3 on the season with a 2.20 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
• Muszelik stopped 24 shots in the 2-2 tie with BU in February.

• The winner of the BU-UConn contest will advance to Friday's championship game and play the winner of Thursday's second semifinal between second-seeded Maine and ninth-seeded Northeastern.
• Puck drop on Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.