No. 20 Terriers Shut Out UMass Lowell, 3-0

Saturday, January 17

Lowell, MA

6:05 PM

Boston University

12-10-1, 8-7-0

UMass Lowell

9-14-0, 5-8-0

Boston U.

UMass Lowell

Mikhail Yegorov and Cole Hutson Fist Bumping

Photo by: Matt Woolverton

January 17, 2026 | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score Jay Pandolfo & Cole Hutson - Postgame Media

LOWELL, Mass. — After a frustrating first 39:58, the No. 20 Boston University men's ice hockey team scored three straight goals to topple the UMass Lowell River Hawks, 3-0, on Saturday night.

It took 39:58 for BU to get on the board, but with 1.7 seconds remaining in the second, sophomore Cole Hutson ripped home a slapshot from the point to make it 1-0.

Then at 11:38 in the third, sophomore Nick Roukounakis buried a cross-crease pass from Hutson to make it 2-0 before freshman Ben Merrill iced the game with an empty-net tally at 17:45.

Sophomore Mikhail Yegorov made 23 saves in net for his second shutout in six contests.

Also adding assists were junior captain Gavin McCarthy and senior Owen McLaughlin.

HOW IT HAPPENED

With 9:50 remaining in the first, sophomore Cole Hutson was whistled for a boarding penalty. Just five seconds later, the River Hawks took a hooking penalty, but the 4-on-4 warranted few chances for either side.
Later in the frame, freshman Ryder Ritchie was tripped up and made a backhanded pass while falling to set up sophomore Nick Roukounakis for a one-timer, but UMass Lowell netminder Austin Elliott made the save.
A physical first period saw nearly as many penalty minutes (eight) as shots on goal (nine) between the two teams.
Just under five minutes into the second frame, Yegorov stopped back-to-back shots, including a kick save on the rebound, to keep the game level.
The Terriers earned a power play at 7:08, but once again committed a penalty while on the power play and were forced to kill off another penalty.
BU was able to create more odd-man chances late in the second period, including an Eiserman breakaway, but it took until the final two seconds for the puck to cross the line.
McLaughlin won a faceoff back to McCarthy, who dished the puck over to Hutson. He unleashed a wicked slapshot that screamed into the cage for the game's first goal.
The Terriers continued to push the pace offensively in the third, and it paid off as Hutson gathered a rebound from a Roukounakis shot and then dished it right back to Roukounakis in the right circle for the Terriers' second goal of the night.
The River Hawks pulled starter Austin Elliott for the extra skater with 3:00 to play and BU capitalized as Merrill broke up a pass at the River Hawks' blue line and slotted the rubber home.

GAME NOTES

McCarthy suited up for his 100^th career NCAA game on Saturday night.
The shutout was Yegorov's second in six games.
The last time BU recorded two shutouts in six games or fewer was in the 2023 season, when BU shut out Vermont on Feb. 25 and two games later, shut out Providence on March 4.
Hutson now has 16 career multi-point efforts. His last was on Nov. 22, 2025 against Northeastern.
Merrill's empty-netter was his second empty-net tally of the week, after he scored on the open cage on Monday (Jan. 12) at Harvard.
The Terrier penalty kill blanked UMass Lowell as the River Hawks went 0-for-3.

UP NEXT

The Terriers will play a home-and-home series with Providence on Friday (Jan. 23) and Saturday (Jan. 24).
Friday's puck drop from Schneider Rink is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the teams will play at 7 p.m. at Agganis Arena on Saturday.