BOSTON - Junior Quinn Hutson recorded a hat trick as part of a four-point night to help lead the No. 10 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 7-2 win over No. 18/16 New Hampshire on Friday night at Agganis Arena.
BU (14-9-1, 10-5-1 HE) never trailed UNH (11-10-3, 3-9-2 HE), opening the scoring just 1:16 into the contest and taking the lead for good at the 6:22 mark of the first. Sophomore Jack Harvey matched his career best with three points on one goal and two assists while sophomore Tom Willander (2a), junior Ryan Greene (2a) and sophomore Shane Lachance (1g, 1a) also had multi-point nights. Freshmen Cole Eiserman and Brandon Svoboda also lit the lamp while freshman Nick Roukounakis and senior Jack Page each recorded their first collegiate point with the assists on Svoboda's strike. Freshman Cole Hutson assisted on his brother's goal while classmate Kamil Bednarik and senior Jack Hughes also secured one assist apiece.
Freshman goaltender Mikhail Yegorov earned his first NCAA win in just his second collegiate start, stopping 19 shots in his first appearance at Agganis Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Q. Hutson gave BU a 1-0 lead just 1:16 into the proceedings of a nice rush into the UNH zone. Greene got the puck on the left side from Harvey and zipped a pass to Hutson in the slot. Hutson, who was in alone on goaltender Jared Whale (22 saves), lifted the puck over Whale's glove for the quick lead.
- UNH responded less than three minutes later on its first power-play chance of the night to even the score.
- Harvey wasted little time restoring the Terriers' advantage, giving BU a 2-1 lead at the 6:22 mark of the first. Q. Hutson began the sequence with a shot that Whale turned aside. Greene's rebound bid was blocked, but the puck bounced to Harvey at the right post and the sophomore jammed it home for his sixth goal of the year.
- Lachance doubled the Terriers' lead just 28 seconds into the second period. Willander kept the puck in at the blue line and poked it to Bednarik, who then fed it to Lachance at the left circle. Lachance gathered the puck and picked out the top left corner above Whale's blocker for his eighth goal of the season.
- The Hutson brothers combined for the Terriers' fourth goal just 2:58 into the third. Quinn sent a diagonal pass from the right corner to Cole at the left point. Quinn skated to the bottom of the right circle and Cole gave it back to him for a one-timer that beat Whale as he tried to get back to the post.
- J.P. Turner cut the deficit to 4-2 at the 2:58 mark and that's how the score stayed until Eiserman's power-play strike at 15:38. After his first shot was blocked, the rebound came right back to him and he subsequently wristed the puck through traffic and past Rico DiMatteo (8 saves).
- Hutson completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal at 18:17. After coming off the bench following a successful penalty kill, he collected a pass from Lachance and quickly fired the puck into the vacant cage.
- Svoboda completed the scoring just 40 seconds later. Page got the puck out of the BU zone and Roukounakis and Svoboda combined to carry the puck through neutral ice before Roukounakis backhanded the puck ahead to Svoboda, who finished the play for his fourth goal of the season.
GAME NOTES
- This was Hutson's third hat trick as a Terrier and first since March 9, 2024, against Vermont.
- Eiserman has the other BU hat trick this season, as he notched three goals against UVM on Jan. 11.
- Q. Hutson and Eiserman are now tied for the team lead in goals (15).
- Hutson also became the first Terrier to 30 points (15g, 15a) this year.
- This was Harvey's fourth multi-point game in January.
- BU swept the season series with UNH, taking eight of a possible nine Hockey East points from the Wildcats.
- 22 different Terriers have recorded a point this season.
UP NEXT
- BU will begin the 72nd Dunkin' Men's Beanpot on Monday, Feb. 3, when the Terriers face Harvard at TD Garden.
- Puck drop on NESN, ESPN+ and TSN+ is set for 5 p.m.
