No. 6 Men’s Hockey Hosts No. 13 Quinnipiac for Season Opener

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Sixth-ranked Boston College begins its 104th season of men's hockey this Friday against No. 13 Quinnipiac. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Radio coverage on WEEI 850 AM will begin at 6:45 p.m.

Boston College enters the 2025-26 season with seven newcomers to a roster of 26 players, including six freshmen and one transfer. Represented among the newcomers are four forwards, two defensemen, one goaltender and four NHL draft picks.

LEADERS ELECTED
• Brady Berard, Andre Gasseau, and Lukas Gustafsson were named the captains of the Eagles for the 2025-26 season
• Berard skated in 35 games during the 2024-25 season, tallying four goals and one assist. He's played in 96 games throughout his collegiate career, totaling 16 points on seven goals and nine assists
• Gasseau skated in 36 games a season ago, posting career highs in points (30) and goals (15). He recorded a seven-game scoring stretch in February, tallying 13 points on six goals and seven assists
• Gasseau has appeared in 112 games throughout his career, posting 88 points on 37 goals and 51 assists
• Gustafsson appeared in 35 games on the blue line last season, posting 15 points on two goals and 13 assists along with a plus-16 rating. The Georgia native opened the 2024-25 campaign with the primary assist on the game-winning goal in the 3-0 victory over Michigan State

NATIONAL RANKINGS
• Boston College is ranked No. 6 in both the preseason USCHO.com and USA Hockey national polls
• This marks the third-straight season in which the Eagles are in the top-10 in the preseason polls

PRESEASON POLL
• BC was selected fifth in the Hockey East preseason coaches poll
• Boston University was picked to win with seven first-place votes
• Providence earned the second spot while garnering three first-place votes
• Rounding out the rest of the top five was UConn in third and Maine in fourth
• UMass was tabbed sixth while there was a tie for seventh between UMass Lowell and Northeastern
• Merrimack was selected as ninth, followed by New Hampshire and Vermont

THE RETURNERS
• In addition to the captains, the Eagles return two Hockey East All-Rookie team selections in James Hagens and Teddy Stiga
• Five defensemen played in at least 30 games last season, including Michael Hagens, who skated in all 37 games for the Eagles in 2024-25
• Aram Minnetian was second on the team in blocked shots with 50, while Gustafsson was tied for third with 42
• Jan Korec made three appearances between the pipes with two starts, allowing just three goals and posted a 22-save shutout against UMass Lowell

2024-25 REWIND
• The Eagles finished last season with a 27-8-2 overall record and an 18-4-2 record in Hockey East
• Boston College earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year and fourth time in program history
• BC boasted four All-Americans, four Hockey East First Team All-Stars, and two Hockey East All-Rookie selections
• Jacob Fowler became the second Eagle to win the Mike Richter Award, also winning the Hockey East Goaltender of the Year award for the second-straight season
• Ryan Leonard became the 13th Eagle to win Hockey East Player of the Year. He was also the Walter Brown Award winner and was named a Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist

A LOOK AT QUINNIPIAC
• Quinnipiac enters the opener as the No. 13 team in the USCHO.com and the USA Hockey national polls
• The Bobcats were selected as the preseason favorite in ECAC Hockey
• Victor Czerneckianair was tabbed as the captain of the Bobcats for the 2025-26 campaign
• Charlie Leddy, Mason Marcellus and Jeremy Wilmer will serve as the assistant captains for QU
• Quinnipiac has made six consecutive NCAA tournaments, the longest active streak in the country
• QU have won the ECAC Hockey regular season championship five years in a row
• The Bobcats return their top scorers from last season in Wilmer (15-25-40) and Marcellus (10-28-38)
• They return their two primary goaltenders from last season in Dylan Silverstein and Matej Marinov

SERIES HISTORY
• The Eagles are 2-4-2 all-time against the Bobcats
• Both wins for BC came in the 2023-24 season
• The last meeting between the two teams was in the Providence Regional Final of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, which ended in a 5-4 overtime victory for the Eagles to advance to the Frozen Four
• The first-ever win for BC over Quinnipiac came in the season opener that season, a 2-1 decision in overtime at M&T Bank Arena

NHL NOTES
• 36 Eagles were invited to NHL Training Camps
• Five players from last year's team attended camp: Jacob Fowler, Aidan Hreschuk, Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault, and Eamon Powell

UP NEXT
• BC travels to Minnesota next week for a pair of non-conference games against the Golden Gophers on Thursday and Friday at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Thursday's game is slated for 9:00 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network, while Friday's game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on B1G+.

No. 6 Men’s Hockey Hosts No. 13 Quinnipiac for Season Opener

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Players Mentioned

Brady Berard

Jacob Fowler

Andre Gasseau

Lukas Gustafsson

James Hagens

Michael Hagens

Aidan Hreschuk

Jan Korec

Ryan Leonard

Aram Minnetian

Gabe Perreault

Eamon Powell

Teddy Stiga