By Chloe Wojtanik
Boston University News Service
Boston University Terriers Men’s Hockey lost 2-1 to the Cornell Big Red in their annual Red Hot Hockey matchup at Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 25, 2023.
After a quiet and scoreless first period, Boston University opened the scoring in the second period when freshman Doug Grimes netted the first goal of his collegiate career, giving the Terriers a 1-0 lead. Freshman Shane Lachance got the assist on Grimes’ goal, moving his point total to 14 this season.
BU held the 1-0 lead as the game headed into the third period, but the Terriers wouldn’t hold on for long as Cornell freshman Ryan Walsh capitalized on the powerplay, scoring his fourth goal of the season to tie the score at 1-1 with nearly 16 minutes to go in the game.
The tie would only hold for roughly five minutes before Cornell junior Ondrej Psenicka scored what would soon be the game-winning goal for the Big Red. Psenicka’s goal gave Cornell a 2-1 lead and the Big Red never looked back, shutting down BU’s offense to hold that score for the win.
This loss came as a major disappointment to BU, who came into NYC on a five-game winning streak. BU came into the game as the favorites to win as the team was ranked number 5 in the NCAA polls versus Cornell’s number 16 ranking.
“Overall, I liked the effort from our group but we just couldn’t find a way to win,” Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said as he addressed the media after the loss.
Despite the game being played in New York City and it being held over Thanksgiving break, BU hockey’s most faithful fans still showed up to support their beloved team.
“I traveled over two hours via car and train just to be here to support Boston University,” BU junior Maddux Cook said. “I love supporting this hockey team no matter where or when they’re playing.”
Cook stood in BU’s student section along with many other BU students, alumni and families– and, of course, the lovable BU pep band. Even though this student section was over 200 miles away from BU’s campus, these loyal fans still sang their hearts out to BU’s most famous chants.
This year’s game was the ninth edition of Red Hot Hockey, a tradition that began in 2007. BU has won the event three times but Cornell has had all the luck in recent years, winning the four most recent games– including this year.
The Boston University Terriers will look to get back in the win column this upcoming weekend as they face the Merrimack Warriors in a two-game series, with one game being played at Merrimack’s home rink and the other being played at BU’s Agganis Arena.
