It’s about time! Hockey season is finally here. The Boston College men’s hockey team will host the Quinnipiac Bobcats in Conte Forum tonight to open their 2025-26 season. There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding this team, butt also a cautious optimism that they could once again be contenders on the national stage.
Who: #6 Boston College Eagles (0-0) vs #13 Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-0)
Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
When: Friday October 3rd, 2025
Puck Drop Time: 7pm ET
How to Watch: This game will
be streamed live on ESPN+ here
This week, our staff took a minute to go over their hopes and fears for this team in what could be a very exciting season. Take a look: Season Preview: Boston College Men’s Hockey Roundtable
Quinnipiac Preview
- QU has won the ECAC regular season title in six of the last seven seasons. That stretch included an NCAA national championship victory over Minnesota in 2023. They are a well-coached, hard-nosed defensive hockey team that is never easy to beat. And BC knows them well, having faced off against them in the 2023 & 2024 season openers, as well as the 2024 NCAA tournament. BC won two of those three games.
- Last season, the Bobcats lost their conference championship game to Cornell in overtime, and then were eliminated by UConn in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Despite the postseason shortcomings, they were a top-6 offense in the country and a top-10 defense. Although the ECAC is not considered a strong conference, their regular season dominance and recent championship pedigree proves that they can compete at the highest level.
- Quinnipiac returns four of their top five scorers from last season, including star forwards Jeremy Wilmer and Mason Marcellus. They also have some rising defensive talent to replace the blue-liners that they lost, including sophomore Elliott Groenewold, who blocked a shot in 27 consecutive games last season, more than anyone else in Division 1. QU is also bringing in six players from the CHL, a new wrinkle in NCAA roster construction this season.
- Quinnipiac excels on special teams. Their powerplay and penalty kill success rates were both top-3 last season.
What to Watch For
- The top lines need to get it done. It will probably take a little while before the bottom 6 forwards get into a groove, given their youth and struggles last season. BC will need to rely on Hagens, Stiga, Conmy, Gasseau, and Jellvik to get most of the offense going in this game.
- The real debut of Jan Korec. Boston College goaltender Jan Korec has started in a few games up to this point in his career, but now the starting job is officially his. This is a high-pressure game against a good team, so let’s hope that the Slovakian is up to the task.
- Powerplay struggles? We all know that BC struggled on the powerplay last season. Quinnipiac is going to be one of the harder teams to beat in that phase of the game, but if they start out strong, it may inspire confidence for the rest of the season.
Prediction: Boston College 4 Quinnipiac 3 (OT)
These teams always play close and I expect Friday night to be no exception. I’m betting that the Eagles top forwards group overwhelms the rusty Bobcats early in the game to take the lead, but things start to fall apart in the third period. Then finally in overtime, an Eagle gets a puck to the back of the net in a scrum, not unllike the finish to the 2024 NCAA tournament regional final. Go Eagles!
