Are you ready for some hockey? The Boston College men’s hockey season gets underway on Friday night when the Eagles host the Alaska Nanooks at Conte Forum for a one-off game.
Who: Boston College Eagles (0-0-0) vs Alaska Nanooks (0-2-0)
Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
When: Friday October 7, 2026
Puck Drop Time: 7pm ET
How to Watch: This game will be streamed live on ESPN+
Alaska spent last weekend getting swept by Boston University down the street. They kept it close throughout both games, going
to OT in game 1 and staying tied at 0-0 through the first two periods of game 2. But they lost both contests and now must face BC on Friday and Union on Saturday to try to earn their first win of the young season.
Alaska was a solid team and finished #35 in Pairwise last season, leading all independent programs. They’ve steadily improved under head coach Erik Largen, who took them from winless seasons in 2019 and 2020 back up to a respectable independent. But they lost five of their top six scorers from that roster in 2026, including two transfer-outs, with only sophomore Rylen Roersma (9 goals, 13 assists) returning. To fill in those gaps they added a few players in the transfer portal, including Mercyhurst’s Dominik Bartecko (8 goals, 9 assists) and Stonehill’s Joel Lehtinen (6 goals, 9 assists). But that previous production seems unlikely to be met again by this year’s squad, and a downturn is to be expected unless they get a major breakthrough with a few of their recruits.
On Boston College’s side, it will first be most interesting to see who starts at goalie for the Eagles. Returning starter sophomore Louka Cloutier got the start in the exhibition game against Michigan State, but the staff also brought in freshman Leo Henriquez from the USHL. I would guess that Cloutier starts the season, but he could very easily enter into a timeshare. As a freshman Cloutier was a middle-of-the-pack goalie in Hockey East for a school that is used having top-tier players in front of their net. It’s worth testing out Henriquez to see what they have.
Otherwise, I will mostly be just feeling out the offense on Friday night. Can they generate consistent pressure? Who is taking the scoring initiative? With a wide open forwards group led by Dean Letourneau, Oscar Hemming, Teddy Stiga, Casey Mutryn and more, I can’t wait to see who pops. And BC is heavily favored in this game, so I hope I won’t get to see too much of the defense.
Prediction: Boston College 4 Alaska 1
