No. 2 Eagles Travel to No. 4 Michigan State for Season Opening Weekend

Saturday, October 12

East Lansing, MI

6:00 PM

Boston College

Michigan State

Photo by: Brody Hannon

No. 2 Eagles Travel to No. 4 Michigan State for Season Opening Weekend

October 10, 2024 | Men's Hockey

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BC opens the 2024-25 season with a top-5 matchup

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Second-ranked Boston College begins its 103rd season of men's hockey this weekend with a trip to East Lansing, Michigan to face Michigan State on Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. Friday's game will air live on the Big Ten Network while Saturday's game will stream live on B1G+. Radio coverage on WEEI 850 AM for both games will begin at 5:45 p.m.

Boston College enters the 2024-25 season with seven newcomers to a roster of 27 players, including six freshmen and one transfer. Represented among the newcomers are five forwards, two defensemen and three NHL draft picks.

LEADERS ELECTED
• Graduate defenseman Eamon Powell has been elected to serve as captain of the Eagles for the second-straight season, while seniors Connor Joyce and Mike Posma and sophomore Ryan Leonard will serve as alternate captains
• In 2023-24, Powell finished fourth nationally among defenseman in assists (33) and points (38) en route to being named a Hockey East Second Team All-Star and receiving Hockey East's Len Ceglarski Sportsmanship Award
• Powell was also named to the Hockey East All-Tournament and NCAA Providence All-Regional teams

NATIONAL RANKINGS
• Boston College is currently ranked No. 2 in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey / The Rink Live polls

PRESEASON POLL
• Boston College was selected as the favorite to win Hockey East this season, according to the annual Preseason Coaches' Poll
• The Eagles received nine first-place votes and finished with 109 points in the poll
• Boston University was picked second with one first-place vote and 99 points. Providence received the final first-place vote and finished with 88 points, sitting in third, while Maine (83) was in fourth
• UMass (72), Northeastern (67) and New Hampshire (58) were in fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. UConn (47), UMass Lowell (40), Merrimack (27) and Vermont (20) rounded out the 11-team poll

THREE SELECTED IN NHL DRAFT
• Three incoming Boston College players were selected during the 2024 NHL Draft
• Dean Letourneau became the 26th first round draft pick in program history after being selected 25th overall by the Boston Bruins
• Teddy Stiga and Will Skahan, both from the U.S. National Team Development Program, were selected in the second round
• Stiga was taken 55th by the Nashville Predators, while Skahan was drafted by the Utah Hockey Club with the 65th pick
• This marked the 29th straight year in which Boston College had a draft pick, the longest such streak in college hockey history

THE RETURNERS
• The Eagles return 20 players from last year's team, including four Hockey East All-Stars
• In 2023-24, Jacob Fowler was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award as well as being named Hockey East's Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Year
• Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault finished fourth in the nation in scoring with 60 points
• Fowler, Leonard and Perreault were all named CCM/AHCA All-Americans following their freshman campaigns
• 13 Eagles on this year's team played in at least 33 of the 41 games during the 2023-24 season

A LOOK AT MICHIGAN STATE
• Michigan State enters the weekend with a 2-0-0 record after sweeping Lake Superior State in the opening weekend
• The Spartans are ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com and USA Hockey / The Rink Live polls
• Isaac Howard leads the team in scoring with five points (3-2-5)
• Trey Augustine has a .962 saves percentage with 50 saves and two goals allowed

SERIES HISTORY
• Friday and Saturday mark the 30th and 31st all-time meetings between BC and Michigan State
• Boston College holds an 11-17-1 all-time record in the series
• The Eagles swept the Spartans with 6-4 and 5-1 victories at Kelley Rink during the 2023-24 season

UP NEXT
• BC opens its home slate next weekend with a Friday night matchup against AIC followed by an exhibition on Saturday against USNTDP. Puck drop at Kelley Rink for both games is scheduled for 7 p.m.