Every year we have to wait quite a long time for the Boston College men’s hockey team to announce their full schedule, usually deep into August. But with basically every Hockey East and non-conference opponent having already announced their own schedule, we can piece together what the Eagles’ 2025-26 slate will look like. Plus, CHN has made it very easy to access on their website anyway. So let’s take a look!
October
- Friday 10/3 vs Quinnipiac
- Thursday 10/9 @ Minnesota
- Friday 10/10 @ Minnesota
- Friday 10/17 @ Rensselaer
- Friday 10/24 vs Denver
- Thursday 10/30 vs Northeastern
- Friday 10/31 @ Northeastern
The season does not start out easy for the Eagles. They begin 2025 just like they begun both 2022 and 2023, with a solo match-up against Quinnipiac. QU beat BC in the first of these season openers on their way to the program’s first ever national title in 2023. BC then came back the next season and ruined QU’s banner night in overtime, and then later beat them again in the NCAA Tournament on the way to the 2024 Frozen Four. The Bobcats are always a tough opponent these days and are expected to be a top-20 team in the country yet again this season.
Then comes a road trip to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the State of Hockey (ew). Minny will have their usual high-flying Big Ten offense and should be a very difficult team to beat at their home rink, Mariucci. If BC can manage even just one win out of that weekend then I’d be very happy.
After a pit stop in upstate New York against RPI, BC will then host the evil Denver Pioneers. Thankfully the despicable Matt Davis has moved on to the NHL, but DU should still be a national title contender and will be a very tough team to beat. Then the Eagles will have their first series against a local rival when they take on Northeastern during Halloweekend.
This is pretty much a murderer’s row in non-conference to start the season. Plus, BC is expected to take a step back in the fall after losing their top scorers, elite goaltender, and team captain on defense. That being said, though, I still believe this team can compete for an NCAA Tournament spot and won’t just roll over at the first sign of trouble. 4 games against Quinnipiac, Minnesota, and Denver might be a slog to get through to start this new era, but we will at least get an idea of what these guys can do very early on.
November
- Friday 11/7 @ Vermont
- Saturday 11/8 @ Vermont
- Friday 11/14 vs Massachusetts
- Saturday 11/15 @ Massachusetts
- Friday 11/21 vs Maine
- Saturday 11/22 vs Maine
- Friday 11/28 vs Notre Dame
Hockey East play starts in earnest in November. After those early games against Northeastern and @ UVM, BC will get right into the thick of things against UMass and Maine, both of whom finished as top-10 teams nationally last season. The Eagles will already be battle-tested when they enter these important series, and luckily they get Maine at home for the second year in a row. And then a rivalry game against Notre Dame on the day after Thanksgiving should be a treat to watch.
December
- Friday 12/5 @ Mass.-Lowell
- Saturday 12/6 vs Mass.-Lowell
- Sunday 12/28 vs TBD (Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off)
- Monday 12/29 vs TBD (Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off)
Fall semester will end with a home-and-home against UMass Lowell. Then BC will end the calendar year in Milwaukee when they compete in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off against Wisconsin, Lake Superior State, and reigning national champions Western Michigan. WMU will obviously be a formidable opponent, but Wisconsin is pretty much a wild card in any given year and LSSU hasn’t had a winning season in since 2021.
January
- Friday 1/16 vs Providence
- Saturday 1/17 @ Providence
- Friday 1/23 vs New Hampshire
- Saturday 1/24 @ New Hampshire
- Friday 1/30 @ Boston University
Early January may see an exhibition match-up against Stonehill during the winter break. Then we get a nice set of home-and-homes against PC and UNH to kick off the spring semester. PC is always difficult to play and UNH has had a real resurgence these past few seasons, so the Eagles won’t be getting much of a break as they roll into the new year. Hopefully we’ll see some excitement start to pick up here as BC enters the most crucial part of the regular season.
The real jewel of January is that first match-up against BU at Agganis. The Terriers are bringing in a slew of good prospects, including four freshmen who played for the USNTDP last season. They also saw sophomore defenseman Sascha Boumedienne taken in the first round of this year’s NHL Draft, making him the fourth first rounder on BU’s roster, adding to the likes of Cole Eiserman, Sacha Boisvert, and Tom Willander. BC will have their hands full with their archrivals this season.
February
- Monday 2/2 vs Harvard (Beanpot Round 1)
- Friday 2/6 vs Vermont
- Monday 2/9 vs TBD (Beanpot Round 2)
- Friday 2/13 @ Merrimack
- Saturday 2/14 vs Merrimack
- Friday 2/20 vs Connecticut
- Saturday 2/21 @ Connecticut
- Friday 2/27 @ Boston University
- Saturday 2/28 vs Boston University
February. February is where it will all come together or it will all fall apart. This is the home stretch for BC to push for a good pairwise ranking and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. It also will feature the Beanpot (which they haven’t win since 2016) and the hotly anticipated home-and-home series with archrival Boston University. These are the games that will matter the most to fans before we reach the postseason.
The Eagles will also have to face the UConn Huskies, who nearly made the Frozen Four last season and have Greg Brown’s old BC benchmate Mike Cavanaugh as their head coach. February should be a difficult stretch that could make or break BC’s season.
March
- Thursday 3/5 @ Massachusetts
- Saturday 3/7 vs Northeastern
Boston College will wrap up their season with standalone games against UMass and Northeastern in early March. By then, we’ll have a good idea if the Eagles will be competitive for a Hockey East title and exactly what they need to do to get into the NCAA Tournament, whether it’s through a conference tournament autobid or an at-large.
Big Picture
It’s good that Hockey East is such a talented conference these days. But when BC falls off of the pedestal they’ve been perched upon for the last two seasons, those tough conference opponents start to look a little more daunting. As Boston College finds their footing in what may end up being a transition year, I’m expecting (and hoping) that they are able to stay competitive with their peers and win some meaningful games. Or at least a Beanpot, for god’s sake.