PREVIEW: For first time since 2018, BU men's hockey will play for the Belpot in the Friendship Four

Yesterday at 06:11 PM

It's Belpot — not to be confused with Beanpot — season.

The Boston University men's hockey team, along with Merrimack, Harvard and Notre Dame, has traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the biennial Friendship Four tournament.

For the first time this season, the No. 13 Terriers (6-5-1, 3-2-1 Hockey East) will compete for a trophy — and the first time since 2018 that they have a chance to win the Belpot Trophy.

BU will take on the Warriors (3-7-1, 2-4-1 HE) for one spot in the championship game, and the Crimson (2-3-1, 2-2-1 ECAC) will take on the Fighting Irish (5-9-0, 1-7-0 B1G) for the other.

The Terriers' opener against Merrimack on Friday will be a conference game — Hockey East points are on the line.

The league combatants met last on Nov. 22, when the Terriers won 6-3 at Agganis Arena. Head coach Jay Pandalfo wasn't pleased with the effort, even in the win.

BU and Merrimack play first on Friday at 2 p.m. local time and 9 a.m. EST at SSE Arena in Belfast. Harvard and Notre Dame will follow at 7 p.m. local and 2 p.m. EST. Winners will square off on Saturday at 7 p.m. local and 2 p.m. EST. The third-place game will take place at 3 p.m. local and 10 a.m. EST.

Here's what you need to know.

Effort a question mark?

Pandoflo was quick in his postgame press conference after Friday's win.

"Don't play the right way, do everything you can to try to lose. That's what it looked like to me," he said of his team. "It's just disappointing, our effort more than anything, and that's the difficult thing to watch."

Friday games haven't treated BU well in the United States, so who knows how the Terriers will look when the puck drops on Friday across the pond?

The third-year head coach is still unsure why his team struggles to start games fast, and seemingly neither do his players. Everyone is still looking for answers. Let's see if playing for a trophy gets them up.

What will the lines look like?

Whether it's been injuries or inconsistent play, BU's lines have been ever-changing. Certain groups have looked solid over stretches; there's been a lack of consistent offense from any line.

Pandolfo has made in-game changes on several occasions, including moving freshman forward Cole Eiserman to the top line last Friday — a move that proved to be critical with Eiserman scoring twice.

"I had to change something," Pandolfo said afterwards.

It's fair to assume that he'll be doing more of the same until a group proves itself worth not splitting up.

Scouting the Warriors

Not much has changed here.

Merrimack still struggles to find the back of the net, scoring only twice per game on average, good for last in Hockey East and tied for 55th in the nation.

Junior defenseman Zach Bookman (goal, four assists) and sophomore forward Ethan Bono (three goals, two assists) lead the Warriors with five points apiece.

Sophomore Max Lundgren has started six games in net, posting a .880 save percentage, and is allowing 3.49 goals per game between the pipes.

Even though Merrimack killed off BU's only power play last Friday, the Warriors are killing penalties at a 67.6 percent clip, still the second-worst mark in the country.

Scouting the Crimson

Harvard peppers opposing goalies, putting 34.8 shots on goal per game, tied for the third-best mark nationwide. It does struggle to finish those chances, only scoring 2.5 goals per game, tied for 35th best in college hockey.

First-year forward Mick Thompson is the only Crimson player averaging a point per game, with seven (two goals, five assists) in six games.

Junior Aku Koskenvuo has started all six games for Harvard this season. In Oct. 19's exhibition against the Terriers, Koskenvuo stopped 31 of 33 shots. In his six regular season outings, he's posted a .906 save percentage and is allowing 2.65 goals per game.

Scouting the Fighting Irish

Sophomore forward Cole Knuble leads Notre Dame with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) through 11 games. Junior forward Justin Janicke has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) through 13 games, only trailing Knuble.

Junior Owen Say has started nine games in goal for the Fighting Irish, posting a .926 save percentage with a 2.72 goals against average. His team hasn't done him many favors, as Notre Dame allows 35.9 shots on goals per game, tied for the second-most in the country.

The Fighting Irish have played six straight games against top-10 opponents, losing all six to Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota.