The Eagles’ 2024–25 season ended with a loss to Denver in the NCAA regional final. (Sarah Fleming / Heights Editor)
Maybe there’s something about winning so much that makes losing a little more painful—particularly when that loss comes on the biggest stage.
Luckily for No. 6 Boston College men’s hockey, six of the players on its 2025–26 roster have no memory of last year’s 3–1 loss in the regional final to Denver.
“Everyone understands what we lost,” BC head coach Greg Brown said.
And while that was painful—for the team and for its optimistic fans yearning for the team’s first championship since 2012—BC has a very hard time staying irrelevant, even when it loses.
Led by Brown, the program snags top recruits year after year. And though many of those recruits don’t play a full four years at BC, Brown and his staff have been known to replenish their stock of stars—and do it well.
Every year is championship or bust.
The Eagles’ season begins on Friday with a home matchup against Quinnipiac. While some familiar faces will certainly take the ice, names like Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault, and Jacob Fowler will be missing. Who will step into those players’ roles? And will they be successful in trying?
The Heights answers those questions and more in this year’s preview:
Who’s in the Net?
Perhaps the biggest question mark on this year’s roster is how the Eagles’ goaltending will hold up.
Junior Jan Korec will presumably start. Although he hasn’t gotten much time in his last two years at BC, that has much to do with the fact that BC had one of the best goaltenders in college hockey.
“When you have Jacob [Fowler], it’s like a security blanket,” Brown said.
Now that Fowler is working to earn a roster spot for the NHL’s Canadiens, the Eagles’ defense will certainly be tested. That security blanket is gone, and it’s doubtful that Korec will dominate right away. The Eagles’ back line will certainly be more alert, knowing that Fowler isn’t behind them to stop pucks.
Korec stepped in after Fowler threw a punch and was ejected in the Eagles’ 5–4 loss to UConn last season. That loss had less to do with Korec’s play and more to do with Fowler allowing three goals in less than five minutes—a rare glimpse of weakness from him.
Korec started the following game as well, stopping 24 total shots to help lead BC past then-No. 11 Providence. He also posted a 22-save shutout on Jan. 31 in a 4–0 win over UMass Lowell.
“In his limited game time, he’s been very good, so we’re comfortable and confident that he’ll be able to step into a bigger role,” Brown said.
The junior out of Bratislava, Slovakia, certainly isn’t a bad choice as far as goalkeepers go. But it’s unlikely he will be able to get the Eagles out of tough situations in the same way Fowler did, which puts more pressure on the defense to perform.
Crucial Pieces: Hagens and Stiga Lead Returners
James Hagens and Teddy Stiga are perhaps the two most important pieces of this year’s team.
Hagens, who the Bruins selected seventh overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team last season after putting up 11 goals and 26 assists, as well as registering a plus-21 rating.
“I think last year was probably tougher than he ever let on, as far as having that draft hanging over his head the whole time,” Brown said. “This year, so far, it looks like he doesn’t have all that weight hanging over him.”
Hagens is no stranger to a big moment—he scored the game-winning goal in the Eagles’ win over Bentley in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
He was also able to get off to a hot start last year, tallying a point in each of the first seven games of the season.
Starting strong will be key to this year’s team, where some star power will certainly be missed.
“He matured very well,” Brown said. “He’s [been] a little more vocal, a little more assertive, as far as leadership and wanting to be a big part of it, so we’re excited for him. I think all the attention he had last year would be hard for anybody to go through. So it’s good to have the draft and all that behind him, and now he can focus a little more on just being a hockey player.”
Stiga was also named to the Hockey East All-Rookie team last season after posting 30 points off 14 goals and 16 assists. The forward out of Sudbury, Mass., posted seven multi-point games and was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Month back in January.
Stiga was selected 55th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. And although he doesn’t have the top-10 selection badge that a surprising number of Eagles have worn in the last few years, Stiga has proven his ability as a difference-maker.
The future Nashville Predator was hit with some major shifts in his positioning during critical points last year, but that never phased him.
Entering a top-10 matchup versus UMass Lowell in December, the Eagles were without defensemen Eamon Powell and Lukas Gustafsson, so Brown bumped Stiga back to defense for the time being.
And simply put, he did his job—nothing you would see on the scoresheet, but he had plenty of NHL scouts excited about the defensive effort he put forth as a pure forward.
It’s safe to say, though, Stiga won’t be needed on the blue line this year, barring any unexpected injuries.
Familiar names in Aram Minnetian, Drew Fortescue, and Nolan Joyce return for their third year as a part of the defense, and Gustafsson was given the “C” as he enters his fourth year.
These players provide the necessary leadership that this team needs after losing such “big” pieces, but more importantly—well, it sounds pretty obvious—they are relentless defenders.
BC’s Hockey East–best 65 goals allowed and 89.8 penalty-kill percentage from last year is not an unrealistic expectation for this defensive unit to replicate—but it’s more important than ever that these upperclassmen perform well for their first new goaltender since 2023.
Andre Gasseau and Oskar Jellvik—a combined 43 points—round out the senior leadership on the forward side, and sophomores Dean Letourneau and Jake Sondreal will look to complement them as they seek their own breakout seasons.
The 6-foot-7 Letourneau, who was drafted with the 25th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Bruins, had a quiet freshman season, tallying three assists in 36 games. But according to Brown, he could be poised for a breakout year.
“Dean’s put on a ton of strength this year—his weightlifting numbers are way up,” Brown said. “He’s looked more confident on the ice. You can tell that he feels more comfortable with all that added strength. Hopefully, it’ll come right away, but you can see that the progress is definitely there. We’re excited—hopefully he gets that first goal early and can relax even more and be comfortable being the player that he has been his whole life.”
Looking Fresh
The Eagles have six freshmen on this season’s roster. Brown said that they are all thinking at the right pace—that is, the pace of college hockey. Processing the game quickly enough is where many players struggle at first.
“With freshmen, you’re always cautious and not trying to give them too much,” Brown said. “But so far they’ve all looked very comfortable, at least in practice. Again, it’ll all be a new experience when the lights go on, but so far it’s been very promising.”
Louka Cloutier, a goalie out of Quebec, will most likely back up Korec in the net.
Cloutier was selected in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Draft by the Colorado Avalanche and has played with the Chicago Steel of the USHL for the past two seasons. Last year, he posted a .882 save percentage through 31 games.
Forward Will Moore was drafted 51st overall in the 2025 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins. He’s skated with the U.S. National Team Development Program for the past couple of seasons, scoring 27 goals and tallying 32 assists last season.
Kristian Kostadinski is a 6-foot-6, 235-lb defenseman from Sweden who was selected in the 2023 NHL Draft, also by the Bruins. He has represented Sweden in U18, U19, and U20 competitions and played at the USHL’s Dubuque last season.
“[Kostadinski] really understands what his identity is,” Brown said. “He finishes his checks, he plays physically, he moves pucks quickly, doesn’t try to overhandle it. He’s been able to keep great gaps, which is always a hard thing when you step from junior to college with the increased speed. So his positioning has looked very good.”
Gavin Cornforth, a Boston native, has skated for Dubuque for the past three seasons. He posted career-highs of 54 points, 27 goals, and 27 assists in 2024–25.
Slovakia defenseman Luka Radivojevic played with the USHL’s Muskegon last season, scoring three goals and racking up 19 assists in 38 games. He also represented Slovakia in the 2024 and 2025 IHF World Junior Championships.
“He’s very good with the puck—jumps into plays as often as he can,” Brown said of Radivojevic. “Learning how to defend bigger, older guys is going to be where he has been adapting over the [last] two weeks, but that’s where he’ll have to keep going. As much as he wants to be tenacious, there are some battles he’s going to have to fight with his brain instead of trying to be physical.”
Breaking Down the Schedule
Oct. 3 vs. No. 13 Quinnipiac
BC opens up its season at home against the 2023 National Champions, Quinnipiac.
The ECAC school finished 12 games above .500 last season and lost its first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament. This will be a good test for an Eagles team that sports plenty of new faces, and a packed Conte Forum for opening night will make it all the better.
“The first 10 minutes of the game against Quinnipiac will be a real eye-opener,” Brown said. “The best we can do is try and practice at game pace, have game intensity. And hopefully when they do jump out there in the real jerseys, at least they’ve been comfortable with the pace we’ve been at for the last month.”
Oct. 9/10 at No. 7 Minnesota
This is the Eagles’ first matchup versus the Golden Gophers since 2016, and they haven’t beaten them since their 6–1 win in 2012 to advance to the national championship.
Although neither game will be in Chestnut Hill, keep your eye on Minnesota freshman L.J. Mooney, a heavily touted USNTDP prospect and cousin of Utah Mammoth forward Logan Cooley. No matter which way these games swing, it should be a good show.
Oct. 24 vs. No. 4 Denver
The Eagles’ last two seasons have ended at the hands of the Pioneers. There’s undoubtedly some bad blood between these schools when it comes to the ice.
All there is to say about this game: Be there.
Nov. 21/22 vs. No. 8 Maine
Maine gave BC one of its more memorable games last year after conceding three third-period goals for a 3–2 win in a top-five matchup. And this year’s games versus the Black Bears will be the first of the Eagles’ toughest Hockey East series on the schedule.
Nov. 28 vs. Notre Dame
With not much hope going into this year’s Holy War on the gridiron, at least BC has a shot in Conte.
After not having a matchup last year, some tension has built up between the rivals, setting up this Thanksgiving weekend game to be a toss-up, even though the Fighting Irish enter without a ranking.
Dec. 28 vs. No. 1 Western Michigan
Western Michigan’s 6–2 win over Boston University last season captured its first-ever National Championship, and it enters this year with all the hype.
But don’t let that No. 1 in front of its name fool you—things are bound to flip around come December, and it’ll be no surprise if BC jumps in front of the Broncos by then. Still, the Eagles shouldn’t take the NCHC squad lightly, as there’s no Ryan Leonard to save the day like last year.
Feb. 2 vs. Harvard (Beanpot)
The Eagles have a chance to repeat last year’s 8–2 Beanpot semifinal performance with Harvard up at the plate for the 2026 edition.
Not to get ahead of themselves, but another Battle of Comm. Ave. in the Beanpot final is on the horizon, and a dominant win over the Crimson is crucial to capturing BC’s first title since 2016.
Feb. 28 vs. No. 2 BU
Speaking of the Battle of Comm. Ave., although this isn’t the first time the rivals will meet during the season, the Feb. 28 matchup is the first at Conte Forum.
This is BC’s third-to-last game of the season, and a win will help them ride into the postseason with momentum. At the same time, a loss can point out where the Eagles need to improve before entering the Hockey East playoffs with vengeance.
Heights Editors’ Predictions
FitzGerald:
I expect BC to remain in the No. 3–6 range for a large portion of the season, splitting more Hockey East series than last year and dropping a few out-of-conference games.
What makes the most sense is losses to Minnesota, Denver, Maine, BU, Western Michigan, and possible splits with UMass Lowell, No. 9 Providence, and No. 10 Connecticut.
It’s tough to replicate a four-loss conference record, and now with a new face between the pipes and last year’s stars off to the NHL, a regular-season drop-off wouldn’t be surprising—I predict the loss total to be between 12 and 15.
With that being said, I also expect a Frozen Four appearance. So call it a slight reverse of the 2024–25 season.
Only a few teams concern me down the stretch: No. 5 Penn State, BU, and, of course, Denver. Last season’s surprise, the Nittany Lions, got even scarier by holding on to 2025 Hobey Baker–candidate Aiden Fink and adding projected No. 1 overall draft pick Gavin McKenna.
I predict Hagens and Stiga to meet their high expectations, impressively pairing up for 40-point seasons. Gasseau, Jellvik, and Will Vote shouldn’t be far behind, comfortably hitting the 20-point mark and beyond.
If I were to give one (kind of) bold prediction: Letourneau hits 15–20 goals on the season. Sure, this shouldn’t be considered that bold, considering he had 61 goals and 127 points before entering the Heights with St. Andrew’s College, one of Canada’s premier prep schools.
But expect him to find a lot more goal-scoring opportunities, as he’ll be paired more frequently with playmakers like Hagens and Stiga. That means he can find the spots in front of the net he’s most comfortable in and use his 6-foot-7 frame to his advantage.
I don’t want to say much on the major milestones—Beanpot, Hockey East finals, and the Frozen Four—because it’s easy to say they could win it every year, and actually putting it into words just sets everyone up for disappointment, no matter if you believe in superstitions.
So let’s just go with two out of three of those. Not going to say which, but after going 0 for 3 last year, the Eagles are bound for a little more success.
Stefanoudakis:
Without flashy names—besides Hagens and maybe Stiga—it’s easy to think that the Eagles will be underwhelming this season. The core of veteran players will keep BC in the mix, though.
Brady Berard, Fortescue, Gustafsson, Jellvik, Minnetian, and Gasseau are all reliable pieces that BC can count on to do the small things, night in and night out. That’s more important than many might think.
I think the Eagles will come away from opening night 1–0. To fast forward a bit, a loss to currently No. 4-ranked Denver would not be surprising, especially since it comes relatively early in the season.
But it’s a home game, and the fans will certainly show out, so I wouldn’t count the Eagles out quite yet. Brown even said that the Eagles’ challenging start to the season is a blessing in disguise.
“The intensity and the excitement in training camp has been able to stay high because the guys know what’s ahead of them early on,” Brown said.
The back-to-back series against Maine at the end of November also has a strong shot at being a split series, and the end-of-year matchup against Western Michigan during Christmas break will probably be a loss as well, if not a very close win.
Some losses against title-contending teams aren’t enough to derail the Eagles’ season, though. Coming off a disappointing end to last season, BC is more eager than ever to prove itself.
With a young, fresh team, led by a smattering of reliable older pieces with painful memories of last season’s lost chances, the Eagles just might be able to do it.