The simmering men's hockey rivalry between Boston University Terriers and the Cornell Big Red is set to bring a blizzard of excitement to Madison Square Garden, Saturday at 8:00 p.m. The ninth Red Hot Hockey battle promises more than just pucks and sticks; it's an age-old feud where no love is lost. And that's not just us speaking; that's the real McCoy. In a nail-biting saga, BU took the trophy twice last season, edging out Cornell by just one goal in each face-off, keeping fans on the tips of their skates till the final horn.
Even the coaches are amped for this not-to-be-missed rink rumble. "It’ll be a lot of fun for our guys," Jay Pandolfo, BU's head honcho on the ice told Boston University. The game is more than a match; it's a showcase for fresh Boston blood to slice through NHL-quality ice before they take on the Beanpot and, dare we say, eye the national glint at the Xcel Energy Center later down the line.
History is in the making with a rivalry that dates back to a frosty day in Ithaca, 1925. BU's been the conquering titan thrice in this biennial bash, but the Big Red's had the upper hand recently, and just last year left the Terriers licking their wounds in a 6-4 victory that had over 13,000 fans roaring like the winter wind. But this ain't your older sibling's hockey game; it's a fresh-faced BU lineup, with only six of the fellows having felt the heat of Red Hot Hockey back in 2021.
The eyes of the hockey world are on Macklin Celebrini, a hotshot freshman whose stick smokes the ice with a staggering 22 points, making him the talk of the town in college hockey. Celebrini and his brethren at BU are sharpening their blades, having surged to a mighty 8-3-1 record this season, putting them fifth in the nation. You don't need to tell Cornell they're up against a formidable foe; they're laced up and ready, skating off an impressive sweep against the University of Minnesota Duluth themselves.
Last winter's thriller saw BU snag the glory with a victory margin thinner than ice, as Lane Hutson netted a last-second winner, leaving the Big Red burned in a 4-3 scorch at Agganis Arena. And when the stakes were sky-high in the NCAA Regional Final, it was BU with 2-1, stamping their ticket to the Frozen Four festivities. As Pandolfo put it in his words to Boston University, "We had a couple of really great games against them last year."
