No. 14 Boston College Men's Hockey Surrenders Four Unanswered Goals in Loss at Merrimack
After going up 2-0 in the first period on goals from sophomores James Hagens and Dean Letourneau, No. 14 Boston College men’s hockey surrendered four unanswered to drop its Friday night road matchup at Merrimack by a 4-2 final.
Hagens broke the stalemate at the 8:03 mark of the first period with a one-time snipe from the center of the slot, which marked his 16th goal of the year and 32nd point of the season.
Senior captain Andre Gasseau provided the assist from below the net with a no-look backhand pass.
Gasser with the no-look pass to find Hagens for the one-timer!
— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) February 14, 2026
💻 ESPN+ | https://t.co/fQsMVYPK3a pic.twitter.com/LBFiLZjwKu
Less than three minutes later, fellow sophomore Dean Letourneau ripped a shot from just below the point, which zoomed through the legs of his defender and past the blocker of Merrimack goalie Max Lundgren to put the Eagles (16-10-1, 10-7-0 Hockey East) up 2-0 despite being short-handed.
The goal marked Letourneau’s 17th of the season.
Dean goes top shelf for the shorty!
— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) February 14, 2026
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The Warriors (15-12-1, 8-9-1 Hockey East) began their comeback from the two-goal deficit with 1:38 left to play in the initial frame, as Caelan Fitzpatrick jammed in the puck from right above the crease with 22 seconds left on the power play — Merrimack's third of the period.
Letourneau was positioned in front of the net when the puck came flying at him off a save, but his reaction time when it fell to the ice was too slow, allowing Fitzpatrick to capitalize on the second-chance opportunity.
In total, the Eagles accumulated six penalties in the loss and managed to kill off five of them, but it severely hurt their chances on the offensive end because of the sheer amount of time that was spent behind their own blue line.
With 15:05 left in the second period, Parker Lalonde came swooping into the offensive zone with a man to his right and only one defender protecting BC goalie Louka Cloutier. Instead of dishing off a pass, Lalonde went for the shot, and the puck ricocheted off of Cloutier’s upper padding before dribbling behind him to knot up the score at two apiece.
It marked the second short-handed goal of the game.
Nolan Flamand gave the Warriors their first lead of the game with 9:59 left to play in regulation when he caught Cloutier out of the net on a rebound, and Justin Gill potted the insurance goal only 41 seconds later when he received a flip pass that was lofted from Merrimack's defensive zone.
Two quick ones and we're flying now!
— Merrimack Men’s Hockey (@Merrimack_MIH) February 14, 2026
Watch on @ESPNPlus#GoMack x #MissionMerrimack pic.twitter.com/N6xosTkKzD
Gill slotted the puck right through Cloutier’s five-hole, extending the Warriors' lead to two, which the Eagles could not overcome despite pulling Cloutier from the net with over four minutes remaining.
While BC entered the matchup at No. 12 in NPI — the rankings which determine the eventual 16-team field for the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament — it will likely see a drop after it concludes its two-game series at home on Saturday.
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Graham Dietz is a 2025 graduate of Boston College and subsequently joined Boston College On SI. He previously served as an editor for The Heights, the independent student newspaper, from fall 2021, including as Sports Editor from 2022-23. Graham works for The Boston Globe as a sports correspondent, covering high school football, girls' basketball, and baseball. He was also a beat writer for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2023.
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