By Leighton Geraghty – Contributor

Jane and Eric Molson arena, home of the Bishop’s Gaiters and the BU Men’s hockey team, recently saw its first university game of the season. The BU men’s hockey team kicked their season off at home, facing off with conference rival, Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Throughout training camp, the team saw new players joining the squad. Eight new faces have been added to the roster alongside a returning player from two years ago, Luke Thorne. After a devastating defeat in Nationals last year, the team has shifted their focus to bouncing back and cementing their names among the best in the AAU. 

The home opener was Saturday, Oct. 5. As both teams took the ice for warmups, the atmosphere was bumping with a white-out theme filling the seats. The puck dropped at 2:30 p.m. as the long-awaited start finally came to play. Bishops started strong, as freshman defenceman Nathan Gagnon scored his first collegiate goal 59 seconds into the game to give BU a 1-0 lead over MMA. Bishops continued to dominate, treating their home crowd to a 7-0 win to start the season off. Transfer goaltender Antimmes Leudiere recorded his first shutout of Bishop’s career. When asked about the energy from the crowd captain Joseph Aubert responded, “It was unbelievable! Having everyone behind us, especially for our first game, gave us the extra push we needed to come away victorious. It really felt like we were playing with an extra man on the ice.” He said, “Having that level of support behind us made a huge difference and we are excited to keep building on this momentum all season.” 

Both teams were back in action the following day for an 11 a.m. puck drop. Bishop’s came out fast as they knew MMA was playing their third game in three days. The match played out much like the first game: BU dominated, utilizing their speed to their advantage. With a new lineup and some injuries from the first game, BU was able to showcase their depth. Luke Thorne, returning from Junior A in the Maritimes, recorded a hat trick in the game. He finished the weekend off with eight points. The game finished 6-1 in favor of Bishop’s as they would move to the top of the conference standings now at 2-0 on the season. 

Now, the Men’s team shifts their focus to their next couple of games. Heading on the road, they will face one of their hardest challenges yet, playing RSEQ division 2 powerhouse, the Concordia Stingers over Thanksgiving weekend. They will be back in league play the following weekend as they travel to Massachusetts to play both Stonehill and Massachusetts Maritime Academy.