Cole Hutson will play for the 2025 NCAA National Championship after helping Boston University down Penn State 3-1 in the Frozen Four on Thursday night. The Terriers will play Western Michigan for the championship at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday.
Hutson, a 2024 second-round pick of the Washington Capitals, added to his incredible freshman season by assisting on the eventual game-winning tally, a strike from New York Islanders’ prospect Cole Eiserman. The 18-year-old defender made a deft move around a forechecker in BU’s zone to start a 2-on-1 rush with Eiserman before eventually sliding a perfect feed to the sharpshooter to put the Terriers up 2-0 in the second period.
Hutson now has seven points (2g, 5a) in his three NCAA Tournament games for the Terriers this year. The clutch assist also gives him 47 points (14g, 33a) in 38 total games this season.
The St. Louis native also drew a two-minute roughing minor penalty on Penn State’s Reese Laubach with 51 seconds remaining in regulation to seal his team’s victory.
“It was fun,” Hutson told ESPN postgame. “They play hard. They’re a real fast team. I think that was one of our best games of the year, and our team found a way.
“We got a big game tomorrow (Saturday), and hopefully, we can bring it home. Honestly, I’m getting chills right now just thinking about it.”
Hutson’s seven points in his first three NCAA Tournament games are already more than his older brother, Lane Hutson, achieved for the Terriers during his college career. Per BU Hockey Stats, Lane only recorded four points in six tournament games. The Montreal Canadiens defenseman leads all NHL rookies in scoring this year with 64 points (6g, 58a) in 78 games.
The Terriers have won five titles in the past, with their last coming in 2009 against the Miami (OH) Redhawks. BU won 4-3 in overtime at the then Verizon Center in Washington DC, with future Capitals defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk providing the primary assist on Colby Cohen’s game-winning goal.
