Schneider made 23 saves in his college debut, a 3–2 win against the University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks. He was then chosen as the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on October 19, 2004. He later notched his first college shutout against the Yale Bulldogs on January 11, 2005. The following month, he was sidelined for three weeks after tearing the medial collateral ligament of his left knee during a game against the Harvard Crimson on February 14, 2005. Splitting the goaltending duties with senior Matti Kaltiainen, he appeared in 18 games with a 1.90 goals against average (GAA) and a .916 save percentage while finishing with a record of 13 wins, 1 loss and 4 ties. He was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and received Boston College's Bernie Burke Outstanding Freshman Award.