Men’s Hockey: Terriers Scratch Eagles with 2-1 Win

By: Jake Reiser

BOSTON, Mass. – The Green Line Rivalry came to life for the first time this season at a sold out Agganis Arena. With the Dog Pound packed to the gills, there was palpable energy in the air as the two rivals in No. 5 Boston University and No. 8 Boston College took to the ice. The game itself was physical as could be, but in the end, it was the Terriers who came away with a 2-1 victory. All the goals were scored in a five-minute span in the second period, while both freshman netminders for each squad stood tall.

Boston University outshot Boston College 15-11 in the first and coming out for the second, it was BU who bulged the twine first. On a Dante Fabbro shot, Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson beat his defender to the net, tipping the puck past Joe Woll for a 1-0 Terriers lead. JFK, now with six goals in his last three games, is seeing the type of scoring reward he deserves, per head coach David Quinn.

Quinn said, “When you keep playing the right way, you get rewarded. I kinda felt bad for him, I thought he had a heck of a first half [of the season], and you look and he’s only got three goals. It’s nice to see he’s getting rewarded, we’re certainly happy that he’s scoring goals because all of a sudden, we look like a different team.”

On a power play, not even two minutes later, the Eagles answered. Quick passing ended in a tic-tac-toe type of a goal, with Colin White the beneficiary. Right away, however, Jordan Greenway drove behind Woll and centered the puck to Clayton Keller, snapping it to the back of the net. While teammates just a week ago in the World Junior Championships, Keller said it was odd to be facing off against BC players who they were hugging just a week ago.

“It’s definitely a little weird,” Keller said. “Just a week ago, we were champions for team USA, it’s definer a little hard to get at, but once you get out there and see the crowd, it gets you going and it’s pretty easy after that.”

With a lead in hand, Quinn believes the team sat back in the third, giving BC too much time and space to take shots. The defense proved fruitful, Jake Oettinger made 33 saves total, including 12 in the third, and carried the Terriers to a win in the end.

“Just a really good win against a really good team…overall, a big win. Any time you beat a team like that, you gotta have to be happy, and we’re certainly happy, but obviously, some we have to clean up going over there on Monday night.,” Quinn said.

Both squads face off against each other once again on Monday, now at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill.