Men’s Hockey: Oettinger’s Fourth Shutout Powers Terriers to Sweep of Eagles

BOSTON, Mass. – Just 3.5 miles down Commonwealth Avenue from where then No. 5 Boston University took a 3-1 victory from then No. 8 Boston College, the now No. 3 and No. 10 schools, respectively, took their rivalry to the ice once again at Kelley Rink in Conte Forum. It was another goaltending duel between freshmen Jake Oettinger and Joseph Woll, but in the end, Oettinger stood taller, recording 34 saves in a 3-0 shutout victory.

Scoring wouldn’t get started until the middle of the second period, when on the power play, Patrick Curry got off a back-foot snapper that beat Woll short-side to give BU the lead. Then, quite late in the game on a 5-on-3, Clayton Keller drew Eagle defenders to the middle, and his pass to Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson led to an open one-time shot for the second Terrier tally. With the remaining power play time, Bobo Carpenter potted an empty netter with 14 seconds left to give Boston University a decisive win.

MILESTONES:

• It is the first time the Terriers have swept a home-and-home series against the Eagles since 2002.
• With his goal, Forsbacka-Karlsson now had seven goals in his last four games, giving him 10 on the season.
• With his goal, Curry now has three goals this season.
• With his goal, Carpenter has six goals this season.
• This is the fourth shutout this season for Oettinger
• BU now has a six-game winning streak, its longest of the season and longest since a seven game win streak from 1/8/15-2/13/15

NOTABLE QUOTES:

David Quinn

“Well, a great win. That felt like playoff hockey out there tonight, and there wasn’t a lot of easy ice, two teams competing hard.”

On Patrick Curry

“Pat’s had a great year for us. In a class that got a lot of attention, he didn’t. He’s been a very important part of our team…[Curry] has fit in right from the get-go. He’s a guy that could play on any line, I’d have no trouble playing him on our first and second line either because he’s got skill, soft hands and he works hard.”

On six-game winning streak

“I think we’ve played a more mature game over the last six games, we’re healthy too. We were down [Clayton] Keller, [Ryan] Cloonan, and [Nikolas] Olsson for over a month, and those are three good players. You insert them back into the lineup and all of a sudden, your forward group looks totally different…we’re young, we’re growing, we’re getting more mature, we’re getting better. I think you add all that up, and we’re in the midst of six game winning streak.”

Jake Oettinger

On difference in BC offense Friday versus tonight

“I think the difference was out defense, I think they did a great job of making it easy on me. I don’t think I made any big, grade-A saves, just me doing my job is making simple saves and trying to be calm and be there for the guys.”

The No. 3 Boston University Terriers now face a home-and-home series against the University of Maine Black Bears, starting at Agganis Arena on Friday, January 20^th with a 7:30p.m. puck drop.