Terriers Push Unbeaten Streak to Six With Sweep of Arizona State

By: Jarett Leonard

TEMPE, Ariz. — In the first ever meetings between Boston University and Arizona State, the Terriers extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a weekend sweep of the Sun Devils.

Bobo Carpenter’s second hat trick of the season highlighted an offensive explosion for BU (13-11-2, 9-7-2 Hockey East) in game one at Gila River Arena, but things were not so easy the next night back at the home of the Sun Devils (7-16-5).

A fast start by ASU was stalled 4:12 into game one when Johnny Walker, one of the team’s leading scorers, was called for a major penalty and a game misconduct. It took just over three minutes of the man advantage for Carpenter to open the scoring, deflecting home a Brandon Hickey shot on the power play.

More than 10 minutes passed before BU struck again, but a Hank Crone goal opened the floodgates for the Terriers. After Crone’s second of the year, Brady Tkachuk and Shane Bowers added two more tallies within 21 seconds of each other as the Terriers took a 4-0 lead after the opening frame.

Carpenter began the middle period just as he did the first, as his second of the night extended BU’s advantage to five. Chase Phelps’s first goal of the year made that six before Tkachuk added his second of the contest for a 7-0 lead after two periods.

With a third period goal, Carpenter recorded his second hat trick of the season, netting a goal in each period just as he did at Connecticut in October. It also marked Carpenter’s second consecutive multi-goal game and his fifth of the season.

Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for his third shutout. On the other end, Joey Daccord allowed seven goals on 27 shots before Mike DePhillips entered the game for the third period and allowed one goal.

The 8-0 win reversed a recent trend of tightly contested games, but Coach David Quinn knew Saturday’s game at Oceanside Ice Arena would be different, and he was right.

BU started strong, but it didn’t last in game two like it did the night before. Up 2-0 after a period on a power play drive by Brandon Hickey and a strike from Dante Fabbro, the Sun Devils quickly answered in the second period.

On the power play, Walker connected on a one-timer from the left circle on a cross-ice feed from Brett Gruber. Then with Arizona State shorthanded, Jacob Wilson’s wrist shot from the high slot eluded Oettinger as the Sun Devils tied the game 2-2.

But the lead did not last long. Just 19 seconds later, Brien Diffley recorded his first goal of the season, sneaking a shot from the left side past Daccord to put BU in front.

In the third period, the Terriers added some insurance, and that turned out to be crucial. Just about nine minutes into the frame, Patrick Curry fed Shane Bowers in the slot, and after his initial chance was denied, Bowers stayed with it to put it right back toward the net. As the puck slid toward the line, Daccord reached with his arm in an attempt to make the save, and the officials ruled he kept it out. But after a lengthy review, the officials ruled the puck crossed the line, and Bowers had given the Terriers a 4-2 lead.

Arizona State earned a power play chance late in the third and took full advantage, as Brinson Pasichnuk’s drive was deflected in by David Norris to bring the Sun Devils within one. But Oettinger (18 saves) and the Terriers shut the door from there to escape with a 4-3 victory and a series sweep.

The Terriers entered last weekend without a weekend sweep on the season and without consecutive wins since the first two games of the season, but four straight victories have BU right back on track.

A trip to the Mullins Center is next as the Terriers return to Hockey East play against UMass on Friday, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.