Men’s Hockey: Terriers set for two games with No. 6 Massachusetts
By Patrick Donnelly
After opening their season with a series split against No. 16 Providence College, the Boston University Terriers (1-1-0) will square off with No. 6 Massachusetts (9-3-1) in a two-game series set for Sunday, Jan. 17, and Monday, Jan. 18.
It was a chaotic week for the Terriers and Minutemen. UMass had its game with Providence on Wednesday called off, before it was announced the series with BU would not be played as scheduled on Friday and Saturday. The official announcement that the series will be played did not come until Saturday morning.
“I think both schools used great caution and communication, those are probably the two most important things as far as trying to sort things out to play,” BU head coach Albie O’Connell said. “We’re just we’re just really excited as a team to have the opportunity to play again.”
The Minutemen currently lead the conference, and are riding a seven-game win streak coming into this series. UMass also holds a 7-1-0 record at home this season to go with a measly 2-2-1 mark on the road.
Junior forward Bobby Trivigno has paced UMass through their first 13 games, posting five goals and 13 assists for 18 points. Sophomore defenseman Matthew Kessel is also scoring at a point per game clip for the Minutemen with 8-6-14 numbers. Also among the slew of potent attackers for UMass is graduate transfer forward Carson Gicewicz, who has 12 points (8g, 4a) on the year.
In goal, the Minutemen boast one of the best goaltending tandems in the league with senior Matt Murray and junior Filip Lindberg. Lindberg has not had the strongest of starts in net with a 3.45 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage to go along with a 0-1-1 record in two appearcances.
However, Murray has been a force this season for UMass. The 6-foot-1, 194 pound netminder holds a 9-2-0 record, three shutouts, a 1.64 GAA and a .928 save percentage.
“I think we’re gonna have to have our best to beat [UMass],” O’Connell said. “They play really, really competitive in all three zones, really good on faceoffs and special teams this year – light years better especially on the power play than last year.”
For the Terriers, junior assistant captain David Farrance picked up right where he left off last season with a goal and three assists in last weekend’s series, including a three-point effort (1g, 2a) in Saturday’s contest. Sophomore transfer Jay O’Brien made his presence known with a goal in the season-opener before posting a goal and a helper on Saturday. For senior captain Logan Cockerill, the Terriers hope his two-goal effort in the win at Providence can get him going after an injury-marred season last year.
“[O’Brien] was pretty good [last weekend],” O’Connell said. “On balance he played pretty well and he was on the scoresheet, which is positive.”
Between the pipes, freshman goaltender Drew Commesso was absolutely peppered in last weekend’s series, making 70 saves on 79 shots over the two games, earning a 1-1-0 record. Sophomore netminder Ashton Abel stopped seven of nine shots in relief of Commesso on Friday.
O’Connell did not indicate whether or not the Terriers would go with Commesso or Abel in net this weekend, saying he thinks both “have looked good.”
Puck drop for Sunday is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Mullins Center, while Monday’s action is scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. at Walter Brown Arena.
Featured Image: The Terriers gather around freshman goaltender Drew Commesso before a game against Providence College on Jan. 8, 2021. Photo by Patrick Donnelly.