Men’s Hockey: Terriers make it five straight wins, completing sweep of Maine

By Patrick Donnelly

The Boston University Terriers (5-1-0) took down the University of Maine Black Bears (2-7-1) by a final score of 5-1 at Walter Brown Arena on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Terriers extend their winning streak to five games and complete the weekend sweep of Maine.

BU head coach Albie O’Connell was pleased with his team’s performance in the win.

“The guys are really committed to winning and committed to each other,” O’Connell said. “We’ve got a good thing going right now so just pretty excited about where we are at.”

Freshman goaltender Drew Commesso got the nod for BU, making 26 saves on 27 shots. Meanwhile, first year netminder Victor Ostman got the start for the Black Bears, stopping 20 of 24 shots.

The Terriers got on the board first just 6:20 into the first period as freshman forward Dylan Peterson potted his third of the year.

First year forward Nick Zabaneh sent a cross-zone feed towards senior assistant captain David Farrance that nearly got picked off, but Farrance stuck with the play and retrieved the puck before zipping a feed across the crease to Peterson, who had almost the entire net to shoot at.

Later in the first, with BU on the penalty kill, Maine junior forward Adam Dawe took a feed at the right circle and unleashed a one-timer on Commesso, but the rookie stood tall and made the save.

The Terriers took the 1-0 advantage to the locker room after the first 20 minutes.

The beginning of the middle stanza saw a slew of penalties between the Black Bears and the Terriers. First, BU sophomore forward Jamie Armstrong originally took a tripping penalty before Maine freshman forward Donovan Houle took a roughing penalty as the whistle sounded.

Shortly after, Black Bears senior blueliner J.D. Greenway delivered a high elbow to BU sophomore forward Robert Mastrosimone. After reviewing the play, the officials only gave Greenway two minutes for elbowing.

On the ensuing power play, sophomore forward Wilmer Skoog gave the Terriers a 2-0 just over five minutes into the second.

Sophomore defenseman Dom Fensore fed Farrance at the top of the point, who slipped a feed to sophomore transfer forward Jay O’Brien. O’Brien took the space he was given and sent a slap shot towards goal that found its way in. The goal was later credited to Skoog, as it deflected off his shin pad.

Late in the middle frame, Mastrosimone extended BU’s cushion to 3-0.

The Detroit Red Wings prospect took a feed from sophomore blueliner Alex Vlasic and skated it down the ice himself, sending a self-pass around the Maine defenseman before walking in a roofing a shot under the bar, blocker-side on Ostman with just 2:38 remaining in the second.

The three-goal lead stood for the Terriers after 40 minutes of play.

BU wasted no time adding extra insurance in the third period thanks to freshman forward Luke Tuch’s second of the season.

Tuch skated into the Maine zone off the rush and unloaded a low wrist shot that overpowered Ostman’s glove and found its way into the back of the cage.

The Terriers and Black Bears continued to trade minor penalties as regulation wound down. Among the calls, Maine senior forward Eduards Tralmaks received a two-minute minor and a game misconduct for throwing his stick.

Right after the BU power play expired, Commesso came up with another key save for the Terriers, stopping freshman forward Lynden Breen, who got a golden opportunity flying through the slot.

With under ten minutes remaining, Maine head coach Red Gendron sent sophomore goaltender Matt Thiessen between the pipes in relief of Ostman.

Shortly after swapping netminders, Maine got on the board while on the power play, and ended Commesso’s bid at his first career shutout.

Junior forward Adam Dawe skated down the right half wall and around the goal before narrowly beating Commesso to the left post for his third of the season, cutting BU’s lead to 4-1.  An official’s review confirmed Dawe’s tally.

Gendron called Thiessen to the bench with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, but the extra attacker could not give Maine an added boost to complete the comeback as O’Brien sent the puck into the yawning goal from range to make it 5-1, BU, with 2:25 remaining in regulation.

The four-goal margin stood through the final horn. Thiessen ended his appearance with one save on one shot.

O’Connell thought it was a better overall effort from his entire lineup.

“I thought all four lines played well tonight,” O’Connell said. “I think we only had like one and a half, maybe two lines going last night.”

“We’re chipping away and I think a lot of it’s led by our [defense].”

The Black Bears went one for five on their power play opportunities, while BU capitalized on one of their four chances on the man advantage. Each squad finished with 11 blocked shots.

With three assists in the game, Farrance now has a point in all six contests on the season, and extends his total to 14 points (4g, 10a), averaging 2.33 points per game as a defenseman.

“It’s nice to be a forward on this team with the with some of those [defensemen] moving the puck,” O’Connell said

Commesso extended his win streak to five games as well. Mastrosimone had a goal and an assist in both games against Maine. Tuch now has points in three-straight contests (1g, 2a).

The Terriers will likely return to action next week, although a specific opponent is yet to be named as Hockey East has reverted to making the schedule on a weekly basis.

Featured Image: Jay O’Brien (18) and David Farrance (4) celebrate a power play goal in a win against Maine at Walter Brown Arena on Jan. 23, 2021. Photo by Patrick Donnelly.

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