Men’s Hockey: No. 10 Terriers throttle Holy Cross in exhibition matchup

By Patrick Donnelly

Junior forward Sam Stevens notched a goal and an assist as the Boston University Terriers took down the Holy Cross Crusaders 5-1 in an exhibition game at Walter Brown Arena on Saturday.

Five different Terriers found the back of the net and 11 recorded at least a point. The game also marked the fist time the Terriers played in front of fans since the 2019-20 season.

“It’s exciting to play again,” BU head coach Albie O’Connell said. “It’s exciting to see the band and get fans in the building. I think that was a big boost after our guys went out for warmups.”

Sophomore goaltender Drew Commesso made 19 saves. For Holy Cross, junior Matt Radomsky, freshman Thomas Gale and senior Erik Gordon combined for 34 stops.

Crusader sophomore forward Jack Ricketts opened the scoring on a breakaway to give Holy Cross a 1-0 lead at 11:37 of the first.

Freshman forward Tyler Boucher tied it up just 30 seconds later on the power play at 12:07. Sophomore forward Luke Tuch and junior transfer forward Matt Brown picked up the assists.

Junior forward Robert Mastrosimone gave BU a 2-1 lead at 2:16 of the second period on the man-advantage to finish a smooth tic-tac-toe play with junior forwards Wilmer Skoog and Ethan Phillips. Mastrosimone finished with nine shots on goal.

“We kind of took the game over in the second, and obviously made a couple big plays with that the bang-bang-bang goal,” O’Connell said. “That was kind of a changing moment of the game that took a little bit of wind out of their sail.”

Freshman blueliner Ty Gallagher made it 3-1 Terriers at 11:51. After a scrum in front, Stevens fished it loose towards the high slot where Gallagher roofed a shot high, glove-side.

Under two minutes later junior defenseman Case McCarthy made it 4-1 at 13:35 as BU piled it on. Senior captain Logan Cockerill led the rush and his shot deflected wide before McCarthy picked it up behind the net and banked it in off Gale.

1:18 after McCarthy’s goal, Stevens scored short-handed to make it 5-1 at 14:53 after a pretty finish. The Montreal, Que., native broke in before finishing a pretty shot upstairs on Gale.

“[Stevens] had a good night,” O’Connell said. “And [Mastrosimone] was terrific.”

The two sides combined for seven penalties in a heated second period.

“It was a lot of after the whistle stuff, which we’re not crazy about,” O’Connell said. “It was a little bit of some wrestling matches, and it was a little bit like a junior hockey game from time to time.

“I thought our guys stood tall.”

Neither team found the scoresheet in the third period. Gordon stopped all 12 shots he faced in the final 20 minutes.

The Terriers converted on two of nine power plays on the night, while Holy Cross went zero-for-six.

“We didn’t give up a lot of shots or scoring chances, and were able to generate a lot,” O’Connell said. “Our power play is definitely gonna have the opportunity to get better, even though we scored two [goals on the power play].”

BU will open their regular season on the road against the University of Connecticut Huskies at 7:05 p.m. before returning to Agganis Arena for the first time since Feb. 29 2020 for the home opener and 100th season celebration against the Huskies at 7 p.m.

Featured Image: Junior forward Sam Stevens shields the puck from Nick Hale during an exhibition game against Holy Cross at Walter Brown Arena on Oct. 2, 2021. Photo by Joe Eachus.

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