Men’s Hockey: Terriers end losing streak with tie against No. 8 UMass

By Sasha Abrams

Ending the four-game losing streak with a draw, the Boston University Terriers (3-7-1, 2-4-1 HE) found themselves playing up to the skillset of the reigning national champions Friday night at Agganis Arena. The Terriers tied with No.8 University of Massachusetts Minutemen (6-2-1, 4-0-1 HE) 2-2, before coming up short in the shootout.

BU had possession of the puck for most of the game, outshooting the Minutemen 33-25, but UMass was there to claim the extra point.  

“I was really pleased with our roster, our boys, how we managed the puck, and we played like men tonight,” BU head coach Albie O’Connell said in the post-game press conference. 

BU had control of the ice in the first period until freshman forward Tyler Boucher entered the penalty box off a high stick call. Just 26 seconds into the power play, UMass opened the scoring. It was senior Reed Lebster who claimed his third goal of the season at 14:44, assisted by Bobby Trivigno and Ryan Ufko.

Quick to react, BU junior defensemen Case McCarthy fired a wrist shot in from the slot to open the scoring for BU at 16:02. It was McCarthy’s third goal in the last four games, tying teammate Domenick Fensore in third for total points (seven). The goal was assisted by Dylan Peterson and Jamie Armstrong. 

After McCarthy’s goal, there was just under four minutes left in the first, however, it didn’t take long for the Minutemen to reply. With 2:16 to go, Garrett Wait put the puck in the net with a backdoor feed from Ufko and UMass had the lead again.

At the end of the first, the score was 2-1, and BU led in shots 14-7. The second period started out slow for both sides, but after Bohlinger entered the box for tripping, BU took possession of the puck in a successful faceoff and then was able to make a play. 

Dylan Peterson tied the game for the Terriers at 12:13 with a clean shot assisted by Jay O’Brien and Wilmer Skoog. The power play goal was Peterson’s fourth time lighting the lamp this season.

The score was 2-2 after the second and BU still led the game in shots 25-15. The third period was quiet, besides the whistles, with no teams hitting the board. After 20 minutes of no scoring, BU and UMass headed into five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime. 

“The overtime I thought we dominated,” O’Connell said.

Although the Terriers didn’t make it into the net, they had control over the puck for most of the five minutes. BU had five shots against UMass goaltender Matt Murray and allowed zero shots against BU goaltender Drew Commesso. 

After the five minutes were up with no goals on either side, the teams entered a shootout. UMass Lucas Mercuri took the victory in the shootout, but the game will count in the standings as a tie. 

Terriers will face the Minutemen again tonight at Mullins Center. The puck drop is set for 7 p.m. 

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