Men’s Hockey: Terriers fall to No. 14 UConn 4-3 in overtime
By Gracie Davenport
No. 9/11 Boston University Men’s Hockey (2-2-0, 0-1-0 HE) fell to No. 14/13 University of Connecticut (6-0-1, 3-0-0 HE) in a 4-3 overtime loss on Friday.
The first period started quiet for both teams, with BU recording the game’s first shot on net a little over four minutes in. Just over a minute later, the Huskies got on the board first.
UConn junior defenseman Andrew Lucas skated the puck along the boards into the Terrier zone. He found junior forward Nick Capone open in the slot, and Capone fired it home at the 5:21 mark. For Capone, it was his fourth goal of the season.
Halfway through the period, the Terriers tied the game at one. As the Huskies were trying to touch the puck on a delayed interference call, senior defenseman Case McCarthy blasted a shot from the point past sophomore goaltender Logan Terness to tie the game.
Scoring his first of the season, McCarthy was assisted by senior forwards Sam Stevens and Jamie Armstrong.
With 1:33 remaining in the frame, the Terriers broke the tie to head into intermission with the 2-1 lead. At the blue line, freshman defenseman Lane Hutson dished the puck toward the net. Freshman forward Devin Kaplan attempted to corral it, but a UConn defender poked it away.
The puck landed on the tape of Armstrong, who was ready in the slot and snapped it home. BU led in first period shots 10-7.
“I think that fourth line overall, they’re probably our best line tonight. They just keep it simple. They play the right way. They grind,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “I think some of our other guys maybe have to take a page out of their book and see if that works.”
The middle frame proved more physical than the first, leading to several penalties on both sides, but UConn dominated overall. With the man advantage just 6:29 in, UConn tied it up 2-2 on a tic-tac-toe goal, scored by junior forward Ryan Tverberg.
“I think we gained a little momentum off of the power play,” said UConn Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh. “We had a lot of power plays in the second, so we kind of had them back on their heels a little bit, spending a lot of time in their own zone.”
The Huskies led in second period shots 17-3. Junior goaltender Vinny Duplessis had to bail out his team, especially in the dying seconds of the frame.
“Vinny, he’s a competitor,” said Pandolfo. “He’s always been good for us. He kept us in the game in the second period. So again, he had another good night for us. If it wasn’t for him in the second, it could have gotten out of hand.”
To start the final 20 minutes, senior forward Matt Brown drew iron with a shot 1:07 in. However, just a minute later, freshman forward Tristan Fraser scored to give UConn a 3-2 lead.
With less than eight minutes to go, the Terriers scored the equalizer. Assisted by junior forward Dylan Peterson, freshman forward Jeremy Wilmer scored a greasy power play goal for his second collegiate tally. The Huskies came into this game with a perfect penalty kill (23-for-23), something the Terriers were looking to end during this weekend series.
In 3-on-3 overtime, BU maintained possession through the first minute, but UConn won on their first shot on goal, with Lucas scoring the winning goal. The final shots were 30-27 in favor of UConn.
“It seemed like some of our top players didn’t have the energy they usually have,” said Pandolfo. “I don’t know if they just didn’t have their legs tonight. I would expect a response from them. They’re the leaders of this group, so I think they have to be better as a whole.”
The Terriers will have a quick turnaround before they meet the Huskies Saturday, Oct. 22 at Agganis. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm.