Men’s Hockey: Lane Hutson, No. 9 Terriers Rally for 2-1 OT Win Against No. 18 UMass Lowell

By Michael Wax

With some late-game heroics from freshman defenseman Lane Hutson, No. 9 BU Men’s Hockey (4-3-0, 2-2-0 HE) took down No. 18 UMass Lowell (5-3-0, 2-1-0 HE), handing the River Hawks their first Hockey East loss of the season.

For BU, junior goaltender Drew Commesso returned after a four-game absence due to injury and was tested early and often.

“I was just grateful to be back out there,” Commesso said. “Especially after the injury in Michigan. I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be out. Our athletic staff and the trainers did such a great job of getting me back on the ice.”

Junior goaltender Henry Welsch was scheduled to start the second game of the back-to-back for UMass Lowell, and was even announced in the starting lineup, but graduate Gustavs Davis Grigals was put in eight seconds into the game and remained in.

“I thought I circled the right guy, obviously they had Welsch in,” Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin said. “I just gave [Welsch] half a shift, we planned on starting Gus the whole time.”

After BU had the first six shots on goal to start the game, Lowell ended up leading the period in shots 16-9.

Senior forward Matt Brown had the best scoring opportunity of the period, receiving an outlet pass before using his speed to get all alone for a breakaway. As he shot to the high glove, he missed the net.

BU fared a bit better in the second period with puck possession, but was outshot 10-5 while passing up a decent amount of scoring chances.

“I thought in the second period we passed up way too many chances to shoot the puck,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “That was the message going into the third, that we had to get more pucks to the net. I think sometimes we get a little too cute.”

With under 40 seconds to go, the River Hawks grabbed a 1-0 lead. Sophomore forward Owen Cole stopped around the right face-off dot and put the puck behind the net for sophomore forward Matt Crasa.

Crasa continued the cycle, sending the puck to senior forward Brian Chambers. Chambers skated towards the left face-off dot, then turned on a dime and fired the puck on goal. Commesso made the original save, but the puck shot right out to Crasa, and he tapped it into a wide-open net. For Crasa, it was his first of the season, assisted by Chambers and Cole.

The Terriers turned up the intensity in the third period, outshooting Lowell 16-3. With 12 minutes to go, senior forward Jay O’Brien was robbed with a beautiful glove save by Grigals. Pandolfo recognized that while his slump can be discouraging, O’Brien is doing all the right things.

“He’s obviously a little bit snake bit right now,” Pandolfo said. “But he’s playing the right way. He’s playing a good 200-foot hockey game at center, and that’s what we ask of him. He’s getting chances. Just not going to the net right now.”

With just over two minutes left to go and an extra attacker due to a delayed penalty, Brown got the puck to Quinn Hutson, who found his brother Lane in the slot. Lane fired a shot past Grigals to get BU their first goal in over 80 minutes of play.

“It’s pretty cool when you get a pass from your brother and end up putting that in so that’s pretty special to me and pretty special for our family,” Lane Hutson said.

BU thought they had the game-winning goal with 5.8 seconds to go, as senior defenseman Case McCarthy hammered a shot from the point past Grigals. However, after a lengthy offside review, the goal was called back due to goaltender interference, and the two teams headed to overtime.

Commesso provided a highlight reel save in OT, as he stopped senior forward Zach Kaiser on a breakaway. Less than two minutes later, Lane Hutson carried the puck in on a two-on-one, waited for the goalie to bite, and tucked in a backhand to give BU a 2-1 victory.

BU has the next week off, which they won’t take lightly.

“I think everyone in the room knows how good we can be,” Commesso said. “And right now we’re not there. We’re certainly going to use this week as a week to build from where we are now and get ready for our next opponent.”

BU will return to the ice to face the University of Massachusetts Minutemen on Nov. 11. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.