Men’s Hockey: No. 5 Terriers Lose Third Straight against Merrimack

By Gracie Davenport

Cover Photo Credit: Joe Eachus

No. 5 Boston University Men’s Hockey (20-9-0, 14-5-0 HE) was bested 4-1 by the No. 20 Merrimack Warriors (17-12-1, 12-8-0 HE) in front of a sold-out North Andover crowd Friday night. The Terriers led in shots on net 39-21 but could not put the pieces together. 

“We need to be better in front of our net, number one,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “Then we have to go to work down in their end and start winning some 1-on-1 battles. That’s the number one issue for us right now.”

After a reshuffling of the lines, senior forward Matt Brown retook his usual spot on the top line and senior forward Ethan Phillips slotted in on the second line. 

Junior goaltender Drew Commesso made his 15th consecutive start and made 19 saves. 

“We hung our goalie out to dry tonight,” Pandolfo said. “There wasn’t one goal that was on Drew Commesso … the way we played in front of him, and it’s not acceptable.”

MC has split time between its goalie tandem this season, but gave the crease to the more experienced junior goaltender Zachary Borgiel. 

Merrimack’s top offensive line got the Warriors on the board 5:30 into the first. Graduate defenseman Slava Demin collected the puck along the near wall and dished it to junior forward Alex Jefferies below the goal line. The Hobey Baker nominee found sophomore forward Matt Copponi in the slot, who shot the puck over Commesso’s left shoulder for his 11th of the season. 

Midway through the first frame, the Terrier penalty kill got its first look of the night as senior forward Wilmer Skoog sat two minutes for goaltender interference. The Warriors — who rank last in Hockey East on the man advantage  — were only able to record one shot on Commesso. 

BU led in first-period shots 11-9 but was not able to beat Borgiel. 

The two teams skated four aside to start the middle frame as both sides were assessed cross-checking minors late in the first. Neither side converted, but the Terriers kept the pressure on the home team for the first half of the second period. 

BU dominated offensive possession before earning its second power play opportunity of the game with 13 minutes remaining. Unable to score, the Terrier powerplay dipped to one conversion on its last 20 chances. 

Commesso was not tested until the 10:15 mark of the second where BU led in shots on net 8-1. However, then the momentum tipped in favor of MC. 

With five minutes remaining in the second, the Warriors doubled their lead. After the Warriors won a puck battle behind the net, graduate student forward Jordan Seyfert was ready alone in front of Commesso and tapped it home. 

With three minutes remaining in the second, junior forward Nick Zabaneh was sent to the box for the second time of the night, but the Terrier PK kept the game at 2-0. Coming out of the box, Zabaneh outskated an MC defender and gave his team one of their best chances on the breakaway — Borgiel made the sprawling save. 

To begin the final frame, the Terriers were assessed their fourth penalty of the night. BU racked up 14 total penalty minutes over the game. 

“I think that hurt us a little bit,” Pandolfo said on the penalties. “That might have hurt our rhythm a little, but I don’t think that was the issue in the game.”

Just following this unsuccessful Warrior power play, MC beat Commesso for their third and final time. On a 2-on-1 play, graduate forwards Ryan Leibold and Mick Messner connected to make it 3-0, with Messner scoring his second of the year. 

Six minutes later, the BU power play finally broke through. On an MC tripping call, the Terrier man advantage continually tested Borgiel before the first unit scored to make it 3-1. 

Borgiel made the initial save on Brown, but senior forward Jay O’Brien was able to tap home the rebound for his sixth of the season. Senior forward Wilmer Skoog started the initial play and picked up the secondary assist. 

In the last minute, MC added an empty netter to push the final score to 4-1. 

After a season-best seven-game win streak, the Terries have dropped their last three in a row. Averaging over four goals per game, good for third-best in the nation, BU has only netted four in their last three contests. 

“When that happens, you have to find a way to simplify your game,” Pandolfo said. “Teams pre-scout you over the course of the year, and they’re trying to keep us to the outside … give the other teams credit.”

BU will look to avoid a four-game losing skid as they finish the second half of the home-and-home Saturday night at Agganis Arena. This will be their first game back at home since Jan. 27. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m.