Men’s Hockey: Commesso Shutout Powers No. 9/8 BU Over Vermont

By Michael Wax

Cover Photo Credit: Joe Eachus

Junior goaltender Drew Commesso stopped 23 Catamount shots for his second-ever collegiate shutout, and No. 9/8 Boston University Men’s Hockey (22-10-0, 16-6-0 HE) defeated the University of Vermont Catamounts (9-18-5, 4-15-3 HE) 3-0 on Saturday night.

“Big weekend for us get back on the winning track and the six points were important,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “I thought our guys started really well… Good weekend for us.”

Commesso recorded his first shutout of the 2022-23 season and his first since the 2021-22 season. Commesso’s best save came in the middle frame, making a glove save on sophomore forward Simon Jellus following a careless turnover from freshman defenseman Lane Hutson.

“I’m just glad we won,” Commesso said. “We’re three games away from winning Hockey East. That’s really what I cared about tonight whether I got the shutout or not. But yeah, I’m happy. I felt good.”

BU took the lead less than three minutes in, thanks to the power play. After getting set up in the offensive zone, senior captain Domenick Fensore played pitch and catch with freshman forward Jeremy Wilmer. After Wilmer got the puck back from Fensore a second time, he one-touched the puck over to senior forward Jay O’Brien in the slot. O’Brien’s one-timer found its way past graduate goalie Oskar Autio for his seventh of the year to give BU a 1-0 lead.

BU doubled their lead with under seven minutes left to play in the middle frame. As the Terriers looked to transition from defense to offense, junior forward Nick Zabaneh pushed the puck up to junior forward Dylan Peterson. Peterson then put a cross-ice pass right on the tape of Fensore, who entered the Catamount zone and released a wrist shot that beat Autio glove-side. Fensore’s goal was his ninth of the year, putting him one goal behind Hutson for the team lead among defenders.

Like the first two periods, BU got another goal in the final frame of regulation. With the second power play unit on, freshman forward Devin Kaplan deflected Hutson’s wrist shot off the post. After freshman forward Ryan Greene collected the rebound, Hutson took Greene’s pass and, after dancing around the top of the zone, fired a wrist shot as the power play was winding down. Junior forward Luke Tuch was in front to tip the shot over the glove of Autio for his second goal of the weekend and ninth goal of the season.

“I think I just played my game,” Tuch said. “I played physical, heavy, fast. Our linemates just set up each other. We move pucks really good down low.”

BU faced their biggest test of the weekend as they were given a 5-on-3 with 4:31 left in regulation. Greene was sent to the box for cross-checking at 14:19, and senior forward Jamie Armstrong was sent for boarding just 30 seconds later. With a strong performance by Commesso and a few short-handed scoring opportunities, the Terriers were able to escape unscathed.

“These six points were big for us and we knew it was a must-win,” Tuch said. “Next weekend’s even bigger. I think we do a little bit of our swagger back, but we do have a lot of things to work on.”

BU will bring their recent sweep into their final series of the regular season, a home-and-home against Providence on March 3 and 4. The first game will occur at Agganis Arena, and puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.