Men’s Hockey: Terriers blow the doors off Notre Dame

By Devora Slonim

Boston University men’s hockey (2-2-0, 0-1-0 HE) played like the No. 1 team they were projected to be on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana, as they began the game with a marathon of goals in the first period and continued their domination throughout the night to take down Notre Dame (2-3-0, 0-0-0 B1G), 8-2.

“For us to come back tonight and respond the right way, I was really happy with that,” said coach Jay Pandolfo. “We got back to our game, we played a direct game.” 

BU was eager to respond after a loss to the Fighting Irish the night before, and five goals in the first period for the Terriers was the answer they were looking for. 

Sophomore forward Quinn Hutson took control first, scoring off a snipe from the right circle, beating goaltender Ryan Bischel’s blocker side. Just over a minute later, freshman forward Macklin Celebrini found the back of the net as he broke through two defenders. 

A quick stint in BU’s momentum occurred when Notre Dame graduate defenseman Ryan Siedem cut the Terriers’ lead in half. 

BU got right back into the swing of things as senior forward Dylan Peterson dazzled around Bischel, who could not make the save. A minute later, senior forward Luke Tuch lit the lamp off of a sloppy turnover from the Fighting Irish for a speedy 4-1 lead. 

Notre Dame took their timeout just seven and a half minutes into the game. The early timeout proved ineffective for the Fighting Irish, as the scoring did not end there. The sixth and final goal from the first period for the Terriers came from freshman forward Shane Lachance off a redirect in front of freshman defenseman Gavin McCarthy’s point shot.

BU took their first penalty of the night on a roughing call to freshman defenseman Mick Frechette and successfully killed off all three penalties taken in the first.

Despite the intermission and a goalie change for Notre Dame, the Terriers headed into the second period hungry for more, and they picked up right where they left off. 

BU found their sixth and seventh goals of the night just a minute apart, three minutes into the second period. Lachance netted his second of the night, and freshman defenseman Aiden Celebrini netted his first collegiate goal, giving the Terriers a 7-1 lead. 

While the Fighting Irish attempted to kill another penalty, sophomore goaltender Jack Williams, who replaced Bischel at the start of the second, could not fend off Macklin Celebrini, netting his second goal of the night on the man advantage. 

Tensions were flying in the second, and the frustration from Notre Dame was evident. A game misconduct was given to Peterson and Fighting Irish junior defenseman Ryan Helliwell received a five-minute major and an ejection for fighting following a scuffle.

The remainder of the second period was relatively calm, with only one penalty taken for Notre Dame and no goals scored on either side.

BU looked to seal the win in the third period. 

Two early tripping calls on the Terriers left the Fighting Irish desperate to score, but they were unable to capitalize in the four minutes of man-advantage. 

With 6:04 left in the third, junior forward Tyler Carpenter scores his first of the season for Notre Dame off a turnover from BU. 

Although missing two key players from their lineup due to injuries- sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson and graduate defenseman Cade Webber, the Terriers stayed strong from the first period, holding on to their lead and receiving a well-deserved win.

BU goaltender Mathieu Caron excelled in goal, making a complete change in performance from the previous night. 

“I hope it gives our group confidence… for us to respond the way we did tonight and see how we’re capable of playing, hopefully we build off of it,” said Pandolfo. 

The Terriers will return home as they prepare for their weekend series against UMass. The games will take place on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at Agganis Arena, and Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in Amherst. Both games will be available for streaming on ESPN+.