Men’s Hockey: No. 2 BU needs overtime to finish off Northeastern
Featured image:Kota Tsukada
By Justin Davids
Looking to start 2024 on a winning note, Boston University Men’s Hockey (13-4-1, 8-1-1 HE) defeated the Northeastern Huskies (6-9-2, 1-8-2 HE) at Agganis Arena.
“Very happy with us being able to stick with it, find a way to win in overtime,” said Head Coach Jay Pandolfo.
Right off the bat the second-ranked Terriers began dictating puck possession in the offensive zone, generating solid high-scoring opportunities.
BU’s adequate play early in the first led them to their first power-play chance of the night. The Terriers were able to pepper a few good shots on Huskies freshman netminder Cameron Whitehead, but the game remained scoreless.
Even though the Terriers couldn’t cash in on the man-advantage, BU continued to control the pace of play, which ultimately led to another infraction against the Huskies, putting the Terriers back on the PP.
NU came up with another solid penalty kill effort, keeping the Terriers off of the score sheet once again.
BU finally got their first goal of the night after sophomore forward Jeremy Wilmer fed graduate forward Sam Stevens with a beautiful cross-ice pass to beat Whitehead.
Although the Terriers would’ve liked to have capitalized on a few more chances during the first 20 minutes of action, BU’s brand of hockey was nothing short of superb.
The second frame unfolded much like the first, with BU controlling the pace of play and prompting NU’s third penalty of the night.
After going 0-for-2 on the power play, BU finally broke free on their third chance, with sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson roofing one past Whitehead to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead.
About halfway through the second stanza, NU graduate forward Brett Edwards snuck the puck past BU junior goaltender Mathieu Caron, dribbling through the five-hole to cut BU’s lead in half.
Edwards’s goal gave the Huskies some much needed life, causing the momentum to slowly shift away from the Terriers.
In a blink of an eye, the game was tied at 2-2. Just a minute after NU’s first goal, Huskies junior forward Justin Hryckowian buried a clean net-front pass from NU graduate defenseman Pito Walton to even the contest.
The Terriers were able to prevent the Huskies from taking the lead late in the second period, leaving for an entertaining third and final frame.
Five minutes into the third period, NU senior forward Alex Campbell takes a holding penalty to give the Terriers their fourth man-advantage of the evening.
BU freshman forward Macklin Celebrini scored on a one-time feed from Hutson during the power-play, reclaiming the lead for the Terriers.
“Anytime you have [Celebrini and Hutson] on the power-play it’s certainly going to help you,” said Pandolfo.
Just a minute after Celebrini’s goal, Campbell redeemed himself for his penalty, leveling the game at three-all by beating Caron in front of the net.
BU sophomore forward Devin Kaplan gave the Huskies an opportunity to take the lead late in the game after taking an ugly boarding penalty. Nevertheless, the Terriers penalty-kill came up big, keeping the game tied. Regulation time expired with the game tied up at three, requiring an extra period of hockey.
Just over a minute into the bonus frame, BU sophomore forward Ryan Greene accelerated into the offensive zone, delivering a flawless pass to Terriers sophomore Jeremy Wilmer for an effortless goal, securing the win for the Terriers.
“Obviously, [Greene] made a really nice pass and I skated to open ice, he put it right on my stick and [I] kind of had a wide open net,” said Wilmer.
Boston University Men’s Hockey returns to the ice this Saturday, January 13th, seeking revenge against the New Hampshire Wildcats, who upset the Terriers in October. Watch the game on ESPN+.