Men’s Hockey: Terriers complete weekend sweep of UVM

By Claire Smieszny

BURLINGTON, Vt. – How sweep it is.

Boston University men’s hockey (16-4-1, 11-1-1 HE) took down the University of Vermont Catamounts (10-11-1, 4-7-1 HE) by a score of 5-2 Saturday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse, and the No. 1 Terriers are heading back to Boston with all six possible points in hand.

“I think it gives us confidence,” said head coach Jay Pandolfo after the game. “We went out there trying to get six points and we did.”

The game started out without either team having clear possession of the puck. Play moved end to end rapidly for the first couple minutes; each team’s first chances on net came from turnovers over off the rush. 

BU would get the first good look of the game off a turnover in UVM’s defensive end, as  Macklin Celebrii stripped a defenseman of the puck and stick-handled to the net. Unfortunately, Vermont’s Gabe Carriere would be there to make the stop.

UVM answered immediately off a similar play but ended up being unsuccessful. Play would continue in this vein for a while, until almost halfway through the period when the Terriers managed to set up some offense. 

Devin Kaplan’s heavy forecheck resulted in a turnover in UVM’s end of the ice. Tom Willander would get the puck near the blue line, and his own shot wide would be tapped in back door by Lane Hutson. 

The crowd erupted for the visiting team, or more just for Hutson. Many Canadiens fans made the trip down from Canada just for him, selling out Vermont’s Gutterson Fieldhouse both games of the series. 

Vermont made a good effort to even out the score, but were unsuccessful. BU got more and more dominant with the puck every time they gained possession back, and would rack up more chances once their offense set up. 

The Terriers’ impressive play would lead them to their second goal of the game with 2:42 left in the period. Jack Hughes lit the lamp for BU, taking the puck down to the corner and back out again searching for an open lane. His individual effort soon found one and buried it for his third goal of the season. 

While UVM spent the first period on their best behavior, that would change almost immediately going into the second period. Zapernick, with a hit that knocked Luke Tuch to the ice, would give BU their first man advantage of the night.

The Terriers and their formidable power play would make good on this opportunity, with Devin Kaplan sending a pass from Jeremy Wilmer flying into the back of the net. Just under two minutes and forty seconds into the 2nd, BU led 3-0. 

“We’re working on the power play every day in practice,” said Kaplan. “Especially our unit, just working every day and talking on the bench, getting more familiar with each other and just executing.”

With some newfound fire after the goal against, Vermont would muster up enough momentum to get their first shot on goal of the period nearly five minutes into the period. However, any hopes of changing the tide of the game were quickly squashed. The Catamounts took two more penalties within 21 seconds of each other. 

The Catamounts would be saved from more goals by Carriere’s impressive play and some lucky bounces, including a shot off the post from Lane Hutson. Shane LaChance would take more of the pressure off as he went to the box a minute later. 

After a major penalty kill and getting 44 seconds of time of the man advantage as well, the Catamounts gathered some momentum. They started to climb back up in the shot count, and kept up a physical game. 

Vermont’s play was rewarded with a goal sixteen minutes into the period. Eli Barnett took a shot that was denied by BU’s Mathieu Caron, but he couldn’t cover the puck. It was quickly rebounded into the net by Ryan Miotto to make the score 3-1. 

UVM would continue to dominate play as Quinn Hutson was sent to the box soon after. With just over two minutes left to play, the Catamounts were eager to cut the Terriers’ lead in half. The Terriers managed to hold on to their lead and kill the penalty, but were still pushed back on their heels by Vermont’s play to finish the period. 

BU came back into the game motivated to turn the tide again in their favor, and would find success almost immediately. Just 52 seconds into the period, Sam Stevens scored off of Kaplan’s rebound.

“He’s an example of how we need to play on a regular basis…Sam Stevens has been there all year long,” said Pandolfo. 

UVM would be knocked down again as Joel Maatta was given a penalty for hooking just three minutes into the period. Ralfs Bergmanis would earn a trip to the box for slashing just 57 seconds later, giving BU over a minute at 5-on-3 and digging Vermont a deeper hole. 

While the Catamounts killed both penalties, it was clear that play was in the Terriers’ hands as the third continued on. They’d nearly score another goal with 13:16 left in the period, but it was called back for offsides. 

Carriere’s night ended after the non-goal, with freshman Axel Mangbo taking over the crease in his collegiate debut.

It wouldn’t matter in a minute, as Macklin Celebrini would skate net-front and backhand the puck into the net. The score returned to 5-1 Terriers with 12:09 to play. 

The Catamounts got a chance to redeem themselves on the power play as Kaplan headed to the box for two minutes. They’d only manage one close chance by junior forward Timofei Spitserov in front of the net, but Caron was there to get in front of the puck. 

Undeterred, UVM would get a second goal past Caron as even strength soon after. Graduate student Zach Dubinsky was all by himself in front, going bar-down to make it 5-2. 

Tensions ran high as time on the clock wound down, UVM clearly frustrated with the game. After a shoving match between LaChance and Munzenberger with less than a minute left, more jawing occurred after the whistle. 

BU now looks ahead to this Friday when they’ll face Boston College for the first time this season. Puck drops at 7p.m. at Cante Forum in Chestnut Hill, with streaming available on NESN and ESPN+.