Men’s Hockey: BU snake-bitten in loss to No. 2 BC
Featured image: Joe Eachus
By Claire Smieszny
In the first of three meetings in a ten-day span between the two perennial rivals, No. 1 Boston University men’s hockey (16-5-1, 11-2-1 HEA) fell to the second-ranked Boston College Eagles (17-4-1, 10-3-1 HEA), 4-1 at Conte Forum on Friday night.
BU would kick off their offensive play first, getting a chance from senior forwards Dylan Peterson and Nick Zabaneh off a no-look pass. Freshman forward Macklin Celebrini made a great play on a look to sophomore forward Quinn Hutson, but was denied by a poke check from BC’s defense.
The Terriers received the first power play of the game as well, coming just a couple minutes into the period. Despite some great chances, the score would remain 0-0 thanks to BC’s freshman phenom and goaltender Jacob Fowler. He came into the game with a .922 save percentage and lived up to his impressive stats.
After the game returned to even strength, BC’s other highly touted players started to shine. The freshmen line, consisting of forwards Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Gabe Perreault, applied pressure early and forced BU to work hard.
BC’s control on the puck only became more pronounced as they went to the man advantage, as their top power play unit was jam-packed with talent and first round picks. Even though they weren’t able to capitalize on any chances, their dominance on the ice couldn’t be ignored. It was only pushed further by another opportunity on the power play, as BU’s graduate defenseman Cade Webber went to the box for roughing.
Even with the great offensive showings that came from the first period, the game remained scoreless at the first intermission.
BC came into the second period still riding the Webber penalty, but BU managed to kill it off. The Terriers got the puck back on their side and managed to get decent chances from their top line.
Webber hopped into the offense with a shot that hit the post, and within the first couple minutes of the period BU had returned to their game. Unfortunately it wouldn’t last long, as less than five minutes in freshman forward Ryan Leonard sent the puck flying past Caron’s glove side. 1-0, Eagles.
BC’s freshmen line were the stars of the show, carrying out most of the Eagles’ scoring chances. However, it would be sophomore forward Andre Gasseau who gave them another opportunity on the man advantage by drawing a tripping penalty. BU was pushed back on their heels.
BU got close chances with shots off the post from Luke Tuch, and Quinn Hutson. The puck was quickly turned into BC’s hands after Hutson’s missed chance. A swift pass from Smith to Perreault, all alone in front of Caron, would give the Eagles a two goal lead.
Despite BC’s lead, the Terriers still put up a good fight to keep play even. As the second period wound down, the Eagles only led the shot count 25-21. BU simply fell victim to unlucky posts and phenomenal goaltending.
Both teams got some decent chances on net to start the third period, and the chippiness both teams played with was pushed to a new level. BC capitalized on BU’s lack of composure at this point, as their play got messier as the period went on. There were several instances that the Terriers were scrambling in front of their own net just to get the puck out of danger.
BU would finally manage to net a goal with 6:37 left to play, with junior forward Jack Hughes sending a rebounded puck past Fowler’s shoulder. The momentum had changed and BU was back within one goal.
Despite BU’s best efforts, they were unable to get anything else through Fowler as the clock counted closer to zero. Caron headed to the bench for the extra attacker with just over two minutes to play.
BU’s hopes of equalizing the game would be crushed rather quickly. Within seconds of having six skaters on the ice, the puck would be turned over to BC and sophomore forward Cutter Gauthier was all alone in front of the Terriers’ goal. He put it in the net easily and put the Eagles up 3-1.
The Terriers weren’t willing to give up hope that quickly, and kept Caron out of the net when play resumed. Unfortunately, a BC player got control of the puck yet again. Gasseau sent the puck down from center ice and got the Eagles another one. 4-1, BC.
The team now looks ahead to Saturday night, when they’ll get a shot at redemption in front of their home crowd. Puck drop is set for 7p.m. at Agganis Arena, with streaming available on both NESN and ESPN+.