Men’s Hockey: Terriers erase two-goal deficit, defeating Harvard in shootout in exh. win

Featured image by Matthew Allen

By Haydée Cepeda

Ranked third in NCAA Division 1 Men’s Ice Hockey power rankings, Boston University Hockey (3-0-0, 1-0-0 HEA) maintained their undefeated streak this season by taking down the Harvard University Crimson (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) in a shootout win in an exhibition game on Saturday night.

Coach Jay Pandolfo decided to shake things up for this contest, scrambling his typical lines and moving his players around. No line combination remained the same from last night’s victory over the UConn Huskies.

“I think we’re all happy to have the opportunity to play tonight,” Gavin McCarthy said about the jumbled lines.

The first frame picked up with high intensity.

Despite it being his first nod in net this season, Max Lacroix remained solid, blocking all eleven shots he faced in the first.

The two teams headed into the second stanza in a 0-0 stalemate.

However, the Crimson capitalized early, taking a 1-0 lead just 1:44 in the second. Justin Solovey took advantage of a sloppy turnover in the neutral zone, beating Lacroix blocker side.

The rest of the frame saw solid offensive possession from both sides, but a hooking call to Quinn Hutson allowed Harvard to double the lead, and Lucas St. Louis took advantage of the opportunity.

With less than a second left in the period, Quinn Hutson regained momentum for the Terriers, scoring a power-play goal off a feed from captain Shane Lachance and Matt Copponi for the buzzer-beater.

BU dominated in the O-zone as they searched for the game-tying goal.

Jack Hughes beat Crimson netminder Aku Koskenvuo to tie the game at two. Cole Hutson collected the puck off a blocked shot, finding Hughes, who had a solid step on the Harvard defense and was able to slide the puck across the goal line easily.

The two teams were held at 2-2 at the end of regulation.

Unable to break the stalemate in overtime, the teams headed to a shootout.

The Crimson struck first, as senior Alex Gaffney beat Lacroix in the first round. Quinn Hutson kept the Terriers alive, scoring in the third round. Jack Harvey eventually sealed the deal, winning the game for BU.

“It’s so much fun to win [in a shootout],” Lacroix said post-game. “It’s always fun. The dog pound is always so much fun to be around, and they’re always so loud. So for them to come out like that in an exhibition is pretty special.”

The Terriers look to continue their undefeated streak as they head to North Dakota to take on the Fighting Hawks in a weekend series.

“This is where it’s going to be fun for our guys,” Pandolfo said about heading to the Midwest. “I’ve never been there. I’ve heard it’s a tough environment, so I think it’s going to be great for the group.”

Puck drop is set for Friday, Oct. 25 at 8:07 p.m. Live coverage will be available for streaming on NCHC.tv.