Men’s Hockey: No. 5 Terriers fall flat in first game against No. 11 Michigan

Featured image by Joe Eachus

By Claire Smieszny

Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey (4-2-0, 1-0-0 HEA) fell to the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines (4-2-1, 0-0-0 B1G) 5-1 in the first of a two-game weekend series on Friday at Agganis Arena.

“Just really careless hockey. Not winning hockey,” said coach Jay Pandolfo. “We got everything we deserved in that game, everything. We deserved to lose. And that’s unacceptable.”

Michigan started the game with the puck on their sticks, dominating the offensive zone and putting BU’s backs against the wall. Michigan’s physical play knocked BU off their game and allowed sustained zone time, however multiple whiffed pucks and Mathieu Caron’s steady presence in net kept them scoreless.

“I have no problem with his effort and the way [Caron] competes,” Pandolfo said. “He was trying to keep us in the game the best he could.”

BU’s best chance of the period came three quarters of the way in, when Jack Hughes stripped a Wolverine of the puck on the breakout and took it right to the net, dropping it back to Quinn Hutson at the last second on an open net. Hutson couldn’t get his stick on it.

The Terriers put up more of a fight as the clock ticked down for the first frame, but Michigan remained the stronger force leading the shot count 25-7 going into intermission. 

BU came out in the second period with a bang, managing to get a 2-on-1 just two minutes into the period and drawing a penalty to give them their first power play of the game.

It didn’t take the Terriers long to capitalize on the man advantage, as Cole Hutson sent a pass through multiple Wolverines to find Cole Eiserman in Michigan’s end all alone in front of Logan Stein and slipping it five-hole for his fifth of the season.  

The Terriers ended up on top for most of the period, as the Wolverines started to show signs of frustration. Logan Stein backstopped the Wolverines to keep them at a one-goal deficit, living up to his .925 save percentage for the season thus far. 

The third period opened with the Wolverines getting chances on net with two different Garrett Schifsky breakaways, and finally finding an equalizer on a wrist shot by sophomore forward Evan Werner.

“[Werner’s] a guy that’s been in the top six, top nine on the power play, probably a little snakebit, probably deserves a little bit more than what he’s getting,” Michigan head coach Brandon Naurato said. “He puts the work in, then he gets a chance, and he buries it.

Michigan struck again under two minutes later when Michael Hage and Werner split a BU defender in a 2-on-1. The Terriers rushed to get back, but Werner flew towards the net and tapped in a last minute pass from Hage past Caron’s glove. 

BU had the rug pulled out from under them, and the momentum of the game shifted. When Michigan went on the power play halfway through the period, they only needed thirty seconds to make use of the man advantage, as senior defenseman Ethan Edwards walked the blue line with the puck and fired into the net.

The kicker for BU was a five-minute major and game misconduct awarded to Quinn Hutson for elbowing, and Devin Kaplan heading to the box shortly after. Michigan had a full two minutes of  5-on-3. Team captain and defenseman Jacob Truscott would deal the final blow, as a pass from Schifsky on the goal line set him up front and center to blast one past Caron. An empty net goal sealed the Terriers’ fate.  

“We have to respond again,” said Pandolfo. “It starts getting old when you have to keep responding. We have to figure out how to play the right way every game.”

The Terriers face Michigan again Saturday night at Agganis Arena with puck drop set for 7 p.m. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.