Men’s Hockey: Svoboda and Copponi tally two goals each in 6-3 win over Merrimack

Featured image by Joe Eachus

By Hannah Connors

Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey (6-5-1, 3-2-1 HE) took down the Merrimack Warriors (3-7-1, 2-4-1 HE) 6-3 on Friday at Agganis Arena.

After a rocky past few weeks for BU, the Terriers opened the first frame with what looked like promise. 

A little over a minute into the period, freshman forward Brandon Svoboda brought the puck down the ice, netting a clean shot into the bottom corner of the net. This marked Svoboda’s first goal back after being out from an injury.

Unfortunately, this early effort by the Terriers did not pay off in the way they had hoped. A quick move in transition left defenseman Ivan Zivlak to tie up the game early in the period. 

“I’m looking for the right recipe of lines,” coach Jay Pandolfo said. “Obviously they’ve changed a lot up to this point… and we still haven’t really found it.”

About halfway through the first, a shot by Merrimack led to two official reviews by the refs, but no goal gave the Warriors some steam. 

A minute after a no-goal call to Merrimack, the Warriors found steam, gaining possession of the puck out of the neutral zone, where Ty Daneault found Micheal Citara to slip a wrister past BU goaltender Mathieu Caron, putting the Warriors up 2-1.

The Terriers entered the second period with what appeared as newfound energy.

After clearing the puck out of the neutral zone, a pass from freshman forward Kamil Bednarik resulted in another goal from Svoboda to tie up the game.

While the Terriers tried to make up for poor offensive play from the first period, their shot-on-goal efforts could not pull them through the second frame. 

Halfway through the second period, a quick shot by forward Caden Cranston went past Caron, allowing Merrimack to take the lead once again. 

Towards the end of the period, the Terrier’s offense began to fall apart. During the last five minutes of the frame, BU could not clear the puck out of their zone. Fortunately, Caron’s strong goaltending ensured the period ended with a 3-2 score, shutting down the Warriors offense.

“[Caron] held us in there, which was big for us, to give us an opportunity to have a chance to come back in the third,” Pandolfo said of Caron, who played in his 100th career game in the victory.

The third period started off slow for both teams, as unsustained zone time and puck possession plagued both sides.  

Cole Eiserman, however, broke this pattern for the Terriers. 

With a breakout pass from the neutral zone, Eiserman slid past his defender and netted a wrist shot from the right circle. 

Eiserman ignited a necessary spark in the BU offense after his team-leading ninth goal. 

After a failed shot attempt, former Warrior Matt Copponi capitalized on a rebound opportunity, backhanding the puck to Eiserman, putting the Terriers up 4-3. 

“[Copponi] kind of came out to me in the slot,” Eiserman said of his game-winning goal. “And you know, strip it and rip it, and see what happens.”

Following the goal, BU took an ill-timed penalty- a pattern that seems to be occurring frequently for the Terriers this season. 

Despite being a man down, captain Shane Lachance took control of the puck through the neutral zone. On a 2-on-1 breakaway, Lachance passed across the slot to Copponi, who scored a shorthanded insurance goal against his former team. 

One goal was not enough for Copponi. 

On another 2-on-1 breakaway, Jack Hughes found Copponi in the crease, netting his second of the night on a wide-open net to secure a much-needed home victory for the Terriers. 

“It’s just another game, and you want to help the team win in any way you can,” Copponi said. “So that’s what I tried to do tonight.”

Merrimack’s frustration toward the end of the period was perfectly summarized by a fight that broke out with just a minute remaining.

The Terriers will travel to Belfast, Ireland, next week to compete in the Friendship of Four tournament, where they will face off in a rematch against the Warriors. 

“Our guys are excited, but it’s also an opportunity to play for a championship,” Pandolfo said. “There is the trophy at the end of this so that’s important for our guys.”

BU is set to play Merrimack on Friday, Nov. 29, in Belfast. Puck drop is set for 9 A.M. EST, with streaming available on ESPN+ and TSN+.