Men’s Hockey: Unlikely heroes lead Terriers to victory as they advance to Friendship Four championship game

Featured image by Joe Eachus

By Hannah Connors

Even overseas, the Terriers gave us something to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey (7-5-1, 4-2-1 HE) took down the Merrimack Warriors (3-8-1, 2-5-1 HE) 6-2 in the first round of the Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“We did the first part of the job, getting to the finals,” coach Jay Pandolfo said. “So now we have to go out there and finish the job.”

After meeting each other in back-to-back match-ups, the game narrative feels almost the same for both teams.

For the first half of the period, the Terriers maintained offensive possession, with significantly more shots on goal than the Warriors.

Halfway through the period, Devin Kaplan passed a backhander to Aiden Celebrini, who took a shot from the slot, accounting for the Terrier’s first goal of the game and his first of the season.

“This year I’ve really had to mature not only on the ice, but off the ice as well,” Celebrini said. “It’s been great for me.”

The team capitalized on this momentum. After coming down through the neutral zone, Cole Hutson took the puck deep into the Merrimack zone. With a pass to the high slot, Hutson found Tristan Amonte, who netted the Terrier’s second goal of the game.

With six minutes left in the period, a cross-checking penalty in front of the BU net left Merrimack an opportunity on the power play.

The Terriers did not let this disadvantage stop them.

On a two-on-one breakaway, Kamil Bednarik took the puck through the neutral zone, finding Gavin McCarthy wide open in the slot to net his first of the season and put the Terriers up 3-0.

To start the second frame, the Warriors changed their goalie from Nils Wallstrom to Max Lundgren.

This change for Merrimack seemed to give them a little spark.

Throughout much of the period, the Warriors exhibited a strong forecheck, leading to more offensive opportunities.

Matthieu Caron’s goaltending, however, prevented the Warriors from generating a goal for the majority of the frame.

Back-to-back penalties for BU caused a stint in their momentum.

Although they successfully killed off the first penalty, the second power play for the Warriors was a different story.

The Warriors took advantage of a quick rebound off Caron, as Zach Bookman and Seamus Powell found Antonio Venuto, who netted a goal from the lower side of the left circle.

“It’s a problem when you’re taking that many penalties,” Pandolfo said. “You’re wearing guys down that get a lot of minutes.”

Merrimack came out strong in the final period, carrying their strong offensive push from the middle frame.

Just 20 seconds into the period, David Sacco brought the puck out of the neutral zone and scored Merrimack’s second goal of the game from the top of the BU zone.

The Terriers settled the puck down after the early Warrior’s goal.

Celebrini found another opportunity, passing the puck to Quinn Hutson, who snipped a quick shot into the corner pocket of the net for a 4-2 BU lead.

As a last-ditch effort with the clock winding down, the Warriors pulled their goalie, but it was the Terriers who took advantage.

In a forecheck play, Amonte sent the puck down ice into the empty net for his second of the game.

The Terriers were not finished, as captain Shane Lachance netted a clear wrister with 30 seconds left to finish off their match at the SSE Arena with a flourish.

Ultimately, the last-minute push by BU in the third and strong goaltending from Caron helped the Terriers stamp their ticket to the tournament final.

“I’m really happy with how the group started today,” Celebrini said. “Hopefully it’s a taste of what we got moving forward.”

The Terriers will take on the winner of Harvard v. Notre Dame on Saturday, Nov. 30, at 2 p.m. ET for a chance at the Belpot trophy. The championship game will be available to stream on ESPN+, TSN+, and NESN+.