Men’s Hockey: Despite a better showing on the back half of the weekend series, Terriers suffer 2-0 loss to Comm. Ave rivals
Featured image by Holly Gustavsen
By Claire Smieszny
Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey (13-9-1, 9-5-1 HE) were defeated by the Boston College Eagles (18-4-1, 11-3-1 HE) 2-0 on Saturday night in the second round of the Battle of Comm. Ave.
“Overall I thought we competed hard and we had our chances,” Coach Jay Pandolfo said after the game. “We couldn’t find a way on the power play to score which we needed, we couldn’t find a way to score five on five two games in a row, so we just kind of bear down a little bit more.”
The Terriers were dealt a disadvantage before the puck had dropped. Mikhail Yegorov came onto the ice before the officials for warmups, and a bench minor for a protocol violation gave the Eagles two minutes on the power play to start the game.
BC wasted no time in putting the opportunity to use. BU was outnumbered on the rush, and Teddy Stiga found Ryan Leonard’s rebound to put the Eagles up 1-0 just 24 seconds into the game.
“I have a really hard time with that call,” Pandolfo said about the bench minor. “It’s a joke that that’s how the game starts, and that’s not how these games should start. Like, really, this is how we’re going to start a BC-BU game.”
BU got their feet under them late, finally catching up with the brutal pace set by BC halfway into the opening frame. The first glimpse of established offense came in the form of a couple set plays and shots on net from the top two Terrier lines.
All chances against BC’s sophomore goaltender Jacob Fowler were quickly gloved down or sticked away as Fowler lived up to his .934 save percentage on the season.
Yegorov would come up big a couple of times in the period, including blocking a point-blank shot from a net side Oskar Jellvik on the penalty kill to keep the deficit at one. It didn’t stay that way through BU’s efforts alone, as BC would flub the puck on multiple surefire chances.
The second period started with the most offensive fire seen from BU so far, streaking down the ice and creating more rush chances than the first frame and getting more shots off their sticks.
The Terriers still suffered from missed opportunities by turning the puck over in their own end, which was exacerbated by the Eagles’ aggressive forechecking.
Yegorov continued to shine, blanking Gabe Perreault and Teddy Stiga on a 2-on-0 and beating Ryan Leonard across the net to block his backhand. His play in net kept BU in the game throughout the period.
“I’m just really happy with the way [Yegorov] played tonight,” Pandolfo said.
The Terriers ramped up their efforts and, with the help of several BC penalties, managed sustained zone time and attacked Fowler with shots on net. The rest of the game for BU was spent scrambling to get back and attempting to contain their dynamic offense.
One of the Terriers’ best chances to equalize it came from an across-the-net pass from Shane LaChance to Kamil Bednarik, who ripped the puck but was beaten by Fowler.
BU struggled to hold BC down as the game went on, and their domination of the O-zone continued. Despite BU leading in shots on goal, the Eagles seemed to control the game from end to end as time wound down.
The nail in the coffin came in the form of a Ryan Leonard empty netter with 1:03 left on the clock, doubling the lead and effectively ending BU’s chances at forcing overtime.
The Terriers now shift their focus to Friday, Jan. 31, when they’ll face the New Hampshire Wildcats before gearing up for the Beanpot.