Men’s Hockey: Commanding 8-3 win powers Terriers over Ohio State to advance in the NCAA Regionals

Featured image by Holly Gustavsen

By Devora Slonim

In the words of Head Coach Jay Pandolfo, “If you asked me after the first period and told me we were going to win 8-3, I think I probably would have laughed.”

“We’re better than that,” Pandolfo told his team during the first intermission.

“It starts with us just working, skating and winning battles. That is what it starts with.”

The Boston University Terriers (22-13-2) ultimately found their footing, battling back to clobber the Ohio State Buckeyes (24-14-2) 8-3 in the opening round of the NCAA Regionals in Toledo, Ohio.

The Terriers suffered an abysmal first period, registering only two shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes of play.

BU were on their heels off the opening draw, barely managing to escape the first period as a flurry of shots from the Buckeyes kept the Terriers pinned in their zone.

OSU got on the board first after a catastrophic defensive play in front of goaltender Mikhail Yegorov left Joe Dunlap wide open to tap the puck in for a 1-0 lead.

The Terriers found themselves in the box on back-to-back calls dished out to Quinn and Cole Hutson, and a sprawling Gavin McCarthy swept the puck off the goal line, preventing OSU from doubling their lead.

It was a night and day change for BU in the middle frame.

“It’s just trying to find our game. We were on our heels, kind of waiting for something to happen instead of going out and doing it, and that started to turn a little bit and we had the mindset of starting right away, and just doing it,” Jack Hughes said of the switch in the team in the second and third period.

Once again, Cole Eiserman was in the right place at the right time to get the Terriers the equalizer. Eiserman beat netminder Logan Terness off the draw, wristing a shot into the left top shelf at 8:07 in the second.

A brief stint in momentum came in the form of a Devin Kaplan roughing penalty, and the Buckeyes wasted no time.

Joe Dunlap potted his second of the night, beating Yegorov’s blocker side to regain the lead.

The parade of goals continued as Quinn and Cole Hutson connected on a give-and-go play that put the puck on Q. Hutson’s stick to ring the puck off the crossbar and into the net to even the score at two apiece.

Just 30 seconds later, a careless play in the neutral zone left OSU on a 2 v.1 breakaway, and Max Montes beat Yegorov in a similar fashion to the previous goal, putting the puck past his blocker side.

With the Buckeyes up 3-2, the Terriers jumped right back in. A strong effort on the forecheck from Hughes forced a turnover right to a waiting Matt Copponi in the slot, firing a quick one-timer into the net.

A lucky break came to BU as an OSU buzzer-beater goal was negated, leaving the score at 3-3 heading into the final period of regulation.

Two minutes into the third frame, Aiden Celebrini banked a wrist shot in from the far right circle to give the Terriers their first lead of the night.

A penalty kill was not enough to halt BU’s efforts.

Hughes continued his dominant campaign, breaking out on a 2 v. 1 with co-captain Ryan Greene, streaking up the ice and putting the puck past Terness for the shorthanded goal.

Eiserman piled up the goals, firing the puck from another impossible angle beyond the red line, bouncing the puck in and off the OSU goaltender for his second of the night and the 6-3 lead.

On yet another turnover, Jack Harvey kept momentum going, putting up the field goal to add to the Terriers’ touchdown.

With one final exclamation point, Cole Hutson, the only freshman and defenseman in the country to have multiple four-point games, was rewarded for his efforts, getting the empty net goal to add to his three assists on the night.

“I think we have a pretty interesting group. We have a lot of passion, we really love each other off the ice,” Eiserman said post game. “And I don’t know why we put ourselves in these situations, but then we get together as a group and we really play for each other… it’s pretty fun to have these guys who we love so much and be able to [play together] when our backs are against the wall.”

The last time BU and Ohio State faced off was in 2000, where head coach Jack Parker, grandfather of co-captain Shane Lachance, led the Terriers in an 8-3 victory over OSU to ultimately go on and win the national title.

“I don’t know if a whole lot needs to be said,” Pandolo said of the game ahead on Saturday. “I mean, our guys are smart, they saw what happened in the first period. They understand that if you want to win, you aren’t going to get away with it every game.”

The Terriers will continue on in the NCAA Regional Finals, facing off against the winner of Michigan State vs. Cornell. Game time is TBA, and streaming will be available on ESPN+.