Men’s Hockey: Terriers come up short in heartbreaker against Western Michigan
By Devora Slonim
Absolute heartbreak in St. Louis.
The Terriers season came to a devastating end as they fell 6-2 to the Western Michigan Broncos in the NCAA National Championship.
It was a season not many predicted would get to this stage.
Although their season did not end the way they had hoped, Coach Jay Pandolfo was proud of his team nonetheless.
“We keep knocking at the door here,” Pandolfo said post-game. “Obviously we came up a little short. Like I said, I am proud of our guys and I thought we competed, you know, all the way through.”
Western Michigans’ Wyatt Schingoethe got on the board first, tipping in a deflection fired from the blue line on the first shot by either team in the opening few minutes of the frame.
In quick succession, Cole Eiserman evened the score, poking the puck in past Hampton Slukynsky, who could not corral the puck after the initial save.
With help from Mikhail Yegorov, BU killed off the first penalty of the night as Quinn Hutson went to the box on a hooking call.
Western Michigan got back on the board with under five minutes remaining. Cole Crusberg-Roseen took advantage of a screen in front of Yegorov and a sloppy effort from the Terriers, who were unable to clear the puck to put the Broncos up 2-1.
After back-and-forth play in the middle frame, Western Michigan got back on the scoreboard in the form of a Ty Henricks goal. Henricks slipped the puck in past Yegorov, collecting the rebound from teammate Cam Knuble.
The Terriers applied heavy pressure in response, sending BU on a power play after Nick Roukounakis drove hard to the net to draw the man advantage. Co-captain Shane Lachance wasted no time, pushing the puck past Slukynsky from the blue paint to get back within one.
Lachance, grandson of legend Jack Parker, reflected on what the BU program has meant to him.
“It means everything you know… I’ve grown up playing, you know, going to BU and watching games and stuff like that,” Lachance said. “You dream of winning a national championship. It just sucks. It sucks that we came up short.”
With just over a minute remaining in the period and an unsuccessful Terrier power play, Devin Kaplan received a penalty on a kneeing call, recklessly leveling Iiro Hakkarainen into the boards.
BU had numerous chances to even the score in the third period but were unable to find the back of the net.
However, it was the Broncos that appeared back on top.
Owen Michaels found a loose puck and broke out on a 2 v. 1, firing a shot through Yegorov’s right blocker side for the 4-2 lead.
The Terriers were inches away from getting within one goal with more than eight minutes remaining, but after a coach’s challenge, the goal was waved off and thus went BU’s momentum.
As the clock wound down, the Terriers had five minutes to put two goals in and force overtime.
Once again, it was Western Michigan who capitalized.
Hakkarainen wrapped the puck around the net and bounced the puck in off an awkward deflection, putting the Broncos up 5-2.
With one last-ditch effort, Yegorov was pulled for the extra attacker.
Michaels, the NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player, found the loose puck and threw it into the empty net for one final exclamation point and the devastating end to the Terriers’ season.
“It’s special to win this thing, and I want to see those guys experience that,” Pandolfo said of the future of the team. “That’s my goal is for me to see our players in our program experience that.”
Ryan Greene, soon-to-be Chicago Blackhawk, reflected on the group and their brotherhood.
“Honestly, probably nothing to do with hockey, just like the things off the ice,
Camaraderie,” Greene said of what he’ll remember about this team. “Yeah, we just had a really special group in there. And, yeah, they’re brothers in and out. Just really thankful that I got to spend the year with them.”