Men’s Hockey: Terriers Beat Colgate in a 2-2 Shootout Victory

By Ethan Pott

Boston University Men’s Hockey (2-0-1, 0-0-0 HEA) concluded its series against the Colgate Raiders (0-1-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) on Saturday night in a tight tilt tie marked by mistakes and penalties on both sides.

Despite the Terriers’ win in the shootout, BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo and the team were disappointed the match-up ended in a dogfight.

“[I’m] disappointed with our start,” Pandolfo said. “They came ready to play; we certainly didn’t.”

“We’re not too thrilled with it,” sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson said. “We got better as the game went on, but I think our problem is consistency.”

Colgate went down a man just 30 seconds into the game as junior forward Jake Schneider was called for unnecessary roughness. The Terriers were unable to capitalize on the power play, a recurring theme throughout the game, as BU did not take advantage of any of Colgate’s five penalties.

Halfway through the period, the game went to 4-on-4 play as each team took a penalty. On the conclusion of the stacked power play, junior center Ryan Sullivan snuck the puck past Terrier sophomore goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, putting the Raiders on the board.

The period ended after another penalty was called on Colgate, but BU’s power play unit was stymied once again.

Though BU came out of the locker room in the second, energetically pushing for an advantage, the Terriers failed to connect even when surrounding the Colgate net.

After a few minutes of both teams pushing, the Terriers’ first goal came through as freshman forward Ryder Ritchie passed to Eiserman, who rocketed a shot just to the right of Colgate senior goaltender Andrew Takacs, tying the score 1-1.

Eiserman’s game-tying goal was his fifth goal in three games.

The Raiders’ lack of discipline put them at risk once again as sophomore forward Simone Dadiè was sidelined on a roughing penalty. BU had two opportunities to take the lead on the tail end of the power play, but freshman forward Jack Murtagh and Hutson were both denied.

After 5-on-5 play resumed, the Terriers generated a 3-on-1 rush, but an Eiserman centering pass found nothing but the boards.

The second period concluded with both teams down a skater as Hutson was sent to the box for holding and Colgate for a too-many-men violation.

“The coaching staff will [take the blame] for that one,” Colgate Head Coach Mike Harder said.

BU’s passing game was successful in the third. Eiserman and his linemates ricocheted the puck all around the offensive zone, but the Raiders had all the puck luck.

Colgate junior defenseman Antonio Fernandez sniped a one-timer past Yegorov without applying pressure on the Terrier defense, giving the Raiders a 2-1 lead.

Murtagh retaliated in the period’s fourth minute, dodging a diving Takacs to tie the score at two apiece. It was the freshman and Philadelphia Flyers prospect’s first collegiate goal.

“It was unbelievable, hearing the crowd, all the noise,” Murtagh said.

Pandolfo praised Murtagh, saying he was one of the only players whose performance was satisfactory, also stating that this was Murtagh’s best game of the season so far.

With less than a minute remaining in the third, BU sophomore defenseman Sascha Boumedienne attempted a one-timer from afar on the net. Upon review, the play was deemed offside, and the goal was overturned, bringing the game to overtime.

“The linesman almost wanted to call it,” Harder said. “We were pretty convinced that it was offside.”

During the five-minute overtime period, Bednarik was sent to the box once again for tripping. Colgate fired several shots that missed by mere inches, but the Terriers escaped the disadvantage unharmed.

BU amped up the pressure, but the overtime period ended scoreless, and the game proceeded to a shootout.

Yegorov was a brick wall, and Takacs was ineffective in the shootout. Eiserman, first to shoot, netted an easy goal.

Colgate sophomore forward Jack Brandt’s shootout attempt was turned away by Yegorov while Terrier junior forward Jack Harvey sank his shot. Fernandez could not salvage the shootout for the Raiders.

“It’s a work in progress,” Pandolfo said. “[We’re just] going to continue to work on things, continue to show [the players] things, and hopefully get the buy-in from the group.”

The Terriers will attempt to stay undefeated in a heavyweight showdown at home against the Michigan State Spartans on Friday, Oct. 17. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.