Men’s Hockey: Terriers Fall to Michigan State in Overtime
Featured Image By Jenny Chen
By Jenny Chen
The Boston University Men’s Hockey team (2-2-1) put up a stronger showing in the second game of its series but fell just short against the Michigan State Spartans (2-1-0), losing 4–3 in overtime to close out the weekend.
“We found a way to keep pushing,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said.
The Terriers opened the game with a better start than in Friday’s contest. Though BU received an early penalty kill for hooking, it prevented MSU from having consistent offensive zone time.
Junior forward Jack Harvey generated BU’s first quality chance in the seventh minute, stealing the puck in the offensive zone and quickly firing a shot on goal.
However, the Spartans still struck first. Freshman forward Ryker Lee scored his first collegiate goal in the ninth minute of the first period, deking and skating past sophomore goaltender Mikhail Yegorov to give Michigan State a 1–0 lead.
For the remainder of the period, the Spartans controlled the pace and kept BU’s offense at bay, holding a 14–7 lead in shots on goal after 20 minutes.
The Terriers’ first power-play opportunity came late in the first period, but they struggled to generate pressure on the net.
The start of the second period was not as strong as the first. Despite getting two power plays, practically back-to-back, the man-advantage special team unit only combined for two shots
By the midpoint of the period, BU began to find more footing offensively, spending more time cycling the puck in the offensive zone. Yet, Michigan State extended its lead when freshman forward Porter Martone netted his first collegiate goal, giving the Spartans a 2–0 advantage.
In the final frame, the No. 1 ranked team looked its best, peppering the net repeatedly from the start of the third period.
Junior defenseman Gavin McCarthy broke through in the third minute for the Terriers, scoring his first goal of the season from the right circle to ignite a comeback. Freshman forward Ben Merrill also earned his first collegiate point with the primary assist on this goal.
But Michigan State answered quickly. Just 39 seconds later, junior forward Tommi Männistö capitalized on a turnover by BU freshman forward Jack Murtagh, restoring the Spartans’ two-goal lead at 3–1.
With less than 12 minutes remaining, hopes dimmed for BU when sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson was called for interference. However, sophomore forward Kamil Bednarik delivered a highlight-reel shorthanded goal, stealing the puck in the neutral zone, breaking away, and finding the back of the net for his first goal of the season.
At this point the noise in Agganis Arena was deafening. Using that home-ice advantage, the Terriers evened the score at 3–3 with under five minutes to play. Freshman forward Conrad Fondrk recorded the first goal of his collegiate career by tipping in a slapshot from sophomore defender Sascha Boumedienne.
The teams found themselves in a standstill, unable to break through, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime opened poorly for BU, as Bednarik lost the opening faceoff, giving the Spartans controlled possession over the puck. MSU quickly fired off a shot, but Yegorov saved the puck to keep BU’s chances alive.
Puck possession, then, was traded between the teams, but the goaltenders on either end stood tall.
Closing in toward the final minute of overtime, senior forward Owen McLaughlin and sophomore forward Cole Eiserman found themselves on a 2-1 breakaway. McLaughlin slipped Eiserman the puck for a one-timer, but it was cleared off the line.
The Spartans countered on an odd-man rush, and senior defenseman Matt Basgall buried a one-timer from Lee to seal the weekend sweep for Michigan State.
“Last night, I think we’re just kind of overwhelmed…but I like the response, and that’s all really, we’re looking forward to moving forward,” Pandolfo said.
BU returns to the ice to open conference play next week on Oct. 24 against the University of Connecticut Huskies. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+.