Men’s Hockey: Terriers Swept by Black Bears in High-Scoring Orono Series

Featured Image by Alex Chen

By Ethan Pott

The Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey Team (3-5-1, 1-3-0 HEA) fell to the Maine Black Bears (5-2-1, 2-0-0 HEA) in a weekend sweep in Orono.

Even during sophomore forward Cole Eisenman’s absence due to injury, BU’s offense produced, but poor defense and goaltending sunk the Terriers in a weekend of back-to-back barnburners.

In the first game, on Friday night, BU fell 5-4 in overtime to Maine.

“Every time we got a lead, we gave it right back,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “Our details and our game weren’t where they need to be.”

In the first period, sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson scored for the Terriers, but Maine freshman forward Justin Poirier responded just four seconds later off the subsequent faceoff, tying the game for the Black Bears.

Four minutes later, BU freshman forward Ryder Ritchie added a power-play goal to give the Terriers a 2-1 lead.

Halfway through the second period, Maine junior forward Sully Scholle tied the score at 2-2.

Later in the second period, Terrier freshman forward Ben Merrill scored his first career collegiate goal to put BU back up, 3-2.

However, the Black Bears struck right back as senior forward Owen Fowler answered, restoring the tie once again at 3-3.

Sophomore defenseman Sascha Boumedienne scored, giving BU a 4-3 edge early in the third period.

Poirier responded with his second goal of the game, tying the score at 4-4. After the final seconds of regulation drained, the two Hockey East rivals headed to overtime.

Just 44 seconds into overtime, Maine senior defenseman Brandon Holt scored the game-winner, sending the Terriers back to the locker room in defeat.

The next night was a similar offense-first affair. The Terriers struck first right off the bat as Merrill doubled up his collegiate goal total within the first minute, putting BU up 1-0.

In a mirroring of the previous game’s first period, the Black Bears tied it up almost instantly, evening the score at 1-1 on a shot from junior forward Charlie Russell.

Maine freshman defenseman Jeremy Langlois was sent to the box for hooking after successfully thwarting an excellent look on net for BU junior forward Jack Harvey, but the Terriers’ first man advantage of the night ended uneventfully.

The Black Bears started pummeling the Terriers later in the first. Langlois made up for his error by sneaking a shot into the corner of the net. The officials reviewed the goal, questioning whether the puck had crossed the line, but the ruling was upheld, and Maine took its first lead of the night at 2-1.

Fowler soon followed that up with a goal of his own, putting the Black Bears up 3-1. BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo responded by lifting sophomore goaltender Mikhail Yegorov for junior backup Max Lacroix.

“We’ve got to play harder, we’ve got to play mature hockey,” BU junior defenseman Gavin McCarthy said before heading to the locker room at the end of the first. “It’s just getting old.”

Maine went on its first power play of the night as Terrier freshman defenseman committed an interference penalty. BU’s penalty kill unit was solid, clearing the puck several times and interrupting the Black Bears’ advances at center ice.

The Terriers struck back off a shot from sophomore forward Brandon Svoboda that found a path through a glut of Maine defenders, halving the Black Bears’ lead and making the score 3-2.

Lacroix gave up his first of the night minutes later. Poirier continued his onslaught, weaving around BU junior defenseman Aiden Celebrini to the front of the net, where he bounced the puck over Lacroix’s head to give Maine a 4-2 lead.

The Black Bears’ power-play unit assembled as McCarthy was called for holding, but a critical turnover led to a shorthanded goal for BU freshman forward Jonathan Morello, and the Terriers got within one at 4-3.

During the remainder of the power play, Lacroix made a tremendous diving save to hold the score, but junior forward Max Scott rocketed one past him to put Maine up 5-3.

The offensive explosion continued as a shot from Russell bounced in and out of the side of the net to put the Black Bears up 6-3 soon after, forcing Pandolfo to call a timeout.

Shortly before the end of the middle frame, freshman forward Conrad Fondrk led BU’s effort to keep up with Maine’s rampage as his shot found its way past freshman netminder Mathis Rousseau. The Black Bears headed to the locker room needing to preserve a 6-4 lead for 20 minutes to secure the sweep.

BU’s situation turned ever more dire in the third as it gave up a shorthanded goal to Scott, making the score 7-4. Pandolfo challenged for goaltender interference, but the officials confirmed the goal was legitimate, and the game went to 4-on-4 play followed by a short Maine power play.

With 12 seconds left in the Black Bears’ advantage, Svoboda added to the chaos by scoring the game’s third shorthanded goal to get the Terriers within two at 6-4.

The final frame saw penalties on both sides, with Maine briefly holding a 5-on-3 advantage, but neither team converted its advantage.

Ultimately, as the waning seconds in regulation ticked down, Maine sophomore forward Oskar Komarov buried an empty-netter to put the game away, and the Black Bears came away victorious, the score 8-5.

The Terriers will look to change their luck at home on Nov. 7 against the Merrimack Warriors. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.