Men’s Hockey: Terriers Split Weekend Series Against Vermont On Last-Minute Goal

By Ethan Pott

Boston University men’s hockey (8-8-1, 5-5-0 HEA) fell to the University of Vermont Catamounts (4-9-0, 2-5-0 HEA) 3-2 on Saturday, surrendering the game-winner in the final minute.

Despite outshooting the Catamounts 32-19, the Terriers allowed a Vermont offense that had averaged just 1.33 goals per game coming in, and had not scored more than two in any game this season, to find the net three times.

“I thought we played well enough to win the game, but we just couldn’t find a way,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said postgame. “That’s been the way things have gone this year for us, [we] make mistakes that [we] just can’t make.”

BU sophomore center Brandon Svoboda won the opening faceoff, and the Terriers controlled possession early, pinning Vermont in its own zone for much of the opening minutes.

However, the Catamounts struck first on their first extended spell of pressure. Sophomore defenseman Jax Wismer’s shot on Vermont’s second shot of the night slipped past BU sophomore goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, gliding just under the crossbar to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

“We were having success, putting [the puck] in their zone,” Pandolfo said. “We got away from that a couple times, and it ended up in the back of our net.”

Just over halfway through the second period, junior defenseman and captain Gavin McCarthy sprung sophomore winger Cole Eiserman with a breakout pass. Eiserman, BU’s leading goal scorer, cut inside a lone Vermont defender and beat Catamounts freshman goalie Aiden Wright to tie the game 1-1.

Though both teams pushed offensively, the middle frame settled into a defensive battle, with each attack turned away by the two goaltenders.

Vermont freshman defenseman Caeden Herrington had one of the more dangerous looks of the period with a wide-open chance in front, but Yegorov held his ground, drawing a loud reaction from the Dog Pound.

The first 15 minutes of the period passed without another breakthrough, but the Catamounts regained the lead with just over five minutes to go before intermission. Senior center Massimo Lombardi found the back of the net to make it 2-1 Vermont.

“They did a good job getting in shot lanes,” Pandolfo said. “Give them credit.”

The Terriers answered with several strong shifts, weaving through defenders and moving the puck crisply in the offensive zone, but their attempts sailed wide or were blocked and deflected away.

Vermont mounted one last push as the clock ticked under a minute in the second, but Yegorov kicked away another chance to keep BU within one heading into the third.

The game remained relatively clean; no penalties were called all night. The tension, however, boiled over five minutes into the final frame.

In a particularly physical sequence, a group of Catamounts knocked sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson to the ice in the Vermont zone, then carried the puck up ice and collided with multiple Terriers along the boards. No penalty was signaled, and Pandolfo challenged for a five-minute major. After review, the challenge failed and play stayed 5-on-5.

Pandolfo declined to comment on the call.

Shortly after, BU nearly took advantage of a miscue when Wright was caught partially out of his net, but Vermont’s defense recovered in time to snuff out the chance and transition the other way. The Catamounts turned the puck over, though, and the Terriers quickly generated another look.

Off that second rush, sophomore winger Nick Roukounakis found himself in space and drove the net, snapping home his third career goal to tie the game 2-2.

Pandolfo praised Roukounakis, whose three goals have all come within just six games played this season.

“Him scoring that goal was huge for us,” Pandolfo said. “[We] need a little bit more of that, more guys willing to drive to the net like that.”

The Terriers, however, lost the game in heartbreaking fashion.

Pushing into the BU zone with pressure in the final minute of regulation, Vermont worked the puck into the slot, where senior center Thomas Sinclair slipped a shot past Yegorov to put the Catamounts up 3-2. The tally marked Vermont’s highest-scoring effort of the season. With just over 20 seconds left to respond, the Terriers could not generate an equalizer.

“We probably deserved better, but they ended up on top tonight,” Pandolfo said.

BU will head to Northeastern University’s Matthews Arena to face the Huskies in the final contest at the historic venue on Saturday, Dec. 13. The game will stream on NESN and ESPN+.