{"id":37501,"date":"2023-03-25T11:57:12","date_gmt":"2023-03-25T15:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=37501"},"modified":"2023-03-25T11:57:12","modified_gmt":"2023-03-25T15:57:12","slug":"mens-hockey-3-takeaways-from-terriers-5-1-win-over-wmu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2023\/03\/25\/mens-hockey-3-takeaways-from-terriers-5-1-win-over-wmu\/","title":{"rendered":"Men\u2019s Hockey: 3 Takeaways from Terriers\u2019 5-1 Win Over WMU"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gracie Davenport<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Cover Photo Credit: Joe Eachus<\/em><\/p>\n

Boston University Men\u2019s Hockey (28-10-0) advanced to the NCAA Regional Final with a 5-1 win in the Regional Semifinal over the Western Michigan University Broncos (23-15-1) Thursday afternoon in Manchester, New Hampshire. It took a complete team effort to quell the fifth-best offense in the nation, but the Terriers shined on their most important stage of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are three things we learned from BU\u2019s latest victory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last Ride: BU\u2019s Senior Group Made Their Presence Known<\/b><\/p>\n

It is no secret BU has one of the largest senior classes in the nation, and the 11 members decided to return to Comm Ave. for a reason.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The eight seniors that suited up had a huge night offensively, combining for seven points and notching three of the five goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Forward Matt Brown recorded BU\u2019s first shot on net at the 1:13 mark and kept the momentum rolling. The Terriers\u2019 leading scoring forward in the regular season, Brown scored the first goal among the seniors midway through the second period, his 16th goal of the season and first of the postseason.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brown started the initial offensive rush on a solo effort before one-timing the puck home off a feed from his fellow senior linemate Ethan Phillips.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After slotting in as the extra forward two straight games to start the postseason, Phillips rejoined his spot on the top line in the Hockey East title game and never looked back. Against the Broncos, he was a difference-maker all night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPhillips was excellent tonight,\u201d BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. \u201cI think that it was the best game he\u2019s played all year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Freshman defenseman Lane Hutson opened the scoring for the Terriers, but Phillips made the play happen. The senior winger got activated on the forecheck to gain possession down low, creating a turnover. From there, Phillips went between the legs and found his senior linemate Jay O\u2019Brien net front before Hutson banged it home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

En route to his three-point effort, Phillips continued to impress. Setting up plays below the goal line and creating a notable shorthanded breakaway chance in the middle frame, Phillips was finally rewarded for his efforts with an empty-net goal to seal the game 5-1.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Phillips is] a great player,\u201d senior forward Wilmer Skoog said. \u201cWe were playing a bunch with each other freshman, sophomore year. We know each other pretty well on and off the ice. It was really good to see him get that open net goal at the end. I am happy for him and for the team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Skoog also had a bounce-back showing after missing the Hockey East title game for a one-game boarding suspension sustained in the HE semifinal against Providence College. Skoog scored BU\u2019s fourth of the night on a top-shelf tally for his 15th of the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was painful just watching the game, but I am so happy the team got it done last weekend,\u201d Skoog said. \u201cIt was really nice to be out there again. I for sure had some extra energy from missing that game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

BU captain Domenick Fensore has been playing banged up since suffering a lower-body injury on March 11, but continued to sacrifice his body Thursday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fensore finished the game with three blocked shots, including one on WMU freshman forward Ryan McAllister. The freshman leads the Broncos in points, and his top line includes the nation’s top goal-scorer, senior Jason Polin. Fensore\u2019s shutdown style was on full display as he took on Polin 1-on-1 and broke up any potential offensive rushes all night.<\/span><\/p>\n

The defenseman also picked up the primary assist on the game-winner, perfectly feathering the puck to Quinn Hutson for the tap-in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although this senior group had themselves a memorable game, the Terriers were missing one key member: defenseman Case McCarthy. The assistant captain suffered a season-ending injury March 17 against PC. BU continues to rally around him in their quest for a national title.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutson(s) for Hobey: The Siblings Continue to Shine<\/b><\/p>\n

The freshman duo of brothers has played an integral part in the Terriers\u2019 success all season long, but the pair has reached new levels in the postseason.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey score in big moments. They both want the puck on their stick,\u201d Pandolfo said. \u201cQuinn is a goal-scorer \u2026 Obviously Lane drives offense, and he\u2019s got a sneaky shot. He finds a way to come up big, and it\u2019s a credit to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutson opened the scoring Thursday with his 15th of the year. The Hobey Baker finalist was left out all alone in front of WMU\u2019s netminder and capitalized by going five-hole.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat forecheck by Ethan Phillips,\u201d Hutson said. \u201c[O’Brien] found me there drifting in, I just tried to get in and off my stick pretty quick.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Quinn Hutson doubled BU\u2019s lead in the second period with an eerily similar goal to his overtime winner that advanced the Terriers to the HE title game. The elder brother now has six points through his last eight games \u2014 all goals.<\/p>\n

This tally became the eventual game-winner in a final score of 5-1. Despite playing different positions, the Hutson brothers have traded game-winning goals over the last three straight games to boost their season total to a combined 12 game-winners on 28 team wins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty special. My parents have been at the last three games, so it\u2019s always good when they are in town watching the games,\u201d Lane said. \u201cI am really happy to see Quinn score big goals, as he always does, and we\u2019ll see if I can get the next one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Drew Commesso is Still Dialed In<\/b><\/p>\n

Junior goaltender Drew Commesso earned his eighth straight victory Thursday, making 24 saves and showing that he\u2019s locked in at the right time in recent games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Commesso only conceded one goal to the Broncos\u2019 fifth-best offense in the nation. WMU\u2019s top offensive line is one of the most explosive in college hockey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe went in knowing they had a great offense. The game plan was to shut their top line down. I give our players a ton of credit,\u201d Commesso said. \u201cA lot of times when they are moving guys out of the way it lets me see the puck, it allows for fewer rebounds, and our [defense was] great tonight \u2014 talking to me all night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Commesso allowed the first goal of the night 9:26 into the matchup, but BU successfully overturned the call for goaltender interference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI knew right when it went in that it should\u2019ve gotten reviewed,\u201d Commesso said. “I had a good feeling that it was going to get called back. After it happened, I just had the same mindset on whether it was a goal or no goal. It\u2019s just a focus on stopping the next puck.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

From there, Commesso continued to hold down the fort behind a desperate BU team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Terriers\u2019 regular-season efforts may have earned them an automatic tournament bid regardless of the outcome of the HE championship. Still, Commesso\u2019s efforts last weekend sent his team into the national tournament with momentum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over his four-game postseason win streak, the assistant captain has strung together a .936 save percentage and 1.75 goals against average.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, a great team effort. They let me see the puck and do my job,\u201d Commesso said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With this win, the Terriers are now a perfect 5-0 at the Manchester Regional site, advancing to the Frozen Four in 2009 and 2015. BU will look to continue this streak Saturday with a 4 p.m. Red Hot Hockey matchup against Cornell University.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is so much video on teams now. You can dig deep, so it shouldn\u2019t be an issue having a short amount of time,\u201d Pandolfo said. \u201cWe\u2019ll enjoy it for a little bit. We will go have a dinner tonight and get some rest, come back here, and practice tomorrow \u2014 start focusing on our next opponent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gracie Davenport Cover Photo Credit: Joe Eachus Boston University Men\u2019s Hockey (28-10-0) advanced to the NCAA Regional Final with a 5-1 win in the Regional Semifinal over the Western Michigan University Broncos (23-15-1) Thursday afternoon in Manchester, New Hampshire. It took a complete team effort to quell the fifth-best offense in the nation, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21299,"featured_media":37472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1026,1028,19,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21299"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37501"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37505,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37501\/revisions\/37505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}