Sunday, December 14, 2025

UPDATED: Terriers' late goals stun Northeastern in Matthew Arena finale; defkit's Terrier Takeaway

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Earlier this week, Jay Pandolfo said he didn’t have a favorite game at Matthews Arena from his playing days or as a coach. He just may have found a candidate. 

Sophomores Kamil Bednarik and Brandon Svoboda scored goals 18 second apart in the final two minutes to rally #20 BU past #11 Northeastern, 4-3, in the final game to be played at Matthews Arena. Or as Bernie Corbett calls the former Boston Arena, “the ancestral home of BU hockey.”

Scroll down for defkit's Terrier Takeaway 

 

Boston University men's hockey players celebrate after scoring final goal at Matthews Arena  

            Photo credit Eliza Nuestro 

Despite having a decided edge in play through much of the first forty minutes, the Terriers found themselves trailing 3-2 after yielding Northeastern’s third goal with just 1.3 seconds left in the middle period.

Bednarik's equalizer came with Mikhail Yegorov pulled for an extra skater and Svoboda's game-winner followed seconds later.

"It was a good hockey game," Pandolfo said postgame. "We made some mistakes but our guys didn’t get down tonight. That’s what I really liked. You could just feel that we were going to try to find a way to tie it up. I didn’t expect to win it right there, but we did and it’s a credit to our group.

"Sometimes in the past, you give up a late goal after a power play, that could really hurt you," he explained. "But our guys were determined to come back. It’s just a big win for us going into the semester [break].Hopefully, a confidence builder. I wish we were playing again tomorrow."

The victory brought the Terriers three important points in the conference standings and a win over a ranked team that should boost BU's NPI ranking. It also enables BU to finish first semester at 9-8-1 with four wins coming in the last five games.

With the win, BU leaves The Arena with a 347-177-19 record in games played in "the old barn." 

Pandolfo praised Svoboda's two-goal performance. "Early in the game he had two semi-breakaways. When he's like that he's really hard to handle. He has a lot of speed. He's strong. He was really determined tonight." 

While the Terriers would have a 16-8 shot advantage and a 13-6 edge at the face off dot in the opening period, it was the Huskies who scored first, and second, too. Midway through the period, with Northeastern on a power play, Giacomo Martino threw a pass from the left circle to the goalmouth where Jacob Mathieu redirected it past Yegorov for a 1-0 lead.

Just three minutes later, Gavin McCarthy's attempt to pinch along the board failed and led to a 2-on-1 Husky break. Tyler Fukakusa finished the play, beating Yegorov top shelf.

The home team had a 2-0 lead and with goalie Lawton Zacher sporting the second best GAA in Division 1 (1.97), BU's prospects seemed grim.

However, right after a Terrier power play was killed, BU cut that lead in half off an offensive zone draw. Jonathan Morello pushed the puck forward and Nick Roukounakis' shot attempt was deflected into the air. Svoboda reached the bouncing puck first and flicked it past Zacher on the stick side   

In the middle period, BU killed off a second NU power play without allowing a shot. The Huskies' passive forecheck enabled zone entries leading to several grade A chances. None of them connected until the prettiest play of the game at 13:39

Sacha Boisvert carried the puck into the offensive zone, attracting two defenders, and dropped the puck back to Owen McLaughlin. He threaded a pass to Malte Vass skating into the left circle. Meanwhile, Boisvert headed to the NU net and Vass's cross-ice pass set up Boisvert for a one-timer past Zacher glove to tie the score at two apiece. It was the sophomore center's second goal. 

A Northeastern penalty at 17:43 presented a chance for BU to take the lead. One sharp-angle shot hit iron and a Cole Hutson pass to Cole Eiserman, driving to the net, just missed connecting. With seconds left in the period, Charlie Trethewey's outlet pass to Boisvert in the BU zone was mishandled. The loose puck slid to BU-nemesis Joe Connor who quickly backhanded it past Yegorov with 1.3 remaining on the clock.

Instead of taking a lead after two periods, BU found itself on the short end of a 3-2 score. 

Pressing for a tying goal, BU had a possession and shot advantage in the third and again killed a penalty without yielding a shot on goal. A third BU power play produced three shots but no goals. 

Midway through the period a slashing call on breakaway resulted in a penalty shot for Connor, but Yegorov calmly stoned him.  

With just over two minutes left in regulation, BU pulled Yegorov for an extra skater. Bednarik won a puck battle along the left boards, sending it to the left point where Hutson slid the puck across to McCarthy. The captain quickly teed up Eiserman for a one-timer from the right circle that Zacher saved, but Bednarik, unmarked at the goalmouth, banged home the rebound, tying the score at 18:03 with his fifth of the season--and shocking the home crowd.

Just 18 seconds later BU took its first and only lead of the game.

In the winning sequence, Trethewey outraced Dylan Hrychowian for a loose puck in the Terrier defensive zone, swatting it to Roukounakis along the boards. The burly forward elevated the puck into neutral zone and, as the bouncing disc crossed the Huskies' blueline, Svoboda pressured back-skating Dylan Finlay. Keeping his feet moving, he gained control of the puck and, with the NU defenseman hooking his right foot, flipped the puck past Zacher on the blocker side for a 4-3 lead. It was his fourth tally of the season.

Now it was Northeastern's turn to pull the goalie for an extra skater. The Terriers handled the final 99 as well as a coach could getting several clears and not allowing a shot on goal. Northeastern was limited to just four shots in the final period.

Final shots were 35-21 BU. Terriers also had the edged at the faceoff dot, 30-24.

While McLaughlin and Jack Murtagh returned the lineup, Sascha Boumedienne and Aiden Celebrini were sick and unable to play. Amico and Vass formed the defense corp's third unit tonight, while Trethewey was paired with Mick Frechette on the second unit.

"I thought the three freshmen did a heckuva job," Pandolfo said. "I though for Amico and Vass it was a really good experience tonight, in this building, against a really good team. They handled themselves well. They play Vass made on Boisvert's goal was a pretty high-end play. That will give them some confidence." 

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score

● Pandolfo postgame 

● Video highlights 

● Boston Hockey Blog BU men’s hockey beats Northeastern 4-3 in final game at Matthews Arena

Prior to the game, Jack Parker and NU's Dave Poile participated in a ceremonials puck drop.  

Ceremonial puck drop at Matthews Arena with Jack Parker and David Poile 


defkit's Terrier Takeaway 

 - In a season marked by inconsistent play and injuries, it was nice to overcome the latter to play one of their better games of the first half and win a tough road game in dramatic fashion.

- I thought BU was the better team, though perhaps not by as big a margin as the shot totals reflect.They had sustained periods of possession and played a physical game. Were it not for a few misplays, they may have had a more comfortable victory.
 
- Svoboda clearly was on his game, scoring the first and last goals. If he and Roukunakis can use their speed and skill as much as their physical play, this team has a shot to have a much better second half.
 
- Vass and Amico, while having occasional moments of poor decision-making or hesitation, overall held their own. Being able to play in a game like this will pay dividends down the road in their development. Vass' cross-ice pass to Boisvert on the second goal was a glimpse of what he can do for this team.
 
- It was good to see Boisvert finally get his second goal of the season. Pandolfo indicated that Sacha is still working back from his injury, so I expect we will see play more similar to last night the rest of the way from him, perhaps even better.
 
- I thought Cole Hutson played okay. He had his usual high puck possession numbers, but he has become more prone to turnovers recently. He gets too close to the opponent when trying to make a move, and he is losing the puck too frequently. I would like to see him mix in more aggressive play - pushing the puck up the ice and to the net, taking slapshots on occasion (he finally did in the third period last night). There is just too much lackadaisical skating and puck-handling right now - he has become too predictable.
 
- Ryder Ritchie is still adjusting to playing against older and stronger players. The skill is evident and he has good vision. But teams know that if they take the body on him, he will lose the puck. Hopefully he continues to gain strength and becomes more of a force in the second half.
 
- One impact of having such a young team is a lack of poise. Teams know they can create turnovers against with an aggressive forecheck. The third NU goal was a prime example. With the clock winding down, a defenseman with more experience would have carried the puck behind the net and bled out the final seconds. But Tretheway tried a pass that Boisvert wasn't even expecting and wasn't able to control, leading to the last-second goal. Again, this should come with more experience.
 
- It was a great experience to catch a final game at Matthews, my first in more than 20 years. Overall the ceremonies were well done (I did not stick around for the after-game festivities) although I was a bit surprised by the booing of Jack Parker during the ceremonial puck drop, given that there have been three BU coaches since him, but I guess that is how the Dog House gets their reputation.

 

Looking ahead 

2026 recruit Caleb Malhotra scored his 15th goal and added an assist in Brantford's 5-3 loss to Peterborough. With 41 points, Malhotra remains the OHL's top-scoring rookie and is third on the Bulldogs. 

Looking back

Macklin Celebrni scored his 16th goal and assisted on two other as the Sharks rallied from a 5-1 deficit to defeat Pittsburgh in overtime, 6-5.  He is third in scoring in the NHL with 47 points.

Lane Hutson assisted on a pair of goals in Montreal's 5-4 overtime loss to the Rangers. 

Trevor Zegras scored his 12th goal and added his 18th assist in the Flyers' 4-3 shootout loss to Carolina.    

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