Oksanen goal earns BU a 3-3 tie with Maine

Terriers skated to a 3-3 overtime tie with Maine in Orono last night, knotting the game midway through the third period on freshman Ahti Oksanen’s power play goal. The freshman from Finland fired past the Maine goalie who was screened by senior Ben Rosen at 8:02.

BU came out fast and hard in the first period, pressuring the Black Bears into turnovers that led to two goals. Matt Nieto scored his eighth goal assisted by Evan Rodrigues at 8:48 and then ten seconds later, captain Wade Megan cashed in his 14^th goal after a Cason Hohmann takeaway.

Terrier penalties and mistakes on penalty kills helped Maine tie the score with a goal late in the first period and another early in the second. The Black Bears went ahead on a 4-on-3 power play, also in the middle stanza, when Maine outshot BU, 17-4.

Terriers had a few good chances in overtime, but couldn’t put a fourth goal on the board.

Matt O’Connor was strong in the BU cage making 33 saves. Rosen and Hohmann had especially strong nights on faceoffs, combining to win 24 of 37 draws.

"Let’s start with what I didn’t like: the penalties in the second period," said BU coach Jack Parker. "Other than that I liked everything else about the game.I liked the way we started I liked the way we finished.”

The teams meet again tonight in a 7 p.m. start

● GoTerriers.com recap, comprehensive box score

● Video highlights

● Boston Hockey Blog recap, Three Up/Three Down, analysis

● Post-game comments: Jack Parker, Ahti Oksanen, Matt O’Connor

● WTBU Sports recap, analysis

● USCHO recap

● Saturday game links and Boston Hockey Blog in-game blog

Looking back

Former Terrier captain Jay Pandolfo has signed a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins. A Hobey Baker Award finalist in 1996 and a two-time Stanley Cup winner with New Jersey (2000 & 2003), Pandolfo had been with the Bruins on a Professional Tryout Agreement since the start of training camp on Jan. 13.

Women’s team

The #3 Terriers begin a home-and-home series with Vermont this afternoon at Walter Brown Arena at 3 p.m.. The teams met in January in Burlington with BU thumping the Catamounts, 5-2. Freshman Jordan Juron scored a pair of  goals.

● GoTerriers.com preview, game notes, Game Tracker, Terrier TV Webcast, WTBU Radio Webcast, Twitter Updates

● WTBU Sports preview