Saturday, January 31, 2015

Six in the 3rd power BU past UMass--UPDATED



In a wild affair that saw nine goals scored in the third period, #2 BU gave up a 3-1 lead, and came from behind twice to upend Massachusetts, 9-5, at Agganis Arena.  The eventual game winner came off the stick of captain Matt Grzelcyk, 16 seconds into a power play. It was Grzelcyk’s first goal of the season and one of five power play goals for the Terriers. The other goal scorers were Ahti Oksanen with three, Jack Eichel and Brandon Hickey with two each and Danny O’Regan with his team-leading 17th.  

Senior assistant captain Evan Rodrigues didn’t score a goal, but assisted on six BU scores—despite sitting out five minutes with a major penalty—and was a force all night, as were Eichel and Grzelcyk.

BU scored on six of nine power play chances, but yielded three to UMass on seven chances—with two goals coming on a five-minute major to Rodrigues.

Coach David Quinn summed up the evening: “Love scoring nine. Hate giving up five.” He added:
Obviously, penalties were a major problem for us tonight. You just can’t expect to take that many penalties and expect to have success … That being said, I really liked our start. I thought we were ready to go and had a lot of energy.”
►Check the recaps below and video highlight for the sequence of goals

►Three stars: #1 Rodrigues, #2 Oksanen, #3 Eichel.

►E-Rod tied BU’s school record of six assists in one game, which was previously set by Ron Anderson in 1971-72 and by Larry Davenport in 1967-68.  In his last nine games, Rodrigues has four goals and 17 assists and, with nine goals and 25 assists for the season, he’s equaled the 34 points he scored as a sophomore.

►O’Regan's 17th goal ties Notre Dame’s Mario Lucia for most in Hockey East. Oksanen’s first career hat trick gives him 16, while Eichel is one behind him with 15.  Eichel (photo) remains first in the conference in total points with 40, followed by Rodrigues (34) and O’Regan (29).

►BU improved to 16-4-4 overall and 11-2-2 in Hockey East, and it holds a four-point edge over BC with a game in hand.

►BU's six third-period goals tied a program record for most goals in a period. It was last done in this season's opener against UMass, an 8-1 win. 

►The Terriers last put nine goals on the board in November 2007, drubbing Vermont at The Gut, 9-1.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score
● Video highlights
● Post-game comments: Coach David Quinn, Rodrigues and Oksanen
● Daily Free Press recap, Power Play Spurs Terriers
● Boston Hockey Blog: Pluses & Minuses
● USCHO recap
● College Hockey News recap 
● Boston Globe recap
● UMass Daily Collegian recap
 
Terrier Takeaway: Today’s entry from blog reader Five Hole Terrier
□ The Jack Eichel Show, starring Jack Eichel:  Some of the best hockey he has played in a BU sweater.  He ended up with 2 goals and 2 assists, but could have had at least 3 other goals.  Some eye-popping individual moves.  Was a going concern all night.
 
□  Supporting cast with big offensive nights:  Evan Rodrigues with 6 assists, Ahti Oksanen with his first career hat trick, and Brandon Hickey with 2 goals.

□ The BU power play was clicking on all cylinders.  Great passing and great effectiveness all night produced six goals.  Reminded me a little of the BU teams in the early and mid-nineties.

□ The team showed great resiliency after being down by a goal on two different occasions, and after giving up 2 goals on E-Rods five-minute major in the third period.  There is no quit on this team, and they really are never out of a game -- even when down by multiple goals.

□ And the negatives:  1) Too many defensive breakdowns.  I am sure that Coach Quinn will have plenty to talk to his team about after the game in this regard.  2) Stop me if you have heard this one before: The team had too much undisciplined play and took way too many penalties (27 minutes), including the E-Rod five-minute major. 3) BU lost the physical game tonight against a tough UMass squad.  This may be one of the team’s "Achilles Heels" (and stems largely from their youth). 4) The penalty kill units were not as effective as they have been in prior games.  BU will need to clean up those areas if they hope to come out with a win against a strong Harvard squad on Monday afternoon.


Looking ahead
2015 recruit Robert Carpenter assisted on two Sioux City goals in the Musketeers’ 5-3 win over Sioux Falls. Carpenter’s 19-23-42 scoring line puts him second in the USHL in points, one behind teammate Adam Johnson and one ahead of 2015 recruit Maxim Letunov. 2016 recruit Kieffer Bellows scored his team-leading 17th goal for the Stampede.

Looking back
For the second time in as many nights, Kevin Shattenkirk scored the shoot-out game-winner for the Blues. The former BU captain and All-American—and NHL all-star—snapped a wrist shot past Cam Ward to give St. Louis a 3-2 win against Carolina. Of Shattenkirk’s eight career shootout goals, seven have proven to be game winners. He's converted on seven of 15 attempts.
● Recap and video highlights
● TSN report on shootout prowess

Nick Bonino’s power play goal in the second period was the game-winner in Vancouver’s 5-2 victory over Buffalo. Bonino’s 11th goal of the season earned him the game’s first star.
● Recap and video highlights

Women’s Team
#7 Terriers visit Connecticut today looking to complete a sweep of the regular-season series. BU won the first game, 3-2, on Nov. 15. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.

A Terrier win would bring a milestone for Coach Brian Durocher, who enters the game with a 199-111-40 record in his ten seasons behind the BU bench.

● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Game Tracker, College Sports Live webcast
● Daily Free Press preview
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