Two goals apiece by senior assistant captain Danny O’Regan
and freshman Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and four assists by freshman Charlie
McAvoy led #9 BU to a 5-4 win over a stubborn UMass squad at Agganis Arena. The
win gave the Terriers a two-game sweep of its opening round series and they now
move on to to a best-of-three quarterfinal against Lowell at Tsongas Arena.
On the heels of Friday night’s defensive battle, last night’s contest saw BU take the lead four times only to have the Minutemen respond to tie the game each time before JFK scored the game-winner. The center from Stockholm also scored the game’s first goal, assisted by O’Regan and freshman Jordan Greenway. Later in the opening period, Dennis Kravchenko’s rip from the high slot tied the score at 1-1.
In the second period, BU scored a power play goal as captain
Matt Grzelcyk’s cross ice pass was one-timed from the left-wing circle by O’Regan.
Thirteen seconds after BU killed a UMass power play, Shane Walsh beat senior Sean
Maguire from close range to restore the deadlock. Just a minute later, McAvoy
set up Grzelcyk for a wrist shot from the left point that beat Nic Renyard, who
was screened by Bobo Carpenter.
The Minutemen answered on the power play at 17:50 of the
second when Kurt Keats converted a centering pass at the goalmouth, but
BU responded quickly. Greenway controlled the puck along the end boards and found
O’Regan driving to the net for his second of the night and 16th of
the season, giving BU a 4-3 lead after two periods.
Four minutes into the third period, UMass knotted the
score yet again. Maguire blocked a long slapshot, but Austin Plevy beat the BU
defense to the rebound for a goal. The game-winner came with eight minutes left
in regulation when O’Regan set up McAvoy for a shot from the high slot that hit
a defender. JFK corralled the rebound and, on his second attempt, beat Renyard
to the glove side.
With two assists to go with his two goals, O’Regan has 152
career points, becoming the 18th Terrier to exceed 150. The San Jose
draft pick leads the team in goals with 16 and points with 42. Head Coach David
Quinn noted that “His best hockey
has been the last six weeks and he stepped up big tonight.”
Karlsson’s pair of goals broke a 12-game scoring drought
for the freshman, leading Quinn to comment:
"He was hard on the puck, he really was elusive, did a lot of good things, made some good passes, I thought he had a really good night."
McAvoy’s four assists give him 20 for the season and 23
points.
The victory was the final game of the season at Agganis,
where BU racked up a 14-2-2 record.
● GoTerriers.com recap
and comprehensive box score
● Daily Free Press: recap; JFK
finds scoring touch
● Boston Hockey Blog: Pluses & Minuses
● USCHO recap
Looking ahead
2018 recruit Tyler Weiss assisted on a pair of goals in
the Don Mills Flyers’ 4-0 playoff win over Vaughan. Weiss, named earlier in the
week to the 2016 NTDP evaluation camp roster, has 45 points in 35 games for the
Flyers.
Looking back
Jack Eichel scored his 19th goal of the season
and added his 25th assist for Buffalo, but the Sabres dropped a 3-2
shootout decision to Minnesota. Eichel also gave his team a 1-0 lead in the shootout
that was matched by the Wild’s Charlie Coyle before Minnesota got the deciding
goal.
● NHL.com recap and video
Women’s Team
#3 seed BU defeated #2 seed and 6th ranked
Northeastern, 4-3, in the Hockey East semifinal. With the victory, the Terriers
will defend their conference championship on Sunday against top-ranked Boston
College. BU has won the past four Hockey East championships, including last
year’s title game against the Eagles.
After the Huskies took a 1-0 lead, sophomore Rebecca
Leslie scored on a power play. Fellow sophomore Victoria Bach’s 22nd goal gave BU
its first lead in the middle stanza before Northeastern tied the score. Captain
Kayla Tutino put BU ahead to stay late in the period.
Junior Alexis Crossley scored the eventual game-winner
midway through the third period before NU scored an empty-netter.
Sophomore netminder Erin O’Neil turned away a career high 54 shots, including
18 in the final period.
● GoTerriers.com recap
and comprehensive
box score
● USCHO recap
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