Terriers dropped a 4-0 decision to Merrimack at Lawler Rink
in North Andover. BU fell behind, 2-0, in the first period and were unable to
put a puck past Craig Pantano, despite taking 34 shots.
Following a penalty-filled dust-up between the teams at the two-minute mark, the Warriors went on a power play and Michael Babcock converted a rebound for a 1-0 lead. Merrimack doubled the lead four minutes later when Logan Coomes scored on the rush.
The home team padded its lead in the second period with a second power-play goal, with Johnathan Kovacevic’s shot from the point going off a Terrier skate and past Jake Oettinger.
Redshirt junior Max Prawdzik relieved Oettinger and stopped all ten shots he faced over 35 minutes. Merrimack tacked on an empty-net goal in the game’s final minutes.
One of the few bright spots for BU was dominance in the faceoff circle, winning 42 of 68 draws.
Following a penalty-filled dust-up between the teams at the two-minute mark, the Warriors went on a power play and Michael Babcock converted a rebound for a 1-0 lead. Merrimack doubled the lead four minutes later when Logan Coomes scored on the rush.
The home team padded its lead in the second period with a second power-play goal, with Johnathan Kovacevic’s shot from the point going off a Terrier skate and past Jake Oettinger.
Redshirt junior Max Prawdzik relieved Oettinger and stopped all ten shots he faced over 35 minutes. Merrimack tacked on an empty-net goal in the game’s final minutes.
One of the few bright spots for BU was dominance in the faceoff circle, winning 42 of 68 draws.
Coach Albie O’Connell told the Daily Free Press, “You have
to tip the cap to their goalie. He made some big saves. Made the one on [BU
senior forward and captain Bobo Carpenter] on the backdoor and there was a
couple of saves throughout the night that he did a good job on. They also did a
good job of running [with] their second chances.”
He added, “We got a lot of growth to go as a team. We have to get a lot better in a lot of areas.”
● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score
● Post-game comments: O’Connell
● HockeyEastOnline recap
● Daily Free Press recap
Looking ahead
2019 recruit Ethan Phillips's first career USHL goal was the game-winner in Sioux Falls' 2-1 win against Madison. The right-shot forward for Selects Hockey Academy 18U is playing for the Stampede this weekend and next.
2019 recruit Robert Mastrosimone earned 3rd star honors in Chicago’s 5-3 win against Green Bay. He leads the Steel in scoring with 4-4-8 in eight games.
2020 recruit Drew Commesso stopped 40 shots in the NTDP U17s’ 3-1 loss to Central Illinois in a USHL contest.
He added, “We got a lot of growth to go as a team. We have to get a lot better in a lot of areas.”
● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score
● Post-game comments: O’Connell
● HockeyEastOnline recap
● Daily Free Press recap
Terrier Takeaway (analysis by defkit)
- I thought the team played better than the final score
indicates, but there were definitely some disappointments. Positives included
their overall effort level and some solid play by less-touted guys. The biggest
negative was just that they were out of synch, which showed up mostly on the
power play. That led to some players trying to do too much and turning over the
puck (Farrance comes to mind).
- BU actually dominated the first couple minutes with the
puck in the offensive zone, but the Switzer hooking penalty shifted the
momentum to Merrimack and they took advantage right away.
- I thought Quercia was the best player for BU, at least
relative to expectations. He has good speed for someone his size, and he is an
absolute physical force. The 4th line seemed to feed off his energy, especially
Chabot, and Albie responded by giving them a regular shift pretty much all game
long.
- DeBoer (the 13th forward) didn't see a shift until the
third period, but coach must have liked what he saw, because he was out there
quite a bit the rest of the way.
- Farabee will be good but he is still adjusting to the
speed and strength of the competition.
- Harper seemed to be used somewhat sparingly, but
perhaps it was due to all the shorthanded play, which he was not a part of.
- Cloonan looked good early on, but his ice-time seemed
to drop as the game went on.
- I think Blixt will be a fun player to watch. Very
active with lots of size and aggressiveness.
- The third goal seemed to be deflected, so I was a
little surprised with the goalie change, but I think Albie perhaps wanted to
just try something to change the momentum. Kudos to Prawdzik for not allowing a
goal against.
- One thing that stood out to me in terms of comparing to
last year was the lack of any sort of cycling game. Obviously losing Greenway
and Tkachuk is a factor, and perhaps the tight confines at Lawler are another,
but perhaps it is also part of the new coaching game plan.
- The puck was bouncing around a lot, not sure if the ice
quality was an issue, but it led to lots of tentative play at the offensive
blue line.
- Bobo crunched #17 for Merrimack at their bench late in
the game and the guy was literally stuck on top of the boards for a few
seconds, seemingly unable to move. I was actually worried that he might have
suffered a terrible injury. I assume he is ok.
Looking ahead
Another one! @sfstampede Ethan Phillips gets his first career USHL goal! #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/LnwuCP26T6— USHL (@USHL) October 21, 2018
2019 recruit Ethan Phillips's first career USHL goal was the game-winner in Sioux Falls' 2-1 win against Madison. The right-shot forward for Selects Hockey Academy 18U is playing for the Stampede this weekend and next.
2019 recruit Robert Mastrosimone earned 3rd star honors in Chicago’s 5-3 win against Green Bay. He leads the Steel in scoring with 4-4-8 in eight games.
2020 recruit Drew Commesso stopped 40 shots in the NTDP U17s’ 3-1 loss to Central Illinois in a USHL contest.
● USA Hockey recap
Looking back
David Quinn, Jack Eichel, Charlie McAvoy, Clayton Keller
and Jordan Greenway are among the former Terriers included in a New York Times
report, “College
Hockey Alumni Rise in Prominence in the N.H.L.”
Women's Team
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