Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Farrance OT goal caps BU sweep of UMass

 


Assistant captain David Farrance scored on a breakaway 2:18 into overtime to send the Terriers to a 4-3 win and a sweep of the two-game series with UMass. The win at Walter Brown Arena gave BU its third consecutive win against a ranked team. The Minutemen were #6 going into the series.

BU rallied from a two-goal deficit going into the final period to set up the team’s first experience with a 3-on-3 overtime. Terriers received another stellar effort from freshman netminder Drew Commesso who stopped 44 shots, including all 20 he faced in the third period. In the three wins, Commesso yielded no third-period goals.

Just as on Sunday, freshman Dylan Peterson gave BU an early lead. At the five minute mark, freshman Cade Webber took a pass from classmate Nick Zabaneh, faked a shot and when a defender went down for a block, he slid the puck to Peterson along the right board. The 6’4” forward quickly closed to the bottom of the circle and wristed a shot past Matt Murray, high to the blocker side.

At 13:07 Cal Kiefiuk converted a rebound from the side of the crease after a poor line change enabled UMass to keep the puck in the BU Zone. 1-1 after one.

While second period shot totals were close (12-9 UMass), the Minutemen had a significant territorial advantage and scored the periods only two goals. At 4:31, Carson Gicewicz scored his 10th goal, slipping home a loose puck after an initial shot from the left circle deflected to Commesso’s right. Late in the period, Jake Gaudet redirected home a shot from the left point for a 3-1 UMass lead.

Gaudet’s five-minute major for contact to the head in the opening minute of the third opened the door for a Terrier comeback, but it also sent a badly shaken captain Logan Cockerill to the locker room. He didn’t return to the ice. BU quickly took advantage. Farrance passed to Domenick Fensore at the left point. He closed to the left circle and fired a low shot that beat Murray to the glove side, cutting the deficit to one. Jay O'Brien had the secondary assist.

Five minutes later, BU produced an equalizer. Wilmer Skoog pressured a defender near the left corner and the ensuing clearing attempt up the boards was intercepted by Luke Tuch. He drew a defender towards him and passed to Skoog who had set up in the slot for a one-timer that sailed over Murray’s glove.

In overtime, after a Gicewicz scoring opportunity was defended, Zabaneh took a pass from Fensore behind the BU cage. Heading up ice, he headmanned a pass to Farrance in stride alone at the UMass blue line. The All-American closed on Murray and beat him five-hole for the game-winner.

Discussing his team’s comeback, Coach Albie O’Connell explained, ““We’ve got a really good, resilient group. They’re really confident in their abilities. To take five points in a Hockey East weekend, in our second weekend is a big one, especially in the fashion that we did.”

Commesso, he added, “gave us a chance to get back in this game. He played really well. He’s a great kid, and he’s very normal for a goalie, which is very nice.”

►With a goal and an assist, Farrance remains the only Division 1 player averaging two points per game.

►BU killed all four penalties, including a questionable one on Fensore in the final five minutes of regulation, and 9 out of 10 for the two games. UMass had come into the series with a 27% power play.

►Following the win, BU now stands at #3 in the PairWise Rankings.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Video highlights

● Post-game comment O’Connell

● WTBU Sports recap

● Boston Hockey Blog recap

 BU Oldtimer's Terrier TakeAway

1. This was a very satisfying win for BU, especially considering the extent to which UMass dominated them from the 10 minute mark of the first period through the entire second period. Congratulations to the players and staff for picking up the pieces to play a solid third period.

2. Two come from behind victories against a highly regarded team that has played many more games than BU.

3. Commesso was very good again. His positioning was exceptional. He's made significant progress from opening night vs.PC.

4. From my perspective, Quercia was the only BU player who played well during the second period. Two strong rushes along the wing that drew penalties. Perhaps, as the line combinations shake out, he will move up the lines and leverage his size and grit to the benefit of players with a higher degree of skill and finesse.

5. It's disappointing that BU's large defensemen couldn't handle the UMass forwards in front of the net and in the slot during the second period.

6. To state the obvious, Nick Zabaneh's pass to Farrance for the OT winner was terrific. Given the camera work, it looked like Farrance might have been offside on the play, but no protest from UMass.

7. On the subject of Farrance, he is made for 3-on-3 OT play.  

 

Looking ahead


2021 recruit Jeremy Wilmer had the primary assist on a pair of goals in the NTDP U18s’ 7-3 win against Muskegon. Wilmer has 25 points (9G,16A) in 20 games. 2022 recruit Lane Hutson moved up from the U17s for the game and found himself opposing his brother, the Lumberjacks’ Quinn Hutson, a 2021 recruit.

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