Sunday, January 17, 2021

Terriers double up #6 UMass



Behind Captain Logan Cockerill's second consecutive two-goal game and 33 saves by freshman Drew Commesso, Terriers upset #6 UMass, 4-2, at the Mullins Center to notch their second win and halt the Minutemen's seven-game winning streak. The teams match-up again Monday at Walter Brown Arena with puck drop set for 3:00 p.m. and a live stream on CollegeSportsLive.com .

GAME DAY LINKS:  Live Stats, Terrier Sports Radio Network, College Sports Live, Men’s Hockey Twitter

The hosts dominated shots 13-1 in the opening period, but the Terriers got on the board first. Sophomore Jamie Armstrong stole a puck behind the UMass goal line and found freshman Dylan Peterson for a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle. 

The 1-0 lead lasted five minutes with UMass knotting the score on Ty Farmer’s unmarked shot from the top of the crease. BU took a penalty late in the period and UMass made the Terriers pay as Carson Gicewicz beat Commesso from the slot.

Eight minutes into the second period, BU drew even on an individual effort by Cockerill. He pilfered the puck at the red line and was, as the announcers say, “off to the races,” deking Matt Murray and sliding home a backhander. Cockerill also drew a penalty on the play, but BU was unable to take advantage and then had to kill a penalty called on Peterson.

Terriers went back on the man-advantage at the 13-minute mark and needed just 20 seconds to take the lead. Domenick Fensore got the puck to Farrance just inside the blueline and his hard wrist shot beat Murray high to the stick side with Cockerill providing a screen.

Terriers would kill off three more penalties in the final period and padded their lead during the first one. Max Kaufman took a pass from Alex Vlasic and cleared the puck to center ice where Cockerill collected it and split two defenders for yet another breakaway, beating Murray five-hole for a 4-2 lead. UMass pulled the goalie for an extra attacker with three minutes left to play, but Commesso, aided by strong defensive play, slammed the door.

With its 2-1-0 record, BU finds itself, surprisingly, at #4 in the Pairwise rankings, just ahead of BC and trailing Minnesota State, Bowling Green and Canisius.

Cockerill, who now has four goals—doubling the total from his injury riddled junior season, was the game’s first star.

Commesso, who earned second star honors, stopped the final 22 shots he faced during the final two periods.

BU blocked 19 Minuteman shots with 13 coming in the third as BU protected its lead. Of the 19 blocks, 13 were by forwards with Kaufman stopping four shots.

Defkit’s Terrier Takeaway

- What a great road win against one of the top teams in the country. The territorial play wasn’t as lopsided as the shots might suggest (especially the first period). But Commesso outplayed Murray. Goals against for the team has gone from 7 to 4 to 2, so that’s a good trend.

- Second straight 2-goal game for Cockerill, who hadn’t had a multi-goal game in three prior seasons. It’s great to see the captain starting the season off so well. His SHG was an incredible effort.

- Nice to see Peterson get his first goal. For someone as big as he is, he has solid speed and hands.

- But the freshman who has surprised me the most is Zabaneh. He plays a solid two-way game, has good speed and is a hard worker. After Skoog lost a few faceoffs in the final 3 minutes, Zabaneh replaced him and won two in a row.

- Jarman still looks good, but taking two penalties didn’t help the cause. I’m hoping Case McCarthy is close to returning, though it could be Campolieto who sits when McCarthy is back.

- A win Monday will be tough, but would be a big statement for what this team is capable of.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Video highlights

● WTBU Sports recap

● Boston Hockey Blog recap

►The January 2021 edition of the Men’s Hockey Newsletter includes an update from Coach Albie O’Connell with comments about each player on the roster.

Looking back

Evan Rodrigues scored his first goal of the season in the Penguins’ 4-3 shootout win against Washington. Rodrigues is skating on Pittsburgh’s first line with Sydney Crosby.

● NHL.com recap and video highlights

 

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