Sunday, March 13, 2022

Huskies eliminate Terriers in Quarterfinals


#16 Terriers had their 100th season end in the same place it began, Hartford’s XL Center, as they fell to UConn, 3-1, in the Hockey East quarterfinals. Five months earlier, BU had beaten the Huskies in the season-opener, 2-1. Terriers finish the season at 19-13-3.

Saturday, UConn carried a 2-0 lead into the third period, which Dom Fensore cut in half with a power-play goal. But BU couldn’t produce an equalizer and moments after goalie Darion Hanson’s kick save snuffed out BU’s final chance, an empty-net goal at 19:50 closed the door.

The Huskies dominated the first period—shots were 19 to 10—establishing a strong forecheck and winning most of the 50-50 puck battles. They finally connected at the 16-minute mark when Vladislav Firstov redirect a Jake Flynn shot past Drew Commesso.

While the second period was more balanced, BU was unable to dent Hanson. Eight minutes in, Commesso, who stopped 35 shots, foiled a clean breakaway.

But a few minutes later, an unmarked Johnny Evans poked home a rebound from the right post after Commesso’s initial save on Ryan Wheeler for a 2-0 UConn lead.

BU tried to mount a third period comeback with a 20-8 shot advantage. Matt Brown and Sam Stevens each had scoring chances stopped by Hanson. BU got its first—and only—power play and Fensore connected from the center point, assisted by Jay O’Brien and Robert Mastrosimone.

With just under two minutes remaining, Ty Gallagher closed to the right face off dot but Hanson, who had 38 saves,snuffed out his scoring chance. BU pulled Commesso for an extra attacked, but couldn’t produce an equalizer.

“On balance, you know, it’s a frustrating way to go when you don’t get off to a good start,” Coach Albie O’Connell said. “I thought our [defense] core struggled heavily at the start of the game with the puck and without it. That kind of put us on our heels a little bit. … [UConn] probably could have had a couple more. I thought Commesso was really good in the first period.

“Obviously he wants a different result, but he gave us an opportunity to win. That’s all you can ask for from a goalie.”

Defkit’s Terrier Takeaway

- There was a pretty good crowd on hand, given that UConn just started their Spring Break - perhaps the only time of year that having your arena be in a city 30 minutes away pays benefits.

- UConn carried the early play, getting a lot of shots in the first 8 minutes or so. They also played a very physical game right from the start - and carried it through the whole game.

- The refs showed they were going to "let them play", and in general I thought they did a good job being consistent.

- Three self-imposed off sides (two with both skaters looking right at each other the whole way through the neutral zone) didn't help us grab momentum. Very frustrating.

- I like Skoog's game, but I think refs are just going to start calling him on his antics. He almost always gets a warning on the faceoff for taking too long (which usually shouldn't be a big deal, but as we saw with Stevens earlier in the game, you roll the dice on a false start resulting in a penalty). Any time the opposing goalie makes a save and gets a whistle, Skoog literally gets as close to the goalie as he can and does not move until the other team pulls him out.

- Commesso made some very good saves and kept us in the game. The first goal was impossible to stop, a deflection from 15 feet out over his shoulder. The second goal was an uncovered Husky from 5 feet out.

- All in all an obviously disappointing end to an up-and-down season. It was nice to finally bring a Beanpot home, but it's hard not to think this team should have had more success given the talent on the roster.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Coach Albie O’Connell post-game comments

● WTBU Sports recap

● Boston Hockey Blog recap

Looking ahead

2022 recruit Jeremy Wilmer scored his 20th goal and added his 50th assists in Tri-City’s 6-1 win against Fargo.

2022 recruit Lane Hutson scored a goal and added an assist as the NTDP U18s doubled up Muskegon, 8-4. The left-shot defenseman has 43 points in 43 games.

2023 recruit Shane Lachance scored his seventh goal in Youngstown’s 2-0 win against Green Bay.

2023 recruit Doug Grimes scored his fifth goal in Lincoln’s 6-3 win against Des Moines.

Looking back

Charlie Coyle's third-period goal lifted the Bruins past Arizona, 3-2. It was his 14th goal with Charlie McAvoy providing an assists (his 30th). Coyle also assisted on the Bs' first goal. Clayton Keller scored his 25th goal for the Coyotes.

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