Sunday, October 30, 2022

Lane Hutson's magic delivers an OT win; Defkit's Terrier Takeaway

                           Photo Credit Caroline Fernandez

Down by a 1-0 score going into the third period, the #9 Terriers rallied to tie the game late in regulation on a brilliant Lane Hutson goal and then won it in overtime on an even more brilliant play by the freshman defenseman.  The 2-1 win gives BU a split of its series with the River Hawks.

BU thought it had won in regulation when Case McCarthy sent a bomb from center point past Lowell goalie Gustavs Davis Grigals with just eight ticks left on the clock. However a review determined that Luke Tuch had interfered with the goalie and the apparent game-winner was disallowed.

Drew Commesso, returning to the line-up after missing four games, was sharp in goal, stopping 29 of 30 shots including a critical one in overtime.

Terriers and the Riverhawks had an evenly played first ten minutes, but then Lowell’s neutral zone “picket line” began to negate BU’s speed and limit its scoring chances. The scoreless period saw BU outshot 16-9.

The middle period was more of the same as the tight-checking visitors limited BU to five shots while firing 10 on Commesso. With half a minute left in the period, Brian Chambers put a hard shot on goal from the far side of the left circle. Commesso blocked the shot but the rebound fell to an unmarked Matt Crasa who flipped it into the open side.

“In the second period we passed up way too many chances to shoot the puck,” said Head Coach Jay Pandolfo. “That was the message going into the third that we had to get more pucks to the net.”

The Terriers responded, putting 16 of 33 attempts on the cage. At 5:40 into the period freshman Ryan Greene set up Quinn Hutson for a bid from the slot that Grigals stopped. Cade Webber’s follow-up went wide but Quinn Hutson stole a puck and shot again from the right circle, only to be denied.

Two minutes later, Ethan Phillips retrieved a puck and set up Jay O’Brien for a one-timer from the slot that Grigals snared with a great glove save. With under four minutes remaining and teams skating 4-on-4 Jeremy Wilmer set up Greene in the slot for a grade A chance that Grigals defending.

With 2:15 left, a delayed penalty on Lowell gave BU an extra attacker. Lane Hutson took a pass from his brother, eluded a defender just inside the blueline and headed toward the net. From 40 feet out he deked another River Hawk and fired a shot that beat Grigals low to the glove side with Wilmer Skoog providing a screen. Matt Brown also assisted.

On the ensuing penalty, BU was unable to take the lead but a second after the man-advantage ended. McCarthy fired a shot from center point that found the net, but following a lengthy review, the goal was disallowed.

Early in overtime, a BU turnover sent Zach Kaiser in on a breakaway that was stoned by Commesso on his final save of the game. 

With 2:39 left in the extra session, Wilmer knocked the puck off a River Hawk stick at center ice. Lane Hutson pounced on it and  raced up the left side on a 2-on-1 with Greene. When the defender dove to block a pass, Hutson went hard to the and beat Grigals with a backhander to the far side.

After “playing into the way they (UML) like to play” in the second half of the first period and in the second, “I thought we came out in the third and played the right way,”  Pandolfo explained. “It took us a while but ended up paying off.”

Commenting on the all-freshman third line, the first-year head coach said, “I thought they had their best game overall. They were great in their own end. Most of the night they played in the offensive zone. They were making plays. I thought they were our best line.”

“It’s pretty cool when you get a pass from your brother and end up putting it in the net,” the younger Hutson said, post-game. “It’s pretty special for me and pretty special for our family too.”

Commesso, who commended BU's athletic staff and trainers for enabling his return to the ice, sees the Terriers taking their game to a higher level. “Everyone in our room knows how good we can be and right now we’re not there –– we’re certainly going to use this [bye] week as a week to build,” he explained. “It’s definitely not going to be a week we take off.”

►Not only did BU dominate third-period shots, they had an 11-7 edge in face offs in the period. And a 32-29 advantage at the dot overall.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Highlights, Post-game Pandolfo, Commesso, Hutson

● Boston Hockey Blog recap 

 

►DEFKIT'S TERRIER TAKEAWAY

 - For most of this game it looked like the Norm Bazin disciplined "bottle them up" style was going to lead to another loss for the Terriers. It may not be fun to watch, but it sure is effective. For the first two periods, BU could do very little, they had very few grade A chances.

- In the third it seemed the coaches had come up with a better strategy to create offense. It finally paid off on Lane's first goal. I was wondering why he wasn't using his trademark "quick shift" before shooting to avoid a blocked shot, as we saw him do against Bentley. He finally was successful in doing so to get the equalizer.
- I haven't heard any actual explanation of the waived off goal yet - perhaps Jay commented on it. But it really seems like a bad call. Tuch's skate was a couple inches in the crease but he didn't impede the goalie at all. It was very odd.
- What a beautiful goal by Lane to win it. His anticipation to step up and intercept the pass was key, and of course the finish was pure skill.
- Not to be forgotten was Commesso stopping a breakaway earlier in the extra session. He had a strong game.

Looking ahead

2023 or 2024 recruit Macklin Celebrini scored a first-period hat trick and added an assist as Chicago routed Green Bay, 7-1. The Vancouver native has nine goals and five assists. 2023 recruit Jack Harvey, skating on the Steel’s top line with Celebrini, scored his sixth goal on a power play and assisted on two other tallies. He has a 6-8-14 scoring line.

2023 recruit Nick Roukounakis scored his second goal in Tri-City's 5-3 win against Lincoln. 2023 recruit Doug Grimes assisted on a Stars' goal. 


Looking back

Evan Rodrigues scored twice—his third and fourth goals—in the second period to help Colorado build a 3-0 lead, but the Islanders rallied with five unanswered goals and took a 5-4 win.

In a contest that matched the Tkachuk brothers against one another, Brady Tkachuk scored his sixth goal but Matthew had a goal and two assists as Florida defeated Ottawa, 5-3.

 

Women’s Team

Terriers bounced back with a 5-2 win against Merrimack to gain a split of the weekend series with the Warriors. Senior Julia Nearis led the way with a pair of goals. Freshman Sydney Healey scored the game-winner in the second period, while grad student Jesse DeVito and junior Andi Calderone also produced tallies.  Lacey Martin added a pair of assists. Goalie Andrea Brändli, a transfer from Ohio State, stopped 29 shots.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Video Highlights

 

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