Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Lane Hutson, Matt Brown power BU past Notre Dame

#11 Terriers broke open a close game with three goals in the final period to defeat #19 Notre Dame. BU, which improved to 8-4-0 and has won six of its last seven—all against ranked opponents—, was led by freshman Lane Hutson with a pair of goals and senior Matt Brown with his seventh goal and a pair of assists. Other goal scorers were senior captain Dom Fensore and classmate Sam Stevens.

Drew Commesso authored another strong performance, stopping 26 shots and benefitting from some puck luck and teammate hustle in one critical sequence.

Lane Hutson kicked off the scoring midway through the opening period. Sent up ice with a Case McCarthy pass, he entered the offensive zone, froze a defender and dished to Brown in the right circle. Hutson drove to the net and redirected Brown’s well-timed shot off the leg pad of goal Ryan Bischel.

 

BU held onto the 1-0 lead until late in the period when Notre Dame controlled the puck behind the BU goal line. Justin Janicke passed to defenseman Ben Brinkman at the top of the left circle for a one-timer that beat Commesso low to the glove side.

 

Terriers regained the lead eight minutes into the middle period. McCarthy passed along the blue line to Fensore at the left point. He skated down the boards and when it appeared he was in too deep for good scoring opportunity, he fired a sharp angle shot zipped past Bischel, who wasn’t expecting a shot.

 

Moments later, a Notre Dame shot went off Commesso’s glove, off the left post and sat alone in the crease. A diving Cade Webber swept the puck away, averting disaster.


BU outshot the Fighting Irish 16-11 in the period and held an 18-8 face off edge, but couldn’t add to the lead as the period ended with a 2-1 margin.

That changed quickly in the third period. Just 35 seconds in with the teams skating 4-on-4, Hutson took a pass at the blueline, looped down the left side and passed to Wilmer Skoog between the circles. Hutson took a return pass behind the goal line, skated around the net and whipped the puck over Bischel, who appeared to anticipate a stuff-in attempt. Brown also assisted on what would be the game-winner.

 

BU’s 3-1 lead lasted just four minutes as Landon Slaggert cashed in his second attempt of a sequence that began on the rush. Commesso made an initial save but an unmarked Slaggert connected with backhander to the open side of the net. 

A cross-checking call against the visitors put the Terriers on the power play at 7:39. Halfway through the man-advantage, the connect on a slick passing play. Jeremy Wilmer controlled the puck at the right boards and passed through his legs to Jay O’Brien in the right circle. The senior wing whirled and zipped a pass to Brown in the slot. He wired a shot that beat Bischel low to the blocker side. Might have gone off a defender’s stick

 

BU’s final goal, at 10:40, also involved a sharp angle shot. Sophomore Ty Gallagher intercepted a clearing attempt by Bischel along  the right boards and threw a high shot toward the net where Stevens redirected it home.

Final shot totals: BU 43, Notre Dame 28, including 18-7 dominance in the final period. Terriers also held an edge at the face off dot, winning 37 of 66 draws.

Brown's team-best numbers for goals, assists and points, 7-10-17 are identical to his totals for last season in 24 games.

Lane Hutson is second on the Terriers with 6-8-14. He's scored three game-winners, including in the last two games.

BU connected on one of four power play opportunities while killing all three man-advantages for the visitors. 

Webber's clutch move in the second period earned him the player of the game jacket.

The win enabled BU to move up a notch in the Pairwise rankings, from tenth to ninth. 

Terriers have scored 45 goals in 12 games for a 3.75 GPG, which is tied for sixth in Division 1.

A pleased head coach Jay Pandolfo told the media, “That’s a big win for us going into the Thanksgiving break here. Overall, I’m happy with the effort because our guys competed hard. We just got away from playing our game a little bit in pockets of that game.”

Discussing the growth of Webber's game, Pandolfo explained, "He’s been excellent this year. He logs a lot of minuteson the penalty kills, does a great job. He understands what he is as a player. You need guys to accept their roles," he asserted, "and Webs does it better than anyone."

What was the coach's message during the second intermission with the outcome still in doubt? Hutson reports “It was just, you know, stick to the game plan, “You know, just play hard and play disciplined.”

● GoTerriers.om recap and comprehensive box score

● Video highlights and Post-game comments Pandolfo and Hutson

● Boston Hockey Blog recap

Seen in the crowd at Agganis: Jack Parker, Peter Marshall, Kevin Kielt, Brad Zancanaro, Mike Eruzione and Tony Amonte.

►Gallagher was a gift to BU from Notre Dame.The Bruins drafted was initially a Notre Dame commit for 2021, but when asked to defer for a year, he instead gave the Terriers his verbal and has been a regular on the BU blueline since day one.

Next up for the Terriers is a Saturday matinee hosting the NTDP U18s in an exhibition game. 2 pm. at Agganis Arena. 


Looking back 

Charlie McAvoy scored his second goal in the Bruins' 5-2 loss to Florida.

Jake Oettinger stopped 22 of 26 shots as the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars rallied from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Blackhawks, 6-4.

Jack Eichel scored his 11th goal and 15th assist in the Golden Knights' 4-1 win against Ottawa.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!

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1 comment:

lwd14 said...

It is wonderful to see B U playing like B U. Great job, Coach and the team. Larry Davenport.

12:16 PM

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