Sunday, January 29, 2023

UPDATED Commesso stands tall to complete sweep of BC

Junior goalie Drew Commesso stopped 40 of 41 shots—including all 22 in the final period—to backbone #4/5 BU’s 3-1 win against BC at Conte Forum to sweep the weekend series. Terriers received goals from Wilmer Skoog, Case McCarthy and Jeremy Wilmer.

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE TERRIER TAKEAWAY

BU improved to 13-4-0 in Hockey East  and the victory extended BU’s lead in the conference standings to four points over idle Northeastern and Merrimack, who lost to Vermont. 

With nine wins in their last 10 games, the Terriers improved their overall record to 19-6-0 and, with St. Cloud losing twice to Minnesota-Duluth over the weekend, BU has jumped up to third in the PairWise rankings.

BU had last swept consecutive games (a Wednesday and a Saturday) against the Eagles in 2016-17. The last weekend sweep of the Terriers’ arch-rivals came in 1994-95 when current head coach Jay Pandolfo was a forward on BU’s national championship team.

“It’s hard to sweep in this league, and even more so on the road. We bent a little, but in the end, we didn’t break. Can’t say enough [about] how Drew Commesso played this week. He was outstanding…unreal in the third period.

“Our D-corps, without Dom Fensore, the way they played all weekend, willing to eat shots, block shots. They played really hard. A credit to them, but overall, a great weekend for us.”

Addressing his team protecting the middle of the ice, he explained, “Tonight for the most part, it was pretty good. Obviously, they pushed pretty hard in the third. We had some D that played heavy, heavy minutes… so we tried to keep them to the outside as much as possible. When they did get inside, Drew was there to make huge saves.”

The opening period was scoreless with BU having a 9-7 edge in shots on goal, but it took two strong saves by Commesso to keep BC off the scoresheet. He stopped Trevor Kuntar’s initial shot on a 2-on-1 rush and then deflected away Kuntar’s follow-up attempt.

The Terriers drew first blood just a minute and half into the middle period, starting with Cade Webber’s break up of an Eagle attack at the BU blue line. Matt Brown controlled the puck at center ice and pass to Devin Kaplan skating up the right side. The freshman power forward centered a pass to Skoog at the bottom of the left circle and he beat Mitch Benson high to the glove side for his10th goal with nine coming in the last 11 games.

Midway through the period, BU doubled its lead. Lane Hutson, in the right corner, set up McCarthy for a 40-foot slapshot the found the net as Dylan Peterson, who also assisted, skated across the top of the crease.

Later in the period with BU killing a penalty, Lane Hutson was called for hooking, giving the Eagles a two-man advantage and they quickly converted with Andre Gasseau scoring from the right post to cut the lead in half.

Desperate to salvage some points for the weekend, the Eagles came out firing in the third period and outshot BU 22 to 8. But thanks to Commesso, the goal light only came on when BU scored. 

Just after the midpoint of the period, Lane Hutson’s pass led brother Quinn Hutson into the offensive zone. His shot from the top of the left circle was redirected past Benson by Wilmer for his eighth goal, providing a bit of a cushion for BU.

The Terrier net was under attack much of the rest of the game and BC pulled the goalie with 2:36 remaining and despite some anxious moments, Commesso fended off every shot with Webber making two huge blocks, sealing the sweep for his team.

►BU was outshot by BC, 41-25, but unlike Friday’s game when BC overwhelming dominated the face off dot, BU won exactly half of the 56 draws with Jay O'Brien winning seven of 11.

Of BC's 41 shots, 14 came on four power plays, including it's only goal. Commenting on several undisciplined penalties taken by his team, Pandolfo said, "It's something we’re gonna have to address again. I thought we’ve been better with our discipline. It got the best of us certainly, tonight.”

BU Old Timer’s Terrier Takeaway

▪ Certainly, a very satisfying victory and weekend sweep. Last night’s game was truly a team effort. Missing Dom Fensore, team captain and lead defenseman, BU had a steep hill to climb last night while on the road. To me, it appeared that BU rolled 4 ½ dmen. Drew Commesso was strong throughout the weekend, especially during last night’s third period when his defense was understandably weary.

▪ On BU’s first goal, Skoog’s goal, Matt Brown made a real nice play to ignite the rush. Gathering the puck from along the boards after Cade Webber broke up a BC rush, Brown wheeled through center ice and made a crisp pass to Devin Kaplan along the right boards. Kaplan’s cross-ice pass found Skoog in full stride for a quick shot.

▪ Praise to Dylan Peterson for his net front effort on Case McCarthy’s goal. From my perspective, he occupied a BC defenseman and obscured Mitch Benson’s view of the play.

▪ It’s great to see BU make plays as they did on the first and third goals. Quick transition, speed through center ice and talented players making big plays. This observer sees this BU team as reminiscent of the BC teams of a few years ago, in that respect.

▪ What did Kaplan think he’d accomplish with his stunt off the faceoff as BU was starting a power play? Inexplicable.

▪ Here are the point totals for the four lines BU skated last night. Keep in mind that these numbers were accumulated, for the most part, while the players were skating on other lines. They’re simply the sum for each line as configured last night.

Skoog/Brown/Kaplan   -     74

Greene/Hutson/Wilmer   -   61

O’Brien/Tuch/Peterson   -   49

Stevens/Armstrong/Zabaneh -   27

 

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Video highlights (sorry, seems none have been posted)

● Post-game comments Pandolfo, Commesso

● Boston Hockey Blog recap

● College Hockey News BU Sweeps Rival BC, Up to No.3 in Pairwise 

● WTBU Sports recap


Looking ahead

2023 recruit Macklin Celebrini’s 21st goal gave Chicago an early lead over Youngstown, but the Phantoms would dominate for a 6-2 win. 2023 recruit Shane Lachance had two assists for Youngstown while 2024 recruit Brandon Svoboda had one helper.

2023 recruit Doug Grimes’ 11th goal was Lincoln’s only tally in a 3-1 loss to Des Moines.

2024 recruit Kai Janviriya scored his fifth goal as the NTDP U18s edged Dubuque, 4-3.  Janviriya, who played in the recent BioSteel All-American game, has a 5-9-14 line in 37 games.

2023 recruit Michael LaStarza scored a power play goal and added an assist as Chilliwack defeated Surrey, 4-1. (Video)


Looking back

Evan Rodrigues’ 11th goal was the game-winner as Colorado defeated St. Louis, 4-2. Matt Nieto, who was traded to the Avs earlier in the week, provided an insurance goal in the final minute.

 Trevor Zegras's 18th goal was the overtime winner as Anaheim edged Arizona, 2-1.

Kiefer Bellows, recently acquired from the Islanders, scored his first goal as a Flyer as Philadelphia blanked Winnipeg, 5-0.

 

Women’s Team

Terriers kept their winning streak alive with a 2-1 overtime win against Vermont at Walter Brown Arena with senior Julia Nearis scoring just 17 seconds into the extra period. BU has won three consecutive games following a pair of shootout wins.

Catherine Foulem gave BU a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the first period. The Catamounts countered late in the period to tie the score. The second and third period were scoreless.

As overtime began, Vermont had control in its defensive jam but Brooke Disher jammed the puck carrier at the blue line, allowing Nearis to break in alone and beat the Catamount goalie five-hole.

Andrea Brändli made 22 saves to gain her seventh win.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Video highlights

● Post-game comments: Coach Brian Durocher/Nearis


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