Saturday, January 21, 2023

Terriers score early, defeat Maine, 5-1 UPDATED

#5 Terriers scored early and often to claim a 5-1 win over Maine in the opener of a two-game series at Agganis Arena. Early goals from Luke Tuch and Matt Brown were followed by scores by Nick Zabaneh and Jay O’Brien in the second period and one by Devin Kaplan in the third. Brown and Lane Hutson each had two points.

                               Photo credit Matt Woolverton
Following the win, BU is in a third-place tie with UConn, but have three games in hand. With 29 points, Terriers trail Northeastern by two points with one game in hand and Merrimack by one point. BU also moves to the sixth spot in the PairWise ratings.

Long stretches of the game belied the final score as the Black Bear were able to generate some lengthy possessions in the BU zone, but Drew Commesso (30 saves) was sharp in goal—especially when a few D-zone turnover led to scoring chances. Maine’s forecheck—which Coach Jay Pandolfo cautioned about pre-game—was effective in keeping BU’s speed game in check, especially in the second period.

Pandolfo told the media, “I liked the start to our game. After that, we got away from our game. I didn’t think our execution was very good, especially in the neutral zone. We’re turning way too many pucks over. They really outplayed us in the second period.

He added, "Not overly happy with our effort but we did enough to win tonight, but we’re certainly going to have to be better tomorrow night.”

Black Bears took a penalty ten seconds into the contest and BU made them pay as the second power play unit’s slick passing produced a score. Quinn Hutson passed from the left of Maine’s goal to Jeremy Wilmer in the right circle. He sent the puck to the slot where Ryan Greene’s no-look backhand pass found Tuch at the right post. He banged the puck into the half-empty net for his fifth goal.

 

Minutes later, a hit from behind by Thomas Freel sent Captain Dom Fensore to the ice behind the Terrier goal line. With BU in possession on the delayed penalty, Ty Gallagher passed to Wilmer Skoog who sent Brown and Kaplan into the zone on a 2-on-1. Brown froze the loan defender and then wristed a shot that beat Victor Ostman stick side. It was the senior’s team-leading 10th goal.


A late flurry by Maine was defended by BU, who had a 14-9 shot advantage in the period.

Terriers scored early in the second period, too. Just inside the BU blue line, Cade Webber tipped a contested puck to Sam Stevens and he and Zabaneh were off to the races. Steven’s perfectly-timed centering pass was roofed by Zabaneh for his fifth goal.

 

Maine began asserting itself at the face off dot and with shots on goal, but it was BU that produced the next goal. Midway through the periods, BU had one of its best puck possession sequences with Lane Hutson and Dylan Peterson cycling the puck. Finally, Hutson handed it off to O’Brien who circle to above the right circle and rifled a shot past Ostman stick-side with Peterson setting a screen. Case McCarthy and Hutson had the assists.

Maine held the momentum for the remainder of the period, holding BU without a shot for a long stretch. Maine finally hit the scoresheet on a delayed penalty when BU was unable to gain possession of the puck. Cole Hanson skated in from the blueline and fired a 40-foot shot that beat Commesso high at the 18 minute mark to make it 4-1.

BU killed off the penalty, but the Black Bears had a 14-8 shot advantage for the period as well as a 16-6 edge on draws.

Terriers reasserted themselves in the final period. At the eight-minute mark, Brown out-fought two defenders for the puck in the right corner and passed to Lane Hutson in the right circle. The puck went off his stick to Kaplan, who skated from the circle across the slot and, once clear of the Maine defense, whipped a backhand shot past Ostman’s glove for his seventh goal of the year.

 

About Kaplan, who has four goals and five assists, Pandolfo said “I’ve really liked his development. He has kind of earned everything he’s gotten. I’ve seen more and more offense from him. I’ve seen him become more comfortable, more confident, moving his feet more. When he moves his feet, he's really tough to contain.” 

Asked about Commesso's performance, he pointed out: "First with Cornell, they had a ton of chances around the net and again tonight. Drew's been excellent. He keeps getting better."

► With four points in the past two games, Brown increased his team-high points total to 30 (10G,20A), putting him second in overall scoring for Hockey East skaters, one point behind Northeastern's Aidan McDonough.

►Fensore did not play in the third period and Pandolfo didn't have an answer about his availability for Saturday's game.

►With three penalty kills in the game, the Terriers have killed 19 of the last 20 power plays they have faced. BU was 1-for-4 on the power play.

►With a 16-6-0 overall record, BU is sixth in the PairWise and has its most wins through 22 games since beginning the 2008-09 campaign at 16-5-1.  In 2016-17, Terriers were 15-5-2 through 22 games, following—ironically—a 4-1 win against Maine on January 20.

►Analysis for NESN's broadcast of the game was handled by former Terrier goalie (1983-87) and later Providence Women's Coach Bob Deraney.

 

Defkit's Terrier Takeaway

- I caught the game on NESN, but it looked like the crowd filled in pretty nicely given the less than ideal weather.

- Overall, this was a very good win against a team that had been playing much better of late. It seems that has been the story with a lot of their wins. And kudos to Maine for dominating the second half of the second period - they showed good fight. I think their program is definitely on the rise.

- The difference was once again in goal. Shots were relatively even, and yet BU won by four. That is why this team has a chance to bring home some hardware - against most teams they have the edge in net. A well-earned second star for Commesso.

- Balanced scoring was also on display. Three of the goals were from guys who had four or less going into the game. This will be another benefit as we head into the playoffs. Great to see Zabaneh finally turning his speed into goals.

- Devin Kaplan has been a pleasant surprise, scoring another goal in this game. With 7 goals and 16 points, he has far exceeded my expectations for a big freshman forward. I suspect his scoring is what the coaching staff was hoping they would get from Tyler Boucher last season.

- I hope Fensore is ok - he got double-teamed on a hit in the first that led to a major penalty. And while he did return for a period of time, he was not on the bench in the third period. Whether or not his absence was related to that hit is unknown, but unfortunately this has the signs of a possible concussion. Needless to say he is a critical piece on this team. Lane Hutson did a great job with increased ice time, but you can't replace a weapon like Dom.

- Last season BU beat Maine 5-1 in the first game up at Orono, and then lost 8-1 the next night. So, the coaches have something they can point to in order to avoid complacency by the team.

Game Day links for Saturday's game, starting at 6 p.m., are here. 

 

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Video highlights and Post-game comments

● Boston Hockey Blog recap

 

Looking ahead

2023 recruit Macklin Celebrini scored his 19th goal to give Chicago an early lead, but Waterloo would rally for a 5-4 win. 2023 recruit Jack Harvey picked up his 20th assist to raise his league-high point total to 45. Celebrini is third with 39 points.

 

2023 recruit Shane Lachance scored his 21st goal for Youngtowns but Madison broke a third-period tie and won, 4-2. Lachance is second in goal-scoring behind Harvey’s 25.

 

2024 recruit Cole Hutson’s goal late in the third period was the game-winner as the NTDP U17s edged Muskegon, 5-4. 2024 recruit Kamil Bednarik recorded his eighth assist for Team USA.

Do these moves look familar?

Women’s Team

Terriers earned their second shootout win of the week gaining the extra point after playing Maine to a 3-3 deadlock Alfond Arena.

Senior Julia Nearis scored early in the third period as BU rallied from a 3-2 deficit to send the game to overtime, which was scoreless. She also scored the shootout winner. Sydney Healey had the other shootout goal helping BU win, 2-1.

BU got first-period goals from Christina Vote and Lacey Martin to take a 2-1 lead. The Black Bears tied the score late in the first period and took a one-goal lead in the second period.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Post-game Coach Brian Durocher

 

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Site Meter