#3 Terriers have just one game on tap this weekend, a road game against Maine at Alfond Arena tonight. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. for the game that will be live-streamed on ESPN+
At stake for BU are three critical points in a tight in the Hockey East race where just six points separate the four top teams. BU is just one point ahead of Northeastern, four ahead of Merrimack and six in front of Connecticut.
Despite being swept by BU at Agganis Arena two weeks ago, the Black Bears gave the Terriers all they could handle, especially in the second game, employing tight-checking and offensive zone puck control.
Both goalies—BU’s Drew Commesso and Maine’s Victor Ostman—were pulled as pucks kept flying into nets during the Terriers’ 9-6 win. And both had bounce-back efforts last weekend. Commesso was lights out in the Terriers’ sweep of BC and earned Hockey East’s Goaltender of the Week honors. Ostman backstopped Maine’s sweep of Providence at home, stopping 52 shots in the second game, a 3-0 shutout. That brought him Player of the Week recognition.
“It an important game. We know it’s going to be a tough test,” said Coach Jay Pandolfo. “It always is. It’s always a great environment.
“It’s a tough place to play. Number one, It’s a tight building,” he continued. “The fans are right on top of you. It just seems, for whatever reason, the ice surface feels a little bit smaller. Things happen really quickly there, so you have to be ready for that.”
Looking back at the series played at Agganis, Pandolfo added, “I hope we play a more consistent game. I thought there were pockets that weekend where we played really well, and I thought there were pockets where we just got away from our game. I think for us, going on the road, we just have the mindset of playing a simple, direct type of game, not try to do too much.”
The Black Bears offense continues to be led by Junior Lynden Breen, senior Ben Poisson and sophomore Nolan Renwick. Grad student Jacob Sirota anchors a young defense.
TONIGHT'S BU LINE-UP
Brown- Skoog- -Kaplan
Tuch-O’Brien-Peterson
Wilmer- Greene-Hutson
Zabaneh- Stevens-Carrabes
Fensore-Gallagher
Hutson-Copeland
Webber-Getz
Driscoll
Commesso
Duplessis
Schena
● GoTerriers.com preview, Game Notes, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Men’s Hockey Twitter
● Live Streams: ESPN+, International Stream
● Boston Hockey Blog preview
● College Hockey News Tale of the Tape
● HockeyEastOnline Friday Scoreboard
New England Hockey Journal’s look at players in the region having breakout seasons includes two key names in tonight’s contest:
Matt Brown Boston University
Brown is an undrafted senior who transferred to the Terriers from UMass Lowell at the start of the 2021-22 season. He’s driven the offense for a BU team that leads the Hockey East standings following a home-and-home sweep of archrival Boston College. The Wood Ridge, N.J., native has blown past his career highs in each stat line with 10 goals, a conference-leading 35 points, and his second-in-the-nation assist total of 24. Brown, who has recorded a point in 19 of his 25 games and has three different four-point efforts this season, averages just over three shots on goal per game and boasts a plus-13 rating.
Victor Ostman Maine
The junior from Sweden has put together his best season as a Black Bear by far, more than doubling his career win total with a 10-8-1 record and posting a .922 save percentage that ranks fourth in Hockey East. Ostman shut out ranked Quinnipiac in October before winning six straight starts from late November through earlier this month. His most prolific effort came this past weekend as he stopped 81 of the 83 shots Providence landed on net, including a 52-save shutout Saturday — his fourth shutout of the season.
Everything College Hockey handed out an award that most fans never heard of before, but BU fans who admire the shot-blocking prowess of Cade Webber will appreciate the recognition.
While the Beanpot is still a few days away, NHL.com has been profiling top performers from each of the Beanpot schools. Last week, BC and Harvard were featured. This week it’s BU and Northeastern.
● NHL.com Prospects to Watch at the Beanpot: BU & Northeastern
● NHL.com Prospects to Watch at the Beanpot: BC & Harvard
Looking ahead
2023 recruit Michael Chambre stopped all 17 shots he faced as the NTDP U18s blanked Madison, 4-0. The Fort Myers, Fla., native, who played the first 40 minutes of the game, earned his fifth win in seven decisions. 2024 recruit Kai Janviriya recorded his 10th assist to go with five goals.
2023 recruit Tom Willander, a right-shot defenseman with Sweden’s Rögle BK J20, is ranked #30 for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft by EP Rinkside’s Dylan Griffing. Willander, who represented Sweden in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup tournament and was named to the all-star team at the World Junior A Challenge, has a 4-14-19 scoring line in 30 games playing in Sweden’s J20 Nationell league. An updated draft profile of Willander appeared recently in The Hockey News.
One-time BU recruit Anton Castro, a goalie playing for Fargo, has committed to Wisconsin.
Looking back
tw-align-center10/10 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/wduv58fU1D
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 2, 2023
AJ Greer’s 5th goal was the game-winner as the Bruins broke a three-game losing streak and defeated Toronto, 5-2.
tw-align-center🎥 A.J. Greer on his goal against Toronto last night: "It was weird because I scored and I looked back and there was no one on the ice for us. Guys were changing. I didn't even know I scored because there was no reaction...but it felt amazing." pic.twitter.com/ujELSkKAhS
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 2, 2023
Women’s Team
Terriers will look to continue their recent winning ways as they host UConn at Walter Brown Arena tonight. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. for the game that will stream on ESPN+.
BU is undefeated in its last five games, a streak that includes wins over Providence and Vermont—both ranked teams. They’ll try to make it a regular-seson sweep of the Huskies whom they defeated in a home-and-home series in November.
● GoTerriers.com preview, Live Stats, BU All-Access (audio), BU Women’s Hockey Twitter
● Live Streams: ESPN+, International Stream
● Boston Hockey Blog preview
The Boston Globe’s Kat Cornetta profiles “BU’s new captain clutch,” senior forward Julia Nearis.
In the last five games, Nearis has had a goal and a shootout goal against Providence, a tying goal and shootout winner against Maine, and an overtime winner against Vermont. BU is undefeated in those five and has leapfrogged Maine for sixth in the Hockey East standings.
I’ve made it clear from the beginning with the coaches that I want to be the player that you turn to for hard situations and challenging times, like a shootout or overtime,” said Nearis, who leads the Terriers with 19 points (9 goals, 10 assists.) “That’s definitely something I’m confident in. I always bring that level of confidence to win. I’ve never been a good loser.”
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