Thursday, March 23, 2023

UPDATED: Second period outburst sends BU to Regional final: defkit's Terrier Takeaway


After a pair of low-scoring games in the Hockey East championships, #5 Terriers were able to deploy their transition game and skated to a 5-1 win against #9/11 Western Michigan in the opening game of the Manchester Regional.

Scoll down for defkit's Terrier Takeaway.

BU goal scorers were Lane Hutson, Quinn Hutson, Matt Brown, Wilmer Skoog and Ethan Phillips, who also assisted on two tallies. They were backed by another strong performance by Drew Commesso who stopped 22 of 23 shots.  


The Terriers, now at 28-10-0, will face Cornell in the regional final after the Big Red blanked defending champion Denver, 2-0. On Jan. 14, BU edged Cornell, 4-3, on Lane Hutson’s goal with three seconds left in regulation.  


“Great overall effort by our team tonight, from the goaltender on out,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “I thought at the start of the game we were pretty good. For a stretch there in the first period, we got away from our game a little bit, but I thought we found it again toward the end of the first.” 


BU got off to a good start but midway through the period, the Broncos grabbed the momentum. Eight minutes in, Commesso made a sliding save on Jason Polin, the top goal-scorer in Division 1. WMU nearly took the lead at 11:34. With a puck in the crease and under Commesso’s pad, Hugh Larkin whacked at the netminder’s pad and eventually the puck squirted into the net. Following a review, the goal was waived off for goalie interference. Minutes later, a Bronco’s shot rang off the post to Commesso’s left. 

After Lane Hutson dumped the puck into the offensive zone. Phillips won a possession battle with a defensemen and backhanded the puck through his own legs to Jay O’Brien in the right circle. He quickly dished it to Lane Hutson, alone in the slot and the Hockey East Rookie of the Year fired it past Cameron Rowe, blocker side, at 15:24 for his 15th goal of the season. 


“Great forecheck by Ethan Phillips, creating the turnover and got it right to ‘O.B.’, and ‘O.B.’ found me there drifting in,” Hutson said. “I was just trying to get it on and off my stick pretty quick.” 

Putting their speed game to work, the Terriers outshot WMU 14-6 in the middle period, creating multiple odd-man rushes. Nine minutes in, Luke Tuch tied up a Bronco skater along the left boards and sent up the puck up ice to Dom Fensore breaking into the WMU zone a 3-on-1, The Terrier captain passed to Quinn Hutson and the freshman quickly fired the puck past Rowe’s glove for his 15th goal and a 2-0 lead.  

Just 1:28 later, Brown made it 3-0. The senior from New Jersey dished the puck to Phillips and headed for the high slot. Phillips curled away from his defender and then delivered the perfect pass to Brown for a one-timer that beat Rowe. Brown’s 16th goal gave BU a 3-0 lead.   

Two minutes later Phillips and Brown nearly connected again as they broke in 2-on-none, but Brown fired wide of the cage. The Bronco gained control of the puck and transitioned up ice. Polin passed to linemate Ryan McAllister and raced toward the BU cage. He batted a return pass out of the air and past Commesso to put WMU on the board. 


Late in the period, with BU on the rush, Skoog skated in on Rowe, who defended his backhand attempt. Jeremy retrieved the puck in the left corner and found Skoog at the left face-off dot. He ripped a shot just inside the right post, restoring the three-goal margin. 


BU played smart, solid defense in the third period and limited the Broncos to seven shots and few grade A’s. With more than four minutes left, WMU pulled Rowe for an extra skater and had extended puck possession but no good scoring chances.


Three consecutive icing calls kept the same five BU skaters, including center Sam Stevens on the ice for several minutes. Then, with 2:24 remaining, Phillips stripped the puck from a defender in the neutral zone, skated in and deposited it into the empty net.  


The victory extended BU’s nation’s-best current winning streak to eight games and improved BU’s record to 28-10-0, the most wins since the 2014-15 national finalists also had 28.

 

BU now is 21-1 in games when they’ve led heading into the third period. The Feb. 18 overtime loss to Merrimack was the only blemish. 


Lane Hutson's goal was his 48th point, surpassing Brian Leetch for most points by a freshman defenseman in Hockey East history. He's third among all U19 defenseman

in Division 1 all time.


Quinn Hutson’s game-winning goal was his seventh of the year and his sixth goal in the eight-game winning streak. Brother Lane who scored the OT winner against Merrimack has five game-winners.  


“They’ve been good for us all year long,” Pandolfo said in the post-game conference. “Quinn’s a goal scorer. If he gets the puck in the slot, there’s a good chance it’s going in the net. And obviously Lane drives offense. He’s got a sneaky shot and he just finds a way at certain times to come up big.” 


“Ethan Phillips was excellent tonight, I think that’s probably the best game he’s played all year,” the first-year coach added. “I was really happy for him to find a way to get the empty-netter at the end.” 


BU improved its record at NCAA regionals in Manchester to 5-0. They previously claimed regional tournament titles in 2009 and 2015 to advance to the Frozen Four.  

 

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score 

● Video Highlights 

● Press conference Pt. 1: Commesso, L. Hutson, Skoog 

● Press conference Pt.2: Pandolfo 

● Boston Hockey Blog recap 

● College Hockey News recap 

● USCHO recap


defkit's Terrier Takeaway

- This game showcased BU's depth. Having four lines that are a threat to score and more importantly, can wear you down with the forecheck, makes this team very hard to play against. 

- For the most part the team played very good team defense - forwards were back supporting the d-men, showing an effective "layers" game plan. There were a handful of situations where they were exposed and a better team will make them pay in those situations. But overall, a very strong effort. 

- I thought the waived off goal was the right call. Yes, initially, Commesso didn't have the puck, but he had it under his pad when the WMU player shoved his pad with his stick. I know that sometimes the refs let that be "part of the play", but it shouldn't be. 

- BU carried the play for the first few minutes, then WMU took over, up until we scored. From that point on, BU generally was in control. Obviously, the three second period goals were the key to the victory. 

- Webber had a very strong game. He was keeping the crease clear and using his stick and body effectively. Commesso made some great saves. 

- The team played very disciplined, which is critical this time of year. I thought even the call against Kaplan was questionable - it looked bad given the "head snap back" but there was no contact to the guy’s head by Kaplan. 

- This team has now matched the level of success of the 2018 team, and a win on Saturday would eclipse that team. No doubt that this team has exceeded my expectations and are a treat to watch. 

  

Looking Back

Jake Oettinger stopped 40 shots as the Stars edged the Penguins, 3-2.


Joel Farabee scored his 13th goal and added an assist in a 5-4 shootout win against Minnesota.

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