Sunday, January 14, 2024

Caron delivers 36-save shutout; defkit'sTerrier Takeaway; Milestone tally for Keller;

 

 

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Updated with defkit's Terrier Takeaway below

A day after not seeing his name among the 36 D1 goaltenders on the 2024 Mike Richter Award Watch List, junior netminder Mathieu Caron delivered his strongest performance of the season, stopping all 36 New Hampshire shots, en route to a 3-0 victory for #2 BU over #16 New Hampshire and his first shutout in Scarlet. 

A crowd of 5,359 at Agganis Arena saw the transfer from Brown make half of those saves in the opening period when the Wildcats dominated the Terriers,

“We had one guy ready to start the game — it was our goalie,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said post-game. “For whatever reason, we weren’t ready to play.” 

“They come hard, they play hard. They pressure you. We weren’t ready for it in the first period,” he said. "We got our game going in the second period and we found a way to win," then added, "I’d like to see us start better."

At the other end of the ice, UNH's Jakob Hellsten, a transfer from North Dakota, was frustrating the Terriers with several highlight reel stops that helped to keep the game scoreless until midway through the final period. Sam Stevens broke the ice, followed quickly by the first of two Macklin Celebrini tallies.

              

                Photo credit Gracie Davenport

For assistant captain Stevens, the goal marked the third time he’s scored the first goal for BU and his first game-winner. He has a five-game points streak (3G,3A) going back to the first game with Merrimack.  

New Hampshire’s first period dominance (18 shots vs. eight for BU) was aided by four power plays (totaling 8:46), including 2:46 of a two-man advantage. Caron saved 10 power-play shots.

A tripping penalty to Lane Hutson at 16:18 was exacerbated by a five-minute major and a game misconduct to Quinn Hutson for spearing at the end of the same sequence. Among the three saves Caron made was a sliding stop on a point-blank shot by the Wildcats’ top scorer Ryan Conmy.

The two goalies battled, keeping the contest scoreless until 11:25 of the third. Hutson tapped the puck away from a forechecker to Tom Willander behind the BU goal line. He sent Dylan Peterson up ice with speed and the senior wing slid the puck ahead to Stevens, creating a two-on-one. Stevens held onto the puck, feinted a return pass to Peterson and when the goalie opened up slightly, wristed the puck through the five-hole for his fourth goal of the season. 

► Another look at Stevens' game-winner.

Just half a minute later, BU struck again. Peterson’s clear-in went behind the UNH cage, with Luke Tuch and Hellsten converging on it at the same time. The puck popped out in front to Celebrini, who backhanded it home before Hellsten could re-establish his position in the net.

With two minutes remaining and Hellsten pulled for an extra attacker, Tuch got his stick on a Wildcat pass, deflecting it to Cade Webber. The 6’8” defenseman slid the puck ahead to Tuck who skated through the neutral zone before dishing to Celebrini for an empty-net goal to seal the win. It was the freshman’s 13th goal and 29th point, tying him for the conference scoring lead with BC’s Gabe Perreault.

All that was left was to lock up the shutout, which BU did, shutting down the Wildcats with Case McCarthy blocking his fifth shot. His defense partner, Webber, blocked six as the Terriers combined to block 25 shots.

Despite racking up a fifth consecutive win, as well as the 11th in the last 13 games, Pandolfo still is looking for a more thorough effort from his team. “I still feel that we got more to give here as a group. The consistency piece for me is still an issue where we can’t find a way to play a full 60 minutes.”

Following the game, Stevens pointed out, “We didn’t forget that feeling that night in October. They embarrassed us. To be honest, they outplayed us for sixty minutes. So, I think that was a little more motivation tonight. Glad we could come out with the win. Still not perfect, though. A lot of things to address in practice.”

Asked about the shutout, Caron said, “We’ve had a few close games where one goal goes in last period. It’s fun to have one of those games when nothing gets by you.

Caron had four shutouts during his two seasons at Brown.

“Coming in, transferring — the course load I was taking first semester — there’s a lot of factors that make it that much more difficult coming into the season,” Caron explained. “I’m very much comfortable. I’ve really settled down and just look to get better a little bit every game, every practice.”

“He just keeps getting better and better which is great to see," Pandolfo pointed out. "I think he has a lot of confidence right now, so hopefully the shutout gives him even more confidence.”

Combined with BC’s 4-3 loss to Providence, BU regained the top spot in the Pairwise Ratings and maintained its position atop the Hockey East standings, six points ahead of the Eagles (which split a series with Providence) and nine points ahead of Maine (which split its series with UConn). Maine has a game in hand. 

BU also is #1 in College Hockey News' Power Rankings based on KRACH.

With the win BU improved its home record this season to 9-1-0, the sole loss coming against North Dakota in overtime. Since Pandolfo took the reins, the Terriers are 23-4-0 at Agganis.

defkit's Terrier Takeaway

- It's always satisfying to come away with 3 points in a league game, especially against a team that beat you earlier in the season. That said, the outcome of the game could have been very different had Caron not had his best game as a Terrier. His saves during the 5 on 3 were especially important of course.

- For much of the game, BU played very sloppy: many weak passes intercepted; several whiffs of the puck at our own blue line, including by our WJC participants - Hutson and Willander. Also too much standing around on our Power Play, and forcing the puck into the covered "bumper/slot" to Greene.

- It seemed that often we would make a pass that wasn't the clear easiest pass to make. I don't know if the coaches felt we needed to change it up against UNH, but I noticed a lot less d-to-d passing once we were moving up ice, which led to a lot of the sloppy play, especially in the neutral zone.

- Really not a smart play by Quinn Hutson that got him ejected. While I think the Wildcat helped sell the call, Quinn had already given the player a bit of an elbow/shove to give the typical "get away from my goalie" message. To then go at him with a stick to his chest - not what I would expect from an older sophomore. I am sure the coaches will talk to him.

- It was kind of crazy the way the first goal just came out of nowhere, given how hard it had been to generate opportunities throughout. Peterson's deke at the blue line was the key, and of course a great shot by Stevens.

- Tuch played a strong game, and the second goal was a perfect example. He played aggressively without taking penalties. We got lucky with the bounce of the puck right out into the slot, but that wouldn't have happened without Luke's hustle.

- I was very impressed with UNH, even more so than when they beat us earlier on the season. They were strong on their sticks with crisp passing and great breakouts. And their goalie looks like a keeper too.

- Good crowd on hand and a great job by the 90-member Alumni-only band, who had to play many songs since the PA and sound system were down. 

● GoTerriers.com recap and boxscore

● Highlights and Pandolfo, Stevens, Caron Post-Game

● Boston Hockey Blog Mathieu Caron earns shutout in 3-0 win over New Hampshire

 

Looking ahead

Chambre

                             Credit Nathan Meyer Photography

2024 recruit Michael Chambre stopped 18 shots to lead Sioux Falls to a 5-2 win against Omaha.  The Fort Myers, Fla., native picked up his 12th win and has won his last four starts. 2025 recruit John McNelis record an assist for the Stampede.

2025 recruit Sascha Boumedienne's second period power-play goal gave Youngstown a 4-1 lead but Des Moines rallied for a 6-4 win. The Swedish defenseman has 2-14-16 line in 24 games. 2024 recruit Brandon Svoboda had an assist for the Phantoms.

Looking back

Charlie McAvoy's overtime goal--his second tally of the game--powered the Bruins to a 4-3 win over St. Louis. Charlie Coyle added a helper for Boston.

Jake Oettinger stopped 20 of 21 shots, in relief of injured Scott Wedgewood, as Dallas defeated Chicago, 3-1. 

Clayton Keller scored his 16th and 17th goals and added an assist as Arizona blanked Minnesota, 6-0.  For Keller, his third-period goal was the 150th of his NHL career.

Women's Team

Terriers dropped a 5-2 road decision to #12 UConn. BU and the Huskies were tied at two apiece after two periods, but the hosts scored early in the third period and again midway through the period before adding an empty-net goal.

Sydney Healey's power-play goal cut a 2-0 UConn lead in half after one. Then Lilli Welcke tied the score in the second period.

Alexa Matses had 26 saves for BU.

● GoTerriers.com recap and boxscore

 

 

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