Thursday, January 18, 2024

Women win BP semifinal in shootout; Men prepare for Vermont weekend; Draft profiles

►Game Day links will be posted Friday

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In the Beanpot opening round at Harvard’s Bright-Landry Skating Center, Terriers tied #13 BC in regulation, then won in a shootout to punch their ticket to the championship game at TD Garden next Tuesday. They’ll face Northeastern and will be looking for their first Beanpot Championship since 2019.

Sophomore Lilli Welcke scored the only shootout goal on a slick forehand-backhand-forehand move and then goalie Callie Shanahan slammed the door on the final Eagle skater to seal the win. Shanahan was making her second start of the season after missing first semester with an injury.

Welcke’s game-winner earned the #5 highlight on ESPN’s Top10 for Tuesday.

“[I’m] just proud of the group,” Head Coach Tara Watchorn told the media after the win. “The way that we came out was one of our best starts all year, and just to sit back and watch them build momentum, give each other feedback, and generate offense.”

Terriers took a 1-0 lead just 2:16 into the game on Sydney Healey’s sixth goal, but the Eagles matched it with a tally just a minute later. Midway through the period, Luisa Welcke pounced a rebound of Neely Nicholson’s shot for her sixth goal and a 2-1 BU lead. BC responded quickly and the period ended at 2-2.

Following a scoreless second period, BU took the lead for a third time when Clara Yuhn stickhandled into the slot before dishing to Lacy Martin at the bottom of the left circle. She buried a wrist shot for her team-high 10th goal and a 3-2 lead.

The Eagles would tie the score again but not until the final two minutes when they scored an extra-attacker goal. 

Despite each team having good opportunities in overtime, the score remained tied, setting the stage for Lilli Welcke’s and Shanahan’s heroics.

The win was BU’s first over a ranked opponent this season.

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score

● Post-game Coach Watchorn/Lilli Welcke

● Boston Hockey Blog recap, Shanahan’s comeback

● BU Today recap

 

►Check out the entire thread about the Terriers "Telepathic Twins."

The full men’s team was in attendance to cheer on the women’s team.

 


►Top-ranked Terriers headed to Vermont today for a two-game series against the Catamounts at Gutterson Field House. Both games are 7 p.m. starts and will be live streamed on ESPN+

In his weekly media call, Coach Jay Pandolfo noted that winning a weekend series in Hockey East is very challenging. He added: “Looking at Vermont this year, Vermont’s played very well. I watched them play against Northeastern.They look like they’re playing pretty well in all three zones. We’ve got to make sure we’re on top of our game.”

Pandolfo revealed that freshman Mick Frechette would be sidelined for about three weeks after undergoing “minor surgery,” and that the rest of the team is healthy.

Junior Mathieu Caron has played every minute for BU and for now, it will stay that way, according to Pandolfo: “As of right now, we’re gonna just stick with Caron. Moving forward, I’m not exactly sure what we’ll do. We’re really just taking it one game at a time…Right now he is playing some pretty good hockey, so we’re gonna continue to go with him.”

Asked about how Macklin Celebrini is handling the media buzz about his status as projected top draft pick (see below), the head coach explained: "I don't think he gets too caught up in it. I think it can be a grind for him a little bit because people are always wanting to talk to him, or if there’s interview requests or stuff for the draft."

"But I think for him, he really this second semester wants to focus on helping us win hockey games and doing the best he can as an individual."

►BU has the seventh best scoring offense (3.89 GPG) in Division 1, but in conference games, they're producing 4.09 GPG, best in Hockey East. Terriers also are the conference leaders in goals scored (45) shot percentage (13.1) and power-play percentage (32.6). They're second is save percentage (.921) and face off percentage (52.9).

● HockeyEast.com Conference Stats 

► College Hockey Inc. Notes & Links for Jan. 18

2024 NHL Entry Draft


The NHL Draft Class podcast, with NHL Scouting VP Dan Marr guesting, noted the performances of 2024 recruits Cole Eiserman and Kamil Bednarik (photo) in the All-American Prospects Game. Marr offered his opinion about whether Macklin Celebrini, the top-ranked prospect for the draft,would be well-served by a second season at BU.

 

Steve Ellis of The Daily Faceoff issued his latest top-fifty draft rankings, which Celebrini at #1, Eiserman #3, Cole Hutson #28 and Bednarik #33. Ellis also reported his standouts from the All-American Game noting strong performances by Eiserman and Hutson.

#24 Cole Eiserman, RW: Originally listed as the third-line left winger, Eiserman was moved to the right side and thrived alongside Trevor Connelly. He skated as well as I’ve seen, was engaged defensively and played a more rounded game than what he often shows against USHL competition this year. His 4-4 goal might not win any style points, but he found a defender falling down in front and used that to bank his shot in to make it a tie game. Just compared to watching him against the University of Michigan last week, Eiserman looked like he had something to prove – perhaps among the sea of detractors focusing on how much he focuses on his shot and not his two-way game.

#23 Cole Hutson, D: Hutson didn’t generate anything on the scoresheet, but he was damn close. I thought he used his skating to his advantage, often using his quick footwork to evade attackers at the blueline before rushing towards the net. That was especially evident late in the second when he made a nice spin move to beat a winger before falling down. He quickly got back up, rushed in close and fired a shot on net for his best chance of the game. You see so much of the same creativity his brother has on a consistent basis, and it’s fun to watch.

 

 

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