Friday, March 08, 2024

UPDATED: Terriers rally past Friars, 4-2; Won the third. Won the game.

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Powered by its all-freshman first line, #2 Terriers scored three times in the final period, erasing a 2-1 deficit and skating away with a 4-2 win over #11/10 Providence at Schneider Arena. Macklin Celebrini led the way with a pair of goals—his 27th and 28th—and an assist, while Shane Lachance contributed a goal and two helpers and Jack Harvey scored the final goal.

After taking a 1-0 lead after the opening period, the Terriers gave it up in a penalty-filled second period with Providence scoring a power-play goal and another at even strength.

“I loved our first period,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said post-game. “I thought our second period was terrible, so it’s something we have to figure out…credit to our guys, they got the message in between the second [period] and had a great third and found a way to win.”

Unlike their last visit to Providence, the Terriers came out fast and played the direct game that Pandolfo preaches. They peppered goalie Philip Svedebäck with a dozen shots while limiting the Friars to just four shot attempts—none on goal—although a 3-on-1 rush saw Craig Needham hit the crossbar above Mathieu Caron’s right shoulder.

Just under nine minutes into the period, BU scored on the rush. Macklin Celebrini skated the puck out of the defensive zone and backhanded a cross-ice pass to Lachance racing up the left side and crossing the blueline. He forwarded the puck to Lane Hutson who quickly centered it to Celebrini in the slot. The Vancouver native fired a low shot past Svedeback as he fell to ice.

Matching penalties at the end of the first period had the teams skating four a side to open the second. A Friar penalty gave BU a short 4-on-3 power play but they couldn’t add to the lead. BU killed one penalty early in the period, but not the second one that sent Lane Hutson to the box. Chase Yoder collected a pass in the slot and slid the puck past Caron to tie the score

At the 15-minute mark, Providence took the lead on Hudson Malinowski’s individual effort. The Friar freshman skated through the left circle, went around the BU cage--past Tom Willander, who had lost his stick-- and poked home a wrap-around a split second before Caron could secure the right post. Definitely a goal that the Brown transfer wanted back.

A critical turning point came with six minutes left in the period when Gavin McCarthy was called for a major penalty for contact to the head and also received a game misconduct. The Terriers penalty killers kept Providence from extending lead, holding the Friars to just three shots on goal.

Friars had a 14-7 shot advantage in the middle period.

The third period comeback began with an early power play when Cal Kiefiuk was called for tripping at 1:27. A Celebrini centering pass skittered to Quinn Hutson whose shot from the left dot was blocked. But he recovered the puck and passed to Celebrini at the top of the right circle for a one-timer that beat Svedeback high to the glove side and knotted the score a 2-2.

BU retook the lead midway through the period. Willander passed to Lane Hutson at the left point for a quick shot that hit Svedeback in the chest. Lachance out-dueld Giullaume Richard for position in front of the crease and popped the rebound over the goalie’s blocker for what proved to be the game-winner. It was Lachance’s 12th of the season.

It didn’t take long for BU to extend the lead, with the former Chicago Steel linemates connecting on the rush just two minutes later. Lachance took a big hit at center ice, but still got the puck to Celebrini streaking up the left side into the Friars’ zone. In stride, he passed to Harvey in the high slot for a one-time rip bar down past Svedeback’s blocker. It was his fourth of the season.

Macklin Celebrini comments, “Feels like [Harvey] always puts a bar down. It’s impressive. He always puts himself in the right position.”

Providence pulled the goalie with two minutes left to play, but BU kept them at bay. It got a bit dicey when Devin Kaplan took a tripping penalty to create a 6-on-4 with 17 seconds left, but the Terriers weathered the storm.

BU is now 8-0-1 in its last nine meetings with the Friars.

Before tonight the last time the Terriers hadn’t allowed a shot in a single period was 20 years ago, in December of 2004, in a 4-1 win against Omaha.

Celebrini’s three points give him 51, which ties him for second in the conference in overall scoring. In conference games, he leads all skaters with 41 points (24G,19A). Nationally, he’s tied for second among all skaters and leads all freshman in goals and is second in points. 

Addressing Celebrini's latest multi-point efforts, Pandolfo said, "He’s a competitor with a heckuva lot of talent. You saw it on display tonight. He wants to win so bad. He makes a lot of plays and can finish. I though that line was really good."

@BUHockeyStats posted that "Macklin Celebrini is the first Terrier to record 50 pts in a season since Jack Eichel, Danny O'Regan, and Evan Rodrigues all did so in 2014-15."

Lane Hutson's two assists give him 41 points. The highest scoring defenseman in Hockey East is just the fourth NCAA defensemen to record multiple 40-point seasons since 2005-06, and the only one to do it as a freshman and as a sophomore. He's tied for the national scoring lead among defensemen.

BU played without three upperclassmen due to injuries. Dylan Peterson missed the second UConn game with a lower-body injury but has begun skating again. Captain Case McCarthy and Luke Tuch are “day-to-day” according Pandolfo, who termed Tuch's injury as "minor." If they’re able to practice tomorrow, they could return to the lineup for Saturday’s Senior Day game against Vermont.

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score

● Pandolfo post-game comments

● Video highlights 

● Boston Hockey Blog Terrier top line fuels 4-2 win over Providence

 

Grad student Cade Webber, who had seven of BU's 15 blocks in the game, saw his draft right traded from Carolina to Toronto. The national leader in blocks could become a free agent if he doesn't sign with the Maple Leafs by August 1.

Looking back

Former Terrier defenseman Dante Fabbro is quietly having his best year as a pro. The Nashville blueliner has 12 points and his +11 is second best on the Predators. 

Clayton Keller scored his 23rd goal in the Coyotes' 5-2 loss to Minnesota.

 

 

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