Thursday, April 09, 2026

This Date in BU Hockey: 2009 Frozen Four Semifinal; Looking ahead and back

    

    

April 9, 2009--Entering the 2009 Frozen Four in Washington, D.C., the top-ranked Terriers were on a tear, having won nine of their last ten, including the Hockey East Championship and the NCAA Regional in Manchester. And they had buzz-sawed to a 26-2-4 record in their previous 32 outings. 

The last impediment to their reaching the 2009 national championship game was Vermont, a team that had been a source of frustration to BU going back to the previous season. In 2007-08, the Catamounts had taken two out of three from BU, including a 3-1 loss in the Hockey East semis, ending the Terriers' season. 

Earlier in 2008-09, Vermont came into Agganis Arena and dealt BU a pair of 4-3 losses--the only back-to-back defeats the team would suffer all season.

Before the sellout crowd at DC's Capital One Arena, BU dominated the Cats in the opening period, outshooting them, 14-7, and taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Colin Wilson and Jason Lawrence. However, the middle period belonged to UVM, who scored three straight goals to take a 3-2 lead. BU tied the score late in the period on a power-play goal by Vinny Saponari off a great set-up from Nick Bonino.

After Vermont went back on top midway through the third on a power play, Chris Higgins drew the Terriers even, scoring on the rush. And then, just a minute later, Wilson won an O-zone draw, headed to the net and buried the rebound of Higgins' shot for the game-winner. 

The victory, BU's 34th of the season, tied the 1993-94 squad for most wins. Two days later, the Terriers would win their 35th game and fifth national championship in even more dramatic fashion.

Fun fact: in games in which Bonino registered at least one point, BU was 25-0-3. His game-tying goal against Miami with under 20 seconds left in regulation would keep that mark alive. 


  

 ►►Be sure to check out BU Hockey Stats' YouTube Library, which is now added to the Video section of the sidebar. 

Looking ahead

2027 recruit Caleb Malhotra scored twice and added an assist in Brantford's 8-1 rout of North Bay in the opening game of their second playoff round. He leads the OHL playoffs with seven tallies in five games and is third overall with 12 points. 

● Video: First goal, second goal       

  

Malhotra is one of two finalists for the OHL's Rookie of the Year Award after ringing up 84 points in 67 games for the Bulldogs. 

 ►►NHL.com Senior Draft Writer Mike Morreale provides brief scouting analyses and NHL comparables for some of the leading prospects for the 2026 Entry Draft. For Malhotra, the comparable is NJ Devils captain Nico Hischier, while 2027 recruit Brady Knowling's comparable is Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko.

● NHL.com Central Scouting analyzes top prospects for 2026 NHL Draft

● Malhotra Video Scouting Report 

Another Morreale column looked at 5 questions entering NHL Central Scouting final meetings.

Who is the top center available in this draft class?

There are two players in the discussion: Caleb Malhotra (6-1, 182) of Brantford (OHL) and Tynan Lawrence (6-0, 185) of Boston University.

Malhotra, No. 5 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters, was second among OHL rookies and tied for 11th among all players with 84 points (29 goals, 55 assists) in 67 games. He also had 30 power-play points (nine goals, 21 assists). Lawrence, No. 7 on the midterm ranking, began the season with 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in 13 games with Muskegon of the United States Hockey League, then had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 18 games after joining the Terriers on Jan. 8. He had five points (one goal, four assists) in his final five games for Boston University, which lost 5-3 to the University of Connecticut in the Hockey East quarterfinals on March 14. He likely will play for Canada at the 2026 IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Slovakia from April 22-May 2.

"He was arguably our best player (against Connecticut)," BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. "I wish we could keep going to see him improve even more. He's just going to be a really good player for us." 

● McKeen's Hockey Tynan Lawrence detailed NHL scouting report 

Egor Shilov, who led Victoriaville in scoring with 82 points (32G,50A) and was the QMJHL's leading rookie point-scorer, will return to the Tigres next season. The 6'1" center from Tyumen, Russia, is projected to be a late first-round pick in the 2026 Entry Draft. Shilov also was named to the league's rookie all-star team. 

Looking back

Cam Crotty registered his first NHL point in the Senators' 6-2 win over Tampa Bay. Brady Tkachuk assisted on four Ottawa goals and now has a 22-36-58 scoring line.  

Lane Hutson dramatically set up a game-tying, extra-attacker goal for Montreal, which went on to defeat Florida, 4-3 in a shootout.  With his 63rd assist, he became the third Montreal defenseman to reach 75 points in a season. 

Macklin Celebrini gave San Jose an early lead, but his Olympic team linemate Connor McDavid stole the show in Edmonton's 5-2 win. Celebrini's 108 points are third best ever by a teenager in a single season, trailing only Wayne Gretzky (137) and Sydney Crosby (120).

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