Playing their best and most complete game of the season, #13 Terriers scored twice in each period as they dominated #3 Michigan State in the opening game of a weekend series at sold-out Munn Arena. BU improved its record to 7-2-0.
Like the previous Friday's win against Maine, BU's offense was spread throughout the lineup with five skaters finding the net, led by Carter Amico with two. Tynan Lawrence and Charlie Tretheway each scored on power plays, while Kamil Bednarik connected at even strength and Caleb Malhotra netted an extra-attacker goal.
Mikhail Yegorov was at the top of his game once again, keeping the home team off the board for the first 44 minutes and then shutting them down for the final 14 after MSU had pulled within two. He stopped 33 of 35 Spartan shots.
Following the game, a very pleased Coach Jay Pandolfo said, "It’s a huge road
win for us against a really good hockey team. They play hard, they finish every
check. Our guys stood right in there. We got some goals at opportune times.
"I
thought overall it was a great effort from our group," he continued. "You know you’re up 4-0; third period, you know they’re going to push. They get two goals. We bent a
little bit, but we didn’t break. We stuck with it. Obviously, it was nice to get
that power-play goal and finish it off with an empty-netter.
"[The defense in
front of Yegorov] did a great job, helping out blocking shots, good sticks.
Yegorov, too, was excellent tonight. They funnel everything to the net…Our guys
did a good job for the most part clearing guys out of the front of our net…and
making sure we were advancing the puck out of our end." Full comments linked below.
BU's back end was particularly effective and efficient, contributing three goals, setting the tone with clean breakouts and keeping second chances for the Spartans to a minimum.
BU Hockey Stats reports that the victory was the Terriers' first road win vs. a
top-3-ranked opponent since defeating #2 Quinnipiac, 4-1, on Dec. 12, 2015. And, it was the biggest road
win vs a top-3-ranked opponent since BU blanked #2 BC, 5-0, at Conte Forum on
Nov. 13, 2011
Creating scoring chances on the rush from the get-go, BU drew an early penalty and needed just 25 seconds to take the lead. Xavier Villeneuve fed Lawrence at the left point. He closed to the top of the circle and wired a shot past goalie Joshua Ravensburgen's glove with Jack Murtagh setting a perfect screen. Niklas Aaram-Olsen had the second assist on Lawrence's eighth goal in nine games.Both teams used emphatic physical play to create grade-A chances. For BU, Jack Harvey and Murtagh had a 2-on-1 they couldn't finish and then Jonathan Morello's backhand bid was turned aside. Rugged work behind the MSU goal line produced BU's second score late in the period. Ben Merrill worked a puck free and sent it to Nick Roukounakis who quickly found Bednarik unmarked at the left dot. The junior center one-timed a shot through the goalie's five-hole for his third tally of the season.
First period shots were 10-9 MSU.
An early second-period flurry of chances for Haoxi Wang, Olsen and Merrill nearly extended the lead. The Spartans then followed with two odd-man rushes forcing Yegorov to come up big on both. On a second BU man-advantage, Harvey had a half-open net but fanned on the shot. Seconds after the power play expired, a strong bid by Murtagh was turned aside.
Goal number three came midway through the period. Harvey's cross-ice pass was relayed by Malhotra to Amico. His 55-foot wrister flew over Ravensbergen's shoulder for the Maine native's second of the season.
On a delayed penalty to the Spartans, Villeneuve took a pass from Lawrence and quickly sent it Malhotra flying in from the bench as an extra attacker. He deftly settled the bouncing puck in the left circle and whipped a shot high over the goalie's glove with Murtagh again effectively screening him.
Second period shots were 14-11 MSU.
Jax Wismer's tripping penalty gave the Spartans their only power play of the night. They came into the game connecting at 36% and quickly added to their success. Anthony Romani took an entry pass from Gavin McConnell at the top of the crease, then no-looked it to Ryker Lee busting in on the right side. Lee, who had tested Yegorov several times earlier, fired it past the lunging netminder to cut the lead to 4-1.
Exactly two minutes later, the lead was cut in half. O'Connell skated behind the BU goal line and found Cayden Lindstrom in the right circle for a one-time blast that beat Yegorov to the stick side.
To their credit, the Terriers didn't panic. They reasserted control and eliminated further grade A chances.
A Spartan penalty at 16:02 provided the opportunity to extend the lead. Haoxi Wang passed to Ryder Ritchie along the goal line and the Minnesota Wild draft pick sent the puck back to the blueline where Trethewey's hard wrister flew past Quentin Sigurdson, who had relieved Ravensbergen. Murtagh, once again, was lurking at the top of the crease, taking away the goalies' eyes.
Amico closed out the scoring in the final minutes, scoring from 175 feet into the empty goal. An 11-4 shot advantage in the third gave MSU a 35-24 edge for the game.
defkit's Terrier Takeaway
- What a fantastic showing by this team, going on the road and showing that they are a team to be reckoned with. Was the game perfect? No. Could they have a tough go of it in the next game? Of course. But they have earned a minimum of a split in the #3 team in the country's own barn. Kudos to the players and the coaching staff. - I thought it was interesting that the Spartans were throwing their weight around with open ice hits (I hope Fondrk is not hurt too badly), but they couldn't clear Murtagh out from screening the goalie on three of the goals. Granted, two of them were power-play goals, but still, it's great to see Jack doing what it takes to help this team win.
- The team defense was excellent. The defensemen are comfortable when they are getting pressured, because they know the forwards are going to provide support, and not fly the zone too soon. There was a point in the second period where they got a bit too offensive-minded and some hard passes to skates almost led to breakaways, but overall, team defense continues to be the most notable improvement from last season.
- It's great to see Amico contributing some offense. I figured he would have Webber/Gryba type numbers (very few points), but he's been pitching in at both ends, which must thrill the coaches.
- I noticed Tretheway was out on the late PP and not Villeneuve. There had been a media time out, so everyone was rested. I liked that move by the coaches, because we really did not want to give up a SHG. Charlie scoring was an added bonus.
- It was also great to see Malhotra stay hot. Having him and Lawrence on two different lines is going to become a bigger weapon as the season goes on, because they are both going to continue to improve and gain confidence.
- Big Mike is having a great year. There are a lot of very good goalies these days. But he looks like he did as a freshman. He looks ready to carry this team on his back.
- Terriers took just one penalty and have shown more discipline than last season.
The 35 NHL draft picks between the teams (BU 18, MSU 17) was a record for an NCAA game.
Terriers have won four consecutive games against ranked teams.
The teams complete the weekend series Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
● GoTerriers.com recap
and box
score
● Postgame
Pandolfo
● YouTube College
Hockey Network Extended Highlights
● Boston Hockey
Blog InstantTakeaways
● SI.com Statement Game for the East? BU Gets Blowout Win at No. 3 Michigan State: Puck Drop
►On Friday our Game Day blogpost included
video from the 1990 NCAA QF series with Michigan State. The Boston Hockey Blog
delved into that memorable Terrier win with legendary head coach Jack Parker.
● Boston Hockey Blog Where a decade of dominance began:
revisiting East Lansing, 1990
Looking ahead
2027 recruit Rian
Chudzinski assisted on one goal and scored the shootout game-winner in Moncton’s
3-2 win over
Newfoundland. The right wing from Needham, Mass., who has 17 points (8G,9A) in 17 games for the Wildcats, earned the game's first star.
2027 recruit Braidy Wassilyn scored his 13th goal and added an assist in Saginaw's 5-3 loss to London. Fellow recruit Brady Knowling stopped 25 of 29 shots for the Spirit. Wassilyn co-leads the OHL in scoring with 27 points.
2027 recruit Alessandro Di Iorio scored his seventh goal in Sarnia's 3-2 loss to Brandtford. The Sting's captain and first line center has 15 points in 15 games.
2027 recruit Shawn
Carrier assisted on three goals in Halifax’s 4-1 win over Cape Breton.
The left-shot forward has a 7-9-16 line in 12 games.
2027 recruit Carter Meyer, who is expected to be a top 10 pick in the next NHL Entry Draft, talked with TSN about his decision to play in the QMJHL in his draft-minus-one season.
● TSN Carter Meyer: People kept saying the QMJHL is a soft league, but it's really not.
Looking back
Joel Farabee scored his sixth goal in the Flames' 5-3 loss to the Ducks. He has 16 points in 17 games.
Women's Team
Terriers opened a two-game home series with Maine rallying to tie the score at 1-1 and then winning in a shootout.
The Black Bears had taken a first-period 1-0 lead. Captain Neely Nicholson tied the score on a third-period power play. Following a scoreless overtime, BU claimed the shootout win when Greta Henderson and Mylie Ellis scored the only goals.
● GoTerriers.com recap and box score
● Video highlights
Photo by Evan Peacock
