Saturday, April 11, 2026

This Date in BU Hockey: The D.C. Miracle; Hutson repeats as 1st Team All-American

 


 

                 Third period and overtime video

April 11, 2009--It took a last-minute rally for the ages and a deflected overtime game-winner for top-ranked BU to nail down its fifth national championship in a game that became known as the "DC Miracle."

Trailing 3-1 with goalie Kieran Millan pulled for an extra skater, BU cut the deficit with 59 seconds remaining when Zach Cohen backhanded home the rebound of Nick Bonino's shot. Then, with time winding down, Chris Higgins recovered a puck at the right boards and sent it to Matt Gilroy in the high slot. The Terrier captain didn't have a shot, so he backhanded a pass to Bonino in the right circle and he buried a one-timer. His "unbelievable!" goal exploded the BU bench and sent the game to overtime.   

In the sudden death period, both teams had grade A scoring chances. Gilroy barely beat a Redhawk skater to a juicy rebound, while Colin Wilson bulled his way past a defender on an end-to-end rush before firing a shot that was defended.

Nearing the 12-minute mark, BU sent the puck deep and got on a forecheck with Corey Trivino battling for possession. Chris Connelly came away with the puck and dished it to Kevin Shattenkirk at the left point. As he moved to his right, he dropped a pass to Colby Cohen who closed to the top of the left circle and ripped a slapper. A diving Miami defender got a piece of the shot that flew high over goalie Cody Reichard's shoulder and into the net.The "Burn The Boats" guys were national champions. 

   

Victory number 35 (35-6-4) set a new program mark for most wins and completed BU's third "championship hat trick": Beanpot, Conference championship and NCAA title.  

The win gave BU it's seventh title of the season: Ice Breaker, Denver Cup, Beanpot Championship, Hockey East Regular Season title, Hockey East Championship, Manchester Regional and National Championship.

For the senior class, it was their 100th win. Ten Terriers, including all six starting defensemen, went on to play in the NHL. Bonino and Shattenkirk would become Stanley Cup champions.   

Boston University Athletics 

● Full-game video  

● GoTerriers.com Terriers Capture National Title in OT Thriller 

● GoTerriers.com Cardiac Kids 

 Following in the footsteps of his brother Lane, Cole Hutson has been named a first-team All-American for the second consecutive season. Hutson, who also repeated as a first-team Hockey East All-Star, led the Terriers in points (32) and assists (22).  His two year career totals are 24-56-80.

Since signing with the Washington Capitals, Hutson has three goals and five assists in 11 games.  

In the past 12 seasons, four Terrier defensemen have repeated as first-team All-Americans, while a total of eight blueliners achieved that mark in program history. Besides the Hutson brothers, they are: Tom Ross (’64-’65, ’65-’66), Bob Brown (’70-’71 & ’71-’72), Vic Stanfield (’73-’74 & ’74-’75), Matt Gilroy (’07-’08 & ’08-’09), Matt Grzelcyk (’14-’15 & ’15-’16) and David Farrance (’19-’20 & ’20-’21).

● GoTerriers.com Hutson Named First Team All-American for Second Straight Year  

Looking ahead

2027 recruit Caleb Malhotra scored his eighth playoff goal--unassisted--as Brantford rolled past North Bay, 4-1, to a take a 2-0 lead in their playoff series. With 13 points in six games, the 6'2" center is third in OHL playoff scoring and is the leader in goals.  

 

Looking back

Three Terriers--Alex Vlasic (CHI), Jake Oettinger (DAL) and Jack Eichel (VGS) are their team's nominees for the 2025-26 King Clancy Memorial Trophy.  The award is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” 

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Thursday, April 09, 2026

UPDATED This Date in BU Hockey: 2009 Frozen Four Semifinal; Kudos for Keller; 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 Verizon Center, 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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