BU blanks Vermont to clinch #4 seed; 100th win for Quinn

Behind goals from Drew Melanson and David Farrance and a 33-save effort by Jake Oettinger, BU blanked Vermont, 2-0, at Agganis Arena to nail down the fourth seed in the Hockey East Playoffs.  For Oettinger, it was his fourth shutout of the season, having previously blanked Providence, Maine and Arizona State. 

The game also marked a milestone for Head Coach David Quinn, who notched his 100^th win, joining Harry Cleverly, Jack Kelley and Jack Parker as BU coaches who reached the century mark.

After a bye week, BU will host a quarterfinal, best-of-three series against either Maine or Connecticut beginning March 9. (Playoff format).   BU and Vermont conclude the regular season tonight at 7 p.m. with Senior Night Ceremonies preceding the contest. The game will be live-streamed on Terrier TV.

Jordan Greenway, who suited up a day after returning from the PyeongChang Olympic Games, set up a power play goal early in the first period, centering a pass in the slot to Melanson, who fought off a Catamount defender, to beat Stefanos Lekkas. Hank Crone also assisted and has seven points in his last eight games.

BU extended the lead early in the second. Gabriel Chabot disrupted a Vermont rush in the neutral zone with the puck deflecting to Farrance racing into the offensive zone. From the left faceoff circle, he wired a shot short side over Lekkas’s shoulder.

After outshooting the Catamounts over two periods, 27-21, BU was on the short end of shots in the third, 12-8, but did a good job of getting the puck deep in the Vermont zone and minimizing grade A scoring chances.  BU also dominated the faceoff circle with Bobo Carpenter and Shane Bowers combining to win 14 of 19 draws.

Greenway’s return also paid dividends on the penalty kill where BU had struggled in his absence. Last night, the Terriers were a perfect four-for-four on the PK.

After giving up two-goal leads in some recent games, Quinn was particularly pleased with how his squad closed out last night’s win:

“I thought we really played smart hockey. They outshot us but I thought we did a really good job of keeping things on the perimeter and not giving up odd-man rushes. We had a boatload of chances to make it 3-0 and we just couldn’t, but I really liked an awful lot about that third period.”

He also had praise for Farance whose shift to forward has helped the third line provide offensive contributions:

“He’s doing a lot of good things, he’s playing good hockey, he’s a very talented player. That’s a heck of a shot he made to make it 2-0 and give us some breathing room. He’s coming along for sure.”

Congrats to David Quinn on his 100th career win! Quinny is the fourth BU coach to win 100 games, joining Jack Parker, Harry Cleverly and Jack Kelley! pic.twitter.com/ZynExGXOYM

— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) February 24, 2018

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Video highlights

● Post-game comments: Quinn; Oettinger & Farrance

● Daily Free Press recap; Oettinger’s fourth shutout  

● WTBU recap and audio highlights

Looking ahead

HIGHLIGHTS | Check out the goals and saves from the U18s 4-1 victory against @ciflyingaces. #USAvsCI #NTDP pic.twitter.com/l5VFkRhPdG

— USA Hockey NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) February 24, 2018

2018 recruit Jake Wise’s first-period power play goal was the game-winner in the NTDP U18s’ 4-1 win against Central Illinois. Wise and fellow recruit Jack DeBoer had also assisted on Team USA’s first goal. Tyler Weiss also picked up a helper.

● USA Hockey recap and box score

The @TerrierHockey boys combine for a pretty game-winning goal last night in CIHA White's 5-4 overtime win! @BU_Tweets @DylanPeterson28 @D_sebrango3 pic.twitter.com/9w4UiBp1EN

— CIH Academy (@CIHAcademy) February 23, 2018

2020 recruit Dylan Peterson drops the puck to fellow recruit Donovan Sebrango, then heads to the net for a return pass and converted the game-winner in overtime as CIHA Midget White edged Navan U18 AAA4, 5-4. It was Peterson’s second goal and defenseman Sebrango’s third assist.

In the Voyageurs previous game, a 6-3 win against Cornwall U18, Peterson had a four-point game with two goals and two assists. He leads CIHA in scoring with an 11-19-30 line in 26 games, while Sebrango has five goals and 16 assists.

2021 recruit Jeremy Wilmer now has 73 points (34G, 39A) for the Long Island Gulls 14U Bantam Majors, equaling his total of last season with the 14U Bantam Minors.

Women’s Team

Terriers’ dropped a 3-2 decision to Maine in the opener of a best-of-three quarterfinal series at Alfond Arena. The Black Bears took an early 1-0 lead and then scored twice more within a minute for a 3-0 lead. Nina Rodgers got BU on the board late in the first assisted by captain Rebecca Leslie and Victoria Bach.  Midway through the second period, Bach narrowed the margin to one with a power play goal, assisted by Leslie and Jesse Compher.

BU outshot Maine 16-6 in the third period—including a breakaway opportunity for Bach— but couldn’t produce an equalizer. The teams play again today at 2 p.m. with BU looking to stave off elimination.

Leslie’s two assists gave her a program record 101 career assists, surpassing Marie-Philip Poulin’s 100. She has 32 helpers this season and 53 points overall.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score