BU to host Lowell in QF Sunday; 30 years ago, Terriers beat Maine in OT for HE title

#10/11 BU’s quarterfinal opponent for the Hockey East tournament is settled and it’s Lowell, with whom BU played a 3-3 tie last weekend. The River Hawks were a 5-3 winner over Vermont today in first-round play. The game is set for Sunday at Walter Brown Arena with puck drop at 1:00 p.m.

This marks the third consecutive year that BU has been matched against Lowell in the quarterfinals, but first of those years in which the Terriers get home ice. Two seasons ago, BU defeated the River Hawks two games to one in a best-of-three series. Last season when Lowell was the #3 seed and BU was #6, the tournament was cancelled due to Covid.

● Boston Hockey Blog Terrier Hockey Talk podcast

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For the 14th time in 17 years, we've earned the right to host a @hockey_east quarterfinal.

It's a single-game format this year ... and we'll meet the River Hawks once again.

Our playoff run starts at Walter Brown Arena on Sunday.#GoBU pic.twitter.com/LlxDW8wMpW

— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) March 11, 2021

Looking back

Dante Fabbro recorded his seventh assist in the Predators’ 3-2 loss to Caroline. The blueliner also was suspended for two games for an elbow to the head (video).

● NHL.com recap and highlights

This Day in BU Hockey: March 10, 1991

Terriers won their second Hockey East Championship defeating Maine 4-3 in overtime on Shawn McEachern’s breakaway goal. BU had previously won the conference tournament in 1986.

BU, which finished third in the regular season, reached the title game by defeating #6 Merrimack and #4 Providence, while the Black Bears defeated #7 Lowell and #8 Northeastern, which had upset #1 BC.

The Terriers opened the scoring on Ed Ronan’s first-period goal, but Maine matched it in the second period and took a 2-1 lead in the third. Tony Amonte pulled BU even off a pass from McEachern—which Maine contended, unsuccessfully, was a hand pass. With just over two minutes left in regulation, defenseman Peter Ahola, who would earn second-team All-American honors that season, put the Terriers in front, only to have Maine's Keith Carney respond 23 seconds later with the teams skating 3-on-3. And that set the stage for McEachern’s heroics.

On the game-winning sequence, McEachern won the offensive zone draw back to Ahola, whose wild shot into the corner came out of the zone. The puck was tracked down by Phil von Stefenelli, who stickhandled through two Black Bears and pushed the puck ahead to Amonte just outside the blueline. He quickly slid it cross ice allowing McEachern to take control in full stride. McEachern blew past a diving Maine defender at the left circle, cut to the net and backhanded the puck through Garth Snow’s five-hole at 2:19 of overtime as the Garden erupted.

Goalie John Bradley’s 24-save performance was the key to the victory, according to Coach Jack Parker: “Every time he had to make a big save, he did. He was particularly good when we were shorthanded against maybe one of the best power plays in the country,”

Named tournament MVP, McEachern was joined on the All-Tournament team by Ahola and Bradley. McEachern would go on to earn first-team All-American recognition and compiling 82 points (34G,49A), second only to Jack Garrity’s 84 in 1949-50 in the BU record book.

The conference championship was the 23^rd title win for the Terriers in the Boston Garden, including 16 Beanpots, five ECAC titles and the 1972 NCAA crown.

● Post-game interviews: Parker, McEachern