Saturday, October 28, 2023

UPDATED Terriers dominate UMass in home opener, 5-2

#9 Terriers celebrated its home opener with a 5-2 win against #19 UMass behind three-point efforts from Macklin Celebrini, Lane Hutson and Jeremy Wilmer.  Playing before a loud crowd of 5,172, BU improved its record to 3-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the conference.

SCROLL DOWN FOR DEFKIT’S TERRIER TAKEAWAY

With the Hockey East Regular Season Championship, Hockey East Tournament title and Frozen Four banners updated to reflect last season’s success, BU shook off a slow start and dominated the Minutemen with its speed and aggressive puck-hunting game.

The Terrier power play which had shown signs of life during the 8-2 win against Notre Dame, was sharp, connecting twice. Meanwhile, BU killed all four UMass man-advantages.

It didn’t start that way. The Minutemen were on an aggressive forecheck from the get-go.  An unsuccessful clearing attempt up the right-side board led to a turnover that quickly became a goal as Ryan Lautenbach was left alone in the left circle with a half-open cage.

“I liked the way we responded after that. Our guys stuck with it, we didn’t get down, and we found our game,” Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said. “I thought our special teams were very good tonight, both penalty-killing and power-play.

“I think we’re getting back to playing our defensive zone structure the right way,” he added. “We’re protecting the middle of the ice. There was still some I didn’t love tonight, but, overall as a whole, we’re much better.” 

UMass continued to attack for the following few minutes, but BU made some adjustments and momentum shifted to the Scarlet & White. After five shots on goal in the first eight minutes, UMass would only get one more in the period.

A UMass penalty at the 15-minute mark gave BU its first man-advantage. Midway through the power play, Wilmer dished to Lane Hutson at the left. Closing to the top of the circle, he glanced to the right circle where Macklin Celebrini was posted, then ripped a shot that beat 6’7” Czech goalie Michael Hrabal high to the glove side. Ryan Greene picked up the secondary assist.

As the period’s final minute began, Wilmer directed the puck to Macklin Celebrini in the BU defensive zone and the pair raced up ice. The freshman center slid the puck to Wilmer at the blueline, headed to the net and backhanded Wilmer’s perfect return pass home for a 2-1 BU lead. Shot for the period were 14-6 BU.

BU again had a big territorial edge in the second period but it didn’t pay off until the 14-minute mark. From the neutral zone, Tom Wilmer sent an indirect pass to Wilmer at the blue line and he handed the puck to a Nick Zabaneh streaking up the left side of the offensive zone. His cross-ice pass found an unmarked Dylan Peterson at the bottom of the right circle for a one-timer past Hrabal’s glove for a 3-1 lead.

Back-to-back BU penalties in the final five minutes of the period presented a chance for the visitors to narrow the gap, but the Terriers shut the door with Matthieu Caron stopping five attempts. Shots for the period were 9-7 UMass.

BU kept the Minutemen at bay while continuing to create opportunities for much of the third period. With about eight minutes remain, UMass had been held to just 10 even-strength goals.

Terriers were back on the power play at 12:24. Greene handed the puck to Lane Hutson who faked a shot and passed to Macklin Celebrini in the right circle. His wrister was defended by Hrabel but the rebound went right to Greene in the slot and flipped the puck home, blocker side.

With five minutes remaining, UMass go one back. A funny bounce off the end board went to Lucas Mercuri outside the crease. With three BU defenders below the goal like, he passed to Taylor Makar who beat Caron in close and cut the lead to 4-2.

The Minutemen pulled Hrabal for an extra skater, but BU prevented any serious scoring opportunities. With just a minute remaining, Luke Tuch dashed UMass’s comeback hopes with a shot from center ice into the empty net. Devin Kaplan and Macklin Celebrini had the helpers.

Shots for the period were 15-5 BU and the game total was 36-20.

Caron was sharp when he had to be, stopping 18 shots including a couple at point blank range. One of them, early in the middle period, could have tied the game. In front of him, BU blocked 15 shots, including three apiece by Captain Case McCarthy and his brother, freshman Gavin McCarthy.

Celebrini currently leads Hockey East in both goals (6) and points (9) thanks to his first career three-point game.

With his third three-assist game of his BU career, Wilmer leads Hockey East in assists with seven.

Pandolfo on the third line: “That line was tremendous tonight. They were pushing the pace all night long. Zabaneh and Peterson are two of the fastest guys around, they were very competitive. Jeremy Wilmer, his hockey sense, and he sees the ice better than anyone –– he just makes plays.”

BU continued its mastery of the Minutemen with its sixth straight win and has an 8-0-1 record in the last nine games.

Terriers have succesfully killed the last 11 penalties they've taken. 

The teams conclude the home-and-home series Saturday at the Mullins Center in Amherst with puck drop at 7 p.m. Live stream on ESPN+. 

Defkit's Terrier Takeaway

- Great job by the Terriers not falling into a "here we go again" mode after UMass scored less than a minute in. The team found their game over the next few minutes and took over, as evidenced by the shot totals.

- Pandolfo's comments about taking away the middle of the ice in the offensive zone are spot on. When I think of the first three games that didn't go well, I envision at least one if not a couple goals going in from the blue line due to screens and no blocks. Now those shots aren't getting through. Even when UMass was on the power play, they weren't taking shots from the blue line because we did such a great job filling the lane.

- Great game for Caron. I didn't see too many of his saves up close, as I moved to our offensive end of the ice each period. But there were clearly some huge stops. (See two big 2nd period saves in the highlights)

- The big forwards dominated the boards - the whole 4th line plus Tuch, Peterson, and Kaplan. If they can play that way without taking many penalties, this team will only get tougher to play against. They will wear down the defense and open things up for the speedy skilled forwards.

- Haven't seen a lot from Jack Hughes. Hopefully he starts contributing soon. He's got good size - he is just a split second too late on many plays. Hopefully he is still adjusting to a new style of play.

- Next up: back on the road, or the 5th time in 6 games. Let's see if the team can stay disciplined when the crowd gets into it.

● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score

● Highlights and Coach Pandolfo post-game comments

● Boston Hockey Blog recap

 

Looking ahead

2025 recruit Conrad Fondrk’s overtime goal snapped a scoreless tie as the NTDP U17s edged Madison, 1-0. He's tied for the team lead in goals with five and second in points behind fellow recruit Charlie Trethewey with seven.

● USA Hockey recap

2024 recruit Michael Chambre stopped 29 of 33 shots but Sioux Falls lost to Youngstown, 4-3. 2025 recruit John McNelis notched his third goal and assisted on another for the Stampede.

 

 

 

 

 

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