Saturday, February 08, 2025

Terriers stunned by Merrimack in overtime

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#8 Terriers dropped a hard-fought 2-1 overtime decision to Merrimack at Lawler Rink on Friday. The scoring chances were there for BU but very little puck luck.

Both regulation tallies came in the opening period. Jack Harvey gave BU a 1-0 lead, but that was matched by Nick Pierre’s power play goal late period. The score remained that way until overtime when Caelen Fitzpatrick poked home the game-winner just 20 seconds into the extra session.

Goalie Mikhail Yegorov, sporting new pads, stopped 26 shots including several close-in opportunities. He was matched by the Warriors’ Max Lundgren who made 24 saves including more than few BU shots from between the dots.

Coach Jay Pandolfo, while satisfied with the play of his defense corps, was bluntly critical of the forwards, pointing out, “Not winning puck battles, not working back, coasting, not finishing a check, all of those things I didn’t like.” 

He added, “Some individuals have to figure out what they need to do to help our team,” Pandolfo said. “That’s a big part of it.”

Regarding Yegorov, he said, “He kept us in the game, that’s for sure. It would have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for him.”

Without Gavin McCarthy out of the line-up, the third D pairing was sophomore Mick Frechette and senior Jack Page, who broke up a 3-on-1 Merrimack rush in the third period. 

Terriers took a while to shed Merrimack’s aggressive forecheck to get their skating game going. Six minutes into the game, Harvey rang a shot off the post on the rush.
Meanwhile Yegorov kept the game scoreless with a pair of sparkling saves on Fitzpatrick.

Harvey’s goal, his eighth, was scored on the rush. He took a pass from Cole Hutson and wired a shot from the top of the left circle that went high over Lundgren’s glove. Quinn Hutson had the secondary assist.

Terriers nearly doubled the lead on Brandon Svoboda’s shot-handed attempt that Lundgren turned away.

A double-minor penalty on Cole Eiserman was only partly off-set by a Merrimack penalty and the Warriors tied the score when Pierre got behind the BU defense and fired a shot that went off Yegorov’s glove.

BU peppered Lundgren with 11 shots in the middle period. A 2-on-1 for Harvey and Ryan Greene resulted in a second shot off iron for Harvey.

Minutes later Yegorov came up big to foil another opportunity for Pierre. 

An early third period power play gave BU a chance to regain the lead, but its best chance, a Matt Copponi shot from the slot, was defended.  He came close again with a wrap-around attempt, followed by two huge Yegorov saves in the final minute. The home team had a 12-7 shot edge in the third period.

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score
● Pandolfo Post-game

● Boston Hockey Blog recap

Looking ahead

2025 recruit Jack Murtagh did the hard work, then took a return pass to score against Switzerland in the Five Nations Tournament in Sweden, as the U.S. claimed a 4-0 victory.  The left-shot forward is tied for the U18 points lead with a 14-20-34 line. He has 2-4-6 in three tournament games and leads the US in points. Defenseman Charlie Trethewey assisted to Team USA’s first goal.   

2026 recruit Luke Schairer recorded a pair of assists as Team USA defeated Switzerland, 8-5. The right-shot defenseman has six assists in three U17 Five Nations games, thus far.

2025 recruit John McNelis has been acquired by Cedar Rapids from Sioux Falls in return for future considerations. McNelis, who was second team USHL All-Rookie last year with 38 points, had a 14-17-31 line in 34 games for the Stampede this season.  He also skated for Team USA in the World Junior A Challenge, recording three points in five games.

2026 recruit Caleb Malhotra's unassisted goal was the game-winner as Chilliwack blanked Surrey, 2-0.  Malhotra, who is the son of former NHLer Manny Malhotra, has 19 points in 32 games in his first BCHL season.  

Women's Team

#14 Terriers dropped a 3-1 decision to UConn at Walter Brown Arena on Friday. After the Huskies scored twice in the first period, BU's Neely Nicholson cut the lead in half during the second period. However BU could get no closer and UConn added a tally in the third period.

BU is back on the ice today, hosting Providence at 4 p.m. Game Day links are in the recap below.

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score

● Highlights

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