Sunday, November 09, 2025

UPDATED Terriers hang on for 5-4 win at Merrimack ; HHOF Weekend for Parker; Women gain a split in Maine

 Three hockey players in red jerseys and helmets with numbers 2 and 12 visible embrace on ice after a game surrounded by snow with Boston University Terrier Hockey branding and skyline elements in background framed by decorative borders showing score BU 5 MC 4 and text Terriers Win.

Head Coach Jay Pandolfo asked his team for 60-minutes of playing “the right way” if they were to secure a road win at Merrimack’s always-challenging Lawler Rink. For the most part, the Terriers delivered for him, save some nightmarish minutes at the ends of the second and third periods.

As a result, #12/13 BU came away with a 5-4 victory—with some tense moments in the final 66 seconds—after twice holding three-goal advantages, to earn a weekend sweep. Another chapter in the book of strange evenings at Lawler, which had a sellout crowd with a strong BU fan showing.

The Owen McLaughlin-Sacha Boisvert-Ryder Ritchie combination wasn’t the top unit on the line sheet, but, on the ice, they were the top dogs for BU. Boisvert assisted on the first four BU goals, McLaughlin and Ritchie each scored his fourth goal. McLaughlin added two helpers and Ritchie had one.

As Bernie Corbett noted on the BU All Access broadcast, “this was the Boisvert that we expected.”

"Overall, I liked our effort, from start to finish." Pandolfo said, post-game, "We got a three-nothing lead and then we kind of got away from it, started taking some penalties that cost us. Then we took a five-minute major, but I will say it was a great response by our team to kill that off.

"We just got to find a way at the end of the day to finish the game off in the right way," he added. 

BU opened the scoring just 36 seconds into the middle period on the rush. Boisvert took a big hit at the BU blueline but head-manned the puck to McLaughlin racing ahead with Ritchie. The squad's sole senior dropped a pass to a trailing Gavin McCarthy, who skated to the high slot and rifled a shot past Max Lundgren on the stick side. It was the Captain's second goal.

Terriers doubled the lead at the three-minute mark. Cole Hutson stick-handled into the high slot, left the puck for Boisvert, then took a return pass in the right circle and snapped it into a half-open net for his fifth of the season.  

BU extended the lead at 13:43. After Carter Amico rimmed the puck into the 'Mack zone, McLaughlin won a puck battle along the left board and slid the puck to Boisvert in the corner. He dished it to Ritchie for a quick snapshot into the top left corner above Lundgren's blocker.  That made it 3-0 and the Terriers were cookin'.

Then, at 14:14 Ritchie took a high-sticking penalty and, for the third time, the Warriors went on a man-advantage. This time they converted as Justin Gill whipped a shot from the slot past Mikhail Yegorov.

On the very next sequence, Hutson and Luke Weilandt received coincidental penalties. Merrimack had a territorial advantage during the four-on-four, but no solid scoring chances. 

Just before those penalties would expire, Jack Murtagh was called for slew-footing deep in the offensive zone and received a five-minute major plus a game misconduct. With ten seconds left in the period, Hunter Mayo blasted a one-timer from the point past penalty-killer Jonathan Morrello who had lost his stick and a partially screened Yegorov, cutting the lead to 3-2.

That wasn't the end of the period. With two ticks left and play stopped, Yegorov pushed back on a Warrior who got in his face and was called for roughing. It was initially called a game misconduct, but reduced to a minor penalty. Still, it meant BU would face nearly two minutes of a two-man disadvantage to begin the third period, as Murtagh's major carried over. 

The Terrier penalty-killers and Yegorov combined to prevent a tying goal, despite seven shots taken before BU returned to even-strength. 

"They didn't get down. They battled," Pandolfo said. "You got a five on three for two full minutes, that's a challenge...but our penalty kill has been good all season long, so it’s good to see."

The successful PK energized BU who carried the play for most of the next ten minutes with long possessions in the offensive zone. 

Terriers finally increased the lead at 15:46 to begin a frenetic final 4:14 that would see four tallies. With the puck in the Merrimack end, Boisvert stripped a Warrior along the boards and backhanded a pass to McLaughlin in the right circle. He whirled and wristed a shot over Lundgren's glove for his fourth of the season and a seemingly safe 4-2.  

Two minutes later with Lundgren pulled for an extra skater, Jack Harvey found the empty net, assisted by Brandon Svoboda, making the score 5-2. It was the junior's third goal.

Merrimack, however, wasn't done. They pulled the goalie again and took advantage of a BU D-zone turnover with Ty Daneault scoring from the right circle. The Warriors scored another extra-attacker goal on a goalmouth scramble with 1:16 left. BU was able to prevent any further scoring chances, aided by one more penalty to Merrimack.

The Warriors outshot BU 31-24 with 13 of those shots coming on six power plays.

I thought our defense played well as a whole, especially early, Pandolfo pointed out. “Even strength, we didn’t give up anything until [their fourth] goal. I think our forwards did a good job working back to help our D out.”

Re the McLaughlin-Boisvert-Ritchie line: "That was clearly, I think, all those guys together, their best game."

The first series sweep of the season moves the Terriers into a first-place tie in Hockey East with Northeastern and Lowell, although the Huskies have played three fewer games. 

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score

● Pandolfo Post-game 

● Boston Hockey Blog BU finishes with a weekend sweep over Merrimack in a 5-4 win

 

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►►The Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend began in Toronto for BU Hockey Coach Emeritus Jack Parker, Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton and the rest of the class. Monday evening's induction ceremony will be televised on NHL Network.

● Boston Herald With an assist from a friend, Jack Parker headed to Hockey Hall of Fame 

 

Looking ahead  

2026 or 2027 recruit Jamie Glance scored a goal and added an assist as the NTDP U18s thumped Czechia, 10-2, in the Five Nations tournament in Sweden. 2026 recruit Luke Schairer, who recently received an A-rating from Central Scouting, assisted on a pair of goals. Team USA faces host Sweden on Sunday.

2026 recruit Braidy Wasslyin scored his seventh goal--and fifth in the last four games--and added an assist in London's 3-2 shootout win over Owen Sound. The 5'11" left wing, who is skating on the Knights' top line, has 14 points in 12 games.  

2027 or 2028 recruit Andrei Nikolayev turned aside 27 of 30 shots as the NJ Titans were blanked, 4-0. 

Looking back 

Macklin Celebrini scored his 10th goal in San Jose's 3-1 win against Florida. He leads the NHL with 24 points. 

Women's Team

Terriers rode goals from Clara Yuhn and Sydney Healy to a 2-1 win against Maine, splitting the weekend series.

The Black Bears led, 1-0, on a first-period power play goal, but were tied in the final minute of the second period on Yuhn's 4th goal from Sydney Healy and Tessa Demain.

BU took the lead midway through the third period on Healy's fifth goal from Yuhn and Kaileigh Quigg.

Graduate student Michelle Pasiechnyk stopped 27 of the 28 shots she faced 

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score

● Coach Watchorn Postgame  

● Boston Hockey Blog  BU women’s hockey defeats Maine, 2-1, to snap a three-game losing streak

 

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