Saturday, January 10, 2026

Power outage sinks Terriers; Commesso pitches a shutout for first NHL win; Women edge Cats

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A day after the Terriers recorded their first shutout of the season, they were blanked by tenacious UMass, who capitalized on a puck-handling miscue by Mikhail Yegorov and then added an empty-net goal. 

BU had numerical advantages in shots and face-off wins, but missing were the previous night's crisp passing, puck retrievals and O-zone cycling. Instead there were too many pucks passed into skates, fumbled pucks and 22 shots blocked by the Minutemen.

Though disappointed with the outcome, Coach Jay Pandolfo said he was "not disappointed with the effort. For the most part, the effort was there. On a weekend, it’s tough wining two hockey games when you only score one goal.

"I really like our first period. We were pushing pretty good," he added, noting that UMass had just two scoring chances in the period other than the fluke tally. "I think we got away from [our game] in the second. In the third, give UMass a lot of credit. They were blocking everything. We just couldn’t generate enough offensively….We have to find a way to score goals." 

BU's top scorer, Cole Hutson, who had been injured at the World Juniors, was not in the lineup. He was replaced by freshman Malte Vass.

Pandolfo explained, “It was just precautionary, like he's okay, I don't think he's still feeling he's like 100% of how he wants to feel. So at this point of the season, just wasn't worth playing him tonight. He'll be reevaluated, and we'll see where it goes.”

The Terriers began the home contest much like the previous night with clean breakouts and puck possession in the offensive zone, while breaking up UMass rushes. BU's best scoring opportunity came on a two-on-one rush that sent Jonathan Morello in alone. He feinted once and went to his backhand, but goalie Mike Hrabal shut the door.

BU went on the first of three power play midway through the period, mustering two shots on goal with several attempts blocked by UMass defenders. 

Just as the power play was ending, UMass cleared the puck the length of the ice and behind the BU net. With Gavin McCarthy and Owen McLaughlin skating to the corners to await a pass from Yegorov, it appears the Minutemen’s Václav Nestrašil called for puck, confusing Yegorov. As he hesitated, Nestrašil grabbed the puck and wrapped it around into the open net. 

At the end of one BU had a 12-3 edge on shots and had won 10 of 17 draws, but trailed, 1-0. UMass had six blocks in the period.

A penalty with half a second left in the opening period gave BU the man-advantage as the second period began. Hrabal defended two BU shots while Yegorov fought off a shorthanded attempt.

After the power play expired, momentum shifted toward the Minutemen who were foiling BU zone entries, negating the Terriers’ forechecking efforts and creating scoring chances for themselves. 

With the teams playing 4-on-4, Jack Musa fired a shot past Yegorov to double the lead. BU challenged for goalie interference as Bo Cozman had made contact with the goalie's glove. The challenge was upheld and the score remained 1-0. 

A penalty to Jack Harvey was killed by the Terriers, but UMass continued to have the better of the play, resulting in a 10-5 shot advantage in the second period.

UMass continued to limit BU's O-zone time throughout the third period. At 7:13, Harvey worked his way into the slot for a shot that went off Hrabal’s shoulder. With just under two minutes remaining, Yegorov was pulled for an extra attacker. BU's best chance came on Sacha Boisvert's redirection of Sascha Boumedienne's shot from the point that Hrabal stopped. UMass kept getting bodies in front of shot attempts and at 19:07, Musa, a one-time BU recruit, scored into the empty net from his own defensive zone. 

Though he faced only 17 shots, stopping 16, Yegorov came up with at least six top-drawer saves to keep the margin at one throughout the final two periods. 

Kamil Bednarik had a strong night at the faceoff dot, winning 11 of 16 draws.

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score

● Highlights and Post-game Pandolfo

● Boston Hockey Blog BU Men's Hockey Loses, 2-0, to Massachusetts 

Looking ahead

2026 recruit Braidy Wassilyn scored his 13th goal and added an assist as London defeated Erie, 4-1. 

2026 recruit Egor Shilov scored his 21st goal in Victoriaville's 4-1 loss to Chicoutimi. Shilov, who won 12 of 18 draws, has 49 points in 37 games.  

2026 recruit Rian Chudzinski scored his 12th goal and added an assist as Moncton thumped Newfoundland, 9-2. 

Looking back

Drew Commesso's first NHL win was a shutout as he stopped all 36 shots he faced in the Blackhawks' 3-0 win over Nashville. Ryan Greene scored his fifth goal, an empty-netter.

Evan Rodrigues scored his ninth goal as Florida defeated the Senators, 3-2. 

Macklin Celebrini assisted on three goals as the Sharks defeated Dallas in overtime, 5-4. With 70 points (24G,46A) in 44 games, he's third in the league scoring race.


Women's Team

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In their return to Hockey East action, Terriers edged New Hampshire, 2-1, at the Whittemore Center on goals by Luisa Welcke and Sydney Healey.

After yielding a short-handed goal to the Wildcats, BU scored late in the opening period. Welcke took a pass from Riley Walsh and ripped a shot from the left circle into the top corner to even the score at 1-1. 

The game-winner came at the midway point of the second period. Healey raced from the BU end into the offensive zone and wristed a shot home from the left faceoff dot. It was her 11th of the season.

Michelle Pasiechnyk stopped 25 of 26 shots to earn the win.

● GoTerriers.com recap and box score 

● Postgame Coach Tara Watchorn 

 

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