It clearly left a sour taste in the mouth of the Terriers as for one of the first times all season, BU put together two consistent 60-minute performances, completing a sweep of BC after a 5-1 win over Conte Forum on Saturday.
BU got on the board first, despite BC maintaining the majority of possession in the offensive zone in the opening frame.
On the Terriers’ second penalty, captain Gavin McCarthy cleared the puck with freshman forward Ben Merrill near the blue line. Merrill gained possession for BC’s Ryan Conmy, creating a breakaway. He was able to wrist the puck past Louka Cloutier with ease.
With less than three minutes left in the first, senior forward Oskar Jellvik tied things up for BC on a pass sent over the slot by sophomore forward James Hagens. Jellvik returned to the Eagles’ lineup on Friday for the first time since November 11 after an injury.
BU opened the second frame strongly and then took an early lead. Sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson sent a pass through traffic to McCarthy, who was standing on the goal line. McCarthy then delivered a shot from a tight angle that bounced awkwardly off Cloutier into the net.
The Terriers increased their lead at 1:27 of the third period, scoring a second shorthanded goal. Junior forward Jack Harvey skated into the offensive zone with a 3-on-2 advantage, joined by Hutson and sophomore forward Kamil Bednarik. He handed the puck off to Hutson, who skated around Conmy and returned a pass to Harvey at the bottom of the circle. Harvey made no mistake putting his shot into the top net.
Merrill added his second goal of the night at 15:03 of the third period, firing a wrister from the right circle that beat Cloutier’s high glove side.
BU’s penalty was striking.
The Terriers have struggled against BC’s special teams all season. Take the Beanpot Championship for example, where the Eagles won 3 to 4 in power play opportunities.
But in the fourth episode of the Battle of Comm Ave. this year, BU’s punishment has been more than well thought out.
The Terriers generated two shorthanded goals. The first came from a Merrill breakaway, sparked by a clean sheet from McCarthy. The second came on a 3-on-2 breakout from junior assistant captain Jack Harvey.
BC’s power play unit entered Saturday ranked sixth in the country, with a conversion rate of 27.9%. So it’s no easy task to finish this one, let alone generate it, but BU’s penalty kill is aggressive. In previous games against the Eagles this season, the Terriers have struggled, but for every risk there is a reward, and they got a big reward on Saturday. — Hannah Connors
BU struggled in the first period.
As well as the Terriers played against Boston College this season, Saturday wasn’t the same.
BU couldn’t hold up zone time, break out of the neutral zone or stop BC from capitalizing on Yegorov opportunities in the opening period. The Terriers were lucky to have secured the frame. After 20 minutes, the Eagles outscored BU 13 to five and maintained a significant ice tilt.
BC’s power play unit smothered Yegorov with pucks on net, creating numerous Grade A looks. On the Eagles’ first man advantage – which came within 24 seconds – they generated eight shots, all dangerous chances.
During the transition, the Terriers were unable to stop the rush of strange men, in contrast to Friday’s dominant performance. — Connors
BU started the second period strong, but then deteriorated significantly.
Despite a poor first twenty minutes, buoyed by Merrill’s shorthanded score, BU came out strong to start the second period.
The Terriers finally established time in the offensive zone and were rewarded with McCarthy’s tally early in the frame.
BU recorded seven of the first 10 shots on goal in the second period and was clearly the better team early on.
However, it quickly lost its form and went without a shot on target in the final 11:34 of the second period.
With nine minutes to go, the Terriers leaked James Hagens for two breakaways in the same side, and were lucky to keep Yegorov standing.
BU was awarded its first power play of the night with 6:06 left in the second and came away completely unthreatened, as it has done for most of this season. – Henry Dinh-Price
#earns #series #sweep #victory #Takeaways