Now that the Boston University men’s hockey team needs something – something – delivered his star defender. On the final play of the second period, the sophomore shot a one-timer from the point that cleanly beat UMass Lowell goalie Austin Elliott. It was the winning goal in a 3-0 BU win Saturday night at Tsongas Center.
Hutson also provided the lone assist on the game-sealer, the wrister of sophomore Nick Roukounakis midway through the third period. Freshman Ben Merrill added an empty-netter with 2:15 to play.
In fairness, the Terriers couldn’t afford to lose Friday’s series opener, but after their 4-3 overtime loss at Agganis Arena, BU controlled the damage in the final. And even though the Terriers didn’t play very well – BU was outshot, 23-20 – Jay Pandolfo’s team found a way to avoid a disastrous sweep.
Mikhail Yegorov, after being withdrawn for Friday’s third period, was excellent in net. The sophomore made just 23 saves, but stood on his head for a while. Lowell generated the better chances, but BU’s goalkeeper was better.
And when it mattered most? The best player on the ice — Hutson — delivered.
Here are two takeaways:
BU was pretty lifeless, considering the circumstances.
BU’s third period was its best, but for a team that was at high risk of missing the NCAA tournament, and for a team that suffered a frustrating loss 24 hours earlier, the Terriers didn’t seem as urgent in the first two periods on Saturday.
Don’t be surprised if Pandolfo isn’t on fire during his post-game comments. He said of Friday’s loss that BU had “a lot of passengers,” and the same seemed to be true for most of Saturday — the Terriers made their surging fourth line the top line and mixed up the other three, but to little avail. Even Nick Roukounakis, Jonathan Morello and Ryder Ritchie, who were as good as BU’s fourth line on Friday, didn’t have much of an impact on the game until Roukounakis’ third period.
Credit to BU for the way it defended: Lowell’s 23 shots on goal and 58 total shot attempts were pretty impressive numbers considering the amount of time the River Hawks spent in the offensive zone. And of course, kudos to BU for finding a way to win.
But it stands to reason that a team of BU’s perceived caliber would have to control territory against an opponent like UML. Overall, the series continued a troubling trend for this BU team. While Pandolfo’s first three teams consistently defeated mediocre opponents, his fourth failed to win comfortably, if at all. – Sam Robb O’Hagan
Mikhail Yegorov played well.
For a goaltender seemingly on his way to living up to the expectations placed on him at the start of the season, sophomore netminder Mikhail Yegorov looked like a shadow of his former self in Friday’s game against the River Hawks. He conceded three goals in six minutes late in the second period and was promptly withdrawn. Max Lacroix replaced him for the final frame.
Yegorov started in net on Saturday and despite the little action he saw compared to Friday, he put in a convincing performance.
Although UMass Lowell had just 23 shots on goal, it kept BU in the fight until sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson was able to rip home a buzzer-beater to put BU ahead in the second period.
In the second period, Yegorov made two saves on multiple rebound opportunities by the River Hawks – all A chances by UMass Lowell.
His rebound placement in the third period was excellent compared to yesterday’s performance, and he set up the defense well to break up pucks.
Yegorov finished the evening with 23 saves and a shutout. — Hannah Connors
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