BU men’s hockey gives up goal late in third period in 3-2 loss to Vermont

Vermont scored three goals for the first time this season. The third came with 21 seconds left and was the game winner that prevented the Terriers from being swept.

With four players out of the lineup, the No. 18 Terriers (8-8-1, 5-5-0 HEA) defeated the Catamounts (5-9-0, 3-5-0 HEA) 3-2 on Saturday night at Agganis Arena.

Here are three takeaways and how it happened.

The top line was in sync.

With the return of Sacha Boisvert to the lineup for this weekend against the Catamounts, he rejoins his fellow top linemates from the start of the year in Cole Eiserman and Ryder Ritchie.

Offensively, they looked back as if they had never been away.

The trio, along with defensive duo Cole Hutson and Gavin McCarthy, created many attacking opportunities and combined for eleven shots. Even when they didn’t have the puck, they waited for the opportune moment or tried relentlessly to regain possession.

Their transitions were also efficient, and it helped them tie things up in the first round, thanks to Cole Eiserman firing one past Vermont’s Aiden Wright.

Vermont took advantage of its opportunities.

Twelve shots in two periods.

That’s all the Catamounts had going for them in a game where they rarely saw any sustained momentum in their offensive zone. BU had not given them any room to generate anything.

The same could have been said for Vermont, which blocked 22 of BU’s shot attempts; that defense-first mentality cannot be underestimated towards their successes.

In two separate stints, one zone entry early in the first resulted in Vermont’s opening goal. Then, late in the second, a neutral zone turnover led to an odd-man rush, resulting in a 2-1 Catamounts lead.

By the time the third rolled around, the Catamounts pounced on the tired Terriers.

Cole Hutson worked a shift at forward.

At 16:52 of the first period, Cole Hutson collected an ice-cold puck, left the ice and was sent back onto the ice after playing defense.

In the offensive zone, Hutson lined up for a faceoff at the edge of the opposite side faceoff point, playing a single shift before returning to his usual role on the blue line.

With BU leaving a lot of players behind, especially when Jack Murtagh opted out, it was an intriguing sight.

How it happened

Vermont’s Jax Wismer opened the scoring at 15:41 of the first period, scoring on a shot at the blue line that went past Mikhail Yegorov.

Later in the first, at 8:29, Cole Eiserman scored his eighth goal of the season, putting a shot under the glove of Vermont goalkeeper Aiden Wright to tie the game.

Vermont senior forward Massimo Lombardi connected on a 2-on-1 one-timer to give the Catamounts the lead with 5:15 left in the second period.

Nick Roukanakis managed to get things back in order for BU. At 9:55 of the third, the second forward carried the puck from the outside to the crease and converted a follow-up opportunity.

With 21.6 seconds left, Thomas Sinclair scored the winning goal off a loose rebound set up by Phillip Törnqvist’s point shot, winning the game for Vermont 3–2.