For the second consecutive season, the Terriers added a player to their roster ahead of the spring semester. Last year it was Mikhail Yegorov; this year it’s Tynan Lawrence.
Before a player’s first match begins, they typically take a “rookie lap,” where they skate around the ice for several solo laps to “absorb the moment.” Last season against Boston College, Yegorov took the ice for his rookie round before he was allowed to. It resulted in a bench minor penalty on which the Eagles scored and much controversy.
On Friday, as Lawrence prepared for his NCAA debut, all eyes were on him — and the countdown clock on the Mullins Center scoreboards — as he took the ice for his rookie round. Luckily for the Terriers, Lawrence, it went smoothly, like no one else it is said left him on the ice before he was supposed to, and BU defeated the Minutemen 1-0.
“The security is damn good here,” head coach Jay Pandolfo said after the game. “They let you know what time you can go out there; in another building it was a bit different.”
Pandolfo quickly moved away from the topic to avoid further drama, shifting the focus back to the Terriers’ strong performance to open the second half of the season.
“I think it was a really good, solid road race,” he said. “A very good effort.”
After a disappointing first half of the season by BU standards on multiple fronts, the Terriers needed a quality performance to open the second half, and they delivered with a tight shutout – their first of the season – in which they allowed just 18 shots on goal.
Despite what Pandolfo called a sloppy start, BU improved as the game progressed, keeping the pressure on UMass. The Terriers were aggressive without the puck, controlling hard and forcing turnovers that led to offensive opportunities.
“UMass is a team that usually sends a lot of pucks to the net, and I think we did a good job of getting into shot lanes and ultimately winning pucks well,” Pandolfo said.
Although BU could only beat Minutemen netminder Michael Hrabal once on 30 shots, the Terriers got their chances, several of which were created by their newest addition in Lawrence, who centered BU’s second line and trotted out its top power-play unit.
He made two excellent passes to sophomore forward Cole Eiserman in the first period: a stretch pass that Eiserman sent alone on goal and a smooth backhanded feed to him in the slot.
“I thought his effort was good, that he made some nice plays, but he’s just getting better and better,” Pandolfo said. “You can see what type of player he is.”
The Terriers were also fully healthy for one of the first times this season against UMass and emerged unscathed (forward Nick Roukounakis suffered a puncture in the third period that required medical attention, but he returned to the game). The addition of Lawrence only strengthens BU’s already strong offense.
Forward Jack Harvey scored the only goal of the night at the 7:49 mark of the second period. Forward Sacha Boisvert picked up a loose puck in the offensive zone and threw a cross-ice pass to blueliner Aiden Celebrini, whose shot from the slot created a rebound in front, which Harvey tapped in.
The Terriers, currently ranked 20th in the NPI, still have some catching up to do if they hope to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and they know they have to string together such performances.
“These are the type of games we’ll be playing in,” Harvey said after the match. “A good stepping stone for this group to achieve a victory in an exciting match along the way.”
Despite a late push from the Minutemen that gave Yegorov some quality looks, UMass couldn’t find the back of the net. Yegorov earned his first shutout of the season.
“I think this will give him confidence,” Pandolfo said. “In total, as a team we concede eighteen shots. That’s quite good on the road.”
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