After a disappointing first weekend, the question this weekend was whether the Boston University men’s hockey team could play like the elite team it was expected to play all offseason before the schedule ramps up.
The No. 3 Terriers answered the call convincingly, defeating Colgate 6-2 Friday night at Agganis Arena.
“I watched the first two games back and you could see the guys were thinking and not just playing,” Pandolfo said. “And tonight there were guys playing, and it made a big difference.”
The first period seemed destined to end scoreless, but sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson got the Terriers (2-0) on the board at 7:07 of the first period in a moment of individual brilliance.
Last year’s National Rookie of the Year came in from the blue line, beat the initial defender to the left circle before sniffing a shot, remembering the puck and finishing right in front of the net past freshman goaltender Reid Dyck. The puck was on Hutson’s stick for more than ten seconds when he cut through the Colgate (0-1) defense and created a chance out of nowhere. Hutson celebrated his count by hitting the 6-7 partywhich has become popular on social media in recent months.
Junior Mick Frechette doubled BU’s lead at 5:10 of the second period. After freshman forward Jonathan Morello missed the net from the slot, Frechette collected the rebound, spun around and fired a shot into a relatively empty net after Dyck was caught out of position.
The count marked Frechette’s first collegiate goal, in his 34th game as a Terrier. The last time he scored was during his senior year of high school at Dexter Southfield.
A native of Weston, Mass., Frechette has been coming to BU games since he was a kid.
“It was a great feeling to do it here, in front of friends and family, and of course in front of our home crowd,” Frechette said of his first goal. “It was pretty incredible.”
Frechette played his first two seasons on the blue line, but in BU’s first two games he was moved to the fourth forward spot. Pandolfo said after the game that he brought Frechette up because of some injuries.
Frechette, who still practices as a defender, has accepted the move in stride.
“Just going where the team needs me,” Frechette said. “Wherever I wear a uniform. Every time I put it on, I get goosebumps.”
Freshman forward Ryder Ritchie added at 7:03 of the second period to score his first career goal. Senior forward Owen McLaughlin saw Ritchie skate from the blue line to the net. Ritchie grabbed the puck just before the crease and lifted it over Dyck’s shoulder. Sophomore forward Eiserman provided the secondary assist.
“He fit in really well in a short period of time,” Pandolfo said of Ritchie.
Eiserman scored his first of two power-play goals and BU’s third goal in just over four minutes at 9:21 of the second frame. He fired a one-timer from the top of the right circle 58 seconds into the man advantage after a feed from Hutson, extending the Terriers’ lead to 4–0.
His second power-play goal came at 8:51 of the third period, scoring from the slot on a feed from Ritchie to make it 5-1 BU. Eiserman finished with a three-point night.
“I love scoring. Probably my second favorite thing in the world, next to my family,” Eiserman said.
BU went 2-for-3 on the power play, and it wasn’t far from perfect on the man advantage. In the Terriers’ only failed power play, they unleashed six shots, three more in the seconds that followed, and generated a flurry of chances.
“I really liked the power play tonight. We could have, I mean, a lot more with the opportunities we had,” Pandolfo said.
“Eiserman, I don’t think we really need to say much about what he can do with the power play,” Pandolfo added.
The Terriers are now 4-for-8 on the man advantage this season, and Friday’s production came without sophomore forward Sacha Boisvert, who scored and assisted on the power play in the opener against LIU. Boisvert left Sunday’s exhibition early after suffering a minor injury in the first period. Eiserman has three of those four power play goals.
“The numbers, you know, 50 percent, I think it could be even better,” Eiserman said.
Colgate got on the board to make it 4-1 at 10:53 of the second period when junior defenseman Antonio Fernandez found freshman forward Tyson Doucette at the back post on a 2-on-1.
The Raiders added a second score at 15:44 of the third, with sophomore Isaiah Norlin cutting the deficit to 5-2 with a power play goal.
“It was disappointing to give up that late PK goal,” Pandolfo said. “But overall, so far, through two games, the special teams have been good.”
Morello closed the match with his first collegiate goal, an empty-net, short count at 16:33 of the third period, extending the Terrier lead to 6–2.
BU looked much more comfortable on Friday and will look to repeat its performance in Saturday’s series finale at 6 p.m.
“I liked our game,” Pandolfo said. “From beginning to end.”
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