That seems to be the theme of the year for BU men’s hockey (11-10-1, 7-7-0 Hockey East).
After a convincing performance against Harvard that lifted them to 20th in the NPI, the Terriers reverted to their first-half habits, falling to 23rd after a 4-3 overtime loss to UMass Lowell (9-13-0, 5-7-0 Hockey East), a team that entered the weekend ranked 46th in the NPI.
“The second period reminded me of the first half [of the season]head coach Jay Pandolfo said after the game. ‘I just didn’t want to intervene, didn’t play as a team, just got soft as a group. I have no answer as to why.”
And as hot as BU came out in the first frame, sloppy hockey plagued the middle twenty minutes, sucking up all the Terrier’s momentum.
BU opened the matchup with a convincing start. Freshman forward Ryder Ritchie ripped a one-timer from the high slot, and sophomore defenseman Sascha Boumedienne tried to clean up the rebound, but it was freshman Jonathan Morello who ultimately slipped the puck past goalie Samuel Richard.
The fourth line – Nick Roukounakis, Morello and Ritchie – was one of the few bright spots in this matchup.
Few expected Ritchie to grace the bottom six when he joined the NCAA, but when Tynan Lawrence played on Comm Ave. just over a week ago. arrived, a strange man would inevitably be pushed out.
To put it bluntly, Ritchie’s performance up until BU’s game against Harvard justified his removal from the top six. But since joining Roukounakis and Morello, Ritchie has had perhaps two of his best games.
The fourth line was the best line of the night “by a mile,” according to Pandolfo.
“They are rewarded because of the way they play – and the way they have played,” Pandolfo said. “I know Ryder just got on that line, but I like the chemistry.”
Junior assistant captain Jack Harvey was responsible for BU’s two other goals, one on the power play and the other on the penalty kill. Pandolfo said he thought Harvey also had a good performance tonight.
Harvey’s power-play goal marked BU’s first tally of the man advantage since Nov. 29 at Madison Square Garden during Red Hot Hockey against Cornell.
His shorthanded goal came in a tie game for BU. Late in the third, Harvey and sophomore forward Kamil Bednarik broke out with an odd rush during the penalty kick, and Bednarik lofted a pass over the slot that buried Harvey.
But don’t be fooled; BU’s special teams were not playing up to par, and a short second-period goal by junior defenseman Sean Kilcullen led to a complete collapse of BU’s energy.
Over the next five minutes, BU allowed two additional goals, including a buzzer beater on a UMass Lowell power play.
“We got them back into the game of hockey,” Pandolfo said. “To give up two goals in less than two minutes in the second period. I mean, if you do that, you’re going to have a hard time winning games.”
The River Hawks entered the third period with a well-deserved 3-2 lead, and BU pulled goaltender Mikhail Yegorov. Junior Max Lacroix stayed between the pipes during the final period in an attempt to breathe some life into the Terriers.
Discipline issues weighed on the entire third period. Both teams combined to score 13 penalties throughout the match. Seven penalties were taken in the third, including matching game disqualifications for Sacha Boisvert and Connor Eddy. Moments after leaving the box to match rough calls, the two removed their helmets and began throwing punches — fighting is banned in college hockey. Their game disqualifications carry a suspension of at least one match, and possibly more, depending on the league’s decision.
Harvey’s tying goal gave BU a glimmer of hope, but when the Terriers had two power-play opportunities – one at 12:33 and another at 4:35 – it became increasingly clear that their special teams are nowhere near where they need to be. BU converts just 16.7 percent on the power play, which ranks 43rd nationally.
“You have two chances late to win a hockey game, so we didn’t get that done,” Pandolfo said.
BU’s inability to capitalize on nearly consecutive power plays in the third sent the game to overtime.
Just 37 seconds into the extra frame, Cole Hutson was called for hooking. And just as BU braced for another penalty, Jay Ahearn was whistled for interference, briefly leveling the ice.
But BU simply couldn’t keep up. Senior defenseman Nate Misskey broke out of the BU zone, carried the puck across the ice, circled behind the net and deflected it just past Lacroix’s path to seal the overtime victory for UMass Lowell.
Misskey had the space to do it as BU’s defense was caught flat-footed on the play and couldn’t recover in time to shut him down.
“We just had a lot of passengers tonight, a lot,” Pandolfo said.
Time is running out on the seasonal clock – and yes, we’ve been saying this all year round. If BU doesn’t get its act together now, it looks very much like a berth in the NCAA tournament bracket won’t include the Terriers’ name.
“It’s disappointing. I thought we were past this,” Pandolfo said.
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