CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Less than three weeks ago, Boston College dominated against BU, capitalizing on every mistake to hoist its first Beanpot in ten years.
Clearly, it left a sour taste in the Terriers because for one of the first times all season, BU put together two consistent 60-minute performances, finishing off a sweep of BC after a 5-1 win at Conte Forum on Saturday.
BU got on the board first despite BC maintaining the majority of offensive zone possession in the opening frame.
On the Terriers’ second penalty kill, captain Gavin McCarthy cleared the puck with freshman forward Ben Merrill near the blue line. Merrill gained possession ahead of BC’s Ryan Conmy, creating a breakaway. He was easily able to wrist the puck past Louka Cloutier.
With under three minutes left in the first, senior forward Oskar Jellvik tied things up for BC off a pass sent across the slot by sophomore forward James Hagens. Jellvik returned to the Eagles’ lineup from injury Friday for the first time since Nov. 11.
BU opened the second frame strong and subsequently earned an early lead. Sophomore defenseman Cole Hutson sent a pass down ice through traffic to McCarthy, who was stationed at the goal line. McCarthy then delivered a tight-angle shot that awkwardly bounced off Cloutier into the net.
The Terriers padded their lead at 1:27 of the third period, netting a second shorthanded goal. Junior forward Jack Harvey skated into the offensive zone with a 3-on-2 advantage, accompanied by Hutson and sophomore forward Kamil Bednarik. He dropped the puck off to Hutson, who skated around Conmy and slid a pass back to Harvey at the bottom of the circle. Harvey made no mistake, one-timing his shot into the top netting.
Merrill added his second goal of the night at 15:03 of the third period, firing a wrister from the right circle that beat Cloutier high glove side.
BU’s penalty kill was on point.
The Terriers have struggled against BC’s special teams all season. Take the Beanpot Championship, for example, where the Eagles went 3 for 4 on power play chances.
But in the fourth installment of the Battle of Comm Ave. this year, BU’s penalty kill more than figured things out.
The Terriers generated two shorthanded goals. The first came off a breakaway by Merrill, which was sparked by a clear from McCarthy. The second came from a 3-on-2 breakout netted by junior assistant captain Jack Harvey.
BC’s power play unit entered Saturday ranked sixth in the country, converting at 27.9%, so killing it off, let alone generating on it, is no easy task, but BU’s penalty kill is aggressive. In past matchups against the Eagles this season, it has plagued the Terriers, but for every risk, there’s a reward, and Saturday, they were rewarded big. — Hannah Connors
BU struggled in the first period.
For as hot as the Terriers have come out against Boston College this season, Saturday was not the same.
BU couldn’t sustain zone time, break out of the neutral zone, or stop BC from peppering chances on Yegorov in the opening period. The Terriers were lucky to have ended the frame tied. After 20 minutes, the Eagles outshot BU 13 to five and held a significant ice-tilt.
BC’s power play unit smothered Yegorov with pucks on net, generating numerous grade A looks. On the Eagles’ first man-advantage — which came 24 seconds in, they generated eight shots, all dangerous chances.
On transition, the Terriers couldn’t stop odd-man rushes, unlike Friday’s dominant performance. — Connors
BU started the second period strong, then tailed off significantly.
Despite a poor opening 20 minutes, buoyed by Merrill’s shorthanded tally, BU came out strong to begin the second period.
The Terriers finally established time in the offensive zone and were rewarded by McCarthy’s tally early in the frame.
BU recorded seven of the first 10 shots on goal in the second period and was clearly the better side early on.
However, it lost its form quickly and went without a shot on goal over the final 11:34 of the second period.
With nine minutes remaining in the frame, the Terriers allowed James Hagens to leak out for two breakaways on the same shift, and were fortunate that Yegorov stood tall.
BU was awarded its first power play of the night with 6:06 left in the second and came away entirely unthreatening, as it has for the majority of this season. — Henry Dinh-Price