STORRS, Conn. — And so, 36 games into an exhausting, frustrating and thoroughly disappointing season, BU officially drew dead when referee Steven Rouillard reached down to his waist and turned on his microphone.
“After review,” he told a silent Toscano Family Ice Forum, “the contact occurred outside the crease.”
Rouillard’s crew’s call of goalie interference, serving as the Terriers’ final lifeline, was being overturned. BU and UConn had waited ages as the officials reviewed the call in a tunnel behind the home bench.
All 6 feet, 6 inches and 226 pounds of the Huskies’ Viking Gustafsson Nyberg had briefly crashed into BU goalie Mikhail Yegorov. But when UConn defenseman Anthony Allain-Samake unleashed a filthy wrister that ended in the top corner of BU’s net, Gustafsson Nyberg wasn’t interfering with Yegorov. He was, the officials deemed, simply putting an excellent screen on the sophomore netminder.
And so it went — a long, agonizing conclusion to what was a sudden surge that ended BU’s season.
BU entered the third period here in a 2-2 tie. It was 40 minutes into one of its more spirited efforts of the seasons. Those in Scarlet and White in the stands — of which there were many on Saturday afternoon — had every reason to think about TD Garden.
Four in-game minutes later, UConn led 4-2, an opportunistic wrister from Ethan Whitcomb and a simply unreal shot from Allain-Samake, what was the first goal of the freshman’s collegiate career, had saved the Huskies’ season and sent them to the Hockey East semifinal.
There weren’t any notable reactions on BU’s side when Rouillard announced his decision. 17-year-old Tynan Lawrence immediately hopped off the boards, ready to restart play. Teammates quickly followed him. The Terriers didn’t give up in those final 16 minutes. Freshman Ben Merrill even scored with 10 minutes to go to give BU life.
But when the Terriers went down by two goals, their deficit felt insurmountable for a reason. Jack Murtagh — who’d played so well and scored the game-tying goal in the second — committed a costly penalty after Merrill’s goal. The Huskies continued pushing, only to be denied by more and more excellent saves from Yegorov (33 on the afternoon), before Joey Muldowney scored on BU’s empty net with a minute to play.
BU finished the year an even 17-17-2 and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in Jay Pandolfo’s four seasons at the helm.
Here are three takeaways:
BU let itself down with unacceptable mistakes.
The Terriers — by this group’s standards, at least — played a really good hockey game. Effort didn’t appear to be an issue. Nor was adherence to a simple, physical brand of hockey or consistency across three periods. If you thought BU’s season would end in a game in which it simply rolled over, this was not that.
Still, BU rendered its good work meaningless with a series of inexplicable errors. UConn scored its first goal off an offensive-zone turnover from Kamil Bednarik, a play in which both Bednarik and Cole Eiserman simply fumbled with the puck in the face of little pressure. That’s just basic stick handling.
UConn’s second goal was even more mystifying. At the tail end of an otherwise excellent penalty kill, BU just… left Husky top-liner Jake Richard wide open in the left circle. He easily blasted a one-timer past Yegorov. The exact mistake is impossible to pinpoint. But Gavin McCarthy, Aiden Celebrini, Jack Harvey and Kamil Bednarik were on the ice, and one of them wasn’t where they were supposed to be.
In a do-or-die matchup 36 games into a season, those things can’t happen. — Sam Robb O’Hagan
What else can you say about Tynan Lawrence?
The 17-year-old had his fingerprints all over Saturday’s quarterfinal. He jumpstarted the Terriers’ offense in the second period with his second collegiate goal and picked up the primary assist on BU’s second tally.
Lawrence is relentless without the puck on his stick. A strong forecheck sprung him on a 2-on-1, where he wisely opted for the shot, lifting a backhanded shot over the glove of Huskies’ goaltender Tyler Muszelik.
The offensive output is starting to come for Lawrence, who had five points in the season’s final five contests. But his complete game as the second youngest player in college hockey is what’s most impressive. His quick feet, strong stick, and willingness to get dirty are admirable for such a young player, and his presence on both the power play and the penalty kill shows just how much the coaching staff already trusts him.
College hockey is officially on notice. Lawrence found his groove and will likely light it up next season. — Eli Cloutier
Sacha Boisvert returned to the lineup and made an impact.
All eyes were on whether No. 9 in scarlet and white would play after he was a healthy scratch for Wednesday’s opening round game. Boisvert suited up and centered BU’s third line with Jack Murtagh and Ryder Ritchie on his wings.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ 2024 1st-round pick wasn’t perfect against UConn but made a positive impact overall. Late in the first period on the power play, a net-front Boisvert fired a shot into a seemingly wide-open goal, but his shot was blocked by a skater.
Late in the second period, after Boisvert’s initial shot was saved, he corralled his own rebound and fired a spectacular cross-ice pass to Ritchie, whose shot was eventually corralled.
In what was no-doubt a disappointing season for Boisvert, at least his final collegiate game was a strong effort. — Cloutier