Boston University goalie John Curry sprawls out in front of the net, missing an overtime penalty shot by St. Lawrence forward Mike McKenzie. Dominick ReuterHANOVER, N.H. — With the exception of Boston University goalie John Curry and St. Lawrence University rookie Mike McKenzie, the ice was empty underneath the Thompson Arena scoreboard that read St. Lawrence University-3, Boston University-3 with 2:26 left to play in yet another overtime matchup for this season’s Terriers squad.
As SLU’s leading scorer glided toward him, Curry skated out of his crease, cutting down the angle on the penalty shot, determined to keep the score knotted.
But in just a few seconds, it was over. Covered in snow and stretched across the crease, all Curry could do was slam his stick against the post while his opponents celebrated.
In a first-round contest of the Ledyard National Bank Classic laden with goals and whistles — including a penalty shot for each team — McKenzie and the unranked Saints handed the No. 9 Terriers their first overtime loss of the season, 4-3.
The Saints’ (9-8-1, 5-2-0 ECAC) penalty shot was the result of a controversial call against BU’s Matt Gilroy after the Terriers’ net came off its moorings with traffic in the crease.
“They said that the guy intentionally knocked the net off,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “[St. Lawrence] took advantage of some stuff that shouldn’t have happened out there, and we couldn’t stop it. Stuff that was beyond our control — read between the lines.”
“It looked to me like he knocked the net off trying to hit the puck with his stick,” said BU forward Pete MacArthur. “I thought it was a bad call, but we can’t do anything to change it now.”
And with the choice of a penalty shot or a power play, St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh opted to take his chances pitting his leading scorer against one of the nation’s top goaltenders.
But for Parker, the bigger disappointment was the Terriers’ lackluster third frame.
“We were playing pretty sharp in the first two periods,” Parker said. “In the third period, we just acted like the game was long over. We let them hang around and hang around. We had a couple of unbelievable calls go against us, but we didn’t compete hard enough. I was really disappointed in almost everybody’s effort.”
The Terriers were leading into the third until Saints sophomore Brock McBride evened the score at 3-3 on a power play goal with 3:50 to play. With traffic in front of Curry, McBride slipped the puck five-hole to complete his hat trick and keep St. Lawrence alive.
The Terriers (6-4-5, 4-3-4 Hockey East) had their share of chances, outshooting St. Lawrence 30-23, but it were missed opportunities that stung BU.
Two of those missed opportunities came from winger Ryan Weston, who earned the game’s first penalty shot 2:36 into the second period. On a St. Lawrence power play, Weston struggled with Zach Miskovic, pushing the puck out of the zone before breaking free toward the St. Lawrence net. With both Miskovic and Matt Generous on his back, Weston was tripped up inside the crease, drawing BU’s first penalty shot since Feb. 4, 2004.
But Weston came to the edge of the crease just a bit too slow on the penalty shot, allowing freshman goalie Alex Petizian to cut down the angle and shut Weston out.
Weston would get another scoring opportunity with 7:47 to play in the third. Taking control of the puck at the BU blue line, Weston sliced through the offensive zone and from the left boards fired a rocket that zoomed past Petizian before clanking off the right post.
Weston wasn’t the only first-liner to get opportunities. While sophomore Jason Lawrence finished the night with just two shots, he made them count, scoring in each of the first two periods.
“The first one on the power play [Chris Higgins] just gave me a nice little pass,” Lawrence said. “I think it directed off something, went through the goalie. In the second one, Higgy did the work again. I just got the loose puck, and I took a shot and it went in. But I’d trade those two goals in for a win anytime.”
“That line played very well,” Parker said. “I thought that was the only line that gave us any real offensive boom. The rest of the guys seemed like they were a little too slow. They were tentative, they weren’t quick to the puck. I was very disappointed with our forwards.”
Junior Pete MacArthur chipped in his sixth goal of the year with 15:45 to play in the second with a wrister that beat Petizian gloveside. Linemate Kenny Roche was credited with the helper.
“We could have [scored more], but we didn’t,” MacArthur said. “And they scored four. I guess you can take a little positive in that we got a lot of chances, but we can’t keep saying that – we gotta put them in.”
Finding some silver lining in the loss, the Terriers saw the long-awaited return of captain Sean Sullivan to the ice.
“He’s definitely our emotional leader on and off the ice,” MacArthur said about Sullivan, who was one of the BU athletes attacked outside a party earlier this month. “So, it’s a nice reassurance to have him back on the blue line.”
The Terriers return to Thompson Arena tomorrow at 4 p.m. to take on the winner of Dartmouth/North Dakota.
