Despite losing senior forward Brandon Yip to a game misconduct penalty less than two minutes into the game, the top-seeded Boston University men’s hockey team edged sixth-seeded Boston College, 3-2, Friday at TD Banknorth Garden to advance to the finals of the Hockey East Tournament.
The No. 1/2 Terriers (30-6-4), who rotated three forward lines after Yip’s early exit, scored three goals in a span of 44 seconds during the third period.
Junior forward Zach Cohen scored first to tie the game 11:01 into the third, taking the puck from the left corner before beating BC sophomore goaltender John Muse on a post-to-post deke.
Muse prevented Cohen from firing a no-angle shot from the end line by pinning his pads to the near post, but a quick shot-fake from Cohen as he skated toward the crease dropped Muse into his butterfly position.
With the Eagles netminder down on his knees, Cohen pulled the puck across the crease and beat a sprawling Muse to the far post.
‘I had the puck against the boards and lost it, but [BU senior co-captain John McCarthy] got it back to me,’ Cohen said. ‘I moved toward the net and [Muse] kept holding the post to prevent the shot. Their [defender] had to defend the pass option. I got Muse down on a shot-fake and I had just enough space to pull it around him.’
The Terriers doubled their lead on BC (18-14-5) just 21 seconds later, as junior defenseman Brian Strait slipped home a shot from the point over Muse’s right shoulder.
McCarthy moved the puck off the half-wall to Strait at the point, where he took advantage of sophomore forward Nick Bonino’s screen of Muse.
‘I definitely wasn’t expecting to score,’ Strait said. ‘I’m a defensive defenseman, but it was nice to get a goal in my first game back [after a knee injury]. But if [Bonino] wasn’t in front of Muse on that shot, it doesn’t go in. Muse makes those saves in his sleep.’
Twenty-three seconds after Strait’s tally, sophomore standout and Hobey Baker Award finalist Colin Wilson matched Cohen’s superb individual effort with one of his own.
Wilson pulled the puck out of the right corner before skating through BC’s loose defense. Forcing his way toward the slot, Wilson rolled the puck off his stick and just inside the far-side post.
The 44-second scoring stretch marked the fastest time in Hockey East Tournament history that a team has recorded three consecutive goals.
‘It was something I have never seen before,’ BU coach Jack Parker said. ‘I’m very glad I saw it tonight.’
Freshman goaltender Kieran Millan, who boasts the nation’s best winning percentage at .828, strung together another solid performance in goal for the Terriers.
Millan stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced, none more important than a save with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.
With the Terriers caught out of position in the neutral zone, BC junior forward Ben Smith led a 3-on-2 rush toward Millan. Alone in the slot, Smith tried to slip the puck through the goalie’s legs, but Millan pinched the puck between his knees to prevent the game-tying goal.
The rush would be the Eagles’ final grade-A scoring chance of the night, as Millan, the newly named Hockey East Rookie of the Year, preserved the one-goal advantage.
BU advances to Saturday’s title game against the fifth-seeded University of Massachusetts-Lowell, which knocked off second-seeded Northeastern University in overtime, 3-2.
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